National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: 5 Identification of Additional Guiding Principles
Suggested Citation:"6 Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Review of the Draft 2019 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25587.
×

6

Conclusions

The draft document reviewed by the committee is qualitatively unlike the NASA science plans that have come before. In fact, it is not really a science plan, nor is it a strategic or implementation plan more generally. It is, however, something potentially very important.

Any effective organization requires leadership that clearly expresses not only its organization’s values, but also its enduring, high-level priorities and principles that will steer the organization toward realizing those values. An SMD organization that is aligned in its values, leadership priorities, and guiding principles is much more likely to achieve successful outcomes in scientific product, in fulfillment of the decadal surveys, as well as in the development and deployment of human capital.

As it stands now, the draft document is not inspiring. It lacks the clarity of purpose and vision required to achieve its intended impact, and it is too internally disconnected between the top leadership and the four science divisions that form the core of SMD’s management. If the draft document can be revised as recommended here, the divisional commitment to the stated leadership priorities and guiding principles made more explicit, and the writing overall imbued with language equal to the magnitude of the vision, the document has the potential to be transformative for SMD: ambitious, forward looking, and inspiring.

Suggested Citation:"6 Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Review of the Draft 2019 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25587.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"6 Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Review of the Draft 2019 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25587.
×
Page 17
Suggested Citation:"6 Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Review of the Draft 2019 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25587.
×
Page 18
Next: Appendixes »
Review of the Draft 2019 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan Get This Book
×
Buy Ebook | $9.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) ties together diverse researchers, sponsors, and resources to develop the science community’s understanding of the universe. Within scientific organizations like NASA, it is important to establish clear strategies and goals to guide research and foster new discoveries across varying missions. SMD created a draft for their 2019 Science Plan, and a review of this draft is necessary to ensure that the plan establishes clear, attainable, relevant, and ambitious goals.

Review of the Draft 2019 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan provides comments on and recommendations for SMD’s draft. Comments in this report focus on the level of ambition of the specified strategies in light of current and emerging opportunities to advance Earth and space science over the next 5 years, the ability of SMD to meet the science objectives in the most recent decadal surveys through implementation of specified strategies, additional strategies for SMD’s considerations, and the general readability and clarity of the draft. Recommendations in this report identify important improvements for the 2019 Science Plan.

  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. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

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

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

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

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    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!