The Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR) was established in 1997 by the National Research Council (NRC). It provides a science-oriented, apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences to discuss chemically related issues affecting government, industry, and universities. Organized by the NRC's Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, the Roundtable acts to strengthen the chemical sciences by fostering communication among the persons and organizations—spanning industry, government, universities, and professional organizations—that are engaged in chemically related activities. The principal way in which the CSR does this is to organize workshops that address problems and issues in the chemical enterprise that require national attention.

At its first meeting in February 1997, the CSR identified the topic of assessing the value of research as an issue of increasing importance to all sectors of the chemical sciences. In a world with many needs and limited resources, it is important to find mechanisms to assess the value of various endeavors so that resources can be focused on those activities expected to yield the maximum benefit to humankind and society. These such endeavors include scientific research, long protected by its linkage to national security. But the very nature of scientific inquiry—its inherent complexity and interconnections, long lead times from discovery to demonstration, and focus on the unknown—poses formidable obstacles to developing a set of criteria for predetermining the value of research. To provide a forum for exploring this topic, an organizing committee was formed, and a workshop was planned for September 1997. The resulting workshop, "Assessing the Value of Research in the Chemical Sciences," brought together research managers from government, industry, and academia to review and discuss the mechanisms that have been proposed or used to assess the value of chemical research. The papers in this volume are the authors' own versions of their presentations; the discussion comments were taken directly from a transcript of the workshop. The workshop did not attempt to establish the value of chemical research for the general public, but focused instead on the assessment procedures that have been or will be established within the various organizations that carry out or fund research activities. The expectation for the workshop was not that a single set of assessment techniques would emerge that would be appropriate for all sectors of the chemical research enterprise. Rather, the intent was to allow leaders in each of the areas

to share approaches and ideas that will help to identify new and useful ways of assessing the value and potential impact of the research activities for which they are responsible. We believe that the workshop was successful in meeting this goal.

This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's (NRC' s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The contents of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:

Carol Creutz, Brookhaven National Laboratory,

Jack Halpern, University of Chicago,

Joseph M. Jasinksi, IBM Research Center, and

Peter J. Stang, University of Utah.

Although the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring group and the NRC.