§1862n–4 Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction Plan

Summary

The Director must make a numbered list that ranks which Board‑approved projects get funded from the major research equipment and facilities construction account, and must send that list to the Board for approval. The Director must use criteria that include how ready the project plans are, confidence in the estimates of the full life‑cycle cost (as defined in section 2 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 1862k note)), and the planned completion schedule. The Director must update the list whenever the Board approves a new project and must periodically send any updated list back to the Board for approval. No national research facility project paid from that account can be managed by someone who is only a temporary appointee to the Foundation. The Board must explicitly approve any project before any funds from that account can be obligated.