NSF Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Department of Defense for National Security Research
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Defense (DoD) that would allow researchers to apply for grants to study subjects that may be of interest to U.S. national security.
Officials anticipate the MOU will fund work leading to new knowledge about topics such as religious fundamentalism, terrorism and cultural change. The results may have uses for U.S. armed forces and other DoD agencies.
"To secure the national defense was one of the original missions we were given when we were chartered in 1950," said David Lightfoot, assistant director of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) Sciences Directorate. "We've always believed that sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists and other social scientists, through basic social and behavioral science research, could benefit our national security. In fact, we've always done so through various research projects. The MOU gives us another tool and more resources to do what we've always done well."
According to the MOU, funding for research projects will be determined on a case-by-case basis. DoD will consider supporting proposals submitted to regular NSF programs managed by SBE. In return, DoD will get the gold standard for the U.S. peer review process ensuring the research meets specific criteria for intellectual merit and broader impact.
Grant proposals will be evaluated by SBE's normal merit-review panels, though Pentagon officials will have some input into who sits on the panels. The research will not be classified and there will be no constraints on the researchers' ability to publish their results.
As long as both parties agree, the MOU will remain in effect for three years and could be extended.
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