7. Relative reductions in the labor force due to 

 the rising technical level of production 



8. Increases in labor productivity 



9. Economies in the use of materials 



10. Reducations in cost. 



Indicators for each branch or enterprise specify the 

 production standards required to meet the general in- 

 dicators, such as, the average content of nutrients 

 in chemical fertilizers, the drilling speed of oil 

 and gas drilling equipment, and the proportion of to- 

 tal steel output per plant produced by the continuous 

 smelting method. 51 The orientation of these indica- 

 tors is clearly economic and demonstrates that pres- 

 sure on the scientific community is strong and grow- 

 ing to induce all researchers, designers, and engi- 

 neers to serve the needs of the economy. 



It is of course difficult to conceive of a set of 

 concrete indicators which might represent the level 

 of achievement in a particular scientific discipline, 

 especially in fundamental research. This is also at- 

 tributable to the fact that no single organizational 

 unit is held responsible for advance in a specific 

 field, though leading Academy of Sciences departments, 

 councils, and facilities would come closer to assum- 

 ing this role than any comparable American facility. 

 Accordingly, the state of advance in a scientific 

 discipline is evaluated in informal discussion within 

 the relevant scientific community and more formal de- 

 liberation in a scientific problem council of the 

 Academy or of the GKNT responsible for the area. So- 

 viet status relative to the rest of the world is also 

 certainly an important consideration. 



Prospective paths of scientific and technical ad- 

 vance are determined through forecasts, a procedure 

 which really constitutes the first stage of planning. 

 Much attention has been given in the USSR in recent 

 years to S&T forecasting. Its development has been 

 encouraged in large part to broaden the short time 



110 



