funds include ships (NOAA, Navy, NSF-support- 

 ed university ships), telescopes (NSF), accelera- 

 tors (ERDA, NSF), and wind tunnels (NASA), as 

 well as many other specialized services and equip- 

 ment. Some laboratories, such as the Joint Insti- 

 tute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA), are 

 jointly supported by an agency and a university as 

 a center for specialized studies. 



ARPA, on occasions when it undertook very 

 specialized research, needed particular types of 

 laboratories (e.g., materials laboratories) and ar- 

 ranged for their establishment on university cam- 

 puses. In keeping with ARPA's policy, support 

 was discontinued once the special purpose was 

 fulfilled. NSF, however, noting that the results of 

 ARPA's research in the materials laboratories 

 added considerably to the total strength of the 

 Nation's research effort, and to avoid losing these 

 laboratories, undertook their support. 



The selection of a laboratory to carry out agen- 

 cy research also involves considering whether the 

 research environment will be conducive to work 

 on the problems that will be undertaken. An aca- 

 demic atmosphere, for example, is preferred for 

 many laboratories that will concentrate on basic 

 research; a more industrial atmosphere may be 

 desired for other research. 



Agriculture, NOAA, and ERDA have estab- 

 lished laboratories on or near university campuses 

 to promote a vigorous atmosphere for research. 

 In this way they can make their special equipment 

 available to the university research staff, arrange 

 special joint appointments, take advantage of the 

 easy exchange of ideas inherent in the university 

 research community, and find new research ideas 

 for their own problems. 



Fifty or more federally supported laboratories 

 (FFRDC's and others) are available in this country 

 as research centers for visiting scientists. They are 

 managed by a variety of organizations; many are 

 located on or near university campuses. Whether 

 their mission is broad or specific, all operate to 

 enhance the capabilities in the laboratories and 

 provide suitable sites that agencies can select for 

 their projects. (The reader is referred to Chapter 1 

 for examples of their programs and management.) 



Establishment of Priorities 



In most agencies, setting priorities begins with 

 an analysis of the programs and activities of the 

 divisions supporting research. Agency require- 

 ments derive from legal, congressional, and con- 

 stituency pressures or from executive branch de- 

 cisions on general national priorities. These priori- 



ties in most cases are based on general agency 

 responsibilities and related R&D activities needed 

 to meet agency objectives. 



In the Department of Agriculture, for example, 

 basic research needs are suggested by scientists in 

 the State agricultural centers, regional research 

 centers, cooperating university departments, and 

 other research groups working in agricultural re- 

 search who become aware of needs and problems 

 through their applied work. These suggestions are 

 then discussed on several coordinating planning 

 levels, where the project area is considered in 

 light of current agricultural problems. All sugges- 

 tions are then ranked by senior staff in the Agri- 

 cultural Research Service management and plan- 

 ning system. Other agencies (such as NASA, the 

 Department of Transportation (DOT), and the 

 Department of the Interior) determine which areas 

 seem most likely to contribute to the current 

 objectives of the agency, based on public demand 

 and administrative requirements. From these pos- 

 sible choices, selected basic research projects are 

 programed and given priority within the agen- 

 cy's activities. Similarly, the three services in 

 DOD each review the urgency of their require- 

 ments as determined by military planning and pol- 

 icy discussions, convert these into field and oper- 

 ational requirements of the particular service, and 

 then assign priorities in the R&D plan. The basic 

 research needed to support this work is then pro- 

 gramed and given priority within the limits of 

 available personnel and funds. ONR depends on 

 the program managers' familiarity with both the 

 scientific and Navy operational needs in setting 

 priorities in the basic areas. They also seek advice 

 from the National Academy of Sciences. The 

 Army bases its decisions on written guidelines 

 that state certain scientific objectives to be con- 

 sidered in the selection of research projects. 



In NIH, priorities are in a constant state of ad- 

 justment in the various institutes and in the agen- 

 cy's university-related basic research programs. 

 Priority decisions in various fields are made by 

 program directors, who feed this information into 

 the administrative planning activities in each an- 

 nual planning cycle. In ADAMHA, research prior- 

 ities are established during the budgetary planning 

 process that takes place at nearly every manage- 

 ment level. 



In all agencies, then, mission requirements de- 

 termine priorities. Priorities are always subject to 

 change, however, because of new program 

 thrusts, scientific breakthroughs, or budget 

 changes. Continued flexibility in establishing 

 priorities is essential so that research efforts can 

 be channeled into the areas currently most pro- 

 ductive. 



AGENCY SUPPORT OF BASIC RESEARCH BY FIELD OF SCIENCE 271 



