An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories: Fiscal Year 2002 (2002)

MEMORANDUM FOR Board on Assessment of NIST Programs and Its Panels

I am extremely grateful to the members of the Board on Assessment and its panels for the time, effort, and expertise that all of you devote to evaluating the technical quality of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST's) laboratory programs. Your findings are a central component of our performance evaluation system and help NIST remain a top-quality science and technology agency serving the nation's measurement needs. NIST highly values your hard work and insights in assessing our laboratory programs, and we look forward to working closely and productively with you in FY 2002.

NIST's mission is to develop and promote measurements standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. The NIST Laboratories conduct research to anticipate future metrology and standards needs, to enable new scientific and technological advances, and to continuously improve and refine existing measurement methods and services.

For FY 2002, I ask that the Board on Assessment continue your longstanding focus on assessing the technical merit and relevance of NIST's laboratory programs. I also ask the Board to continue your focus on assessing the relevance of NIST work to the needs of our customers, a focus first emphasized last year. Potential demand for NIST measurement and standards will always exceed our limited resources. We ask the Board to continue to help us maximize the impact of our laboratory programs by focusing on the most significant needs of our customers.

In summary, I ask the Board on Assessment to focus its FY 2002 assessment of the NIST Laboratories on four factors:

• the technical merit of the laboratory programs relative to the state-of-the-art worldwide;

• Zthe effectiveness with which the laboratory programs are carried out and the results disseminated to their customers;

• the relevance of the laboratory programs to the needs of their customers; and

• the ability of the Laboratories' facilities, equipment, and human resources to enable the Laboratories to fulfill their mission and meet their customers' needs.

With its mix of experts from industry, academia, and government agencies, the Board is well positioned to help NIST evaluate its laboratory programs on each of these factors. As in past years, your findings will be valued not only by NIST but also by the Department of Commerce, the Administration, and Congress as they strive to ensure an optimal return on the public's investment in NIST. The Board's reports, statements, and briefings--based on independent and comprehensive expert peer review--are a cornerstone of NIST's performance evaluation system and are featured prominently in our reports to the Administration and Congress under the terms of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). The Board's annual published assessment is a thorough and comprehensive document of great value to NIST and our stakeholders. I would also like to discuss the opportunity for the Board to provide a brief executive summary in addition to the complete assessment to help more broadly disseminate the Board's key findings.

NIST expects that future scientific and technology advances will continue to be more interdisciplinary, including such fields as biosciences and health care, information technology, and nanotechnology. We thank the Board for their insight in experimenting with crosscutting panels to assess some of NIST's interdisciplinary work, including the FY 2001 review of microelectronics programs and the upcoming FY 2002 review of measurement services. We look forward to working closely with the NRC BoA to evaluate the value and effectiveness of these reviews within the context of the overall review process.

The Board can further help NIST's performance evaluation process by tracking over time NIST's responses to the Board's findings and recommendations. Thus I ask the Board to include in your FY 2002 evaluation an assessment of NIST's responses to your FY 2001 report. I look forward to discussing with the Board the possibility of systematically tracking NIST's responses to your findings and recommendations from year to year and over several years in future evaluations.

Thank you again for contributing your time and expertise to assess the quality and relevance of NIST's laboratory programs. Your expert, objective appraisal is crucial to helping NIST continuously improve its programs and effectiveness.