52 



with advising the Federal Government upon request on scientific 

 and technical issues. However, despite the fact that the Academy 

 freely provided such advice, its work had been predominantly ori- 

 ented toward the Executive Branch. Such had been the case even 

 during the early months of the Academy's newly-created Commit- 

 tee on Science and Public Policy (COSPUP). The Academy estab- 

 lished the Committee on Government Relations in 1961 (it was re- 

 named COSPUP in February 1963) as a means of expanding its 

 participation in the formation of national science policy and to pro- 

 vide advice concerning the status and needs of particular scientific 

 disciplines. 39 Under the chairmanship of George B. Kistiakowsky, 

 a former science adviser to President Eisenhower, COSPUP culti- 

 vated close working relations with several Federal agencies and de- 

 partments and began preparing a number of detailed studies at 

 their request. 40 



Yet the Academy leadership was also interested in improving its 

 organization's relations with Congress, especially in light of their 

 desire to enlarge the Academy's science policymaking role. Having 

 announced the Academy's willingness to expand its services to Con- 

 gress, Academy President Frederick Seitz met with House Commit- 

 tee on Science and Astronautics Chairman George P. Miller and 

 Subcommittee on Science, Research and Development Chairman 

 Emilio Q. Daddario in December 1963. A formal agreement was 

 reached in which the National Academy of Sciences would advise 

 the Congress on science policy issues. More specifically, it was de- 

 cided that COSPUP would undertake a series of studies for the 

 Daddario Subcommittee which would be financed by, and made 

 available to, Congress. As a result of this arrangement, three stud- 

 ies were ultimately prepared. 41 



Despite the usefulness of these studies and the link to the scien- 

 tific community which COSPUP offered Congress, close and sus- 

 tained working relations between COSPUP and Congress were 

 never developed. This was a result of several factors. Perhaps most 

 importantly, COSPUP and the National Academy of Sciences never 

 lost their Executive Branch orientation. Key COSPUP and Acade- 

 my members maintained close ties (official and unofficial) with nu- 

 merous executive agencies and advisory groups, and conducted a 



39 For the background of COSPUP, see Kormehl, "COSPUP, Congress, and Scientific Advice," 

 pp. 100-120; and Harvey Brooks, "A Brief History of the Committee for Science and Public 

 Policy of the National Academy of Sciences," unpublished paper, 1972, in the files of the Com- 

 mittee for Science, Engineering and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, 

 D.C. My thanks to COSEPUP Executive Director Allan R. Hoffman for bringing both articles to 

 my attention. 



40 COSPUP produced a number of specialized studies on specific scientific disciplines. Al- 

 though these studies proved useful in setting Federal policy for the support of science within a 

 particular field, they made no comparison between different fields of science and were therefore 

 of limited assistance to those officials charged with making overall allocation decisions for sci- 

 ence. These disciplinary reviews prepared by COSPUP and published by the National Academy 

 of Sciences in Washington, D.C, included: Ground-Based Astronomy: A Ten-Year Program (1964), 

 Chemistry: Opportunities and Needs (1965), Physics: Survey and Outlook (1966), The Plant Sci- 

 ences: Now and in the Coming Decade (1966), The Mathematical Sciences: A Report (1968), The 

 Behavioral and Social Sciences: Outlook and Needs (1969), Report on the Life Sciences (1970), and 

 Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1970's (1972). See also, William W. Lowrance, "The NAS 

 Surveys of Fundamental Research 1962-1974, in Retrospect," Science, 197 (September 23, 1977), 

 1254-1260. 



4 1 The three COSPUP studies prepared for, and published by, the House Committee on Sci- 

 ence and Astronautics were Basic Research and National Goals (1965), Applied Science and 

 Technological Progress (1967), and Technology: Process of Assessment and Choice (1969). 



