Institutional Appointments & Positions (NSPM-33)

Institutional appointments and positions per definitions from NSPM-33 guidance from November 2023 hosted on the National Science Foundation (NSF) website. While hosted by NSF, other federal agencies also rely on this definition when it comes to the common forms for the Biographical Sketch and/or Current and Pending or Other support.

Appointments and positions conveyed in a formal manner (e.g., via appointment letter, executed offer letter, employment contract) by one’s primary place of employment or by another organization.

For those in academia, the responsibilities of such appointments and positions reside in administration (e.g., president, chancellor, provost, or vice-president; associate or assistant vice-president; vice-provost; associate or assistant vice-provost; dean; associate or assistant dean; department, program, or institute director or chair), though of course such positions also sometimes involve teaching, research, and service.

For those outside academia, institutional appointments and positions encompass a wide range of titles (e.g., chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief technology officer, chief information officer, president, chief research officer; and vice president; regional manager; section, group or project leader, project member).

Individuals within both academic and non-academic institutions also may be appointed by their institution to serve in a formal capacity at another organization, foreign or domestic (e.g., as a visiting researcher or faculty member, team member on a corporate project, or as a paid consultant to local, state or Federal organizations).

Additionally, individuals within both academic and non-academic institutions may be appointed to an institutional position by an organization or organizations, foreign or domestic, other than their own.