amount of resources to devote to basic research 

 in competition with development programs. 

 AFOSR, with the cooperation and coordination of 

 the Air Force laboratories, manages the program 

 at the determined level. 



Annual research program reviews with the 

 Office of the Director of Defense Research and 

 Engineering ensure that the Air Force program is 

 coordinated with those of the other services. 

 Meetings with other Government agencies and the 

 scientific community on both a formal and infor- 

 mal basis assure a sound scientific program that is 

 unique to the Air Force. 



The optimum situation for Air Force research 

 would be enough good scientists working on ev- 

 ery identified problem reasonably to assure its 

 solution. Lack of resources forces the program to 

 focus on certain higher priority problems and ig- 

 nore others. For instance, of 489 research objec- 

 tives identified by Air Force Systems Command, 

 the Air Force research plan identified work on 

 only 297, or 61 percent, in FY 1978. 



In-house Research 



Normally, new in-house research is proposed 

 during the laboratory planning cycle. Each of the 

 1 1 Air Force laboratories submits its research 

 plan to AFOSR in the fall. This plan concentrates 

 on the fiscal year following the one about to be- 

 gin. For instance, plans submitted in autumn 1977 

 will concentrate on work to be done in FY 1979. 

 Research is proposed in response to the Research 

 Planning Guide. 



Each research effort is reviewed by at least two 

 higher levels of management twice a year. Pro- 

 gress, problems, the budget, and milestones are 

 reviewed. Decisions on continuation of the effort, 

 relative importance of the work, etc., are based in 

 part on these reviews. 



Each laboratory director also has a relatively 

 small amount of money for use in funding small 

 high-risk, high-potential payoff projects. This fund 

 can be used quickly to follow developments oc- 

 curring outside the normal planning cycle. Pro- 

 jects funded this way are expected to be integrat- 

 ed into the regular laboratory program if they 

 show promise or cancelled before they get too 

 big. 



The contract and grant program managed by 

 AFOSR relies primarily on the submission of 

 unsolicited proposals for initiation of new work. 

 Proposals are selected on the basis of originality, 

 significance to science, scientific competence of 

 the investigator, the appropriateness of the pro- 

 posed research to the Air Force, and the reasona- 

 bleness of the proposed budget. All AFOSR pro- 

 grams are also reviewed at least twice annually. 



Interagency Coordination of Basic Research 



Coordination and cooperation are basic to the 

 orderly conduct of research. The most fundamen- 

 tal forms of coordination are the wide reading by, 

 and active participation in scientific societies of, 

 individual project scientists and program managers. 



In many cases, several agencies have an inter- 

 est in conducting or sponsoring research in the 

 same fields of science. When interest is wide 

 enough, or the investment large enough, commit- 

 tees or groups are often formed to direct and co- 

 ordinate the efforts of the interested parties. Un- 

 necessary duplication can be avoided, results dis- 

 seminated more rapidly, and assurances given that 

 all relevant problems are being addressed. A few 

 of the many examples of this kind of formal inter- 

 agency coordination are cited below. 



• The Joint Services Research Offices Ad Hoc 

 Working Group addresses problems unique 

 to each service's research mission and focus- 

 es on ways to institute and maximize cooper- 

 ative efforts. 



• The DOD/NASA Aircraft Simulation Coordi- 

 nation Group has representatives from the 

 three services, the Federal Aviation Adminis- 

 tration (FAA), and NASA. The purpose of 

 the group is to exchange plans and ideas on 

 current research and development activities 

 and to speed dissemination and utilization of 

 research findings. 



• The National Academy of Sciences Commit- 

 tee on Geodesy, with members from DOD, 

 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 

 ministration (NOAA), NASA, and the U.S. 

 Geodetic Survey, provides direction to the 

 academic research community by advertising 

 relevant problems to their respective organi- 

 zations. The committee also facilitates intera- 

 gency dissemination of research results. 



• The Interagency Materials Group, which co- 

 ordinates basic research in materials, is spon- 

 sored by DOD, the Department of Transpor- 

 tation (DOT), the Department of the Interior 

 (DI), NASA, NSF, and occasionally the Na- 

 tional Institutes of Health (NIH). Detailed 

 information on research objectives, program 

 thrusts, and budgetary trends is exchanged 

 to assess anticipated impacts resulting from 

 individual agency actions. 



The Air Force research program is conducted both 

 in-house. at all of the Air Force Laboratories, and 

 extramurally in universities, industry, and not-for- 

 profit organizations. It has contributed research re- 

 sults that have benefited the Air Force, with spin- 

 offs that have been utilized by others outside the Air 

 Force. It is currently a healthy, viable program with 

 the expectation of contributing more to the well- 

 being of the Nation's technology base. 



DEFENSE 85 



