NSF Grants Shift Focus to DEI, Surging from 1% to 27% Under Biden, Allocating $2 Billion

Oct 10, 2024, 03:48 PM

A recent report highlights a significant shift in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) grant allocation priorities since the Biden administration took office in 2020. The proportion of NSF grants focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has surged from less than 1% to over 27% by early 2024. This change has raised concerns regarding the emphasis on non-scientific attributes in funding decisions, with critics arguing that it undermines scientific merit. The NSF has allocated approximately $2 billion to projects centered on gender, race, and social justice, rather than purely scientific quality. Notable grants include $364,000 awarded to researchers from MIT and Brown University for developing open-source clustering algorithms, and $11 million to Carnegie Mellon University for a project emphasizing DEI in resource allocations. Other grants also address various social issues, such as vaccination inequities and educational programs aimed at promoting diversity in STEM fields.