OVERVIEW 



General Observations and Highlights 



Perhaps the broadest generahzation that can be 

 made is that agencies have difficulty making a 

 sharp distinction between basic and applied re- 

 search. The great variation in reporting of re- 

 search by basic, applied, and other categories can 

 lead to serious discrepancies in Government-wide 

 data on research and development. Given this and 

 other limitations stated below, it is still possible, 

 based on the inputs from the mission agencies, to 

 make some general observations on accomplish- 

 ments, trends, problems, and issues concerning 

 basic research supported by the Federal Govern- 

 ment.' These are, in brief: 



1 . Basic research is useful. 



• Federally supported basic research has 

 produced and continues to produce signifi- 

 cant additions to scientific knowledge that 

 are or promise to be of high potential in 

 addressing national problems and con- 

 cerns. Moreover, mission agencies, in the 

 main, acknowledge payoffs from their in- 

 vestments in basic research. Examples of 

 interesting payoffs are listed below in the 

 section "Examples of Basic Research." 



2. Federal support of basic research has de- 

 clined in constant dollars over the last 10 years. 



• In current dollars. Federal basic research 

 obligations have grown by an average of 

 4.3 percent annually from 1968 to 1976 but 

 have declined by 1.8 percent annually in 

 constant dollars. Although there has been 

 a significant upward trend since 1975, esti- 

 mated basic research obligations for 1978, 

 as shown in the President's budget, are 5 

 percent lower in constant dollars than 1968 

 obligations. 



3. Mission agencies have expressed certain 

 concerns about the funding of basic research. 



• The chief agency concerns have to do 

 with (1) sharp yearly fluctuations in budget 

 authority and (2) legislative expansion of 

 agency responsibilities without commen- 

 surate increases in funding. The latter un- 

 intentionally can lead to reductions in ba- 

 sic research funding to meet operational or 

 other requirements. 



Several agencies ( including the National 

 Bureau of Standards (NBS), the United 



'For a description of the methodology used in preparing this 

 report, see the Foreword and Appendix C. 



States Geological Survey (USGS), and the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 

 ministration (NOAA)) point out that fund- 

 ing for research has not kept pace with 

 their increased responsibilities. NBS notes 

 that a large number of tasks have been 

 mandated by the Congress in 15 laws 

 passed since 1965, frequently with no 

 funds appropriated to carry them out. 

 USGS lists 13 pieces of legislation in the 

 last 9 years that have increased its respon- 

 sibilities without providing increased re- 

 sources with which to meet them. 



• Limited funding and unpredicta!?ility of 

 funding are viewed as primary barriers to 

 the conduct and support of basic research. 



• Major agency concerns about research in 

 universities relate to the quality and ade- 

 quacy of science manpower supply; insta- 

 bility of funding; increasing red tape in 

 recordkeeping and reporting; and shifts 

 from basic to applied research, from long- 

 to short-term projects, and from high- to 

 low-risk projects. 



4. A number of factors have affected the em- 

 phasis on and conduct of basic research. 



• Certain legislation, specifically the Mans- 

 field amendment, appears to have caused 

 some agencies to deemphasize basic re- 

 search. 



• General legislation cited as affecting per- 

 formers of agency-supported basic re- 

 search includes laws dealing with safety, 

 civil rights, protection of the environment, 

 and preservation of endangered species. 

 Specific acts of legislation and regulations 

 required by legislation affecting the con- 

 duct of basic research include those relat- 

 ing to use of experimental animals and 

 human subjects, protection of privacy, 

 research on the human fetus, and use of 

 dangerous drugs. 



• A proliferation of bureaucratic regulations, 

 some of them resulting from the series of 

 social and health laws passed by the Con- 

 gress, requires agencies to place what 

 seem to be serious hindrances on perform- 

 ers of federally funded research. 



One agency finds that Government regulations 

 regarding the control, design, and use of, survey 

 questionnaires and protocol pose serious barriers 



XV 



