Evaluation of the Minerva Research Initiative

The Minerva Research Initiative is a Department of Defense (DoD) social science grant program that funds unclassified basic research relevant to national security. The goal of the program is to make use of the intellectual capital of university-based social scientists to inform understanding of issues important to DoD and the broader national security community. Evaluation of the Minerva Research Initiative discusses the program's successes and challenges over its first decade of operation, and highlights ways to strengthen the program's foundations and take advantage of opportunities for broadening its reach and usefulness. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Overview of the Committee's Information-Gathering Activities 3 Processes of the Minerva Program 4 Research Supported by the Minerva Program: Quantity and Quality 5 Direction and Vision of the Minerva Program References Appendix A: Federal Obligations for Basic Research Appendix B: Minerva Research Topics in Grant Announcements Issued between 2008 and 2018 Appendix C: List of Minerva Grant Awards Between 20092017 Appendix D: Interview Protocol for Individual Interviews with Current and Former Minerva Research Initiative Staff Appendix E: Survey of Minerva Grantees Appendix F: Survey of Administrators of Sponsored Research Appendix G: Individuals Who Provided Input during the Committee's Public Meetings Appendix H: Output Categories and Coding Notes Appendix I: Publications and Presentations by Year Appendix J: Impact Metrics of Journals in Which Minerva Principal Investigators Reported Publishing (Table J-1) and Journals without Journal-Level Impact Factor Scores in Which Minerva Principal Investigators Published (Table J-2) Appendix K: Field-Weighted Citation Impact of Publications Reported by Principal Investigators Appendix L: Universities with Minerva Grants Appendix M: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff