Decadal Science Strategy Surveys Report of a Workshop (2007) / Chapter Skim
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4 Lessons Learned and Implications for the Next Decadal Surveys
4 Lessons Learned and Implications for the Next Decadal Surveys
Pages 31-40
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From page 31... ...
Not doing decadal surveys was not viewed as an option, for without these surveys there would be no way to maintain community coherence on priorities. In short, the alternative would be lots of parochial lobbying for individual programs.
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From page 32... ...
Furthermore, participants argued that is very important that members of Congress and their staff be fully aware of survey results and have a chance to question survey committee members freely and directly, because the best communicators and advocates for the surveys are really the community members themselves. Participants noted that strong community ownership of a survey is a key to success.
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From page 33... ...
Hence, decadal surveys can be most useful if they also look out over a decade and if they are available when agencies begin a cycle of roadmapping and strategic planning. Agency roadmapping and implementation planning are likely to be done more frequently than the surveys, but there needs to be a way to keep the agency plans consonant with the survey's strategic priorities.
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From page 34... ...
Participants argued that good science underpins sound applications, and surveys have a duty to spell out clearly how important applications can be drawn from basic science missions and programs. They also seemed to accept that for disciplines such as the Earth sciences, applications are the central motivating goals of the field.
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From page 35... ...
The failure of some recent decadal surveys to explicitly endorse the Explorer program and to include it in priority rankings was cited as an example of how devastating the consequences could be when such program elements are assumed to be sacrosanct and are not treated explicitly. In the Earth sciences, the recent dramatic de-scoping of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS)
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From page 36... ...
Some participants argued that human spaceflight should not be ignored in future decadal surveys. Human spaceflight is relevant in some fields -- for example, planetary science and solar and space physics -- specifically from the standpoint of how research in those fields will enable future human exploration missions.
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From page 37... ...
Some participants thought that including multiple scenarios was a good idea, but others suspected that the lowest cost alternative would tend to be selected, thereby undermining the broad scientific reach of a survey. Most participants seemed to feel that because decadal surveys should be held in high regard, they should not ("like the Constitution")
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From page 38... ...
Some participants asked whether the community would have supported JWST at the time of the 2000 decadal survey if it had suspected the potential for cost growth and the likely current budget environment. How can a survey committee foresee such an outcome?
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From page 39... ...
. INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION Panel members were asked to consider how interagency plans, missions, and mission opportunities should be treated in decadal surveys.
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From page 40... ...
0 DECADAL SCIENCE STRATEGY SURVEYS they also suggested that the management complications that occur in such collaborations might limit any cost savings, as might the extra demands arising from International Traffic in Arms Regulations restrictions, visa restrictions, international coordination, and differences in the way that different foreign agencies make plans and budget commitments. Speakers cited the need to avoid duplicating or competing with foreign missions, and they noted that international participation might help stabilize a program (because, for example, an agency would be reluctant to drop a project with international partners)
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