1994-02-09 NSF and the Office of Science and Technology Policy [ if you would like the full report,

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND
                 TECHNOLOGY POLICY


 ACCOMPANYING REPORT OF THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW


             Office of the Vice President


                  Washington, DC


                  September 1993


 *************************************************


 This accompanying report, prepared by the staff of the
 National Performance Review (NPR), laid the groundwork
 for the recommendations in the NPR report "From Red
 Tape to Results: Creating a Government that Works
 Better and Costs Less," released on September 7, 1993.
 This report is based on the best information available
 at that time. The specific recommendations within these
 reports have been and will continue to be given
 priority as part of the FY95 Budget, legislative
 proposals, or other Administration initiatives, as
 appropriate.


 *************************************************


 CONTENTS


 Executive Summary...................................1


 Recommendations and Actions


 NSF01: Strengthen Coordination of Science Policy....5


 NSF02: Use the Federal Demonstration Project to
 Increase Research Productivity.....................11


 NSF03:Continue Automation of NSF Research Support
 Functions..........................................15


 Agency Reinvention Activities......................19


 Summary of Fiscal Impact...........................21


 Appendix


 Accompanying Reports of the National Performance
 Review.............................................25


 *****************************************************
 Abbreviations


 EHR Directorate for Education and Human Resources,
 National Science Foundation


 EXPRES Experimental Research in Electronic Submission


 FACA Federal Advisory Committee Act


 FCCSET Federal Coordinating Council for Science,
 Engineering and Technology


 FDP Federal Demonstration Project


 GAO General Accounting Office


 GSA General Services Administration


 IAC Interagency Assessment Committee


 NPR National Performance Review


 NSF National Science Foundation


 NSTC National Science and Technology Council


 OMB Office of Management and Budget


 OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy


 PATG Productivity/Assessment Task Group of the Federal
 Demonstration Project


 PI Principal Investigator


 R&D Research and Development


 S&T Science and Technology


 STIS Scientific and Technical Information System


 *******************************************************
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY




 Advancement in science and technology is a key element
 of national economic success. Investments in research
 and development (R&D) tend to be the strongest and most
 consistent positive influence on productivity growth.
 New developments in fields such as telecommunications
 and information technology are expected to affect the
 way we work and the way our children learn. New
 materials and manufacturing processes can make the
 United States more competitive in world markets.
 Investments in basic science ensure the availability of
 scientists who can forge new understandings of
 mechanisms that affect our health and our environment.
 Determining how best to invest federal research dollars
 to meet national goals is an important element of
 federal policy. Delivery of resulting technological
 advances to business and industry is a major challenge
 for the federal government.


 A look at agencies with major responsibilities in
 science and technology reveals that they have many
 issues in common. This report suggests a structure for
 addressing R&D priorities as well as matters of
 research administration which are relevant to the wider
 federal R&D community. This structure involves the
 President's Office of Science and Technology Policy
 (OSTP).


 OSTP was created by the National Science and
 Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of
 1976 to provide advice to the President on issues
 relating to science and to coordinate federal efforts
 in science and technology. The Act also established the
 Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering
 and Technology (FCCSET). FCCSET, with representation
 from all agencies with significant scientific research
 activities, coordinates selected interagency research
 initiatives.


 In addition, although many agencies have significant
 roles in federal R&D, the focus and coordination of the
 federal R&D effort have particular impact on the
 National Science Foundation (NSF) with its mandate to
 strengthen the nation's overall potential in science
 and engineering. NSF, with a budget of approximately $3
 billion, funds research and education in most fields of
 science and engineering through grants, contracts, and
 cooperative agreements to colleges, universities, and
 other institutions across the United States. Of NSF's
 approximately 1,200 staff members, about one-third are
 Ph.D. scientists, engineers, or educators who are
 familiar with functioning in a technologically
 sophisticated environment. NSF has committed to using
 technology in order to improve the effectiveness of its
 operations and services.


 NSF has been instrumental in developing streamlined
 methods for research administration and has had a
 significant role in efforts to coordinate interagency
 research activities. NSF is a major participant in the
 activities of the Office of Science and Technology
 Policy and also participates in the Federal
 Demonstration Project (FDP), a group formed by federal
 agencies and universities interested in streamlining
 research administration.


 The issues identified by the National Performance
 Review emphasize policy formulation and research
 administration: how to set priorities, promote
 efficient evaluation, and eliminate activities that
 distract from research efforts.


 Because of the importance of R&D to the nation's
 progress, the productive use of R&D funds is critical.
 This requires management mechanisms that focus
 agencies' efforts on important national priorities and
 reduce administrative overhead. To enhance policy
 development and implementation, a national policy
 council to facilitate formulation of a coherent
 national science and technology policy and provide a
 mechanism to address important issues as they emerge is
 needed.


 Making use of technological advances to streamline the
 administrative aspects of research management is an
 important part of empowering government research
 managers to manage for results. NSF's effort to
 automate grant management activities is presented as an
 example of an effective way to keep up with increasing
 workload by handling program administration more
 efficiently.


 Removing red tape that distracts from research
 activity is an important way to ensure that more
 research funds are directed to productive research. FDP
 has found examples of administrative requirements
 placed on universities that can be eliminated without
 compromising financial accountability. A more formal
 relationship between FDP and the federal government is
 proposed so that its documented findings can be brought
 to bear on government regulations.


 The issues presented in this report support the
 evolution of a scientific research program focused on
 national priorities with each science agency having a
 well-defined role that complements the total effort.