BASIC RESEARCH IN GOVERNMENT LABORATORIES 



research, and this is not enough. I am aware that there is a 

 need to appreciate that the federal science budget is only a 

 part or the total federal budget, but it seems to me that within 

 any limitation set on federal science expenditures the percent- 

 age made available for basic research should be greater. I be- 

 lieve that this should be the case even if it means restricting 

 some urgent development activities. I believe that in the long 

 run the nation and the nation's science will benefit from invest- 

 ments on a higher percentage level in basic research. 



This higher percentage investment in basic research will 

 have important secondary effects on the work of government 

 laboratories. If government laboratories continue to perform 

 about one-third of the basic activities that are financed with 

 federal funds, then the absolute amount available for in-house 

 fundamental studies will increase. This will also influence sig- 

 nificantly the programs of federal laboratories. For with more 

 money available for basic research in government institutions, 

 federal agencies will be encouraged to contract out to industry 

 for some of the applied research and almost all development 

 activities now performed by government scientists. Thus there 

 would be achieved a realignment with a heavier weighting 

 toward basic research in federal laboratories. This would mean 

 that eventually there would be a shifting toward basic research 

 in government laboratories and a shifting of development to 

 industry. I believe that all government laboratories would bene- 

 fit from such a shift, including government laboratories of the 

 Department of Defense. 



Because I feel strongly about this point, let me summarize 

 it here. First, there should be a conscious policy and strong 

 effort to increase the percentage of federal science funds de- 

 voted to basic research. Second, federal laboratories should 

 increase their conduct of basic research and contract out for 

 more of their development activities. 



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