Definition of Basic Research 



Such excitements and satisfactions, which sure- 

 ly benefit basic research, are strong elements in the 

 relationship between the Foundation and the scieri- 

 tists doing work under its auspices because their 

 research can truly be called basic research— that is 

 "systematic, intensive study directed primarily 

 toward greater knowledge or understanding of the 

 subject studied, rather than a practical use of this 

 knowledge or understanding."" ' The open and 

 competitive system by which researchers obtain 

 support for their initiatives permits them to pursue 

 their own ideas and press the very limits of their 

 creativity. 



Role of Basic Research 



Freedom of inquiry in the basic research it sup- 

 ports is not in conflict with the Foundation's 

 premise that basic research is a critical but often 

 unrecognized form of economic investment. It is 

 a lesson of long experience that basic research is a 

 well-spring of technology that leads to the creation 

 of new industries, improved services, more and 

 better jobs and other important material benefits. 

 Studies of the relation between basic research re- 

 sults and marketable applications of wide benefit 

 to society are extremely difficult to carry through 

 to conclusive results, partly because of the charac- 

 teristic timeiag between research and application 

 and the unpredictability of often serendipitous 

 events in arriving at application. 



The investment aspect of scientific inquiry is 

 recognized by the economist, Edward F. Denison, 

 in a major study, "Accounting for United States 

 Economic Growth 1929-1969."" It is estimated that 

 more than one-third of the growth in national in- 

 come during the postwar period flowed from ad- 

 vances in knowledge, particularly in the sciences 

 and the new technologies to which they gave rise. 

 A comparable process may be discerned in the 

 contributions of basic research to less strictly ma- 

 terial "quality of life'" benefits, particularly in the 

 environmental and health fields. For a variety of 

 reasons, the private sector lacks incentives to sup- 

 port basic research for which payofl" may be dis- 

 tant or nonexistent. Thus, there is a fundamental 

 realism in the funding of basic research through 

 the Foundation. 



In short, the bulk of Foundation support has 

 been and continues to be focused on fundamental 

 research conducted in the Nation's colleges and 



'Foundation definition of basic research. 



1 92 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 



universities. This support thereby advances scien- 

 tific knowledge and understanding, provides fruit- 

 ful experiences for young people entering careers 

 in science, and contributes to the economic and 

 social well-being of the United States. 



Apart from its support of individual scientists, 

 the Foundation contributes substantially to 

 achievements in basic research through a variety 

 of other activities: Providing facilities and instru- 

 mentation, funding large national facilities and 

 overseeing their management, maintaining surveys 

 and analyses of levels of resources available to 

 science, fostering improved dissemination of sci- 

 entific information among scientists in the United 

 States and its interchange with those abroad, and 

 promoting programs in science education. In in- 

 strumentation, the continuous refinement of means 

 of observation, measurement, analysis, data 

 collection, and data reduction is a key factor in 

 advances in basic scientific knowledge and under- 

 standing. Funding covers instrumentation aids 

 ranging from bench-size items such as electron 

 microscopes to the very large array of radio tele- 

 scopes now under construction in New Mexico. 

 The Foundation has responsibility for such large 

 facilities as five major astronomical observatories, 

 the National Magnet Laboratory, and the National 

 Center for Atmospheric Research, and provides 

 funds for the acquisition and operation of a flotilla 

 of research vessels. The Foundation's surveys and 

 analyses of the human, financial, and physical re- 

 sources for research and development are a pri- 

 mary and continuing source of detailed informa- 

 tion for the Federal Government and public and 

 private R&D institutions, as well as for the Foun- 

 dation itself in allocating its support, in performing 

 its integrating and balancing function in the overall 

 Federal support of basic research, and in its task 

 of monitoring the "health" of the various disci- 

 plines and of the Nation's scientific enterprise as a 

 whole. The Foundation's programs in support of 

 science education seek to strengthen that effort at 

 all levels, by improving science teaching and sci- 

 ence learning, finding and encouraging scientific 

 talent, and bringing understanding of science to 

 society. 



Examples of Basic Research 



Significant achievements by researchers support- 

 ed by the Foundation are reported in the subsec- 

 tions below describing program activities. Because 

 the Foundation itself does not conduct research, 

 measures of its achievements are found in the de- 

 grees of wisdom and alertness it demonstrates in 



