NDRC OF OSRD — THE COMMITTEE 63 



formed it was stated that members of the Committee would have access 

 to any and all reports and might visit any of the contractors. 



Committee members were to have no executive authority or responsi- 

 bility. All information concerning the progress of work was to flow to the 

 Director of OSRD through the Chairman's Office and similarly, com- 

 munications from the Director's Office and decisions on matters of policy 

 should flow from the Director's Office through the Chairman's Office to 

 the Division Chiefs. Administrative problems handled by the Adminis- 

 trative Office of OSRD would flow directly to the Division Chiefs. 



The new organization was made effective as of December 9, 1942, for 

 most of the divisions and panels and shortly thereafter for the remainder 

 of the eighteen original divisions. Division 19 was added April 12, 1943. 

 The Engineering Panel, one of the two original panels, was soon dropped 

 in favor of the Engineering and Transition Office which was originally 

 placed under the Director of OSRD but later became a part of the Office 

 of the Chairman of NDRC. Matters of psychology, which had been re- 

 served under the initial plan for reorganization, were turned over to the 

 Applied Psychology Panel upon its creation on September 18, 1943. 



Functioning under the New Organization 



In practice, Division Chiefs submitted proposals for contracts so as to 

 reach the Executive Secretary by 10 a.m. on Wednesday of each week. 

 The proposals were given a preliminary review at a conference attended 

 by the Executive Officer, Deputy Executive Officers, and staff aides of 

 NDRC and the Executive Secretary. The proposals were then bound to- 

 gether and laid before the Committee on Friday, at which time the Ex- 

 ecutive Officer would invite particular attention to proposals which might 

 seem open to question. In cases where urgency had been established by the 

 Division Chief, the Committee by unanimous consent could give immedi- 

 ate consideration to a proposal just laid before it. The normal procedure, 

 however, was for the proposals to lay over until the following Friday to 

 give the members of the Committee an opportunity to analyze the pro- 

 posals. It was not unusual for a Committee member upon reviewing a par- 

 ticular proposal to desire further information which he would seek from 

 the Chairman's Office. When that proposal was called up for action, the 

 Executive Officer either would have the requested information or he would 

 have arranged for the Division Chief or a Technical Aide to appear in 

 person before the Committee for further exposition of the proposal. Occa- 

 sionally the Committee would have sufficient doubt as to the course of 

 action it should take to ask the appropriate reviewing subcommittee to 

 meet with the division and canvass the program in detail with a report 

 back to the full Committee at a subsequent date. 



