The Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable, established in 1984, is a forum for discussion and debate among representatives of government, universities and industry. Discussions focus on issues related to research that challenge, confound and occasionally divide those in the U.S. research community. The Roundtable does not make recommendations regarding specific government policies or programs. Its purpose is to help all participants develop a better understanding of complex issues, to stimulate imaginative and creative thought and to provide a setting for seeking consensus. The Roundtable is jointly sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine.
The Roundtable's agenda is set by a 25-member Council. The Council's membership is comprised of distinguished scientists, engineers, administrators and policymakers from government, universities and industry. The presidents of the Roundtable’s three sponsoring institutions also hold seats on the Council. With the exception of the federal agency officials, who serve as long as they are in office, Council members are appointed to three-year terms.
Through all of its work, the Roundtable Council maintains working relationships with the vast array of parties with an interest in the conduct of research in the United States. These include professional associations, scientific societies, executive agencies, congressional offices, industries and state governments. Contact between the Roundtable and these groups takes place at various venues, including large symposia, workshops and smaller meetings.
Occasionally, working groups are appointed by the Council to examine selected topics in depth. Membership on the working groups is drawn from the Roundtable Council and includes other leading participants in the U.S. research system. The results of working group discussions are reported to the Council, where they receive critical review. Discussion papers, based on the working group deliberations, are disseminated to interested constituencies in the hope of stimulating a wider discussion of these issues.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 92-60475
International Standard Book Number 0-309-04642-4
S 484
Printed in the United States of America
FOREWORD
Throughout the world, national research policies are currently undergoing intense review and revision. Rapidly changing social, political and economic events, coupled with new and exciting research avenues emerging within the scientific community, are profoundly affecting the organization and resources for the conduct of research. In this report, research policy leaders from the European Community, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, the former USSR, and the United States present their views of the challenges ahead for national and international research policies and programs.
In many ways, there appears to be convergence among the major industrialized nations in the organization and purposes of their national research systems. The European nations, individually and within the emerging European Community, are undertaking major new initiatives for revising decisionmaking mechanisms, ensuring new generations of scientific and engineering talent, and adapting the organization of their research activities. Japan is pursuing new approaches to enhancing academic research and drawing top scientists and engineers to the universities. The Russian Academy of Sciences has assumed most of the membership and responsibilities of the former USSR Academy of Sciences. Yet the profound problems and challenges described in this volume for the former USSR are still relevant to the new Russian Federation and the other republics as they pursue more "Western" models of research organization.
The United States also faces many of the challenges confronting other nations. Policymakers in government, universities, and industries will benefit from greater understanding of these worldwide changes and implications for U.S. research policies. We hope that the information presented within this symposium report contributes to that learning process.
JAMES D. EBERT
Former Chairman
Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable
ERICH BLOCH
Chairman
Roundtable Working Group on the Academic Research Enterprise
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Research Roundtable thanks Vice-President Filippo Maria Pandolfi, Director General Paolo Fasella, Sir David Phillips, Sir Michael Atiyah, Professor Hubert Markl, Minister Heinz Riesenhuber, Academician Yuriy A. Osipyan, Dr. Vladimir V. Ezhkov, Dr. Jiro Kondo, Dr. Makoto Kikuchi, Dr. D. Allan Bromley, and Dr. Frank Press for their contributions to this symposium. Thanks also go to Erich Bloch and Robert M. White for chairing the panel sessions.
The Roundtable also acknowledges the staff members who organized the symposium and prepared this symposium report, especially Don I. Phillips, Executive Director of the Research Roundtable, and John P. Campbell, Project Director for the Working Group on the Academic Research Enterprise. Peter Pocock played a critical role in writing the symposium summary and editing the proceedings.
Special thanks go to the National Science Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their financial support of the symposium and this report.
STAFF
DON I. PHILLIPS
Executive Director, Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable
JOHN P. CAMPBELL
Senior Program Officer, Roundtable Working Group on the Academic Research Enterprise
PETER POCOCK
Writer/Editor
PAUL D. HILL
Project Assistant
PREFACE
One of the major areas of interest for the Research Roundtable has been academic research in the United States. In 1987 the Roundtable Council assembled the Working Group on the Academic Research Enterprise to study this issue. Among the many concerns driving this effort were the changing nature of research, the changing demographics of the college-age population, the increasing financial and human resources required for carrying out research, and the growing expectations placed on academic research. These concerns raised questions about the role of universities and colleges within the U.S. research system, the nation's ability to support academic research, the management of research institutions, and the responsibilities of those who sponsor research.
The charge to the working group was fourfold: (1) to examine recent trends affecting academic research in the United States, (2) to consider the impact of these trends on the current academic research enterprise, (3) to identify the longer-term issues that will affect the enterprise in the decades ahead, and (4) to explore ways in which the enterprise might best meet the challenges of the future.
The working group divided its work into two phases. During the first phase, the group addressed the status of the current academic research enterprise, reviewed statistical evidence of recent trends, and identified pertinent issues for further consideration.1 During the second phase, the working group examined plausible options for the future of the U.S. academic research enterprise.2
To gain a better international perspective on the issues addressed by the working group, in March 1989 the Research Roundtable and the National Science Foundation cosponsored a symposium entitled "The University Research Enterprise Within the Industrialized Nations: Comparative Perspectives." The purposes of the symposium were to compare the histories of the research systems of the United States, Japan, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, with special emphasis on university research. The symposium was organized around presentations by six historians of science and technology, each an expert in the evolution of the research system in one of the countries. In March 1990 the Round-table published a symposium report summarizing the major themes presented
in the symposium discussion and including the formal presentations of the symposium speakers.3
In February 1991 a second international symposium was held to address current issues. This symposium, entitled Future National Research Policies Within the Industrialized Nations, included senior government officials and leading scientists directly involved in formulating research and higher education policies in the United States, Japan, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Community. Symposium panelists were invited to discuss the following topics:
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What major trends in the size, mission, and character of research do they see occurring in their nations' research enterprise, including universities, government research institutes, industrial laboratories, and other independent research laboratories?
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How are their nations responding to trends occurring within the research enterprise?
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What new strategies or approaches are their nations planning for the research enterprise during the next 20 years?
An agenda for the symposium, as well as panelist biographies and a list of symposium participants, is found in the Appendix.
This report is divided into two parts. Part One summarizes the major themes presented in the symposium presentations and open discussion. Part Two contains the formal presentations of the symposium speakers, describing research policies within the European Community, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the United States. Also included are discussion sessions following each country presentation.
