SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, 1970-79 603 



In announcing the publication of a report on September 4, 1979, 

 entitled "Interview of National Science Foundation Program Officers," 

 Brown stated: 



It is clear from the interview project that the National Science Foundation's 

 program officers arc an outstanding group, but the Foundation must stay aware of the 

 quality of the work life of its program officers and take that quality into account in 

 its management and policymaking actions. 



The interviews were completed primarily by Dr. Thomas R. Kramer, 

 who scheduled two-hour interviews with each of 25 NSF program 

 officers. The interviews dealt with the role of program officers in 

 preparing the NSF budget, their role in the administration of grant 

 applications and awards, and NSF support of its program officers. 



From September 11-13, 1979, the subcommittee started the second 

 round of its hearings to continue its yearlong study of the NSF charter. 

 In announcing the hearings, Brown posed these questions: 



How well has the National Science Foundation performed the tasks which Con- 

 gress set out for it in the basic Act of 1950? What roles, responsibilities, and missions 

 should the Foundation assume in the future? What tools will it need in the years 

 ahead to accomplish its work? These questions will play a central part in public 

 hearings to be held by the subcommittee. The questions were raised by the subcom- 

 mittee over 10 years ago and now need to be reexamined. Since that time, there have 

 been significant changes in the organization and support of science by the Federal 

 government, and in how citizens view science as a national enterprise. For example, 

 new technology-oriented agencies, like the Department of Energy and the Environ- 

 mental Protection Agency, have been created to apply the products of science to 

 national needs. College enrollments are declining and changes in science education 

 have occurred or are being proposed. At the same time, while unmatched in Nobel 

 prizes, the country has lost much of the competitive edge that depends on industrial 

 innovation and superior productivity. These changes suggest that we should thought- 

 fully reconsider the role of NSF in support of science. 



During September 1979, the subcommittee also broadened its 

 inquiry into innovation and productivity with held hearings in Har- 

 risburg, Pennsylvania. Brown announced that "because of his keen 

 interest in the issue of innovation and productivity," Ertel would 

 take a lead role in chairing the Harrisburg hearings. Ertel commented: 



I am convinced that a good deal of the R. & D. undertaken at the Federal level 

 can be very useful to state and local governments if appropriate transfer mechanisms 

 are in place. I am equally convinced that the Federal Government can and must take 

 an active role in assisting the private sector to improve its innovative and, thereby, 

 its productive capacity. 



The subcommittee staff spent many weeks on the issue of science 

 and technology in the White House and the Executive Office of the 

 President. The long and highly successful efforts of the full committee, 

 culminating in the passage of the National Science and Technology 

 Policy, Organization and Priorities Act of 1976, are the subject of the 

 next chapter. 



