A Real Foundation
Rethinking How America Funds Public Knowledge and Services
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) was never really a foundation. Nor are the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) or the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) endowments. They’re federal agencies. They depend on annual appropriations, political moods, and bureaucratic cycles.
What if they weren’t?
What if we treated science, culture, data, and even airspace as enduring national assets insulated from political whim, permanently capitalised, and governed by stakeholders, not appointees? Funded by endowment, not appropriation. Managed by boards elected by the communities they serve. What if institutions like NSF operated more like universities or public trusts?
A Better Institutional Model: Foundation, Not Agency
Universities and philanthropic foundations don’t operate on year-to-year congressional budgets. They hold permanent capital. They use income, not principal, to fund work over the long term. That model encourages independence, planning, and resilience.
Agencies that fund or produce public knowledge, culture, or infrastructure, but don’t regulate or enforce laws, should operate similarly.
Key Elements of the Model
Federally Chartered Foundation – Created by Congress, operating independently of executive control.
One-Time Capitalisation – Endowed with Treasury notes or equivalent, not reliant on annual appropriations. Off the federal budget.
Income-Limited Spending – A fixed percentage (e.g. 3.5%) of the endowment spent annually.
Stakeholder Governance – Boards elected by past grantees, sector experts, or public representatives, not political appointees.
Mission Lock-In – Legal and structural safeguards prevent future drift or politicisation.
Some Examples
National Science and Data Foundations
National Science Foundation — National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Health Foundation — National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Planetary Foundation — U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Statistical Foundation —U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Agriculture statistical services
National Education Foundation — Institute of Education Sciences (IES), selected programs from Department of Education
National Agronomy Foundation — National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA research grants and cooperative extension
National Culture, Memory, and Media Foundations
National Arts Foundation — National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
National Library Foundation — Library of Congress, Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Archives Foundation — National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
National Public Media Foundation — Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), PBS, NPR (federal funding portions)
National International Affairs and Development Foundations
National Global Media Foundation — Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) etc.
National Development Foundation — USAID (technical, humanitarian, and development arms), Millennium Challenge Corporation
National Peace Foundation — US Institute of Peace
National Infrastructure Service Foundations
National Airspace Foundation — Air Traffic Control operations currently under the FAA
National Meteorology Foundation — National Weather Service (NWS), National Hurricane Center, NOAA’s climate prediction services
Why It Matters
We ask these agencies to produce long-term public goods—science, art, knowledge, safety, and data. Yet we tie them to the shortest-term funding and political logic available. That mismatch erodes both effectiveness and trust.
It’s time to redesign and depoliticize these kinds of public institutions so they serve the public, not politics. A real foundation for science, and the arts,
and education, and journalism, and airspace, would protect the future from the volatility of the present.
FIN
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