tutes and other universities and colleges in the 

 State compete for these funds through the insti- 

 tutes by developing and submitting specific re- 

 search proposals pursuant to OWRT guidelines 

 provided the institutes. 



Final selection of matching grant research pro- 

 posals is made by OWRT. However, advice and 

 recommendations received from the State direc- 

 tors are given careful consideration in this selec- 

 tion process. Most institutes employ a formal pro- 

 cedure, usually involving advisory committees, to 

 select the most appropriate proposals for submis- 

 sion to OWRT. Each proposal is accompanied by a 

 relevancy statement prepared by the director, and 

 in many cases the proposals are ranked in the or- 

 der that is most appropriate to the institute's re- 

 search program. In the selection of projects by 

 OWRT, regional distribution is considered, but 

 when submissions from all institutes are weighed, 

 the primary factors considered are the merit of the 

 proposed research and the development of a com- 

 patible research program. 



Saline Water Conversion Research 



Under the saline water conversion program, pro- 

 jects selected may be funded through contracts or 

 grants to universities, private industries, or other 

 qualified research organizations. Unsolicited pro- 

 posals are considered for all types of research, and 

 proposals for development or engineering research 

 may be solicited through established procedures. 

 Projects are normally selected for support on the 

 basis of scientific and technical merit, but cost 

 becomes a consideration in the case of solicited 

 procurements. 



Research Management Processes 



No research is conducted in agency laboratories. 

 For extramural research, final decisions on award 

 of grants and contracts are made by the Director 

 of OWRT on the basis of recommendations by the 



scientific staff, outside reviewers, or any other 

 group established to consider proposals and rec- 

 ommend selections. 



OWRT has no specific commitment to basic 

 research and is generally free to support research 

 on the basis of merit. However, the role of basic 

 research can be enhanced through illustrations of 

 its value in developing useful projects. For exam- 

 ple, basic studies sponsored by the Office of Saline 

 Water led directly to development and commer- 

 cialization of the reverse osmosis process. This 

 process will make up a major portion of the Bu- 

 reau of Reclamation's Yuma Desalting Project, 

 which will provide 100 million gallons of fresh 

 water per day for Mexico. 



Research projects are usually selected from a 

 group of unsolicited proposals, although occasion- 

 al requests for proposals are published. In any 

 case, the objective is to select projects on the basis 

 of merit and relevance to some recognized prob- 

 lem area. 



Under normal circumstances, an attempt is 

 made to fund projects to completion or until some 

 recognizable contribution has been made. Renewal 

 of the project is declined if progress is not appar- 

 ent. 



During the initial phases of a project, funding is 

 maintained at a level sufficient to demonstrate that 

 progress can be made. Once progress is demon- 

 strated, funding may be increased to achieve re- 

 sults within a shorter time. 



Priorities for basic research must be established 

 within the agency. OWRT has the requirement that 

 all work have potential to contribute to the solu- 

 tion of a water-related problem. On this basis, ba- 

 sic and applied research compete for funds. 



Within the saline water conversion program, 

 which has a development activity, transfer of 

 funds between research and development activities 

 is limited by law. Reprogramming usually is per- 

 mitted up to 10 percent of the authorized funds for 

 a given fiscal year. 



BUREAU OF RECLAMATION 



Definition of Basic Research 



Research is the process of seeking and discover- 

 ing new facts, principles, and techniques, or apply- 

 ing them to new purposes. Simply put, it is pros- 

 pecting for and utilizing new information. Re- 

 search is often further delineated as "basic" or 

 "applied," a distinction that is seldom completely 

 clear. Within the framework of Bureau activities, 

 to qualify as research (or development), the results 



must have application beyond a local area or a 

 project feature. 



Basic research, or fundamental research, is di- 

 rected simply toward an increase in scientific 

 knowledge, without necessarily a specific objec- 

 tive. In the Bureau, the amount of basic research 

 is relatively small, and the investigations have 

 identifiable objectives even though they are in the 

 realm of unknown scientific facts or principles. 



INTERIOR 137 



