National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION
Suggested Citation:"FUNDING ACADEMIC RESEARCH." Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. 1989. Science and Technology in the Academic Enterprise: Status, Trends, and Issues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1468.
×
Page 26

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

ISSUES FOR THE 1990S & BEYOND 26 How can the scientific literacy of U.S. citizens be advanced? Ultimately, national research priorities are greatly influenced by the concerns and perceived needs of citizens and their elected officials. The quality of those decisions depends, in large part, on an awareness of current scientific knowledge, an understanding of scientific methods, and an appreciation for the fiscal and organizational requirements of research. What improvements can be made to the nation's education system to increase scientific and technical literacy among the citizenry? Are other methods available to increase effective and informed judgments on new scientific and engineering opportunities and their public policy implications? What role should educated lay audiences play in academic research? How can tensions be abated between those who perform research and those who influence public policy and, hence, research funding? FUNDING ACADEMIC RESEARCH How can sufficient resources for academic research be assured? The federal budget deficit and national reluctance to raise taxes indicate that all institutions that rely on substantial infusions of federal moneys for program funding will face increased difficulties in the 1990s. Coupled with the rising costs of research, the situation looms particularly arduous for research universities. Should growth in funding for academic research be proportionate to growth in the nation's economy? How long can the past decade's high growth rate in academic research funds be sustained? What are the proper funding roles and responsibilities for the various sponsors of academic research—federal, state, and local agencies, industry, philanthropy, and the universities themselves? With multi-sponsor funding, how can meeting all enterprise needs—salaries, equipment, and facilities—be ensured? What is the appropriate balance between federal and non-federal funding levels. What is the appropriate balance between direct funding mechanisms and indirect mechanisms such as tax policy? How should resources be allocated among competing national research objectives? New opportunities and demands for academic research occur with increasing frequency and intensity. This circumstance, coupled with growth of the number of institutions with basic research capacity, will pose difficult problems for allocating the finite research dollars that are available. What methods should be used for setting funding priorities in research? How should the nation allocate resources between continuing investment in traditional research programs and underwriting new scientific approaches and combinations?

Next: Conclusion »
Science and Technology in the Academic Enterprise: Status, Trends, and Issues Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $45.00
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The U.S. academic research enterprise is entering a new era characterized by remarkable opportunities and increased strain. This two-part volume integrates the experiential knowledge of group members with quantitative data analyses in order to examine the status of scientific and technological research in academic settings. Part One reviews the status of the current research enterprise, emerging trends affecting it, and issues central to its future. Part Two is an overview of the enterprise and describes long-term trends in financial and human resources. This new book will be useful in stimulating policy discussions—especially among individuals and organizations that fund or perform academic research.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!