eminent agency's relative isolation from the market- 

 place also suggests the need for new mechanisms to 

 link more effectively the funders, performers, and 

 users of R&D. 



By comparison, the Soviet system responds even less 

 to popular attitudes and market forces. Faith in the 

 intrinsic desirability of science and technical prog- 

 ress has not diminished in the USSR as it has in the 

 US. Consequently, Soviet policy may pursue projects 

 like the TU-144 supersonic transport and a continuing 

 large-scale space program which embody advanced sci- 

 entific, technological, or design solutions that might 

 be vetoed in the American setting by commercial con- 

 siderations or popular demand. 



Nonetheless, since the late 1960s Kremlin authori- 

 ties have become more aware of constraints on resour- 

 ces and concerned about effectiveness of their use. 

 While environmental impact statements have not yet 

 become mandatory in R&D planning, the importance of 

 ecological factors is on the rise. Above all, econom- 

 ic considerations have become prominent; all proposals 

 for R&D projects must be supported by calculations of 

 economic return redounding to the users of the new 

 technology and to the economy as a whole. The main 

 aim of this requirement is to weed out nonpaying, im- 

 practical R&D and to raise the cost-effectiveness con- 

 sciousness of the S&T establishment. (The requirement, 

 however, is often not observed) The economic orienta- 

 tion of the basic indicators for planning S&T prog- 

 ress, issued in 1974, is also clear. With emphasis 

 on accelerating technological innovation and raising 

 production efficiency, these indicators seek explic- 

 itly to couple more effectively S&T policy with eco- 

 nomic policy, the planning of R&D with the planning 

 of production. 



Of course, economic return has long been the main 

 criterion used by American industry in selecting R&D 

 pursuits. For industry the problem is chiefly one of 

 assessing the long-term potential of a product line. 

 This typically involves such factors as actions of 



318 



