M-17-08 Conference Report for FY 2024

This report is submitted as required by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-17-08, “Amending OMB Memorandum M-12-12, Promoting Efficient Spending to Support Agency Operations.” OMB M-17-08 requires all Federal agencies to report, by January 31st of each year, a description of all agency-sponsored conferences from the previous fiscal year where the net expenses for the agency associated with the conference were in excess of $100,000.

This report is comprised of two sections:

• Description of the Report
• Fiscal Year 2024 Summary

In compliance with OMB Memorandum M-17-08, this report includes information on conferences that were held during the period October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, regardless of approval date. Only conferences hosted or sponsored by NSF are included. Conferences hosted by NSF grant awardees for purposes related to award objectives are not subject to the approval and reporting requirements of M-17-08.
 

Definition of Conference and Conference Expenses

For the purpose of this report, NSF used the definitions for “conference” and “conference expenses” provided by OMB M-17-08:

• Conference: a meeting, retreat, seminar, symposium, or event that involves attendee travel.
• Conference Expenses: all direct and indirect conference costs except for amounts paid under Federal grants to grantees and Federal employee time for conference preparation. Some examples of conference expenses are: travel and per diem, payments to merit review panelists and committee members, rental of rooms for official business, audiovisual use, light refreshments, registration fees, and ground transportation. Additionally, conference expenses are net of any fees or revenue received by the agency through the conference.
   

Types of Conferences at NSF

NSF sponsors and hosts a wide variety of conferences that fall into five major categories, described briefly below:

• Subject Matter: Conferences held for purposes such as providing opportunities for collaboration among members of the scientific, engineering, and education communities and discussing future direction and strategies to advance science and engineering.
• Merit Review Panels: An assembly of NSF staff and guests for the purpose of reviewing and evaluating research proposals. Panelists provide advice and recommendations concerning proposals submitted to NSF for financial support. Panels can be held on-site or off-site.
• Training: A developmental activity, meeting, seminar, class, program, symposium, or related activity that is educational in nature and the content of which is germane to improving an individual’s or organization’s performance. Training is considered a conference when it involves travel costs.
• Staff Retreats: An on-site or off-site meeting primarily attended by NSF staff to review progress and challenges associated with implementation of government or departmental policies and to engage the NSF workforce in discussions covering various aspects of NSF or divisional activities.
• Other: Conferences that fall outside of the primary conference types defined above such as NSF Grants Conferences, Committee of Visitors (COVs), and Advisory Committee (AC) meetings.
  Starting in FY 2015, and for future reporting of conferences, the Chief Financial Officer of NSF, in agreement with OMB, approved the following Conference Categories and Corresponding Reporting Requirements:

Conference Expenses in Excess of $100,000

Between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, NSF sponsored five conference(s) with net expenses in excess of $100,000. The total cost of the conference(s) – attended by 7,881 individuals – was $1,171,873. The average cost per attendee was $149.

The attached table includes the following information required by OMB M-17-08 and additional information on conferences for which the total net cost to NSF exceeded $100,000:

• Total conference expenses incurred by NSF for the conference.
• Conference location.
• Conference dates.
• Conference name and a brief explanation of how the conference advanced NSF’s mission.
• Total number of individuals whose travel expenses or other conference expenses were paid by NSF.
• Sponsoring NSF organization.
• Travel expenses paid by NSF.

FY 2024 Conference Report prepared in accordance with OMB Memo M-17-08
 

Directorate/Division: BIO/TIP
Start Date: 10/1/2023
End Date: 12/30/2023
Conference/Event Title: CASA BIO Phase I
Event Location: Remote
Staff: 15
Guests: 5 0
Staff: 0
Guests: 0
Travel/Transportation: $0
Lodging: $0
Final Cost¹: $152,218
Justification for how conference advanced NSF mission: Working to advance biotech and biomanufacturing is directly related to NSF's focus area of advancing emerging industries. This workshop will pave the way for future paths in this space as well as getting together groups of people not only in government but also in industry to work towards a common goal. 

In 2022, Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy. The EO laid out a vision for a whole-of-government approach to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing by creating a research agenda outlining foundational and use-inspired R&D needs for innovations in areas such as climate change, food and agriculture, supply chain resilience, and human health, as well as the cross-cutting advances to enable all these areas. The goal of CASA BIO is to host meetings to align interests and capabilities of funder stakeholders (government, industry, philanthropy), engage research stakeholder communities broadly to propose priority research paths forward, and create an environment where input from funder and research stakeholders can be used in concert to prioritize, stage, and map the efficient operationalization of identified pathways. Events captured in Q1 include behind the scene planning and weekly meetings between key NSF staff and facilitators. It also includes a 2 day in person meeting with government, industry, and philanthropic organizations as well as a half day virtual orientation.

Directorate/Division: BFA/DIAS
Start Date: 12/4/2023
End Date: 12/7/2023
Conference/Event Title: Fall 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference
Event Location: Remote
Staff: 34
Guests: 5 ,149
Final Cost¹: $118,912
Justification for how conference advanced NSF mission: Outreach to the nation’s research community is a critical component of NSF’s work. The NSF Grants Conference is designed to provide attendees with information and insights about NSF funding opportunities, policies and procedures for preparing and submitting proposals, and resources and tools for managing NSF awards. Outreach is one method which contributes to NSF portfolio development and broadening participation and also supports NSF’s strategic goals to transform the frontiers of science and engineering, stimulate innovation and address societal needs through research and education.

The NSF Grants Conference is a primary outreach opportunity provided for the proposer and awardee community by the Foundation that shares information about policies and procedures for both faculty and researchers to assist in preparing proposals, as well as for administrators as they seek information to assist in managing their institution’s awards. This conference is consistently rated as excellent by attendees, and feedback is routinely incorporated as we strive to always improve the conference for future attendees.

Each conference is attended by faculty, researchers and administrators from around the country.

Directorate/Division: TIP/TF
Start Date: 2/1/2024
End Date: 2/2/2024
Conference/Event Title: Workshop: Foundation for Unmanned Technological Utilization, Research, and Exploration (FUTURE) Labs
Event Location: Raleigh, NC
Guests: 70
Final Cost¹: $100,000
Justification for how conference advanced NSF mission: The FUTURE Labs workshop, hosted by NSF’s TIP Directorate at North Carolina State University, supported NSF’s mission to advance scientific discovery by fostering innovation in self-driving laboratories (SDLs). This two-day event convened leading experts from academia, industry, and government across disciplines, including robotics, AI, materials science, and sustainability, to develop actionable strategies for accelerating research in areas critical to national and global challenges, such as energy and healthcare. Key outcomes included a vision for establishing Universal SDL Testbeds, which aim to revolutionize experimental science by increasing research efficiency by 100 to 1000 times. The workshop ensured broad dissemination and applicability by emphasizing early-career researcher engagement and industrial adoption, further aligning with NSF’s broader impacts and intellectual merit criteria.

Directorate/Division: BFA/RIO
Start Date: 3/26/2024
End Date: 3/29/2024
Conference/Event Title: The 2024 Research Infrastructure Workshop
Event Location: Tucson, AZ and Remote
Staff: 13
Guests: 413
Staff: 52
Travel/Transportation: $58,180
Lodging: $35,330
Final Cost¹: $464,890
Justification for how conference advanced NSF mission: This workshop facilitates the sharing of project management and operations best practices and lessons learned between NSF-funded major and mid-scale facilities so that the facilities use NSF-provided (taxpayer) funds as efficiently and effectively as possible while furthering the advancement of science.

The Research Infrastructure Workshop is a collaborative forum for all the National Science Foundation’s Research Infrastructure Projects. We strive to support NSF’s mission and promote the scientific endeavor with the following desired outcomes: Provide a forum to collect and share best practices and lessons learned; Discuss new initiatives and collect community input; Demonstrate project management, operations, and business-related tools and techniques; and expand our community of practice by connecting colleagues across disciplines and organizations to promote collaboration between facilities.

Directorate/Division: BFA/DIAS
Start Date: 6/3/2024
End Date: 6/5/2024
Conference/Event Title: Spring 2024 NSF Virtual Grants Conference
Event Location: Philadelphia, PA / Remote
Staff: 25
Guests: 2 ,199
Staff: 12
Travel/Transportation: $26,120
Lodging: $28,200
Final Cost¹: $335,853
Justification for how conference advanced NSF mission: Outreach to the nation’s research community is a critical component of NSF’s work. The NSF Grants Conference is designed to provide attendees with information and insights about NSF funding opportunities, policies and procedures for preparing and submitting proposals, and resources and tools for managing NSF awards. Outreach is one method which contributes to NSF portfolio development and broadening participation and also supports NSF’s strategic goals to transform the frontiers of science and engineering, stimulate innovation and address societal needs through research and education.

The NSF Grants Conference is a primary outreach opportunity provided for the proposer and awardee community by the Foundation that shares information about policies and procedures for both faculty and researchers to assist in preparing proposals, as well as for administrators as they seek information to assist in managing their institution’s awards. This conference is consistently rated as excellent by attendees, and feedback is routinely incorporated as we strive to always improve the conference for future attendees.

Each conference is attended by faculty, researchers and administrators from around the country.

Total Guests: 7,881

Final Total: $1,171,873

¹ The amounts used to determine the final cost of a conference were a mix of actual costs and estimated costs; and, as a result, additional conferences may have been included, or some excluded, if only actual costs were used.