The National Science Foundation is next agency in line for a massive shake-up under the Trump Administration. Staff were reportedly informed last week that the agency’s 37 divisions—across all eight NSF directorates—are being abolished and the number of programs within those divisions will be drastically reduced. The current directors and deputy directors will lose their titles and might be reassigned to other positions at the agency or elsewhere in the federal government.
The NSF’s new structure will retain the existing directorates but replace divisions with “clusters” that fund research in the president’s five priority areas: artificial intelligence, quantum information science, biotechnology, nuclear energy, and translational science.
The consolidation appears to be driven in part by President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut the agency’s $4 billion budget by 55% for the 2026 fiscal year that begins on October 1. Furthermore, the NSF is expected to send termination notices to an unspecified number of its 1700-member staff.
In addition to staff layoffs, the NSF will significantly reduce the number of scientists it employs through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act. Under this program, scientists on leave from their academic positions work with the NSF to help the agency choose the best research to fund. NSF currently hosts 368 scientists but plans to slash this number to 70 by June 9.
The move comes after the recent announcement that the NSF would begin capping reimbursement rates for indirect research costs at 15%, mirroring the funding cuts at the NIH and the Department of Energy, both of which have been blocked in court. A number of universities and associations have filed a suit to block this move as well.
Helpful Links:
NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring | Science | AAAS
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions | Science | AAAS