It might seem surprising, but federal research funding isn’t just for scientists. A component of many federal grants that support basic research requires that discoveries be shared with nonscientists. This component, referred to as ”
broader impacts
” by the National Science Foundation, can make a big difference for K-12 students and teachers, museumgoers, citizen scientists and other people interested in science, while also helping the scientists themselves give back to the taxpayers that fund their work.
Fundamental research, frequently driven by a researcher’s curiosity, might not immediately lead to practical applications such as crafting smartphones or finding cures for diseases. However, these explorations contribute significantly to our understanding within fields like natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and their allied areas.
The U.S. is
a world leader in scientific and technological innovation
On the national level, the National Science Foundation (NSF) serves as one of the main supporters for this type of fundamental research. In 2022, the federal government
financed 40% of all fundamental research conducted in the U.S.
The rest was sourced from various origins, such as businesses.
During World War II, President Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
sought to place the U.S. at the forefront of global strategic and economic leadership. He initiated this effort through various means.
physicist Vannevar Bush
To create a vision for the advancement of U.S. science and technology, his 1945 paper entitled ”
Science: the Endless Frontier
” served as the model for government-sponsored fundamental research. In 1950, Congress established the National Science Foundation with the aim of promoting scientific advancement, enhancing national well-being and prosperity, and ensuring national security.
In the initial decades of NSF—from the 1950s through the late 1990s—proposals were primarily assessed according to the caliber of the scientific research and the researchers involved. However, the organization later introduced a fresh evaluation method that remains current.
As such, every NSF research proposal is currently subjected to a peer review process evaluated according to two main criteria: the intellectual merit, which pertains to the caliber and innovation of the scientific work along with the research team’s history of success, and ”
broader impacts
—associated activities that share the findings with the public.
The intellectual merit focuses on enhancing scientific understanding and fostering innovation, whereas broader impacts address why non-scientists should be interested and explain potential societal benefits arising from the research.
Another pragmatic aspect to broader impacts is that taxpayers pay for these activities, so it’s important for them, and Congress, to understand their return on investment. These broader impacts activities communicate about, and engage the public in, research in a variety of ways.
While researchers usually understand the intellectual merit of their NSF-funded projects, these broader impacts can be challenging to characterize.
Broader impact activities
Since childhood, I’ve had an interest
in paleontology
—the study of fossils and what we can learn from them about prehistoric life. This field is primarily basic research—adding to knowledge about ancient life.
As a scientist
Carrying out fundamental studies, I’ve experienced an obligation to contribute to society via engagement in wider impact initiatives, and I’ve witnessed numerous advantages that such endeavors can bring.
I have primarily focused on extinct mammals of the Americas, especially those from particular regions or time periods.
A 55-million-year-old archive of fossilized horses
on this continent. For years, NSF supported my discoveries about this interesting group of animals. Fossil horses are a classic example of evolution—in books and museum exhibits.
Many people are generally interested in horses, so it’s easy to attract their attention with this charismatic group. They also are often surprised to learn that prehistoric horses were native to North America for millions of years. Then, during historical times, they were
first introduced by humans
onto the continent about 500 years ago.
Over the years, my research team has used grant-funded broader impact activities to teach people about these fossil horses and our research. One example included working with K-12 science teachers to develop lesson plans. The students
measured fossil horse teeth
and explored how their teeth adapted to feeding on grasses. We’ve also developed exhibits on fossil horses and studied how
They convey scientific knowledge to guests at the museum.
.
Science educators have participated in our fieldwork to gather fossils alongside the recent expansion of the Panama Canal. I’ve delivered numerous presentations on this topic.
collaborated with fossil clubs
And their members across the U.S. We have also advocated for them
projects like Fossils4Teachers
Where fossil collectors contributed their finds and collaborated with K-12 educators to create lesson plans that were later used in the teachers’ classrooms.
We have successfully sparked people’s curiosity about other animal species, such as fossilized sharks. Through our
Scientist in Residence at Every Florida School Program
We provided middle school educators with study kits containing actual fossilized shark teeth. The students were taught how to recognize these teeth and subsequently instructed computers to identify them through machine learning, an aspect of artificial intelligence.
Broader impact outcomes
Various short- and long-term effects can result from broader impact initiatives such as these.
50 million people
Visit natural history museums across the U.S. each year. Initiatives that encourage museum attendance can engage numerous individuals in continuous education efforts.
More broadly, participatory science interest groups can allow people to learn about science while informing basic research projects. Within the field of natural history, a few popular examples include the
Merlin app
and the
iNaturalist app
, each boasting millions of active participants. Merlin motivates individuals to share their bird observations, whereas iNaturalist welcomes reports of plants, animals, and fossils that scientists can meticulously review and utilize as scientific data.
A lot of the K-12 educators we have collaborated with mention feeling more assured in their ability to teach the updated science material that was introduced through our partnerships.
Interestingly, although much of the research on science professional development focuses on the teachers, scientists also report a high level of satisfaction and improved communication skills after
working with these teachers
, both in the field and back in the classroom.
Basic research benefits for society
Generations of U.S. scientists have greatly benefited from federal investments in basic research. In the 75 years since NSF’s founding, the organization has funded hundreds of thousands of projects to advance science and technology.
These have supported basic research discoveries and also the training and career development of the
thousands upon thousands of researchers
tackling these projects every year.
Many prominent scientists
have proceeded to become productive leaders and innovators both within the U.S. and globally. The NSF has
supported over 268 Nobel laureates
.
As NSF funds discoveries related to fundamental understanding of the natural world, these projects typically haven’t been aimed at immediate practical uses. Nonetheless, numerous initiatives supported by NSF—including those focused on lasers and nanotechnology—began as exploratory basic research driven purely by scientific inquiry but ultimately led to significant advancements in technology and contributed greatly to economic growth.
For example,
charting the magnetic characteristics of the Earth’s seabed
During World War II, scientists’ understanding of crustal movement and mountain formation was enhanced. This subsequently led to advancements in related fields.
plate tectonic revolution
In the field of Earth Sciences, this fundamental research eventually resulted in a significant application: forecasting the likely locations
high-risk earthquake zones
worldwide.
None of these downstream applications and societal benefits would be possible without the fundamental research findings funded by federal entities like the NSF, along with the additional value created via broader impact initiatives.
This article is republished from
The Conversation
under a Creative Commons license. Read the
original article
.
Provided by The Conversation
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