January 2026
Recent actions by the National Science Foundation (NSF) signal potential shifts in agency priorities and may affect how education research proposals are reviewed and funded in future grant cycles.
On December 15, the NSF announced a major reorganization of its leadership and operational structures.
As part of this update, two offices that previously reported directly to the NSF director, the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs and the Office of General Counsel, will now report to the Chief Management Officer. Meanwhile, directorate leaders will now report to the Chief Science Officer.
As reported in Science, divisions within NSF directorates are being dissolved and restructured into clusters of sections. To comply with federal protocols on supervisory roles, career staff are being appointed as directorate heads, responsible for hiring and grant-making decisions, while assistant directors will continue in advisory roles.
Within specific directorates, the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate is shifting from three divisions to five sections, while maintaining the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Kaye Husbands Fealing will remain SBE assistant director, with Christina Freyman serving as SBE directorate head. The STEM Education (EDU) Directorate is moving from four divisions to two clusters, with James L. Moore, III continuing as assistant director and Sylvia Butterfield named directorate head.
On December 17, the National Science Board (NSB) released a report, Merit Review for a Changing Landscape, following a three-year examination of NSF’s merit review criteria. The criteria, which guide the evaluation of grant proposals, consider both intellectual merit and broader impacts.
The NSB report recommends:
The NSB also recommended renaming the “broader impacts” criterion to “societal benefits” to address concerns about inconsistent application and interpretation.