No doubt the National Science Foundation hears occasional grumbling from its diverse constituency (funders and consumers) over how it sets priorities; most observers also agree it does a very creditable job balancing competing interests. Now, says NSF – “If you’ve ever had an idea about how the National Science Foundation (NSF) could transform fundamental research” – is your chance speak up. NSF opened its “first-ever NSF 2026 Idea Machine” competition late last week.

The bold challenge was made in the official announcement of NSF 2026 Idea Machine’s launch. NSF 2026 is seeking ideas for broad areas of research that would require a long-term commitment — 10 years or more — and potentially transform a research area through new explorations and creative inquiry.

A submission to the Idea Machine should be ambitious, emphasizes NSF. “It should be an idea that contributes to NSF’s mission to support basic research in a way that ultimately fuels the nation’s economy, enhances its security and sustains U.S. global leadership in science and engineering. Progress toward addressing research in that area should have a significant impact on science and society,” according to the official announcement.

Suzi Iacono, head of NSF’s Office of Integrative Activities, notes, “Scientific creativity and innovation have no bounds. Everyone in the scientific community, from middle schoolers to emeriti professors, as well as anyone who loves science in the general public have ideas about the future and what might be possible. We want to harness those rich imaginations through an approach that’s totally new for NSF, but also in keeping with our tradition of reaching out into the community to find fresh, new ideas that have the potential to benefit science and society.”

NSF’s goal is to select two to four winning entries from the Idea Machine. Winning entries will receive $26,000 and their authors will be honored at an event in Washington, D.C.

NSF 2026 – the date marks the nation’s 250^thanniversary – is one of the agency’s 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments. Here’s the formal description taken from the NSF web site:

The NSF 2026 Idea Machine is a competition to help set the U.S. agenda for fundamental research in science and engineering. Participants can earn prizes and receive public recognition by suggesting the pressing research questions that need to be answered in the coming decade, the next set of “Big Ideas” for future investment by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It’s an opportunity for researchers, the public and other interested stakeholders to contribute to NSF’s mission to support basic research and enable new discoveries that drive the U.S. economy, enhance national security and advance knowledge to sustain the country’s global leadership in science and engineering.

What is a “Big Idea”, you ask? Here’s NSF’s guidance:

• A Big Idea is a compelling research challenge in fundamental STEM or STEM education that is large in scope, innovative in character, and requires a long-term commitment (i.e., 10 years or more) to address.
• It has (a) worthwhile objective(s), is ambitious and challenging, and may require a paradigm shift in our thinking.
• It requires high risk/high reward, transformative exploration at the frontiers of research in science, engineering, and STEM learning.
• It will attract creative contributions from many researchers.
• It crosses traditional scientific boundaries, fills recognized gaps, or takes advantage of new opportunities, and it does not fit within the current programs of any particular NSF directorate or division.
• Progress toward addressing it would have significant societal and scientific impact that would benefit many stakeholders, both inside and outside the research community.

The NSF 2026 competition is open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or residing legally in the U.S. on September 1, 2018. Entrants must be 14 years old as of September 1, 2018. Winners are expected to be be announced in August 2019

Link to announcement: https://nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=296483

Link to Idea Machine website: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsf2026ideamachine/index.jsp

Link to Idea Machine Handbook: https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsf2026ideamachine/toolkit.jsp