20 THE HIVE-YEAR OUTLOOK 



dominate. Examples of such activities now ongoing in- 

 clude advanced energy research and development and 

 space research. The United States and Japan are cooperat- 

 ing in a number of advanced energy-related research pro- 

 grams, especially in fusion research, and we cooperate 

 with several other countries in advanced fusion R&D 

 (ENERGY). 



In addition to such official bilateral and multilateral 

 programs, cooperation between individual American sci- 

 entists or private firms and their foreign counterparts 

 should continue to provide opportunities for stimulating 

 advances in U.S. science and technology. It is particularly 

 noteworthy that the considerable investments of U.S. 

 firms in R&D abroad result in benefits to the U.S. econo- 

 my as well. 



There may also be some important lessons for the U.S. 

 science and technology enterprise to learn from the expe- 

 riences of other industrialized countries. For example, in 

 France, West Germany, and. to a lesser extent, the United 

 Kingdom, a considerably higher proportion of basic re- 

 search is carried out in national laboratories and non- 

 university research institutes than in the United States. 

 where the bulk of such research is done in universities or 

 laboratories managed by universities. Indeed, there are 

 few U.S. counterparts to the nonuniversity system of 

 research institutes supported by the French and West 

 German governments; our national laboratories are 

 among the few examples. Those laboratories and in- 

 stitutes, as well as European research universities, are 

 guaranteed base levels of research support from their 

 governments, and those base levels can be augmented by 

 special project grants. In contrast, about 60 percent of 

 academic research in the United States is supported solely 

 through the project grant system. Research funding typ- 

 ically is for longer time periods in those European coun- 

 tries than in the United States. These factors can provide 

 the stability required for carrying out long-term specula- 

 tive research projects. Moreover, longer term funding 

 and/or greater provision of base support reduces the ad- 

 ministrative burden on individual scientists (NRC-13). 



On the other hand, there are disadvantages to the Euro- 

 pean system and obvious hazards would accompany try- 

 ing to use the European system as a guide for long-range 

 planning in the United States. For example, the integra- 

 tion of teaching and research has been essential to the 

 U.S. academic system, and any weakening of those links 

 should not be undertaken lightly. Moreover, European 

 specialists are themselves concerned about the declining 

 growth rates of academic research, indicating that they 

 have not yet solved the problem of support to their own 

 satisfaction.' However, since the pressures on university 

 research as it is presently conducted in the United States 

 are likely to persist, it may be worth investigating the 

 European experience in greater detail to determine which 

 elements, if any, could be transferable (NRC-13). 



U.S. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RELATIVE 

 TO THE U.S.S.R." 



Together, the investments of the United States and the 

 Soviet Union account for a large majority of total world 

 investments in science and technology. The Soviet Union 

 has long recognized that progress in science and technol- 

 ogy is essential to both military and economic 

 development. 



Available information suggests that the resources com- 

 mitted to conducting science and technology in the Soviet 

 Union are quite extensive. The ratio of national R&D 

 expenditures to the Gross National Product in the 

 U.S.S.R. rose above that of the United States in 1967, and 

 it now is the largest in the world {SI-80). Cost estimates 

 for military research, development, test, and evaluation 

 (RDT&E) expenditures indicate that the Soviet Union has 

 probably exceeded annual U.S. expenditures in those 

 areas during each of the past 10 years and that RDT&E 

 enjoys an increasing share of Soviet military outlays (NS). 

 On the other hand, overall U.S. R&D expenditures still 

 exceed those of the U.S.S.R., and U.S. civilian R&D 

 expenditures are much larger than those of the Soviet 

 Union. The human resources committed to science and 

 technology activities in the Soviet Union also appear 

 relatively more extensive, although the emphasis is again 

 on military R&D (Sl-80). 



Soviet scientists and engineers have made impressive 

 contributions in a number of fields. They include, among 

 the fundamental sciences: mathematics, theoretical phys- 

 ics, astronomy, and accelerator development. Most nota- 

 bly, the U.S.S.R. has made significant strides in both civil 

 and military space applications and in applying R&D to 

 national defense. While the United States maintains its 

 leadership in most of the basic technologies critical to 

 defense, the Soviet Union is closing the gap in several key 

 technologies, including electro-optical sensors, guidance 

 and navigation, hydroacoustic technology, optics, and 

 propulsion (NS). 



However, in spite of its impressive achievements in 

 these and a few other areas, the overall results of the 

 massive Soviet commitment to science and technology 

 have been less than might be expected. The U.S.S.R.'s 

 failure to apply science and technology to increasing 

 agricultural productivity is well known, and the U.S.S.R. 

 is far behind the United States in the development and use 

 of computer and communications technologies. More 

 generally, the Soviet Union has been relatively unsuccess- 

 ful in exploiting R&D for innovations in manufacturing 

 industries and for purposes of economic growth. 



American (and Soviet) analysts have pondered the 

 causes of this disappointing performance for years. Dur- 

 ing the Stalin years, the need for scientists to demonstrate 

 ideological purity inhibited advances in several scientific 

 fields, most notably genetics.^ The present harrassment of 



