NSB Receives Update on NSF Restructuring and Changes to Merit Review

By: Galen Cobb
Thursday, March 12, 2026
On February 25, the National Science Board (NSB), the governing and policy-advisory body responsible for shaping the direction of the National Science Foundation (NSF), was updated by NSF leadership on the agency’s restructuring and the status of merit review reform. 

Agency Restructuring and Leadership
Micah Cheatham, NSF's Chief Management Officer, reported that NSF is currently at 65 percent of its February 2025 staffing levels, with the majority of losses attributed to voluntary resignations through the deferred resignation program. Additional internal restructuring has flattened the agency's organizational structure, reducing the number of layers between the Director and frontline staff. According to Cheatham, the goals of these efforts are to speed up decision making, increase agency accountability, and improve responsiveness to federal priorities. Cheatham also announced an intent to restart hiring to bring staffing back to levels supported by NSF's 2026 budget.

The Director position has been vacant since the resignation of Sethuraman Panchanathan, PhD, in April 2025. On March 2, the White House nominated James O'Neill, a science and technology investor and former acting CDC director (August 2025 – February 2026), to the role; his confirmation is pending Senate approval.

Merit Review Reform
Cheatham provided an update on NSF's ongoing merit review reform efforts, which will be informed by NSB's recently released report, "Merit Review for a Changing Landscape." He outlined challenges, including difficulty recruiting reviewers for fields with small research communities or rapidly developing technologies, and indicated NSF will first focus on revisions to reviewer conflict-of-interest policies to address this issue. The agency aims to ensure 75 percent of applicants receive a decision within six months and will issue fewer but broader solicitations. NSB members received assurances that these changes should not negatively affect early-career researcher funding rates. In response to community concerns over return without review rates, NSF released a new FAQ page regarding the Graduate Research Fellowship Program on February 27.

A full recording of the meeting can be accessed via YouTube.