521 



Oil the other liand, the Service could point out at an early point the 

 opportunities offered by potentially important and beneficial new tech- 

 nology. While it is true that the development of a technology cannot 

 be hurried except at great cost, it is also true that opportunities for 

 important social gains from technological innovation can be lost or 

 unduly delayed for want of prompt recognition and selective 

 sponsorship. 



The Service might make its own estimates of the kinds and scope of 

 factual information likely to be needed by the Congress in the political 

 evaluation of teclinical goals and programs needed to preserve U.S. 

 welfare and safety in a technological environment. It could develop 

 and maintain bibliographies, data files, and other information re- 

 sources including computer data bases, to provide this information. 

 The information might include periodic tabulations of U.S. goals for 

 basic sciences, applied sciences, and engineering technology, in physi- 

 cal, biological, medical, and social science fields. 



For those technical issues that the Service judged were likely to be- 

 come politically important and urgent, the Service could develop and 

 maintain plans that could be offered for congressional investigations 

 of such issues. The plans might include analyses of the issue and its 

 implications, lists of salient questions to elicit needed information, 

 abstracts of pertinent literature, rosters and biographical data about 

 professionally qualified witnesses, and appropriate methodologies for 

 gathering and analyzing the technical information about the issue. 



The Service could respond to congressional Member and committee 

 requests for consultation and advice on the factual aspects and conse- 

 quences of alternative actions relative to technical issues, and to 

 identify persons professionally qualified to serve as witnesses or pro- 

 fessional consultants to develop further information about each such 

 alternative. 



The Service might be instructed to publish from time to time con- 

 cise anticipatoiy reports and forecasts judged helpful to inform the 

 Congress of the possible or probable emergence of a teclinical issue of 

 outstanding importance in terms of potential social advantage or po- 

 tentially serious consequences. 



In connection with its function of maintaining contacts with the pro- 

 fessional and technical disciplines, in universities, professional socie- 

 ties, foundations, not-for-profit corporations, and private industry, the 

 Service might be expected to contribute professional studies and papers 

 to the establislied professional media and at symposia and seminars in 

 the United States and occasionally elsewhere. Arrangements might be 

 developed for the substantial interchange of personnel between the 

 Service and academic research activities on a temporary or loan basis. 

 If such persomiel on loan to the Service were available as full-time 

 consultants to congressional committees investigating jiroblems in 

 areas in which the loan personnel possessed special qualifications, the 

 congressional resources of information would be strengthened in 

 breadth of scope, depth of expertise, and degree of flexibility. 



Finally, the Service might periodically assess its own operation, 

 function's, organization, and resources of personnel and information, 

 in order to report on ways of strengthening the Service to be respon- 

 sive to the growing and changing needs of the Congress. 



O 



