Variations in Project Outcomes
The outcomes of these projects have differed greatly: NSFNET expanded rapidly and evolved into the Internet as we know it today, expanding rapidly and eventually functioning with little NSF support. Unidata has expanded gradually but continually and is considered an important if not an essential facility within NSF/ATM’s portfolio, from whence it continues to receive nearly all funding. The NSF/GEO Directorate has ceased designated funding for DLESE, though the library continues to function (albeit on a reduced scale) as part of library operations in the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
The NSF/EHR Directorate has announced 2008 funding of over $12 million for NSDL activities [NSF 2008], but the “core integration” component, as originally established, apparently is being replaced by a pair of grants, one for Technical Network Services and the other for an NSDL Resource Center. As functions for these two remain to be specified—in significant part by the winning proposals—the degree of continuity for current collaborations remains uncertain, as does the nature of the NSDL commitment to a central core. (To date, this core has been the primary factor distinguishing NSDL from a portfolio of related but independent projects.)