National Institute of Education 



All of HEW's basic research in education is 

 conducted by the National Institute of Education 

 (NIE). Obligations for 1977 (all designated for the 

 social sciences) are estimated at $11.9 million; 

 about 18 percent of this is reported as intramural, 

 mostly administrative costs of the program. NIE 

 provides support for 17 R&D centers and educa- 

 tional laboratories. These are not Government ac- 

 tivities, although they were created by the Office 

 of Education and. in many cases, were provided 

 buildings at Government expense. They are non- 

 profit operations, usually located at universities, 

 but NIE has a continuing responsibility to fund 

 their operation. This is accomplished by contract; 

 changes in programs require contract modifica- 

 tions. Through fiscal year 1977, the research pro- 

 gram has been determined by NIE, although in 

 many cases this has meant that NIE directed a 

 laboratory to continue work on a program that had 

 been initiated by the laboratory. New legislation 

 requires that, beginning in fiscal year 1978, NIE 

 will change to a system more like that of NIH. 

 Proposals will be received from the laboratories 

 and will be evaluated by a national panel. 



of which has laboratories as needed at headquarters 

 in Reston, Va., and at two regional headquarters in 

 Menio Park, Calif., and Denver, Colo. In addition, 

 the Geology Division has a center for Astrogeology 

 in Flagstaff, Ariz., and the Topographic Division has 

 its EROS Data Center near Sioux Falls, S. D. ( EROS 

 is the Earth Resources Observation System, which 

 uses satellite sensors.) There are several smaller 

 laboratories throughout the country . 



Laboratory directors are selected by the appro- 

 priate division director. Program determination 

 and budgeting are described as somewhat infor- 

 mal with continuous interaction between head- 

 quarters, field, and outside influences, such as 

 other agencies and State and local governments. 

 Budgets for field activities are prepared on the 

 basis of this interaction and are submitted to 

 headquarters for integration. Results of research 

 are subject to exhaustive peer review, both in- 

 house and externally. The Survey suffers to some 

 extent from problems similar to those reported by 

 NBS; the Survey lists 13 pieces of legislation in 

 the last 9 years that have increased its responsibil- 

 ities without providing corresponding increases in 

 resources. This has eroded the very necessary 

 long-term program. (See Chapter 7 on legislation 

 for further discussion of this point.) 



Department of Housing and Urban 

 Development 



The Department of Housing and Urban Devel- 

 opment reports no basic research at this time. 



Department of the Interior 



Interior reports 91 percent of its $124.6 million 

 basic research program for 1977 as intramural. 

 The Office of the Secretary manages some of the 

 Department's basic research, and the 29 percent 

 reported as intramural represents management 

 costs; the Office operates no laboratories. The 

 same is true for the Office of Water Research and 

 Technology, which reports 15 percent of its basic 

 research obligations as intramural and states that 

 none of its research is performed in-house. 



Geological Survey 



The largest component of Interior's 1977 basic 

 research is the $106.4 million program of the Geo- 

 logical Survey, which reports 96 percent as intra- 

 mural. The Survey is organized into divisions, each 



246 BASIC RESEARCH IN AGENCY LABORATORIES AND FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTERS 



Fish and Wildlife Service 



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports 87 

 percent of its $10.1 million basic research pro- 

 gram for 1977 as intramural. The Service has very 

 extensive field activities; the intramural basic re- 

 search is divided among most of the 35 fish and 

 wildlife research stations and laboratories. The 

 directors of these activities are selected by the 

 Associate Director for Environmental Research and 

 his deputy. Higher grade level appointments require 

 the approval of the Secretary. Research is not a pro- 

 gram in itself. There are 10 resource-oriented pro- 

 grams, each with a program manager who funds re- 

 search for his program to the extent he agrees is nec- 

 essary. The manager may submit a proposal to a lab- 

 oratory and if the laboratory agrees to do the work at 

 a cost acceptable to him, he will fund it. More fre- 

 quently, the laboratory will plan the research and 

 request the appropriate program managers to fund 

 their portions. An annual budget is worked out in this 

 way and the laboratory director has some discretion 

 for shifting funds during the year; any large shift has 

 to he cleared with the program manager. Part of the 

 Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution is an important laboratory for the Service. 

 Service personnel have a symbiotic relationship with 

 the Smithsonian; they use the museum's space and 

 collections in return for curating the North Ameri- 

 can Collections in their specialties. 



