SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT : National Goals for a New Era

During recent decades, a series of political and technological revolutions have significantly changed the context in which science and technology policy is made in the United States:

• The products of science and technology have become prominent elements of the world economy and of everyday life.

• The Cold War has been superseded by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of many newly independent nations.

• Our abilities to process and communicate information have transformed the creation and sharing of new knowledge.

• Our ability to diagnose and to treat disease has been greatly advanced.

As we approach the second millennium, these broad changes have recast the framework in which the U.S. research and development system functions. As representatives of the scientific and engineering communities, the members of this committee have attempted to understand that new framework and to describe ways in which science and technology can respond to it. We have tried to evaluate the role of the federal government in supporting research and development and to suggest better ways of translating that support into a higher quality of life.

The result is this report, which proposes a renewed and strengthened covenant between science, technology, and society. The report recognizes that public support of science and technology is justified by the eventual benefits to humanity. It also recognizes society's concern that scientific and technological progress should demonstrably lead to improvements in the quality of life. It reaffirms the generative role of scientific research within the research and development system, describing the connections between scientific research and several broad national objectives. It also points toward the key role of technology in transforming scientific discoveries into wealth-generating commercial products and services. It proposes specific national goals for science and technology, designed to ensure leadership in areas essential to the national well-being.

Our nation's economic performance and security depend on several key factors, including the ability to make better use of our world leadership in science and the innovative capacity of engineering. A renewed partnership between science, technology, and the federal government could quicken the movement of ideas from the laboratory and foster the use of new technologies through out the economy. The government, with its overarching responsibilities for planning, budgeting, and review, is uniquely suited to promote—though not manage—this process. The benefits of such an approach would extend across the spectrum of short- and long-term national objectives.

By working together to strengthen federal policy, the government and the scientific and engineering communities can ensure that the goals of the research establishment are aligned with the continuing forces of change within our borders and around the world. These actions will not only perpetuate our national leader ship in research but will help translate that leadership into the tools, goods, services, and prosperity that we as a nation require.

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