208 



Exhibit 1 



Table 1-1 — ^Tensions in the Federal Research System 



Centralization of Federed research planning 

 Ck>ncentrated excellence 



"Market" forces to determine the shape of 



the system 

 Continuity in funding of senior investigators 

 Peer review-based allocation 



Set-£iside programs 



Conservatism in funding allocation 

 Perception of a "total research budget" 

 Dollars for facilities or training 

 Large-scale, multiyear, capital-intensive, 



high-cost, per-investigator initiatives 

 Training more researchers and creating 



more competition for funds 

 Emulating mentors' career paths 

 Relying on historic methods to build the 



research work force 



Pluralistic, decentralized agendes 



Regional and institutional development (to 

 enlarge capacity) 



Political intervention (targeted by goal, 

 agency, program, institution) 



Provisions for young investigators 



Other funding decision mechanisms (agency 

 manager discretion, congressional ear- 

 marking) 



Mainstreamingciiteriainaddition to scientific 

 merit (e.g., race/ethnidty, gender, prind- 

 pal investigator age, geographic region) 



Risk-taking 



Reality of disaggregated funding dedsions 



Dollars for research projects 



Individual investigator and small-team, 1 -5 

 year projects 



Training fewer researchers and easing com- 

 petition for funds 



Encouraging a diversity of career paths 



Broadening the partidpation of traditionally 

 underrepresented groups 



SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. 1991. 



