The Experimental Program To Stimulate Competitive Research

The primary federal program designed to ensure that all states are capable of participating the nation's research enterprise fall under the general rubric of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCOR). The National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration have active EPSCOR programs. Since its inaugural year in 1979, the EPSCOR program has grown from funding programs in five states to awarding funding to 31 states in 2012. The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research assesses the effectiveness of EPSCOR and similar federal agency programs in improving national research capabilities, promoting an equitable distribution of research funding, and integrating their efforts with other initiatives designed to strengthen the nation's research capacity. This report also looks at the effectiveness of EPSCOR states in using awards to develop science engineering research and education, as well a science and engineering infrastructure within their state. The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research makes recommendations for improvement for each agency to create a more focused program with greater impact.

The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is a joint program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and several U.S. states and territories. The program promotes the development of the states' science and technology (S & T) resources through partnerships involving a state's universities, industry, and government, and the Federal research and development (R & D) enterprise.

Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress U. S. National Science Foundation: EPSCoR Summary The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) was authorized by Congress in 1978, partly in response to concerns in Congress and the concerns of some in academia and the scientific community about the geographic distribution of federal res [...] In addition, all of the projects must be designed to contribute to the research competitiveness of the colleges and universities in the particular state. [...] Co-funding is an internal, cross- directorate, NSF funding mechanism.24 Co-funding activities are applicable in the various directorates, the Office of Polar Programs, the Office of International Science and Engineering, the Office of Cyberinfrastructure, and the Office of Integrative Activities. [...] The position of the workshop participants was that since the states are heterogenous, a "one-size program" should not be applied to the then 27 different jurisdictions.33 Rather, the individual needs of the states should be a factor in determining the most effective strategy for infrastructure improvement. [...] The increased level of funding would be related to the size of the jurisdiction and the extent of the "S&T transformative challenge."34 Another suggestion from the workshop was to place the EPSCoR program in NSF where its cross-directorate interactions would be maximized and integrated into all of the cutting edge initiatives of the agency.