Mission statement
The Research Foundation’s mission is to plan, manage and communicate research in support of the NFPA mission. The NFPA mission is to help save lives and reduce loss with information, knowledge and passion.
Foundation operating principles (used for project acceptance)
The following principles are used for evaluating the acceptance of Foundation projects. Note: The Foundation reserves the right to not accept any project.
- Promote the engagement, proliferation and diversity of credible research
- Build broad research capabilities with a large network of contributors and collaborators
- Communicate and support the dissemination of research results, especially with practitioners
- Be consistent with the "Research Foundation Policies for the Conduct of Research Projects"
- Facilitate research projects that have at least one of the following characteristics:
- Be of focused interest to the broad safety community,
- Be of focused interest to a SDO (standards developing organization) technical committee or similar constituency group,
- Be directly related to an out-reach or advocacy issue, or
- Not involve proprietary product development.
Foundation vetting criteria (used for project prioritization)
The following vetting criteria are used for evaluating Foundation project priorities.
- Technical and Scientific Value: The value-added from a technical and scientific standpoint, and the positive benefits from the perceived societal impact.
- Problem Magnitude: The magnitude of the problem as compared to overall mission of NFPA and/or its influence on applicable activities (e.g., the respective standard document).
- Time Criticality: The consideration of timing issues that directly impact the value of the outcomes.
- Feasibility: The likelihood of success for Foundation engagement on the project, considering factors such as the uniqueness of the Foundation’s position, availability of funding, etc.
- Strategic Research Agenda: The positioning of the topic in relation to overarching research guidance such as strategic research agendas.