Science (Oct 6)
"Social scientists in the United States have known for months that their main source of research funding was threatened, but were unsure how dire the situation was. With the end of the 2026 fiscal year on 30 September, the extent of the damage is now becoming clear. “For entire disciplines, this is existential,” says Wendy Naus, head of the Consortium of Social Science Associations, a nonprofit representing social scientists. ...
"Every part of NSF has lagged in grantmaking: The agency has underspent its $8.8 billion budget for this year by some $1.4 billion and awarded about 6200 new grants, the lowest number in decades. But SBE was uniquely paralyzed. It spent just $95 million for 2026, a 62% decline relative to the $247 million average between 2021 and ’24, and awarded just 91 new grants, an 89% drop from its average of about 800, according to data compiled by Grant Witness, a watchdog nonprofit. An analysis by Science found more than 30 program areas—including archaeology, anthropology, and sociology, which typically make hundreds of new grants—distributed zero new awards."
Grant Witness
“Our agency funding curves track the progress of federal agencies’ grantmaking activity over the fiscal year, monitoring both their compliance with Congressional appropriations laws and their actual support of their scientific missions and the research community.”
The New York Times (Oct 2, subscription)
Federal Register (Aug 28)
“The 2027 National Training, Education, and Workforce Survey (NTEWS) is designed to comply with these mandates by improving the measurement of the science and engineering (S&E) workforce in the United States. The NTEWS will integrate three previous NCSES workforce surveys—the NTEWS, the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), and the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR)—to provide national estimates on the employment, education, and training of non-institutionalized U.S. adults (18-75 years old) with a special focus on S&E occupations and degrees, the skilled technical workforce, and the U.S.-trained doctoral S&E workforce.”
Read the complete posting and comment by October 27
Consortium of Social Science Associations (Sep 22)
“The National Science Foundation (NSF) is continuing to make changes to its longstanding programs and update its policies, largely at the direction of the White House. Despite being without a Senate confirmed director for more than a year, the transformation of NSF just since 2025 has been significant.”
See also a previous DCSS news item, “Renewed call for action on NSF Social Sciences” (Aug 30)
