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.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE TO EVALUATE EPSCOR AND SIMILAR FEDERAL AGENCY PROGRAMS
• COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND PUBLIC POLICY
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Preface
• Summary
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• 1. Mission, Evolution, and Context
  • THE ORIGIN OF EPSCOR
  • THE EPSCOR COMPROMISE
  • MAKING EPSCOR OPERATIONAL
  • EPSCOR EXPANSION
  • EPSCOR'S EVOLVING MISSION
  • CHALLENGES TO THE EPSCOR MISSION
• 2. Program Structure and Operation
  • AGENCY CONTRASTS
  • STATE BY STATE
• 3. Assessments and Outcomes
  • EPSCOR IN THE NATIONAL CONTEXT
  • EPSCOR IN THE INSTITUTIONAL AND STATE CONTEXT
  • BROADER ISSUES
  • THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
• 4. Findings and Recommendations
  • FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
• References
• Appendixes
  • A Agency Profiles
  • B State Profiles
  • C Statement of Task and Congressional Mandate
  • D Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1157188 to the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.