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6 / IMPROVING TH£ ALLOCATION PROCESS 



TABLE 1. 1 Federal Science and Technology': Examples of Work That Enables 

 Continuing U.S^ Innovation 



Characteristics 



Examples (Funding Agencies) 



Basic Research 



Creates new knowledge: is 

 generic, non-appropriable, and 

 openly available; is often done 

 with no specific application in 

 mind; requires a long-term 

 commitment 



Characterizing the mechanism of 

 Alzheimer's disease — at many 

 universities and NIH (NIH) 



Studying the physics of cloud formation — 

 at universities and the National Center 

 for Atmospheric Research (NOAA. NSF) 



Exploring the chemistr>' of photo- 

 s\'nthesis — at many universities and 

 federal laboratories (USDA, NSF) 



Elucidating basic components of matter 

 through particle physics — at Fermi 

 Laboratory' and many universities 

 (DOE, NSF) 



Understanding how earthquakes and 

 volcanoes are related to plate tectonics — 

 at imiversities and USGS laboratories 

 (USGS, NSF) . ^ . ., 



Exploring the changes in the universe over 

 time through astronomy and cosmology — 

 at universities, national laboratories, and 

 NASA centers (NSF NASA, DOE) 



Studying how language is acquired — at 

 imiversities (NSF NIH) 



Studying risk perception and methods of 

 risk management — at universities and 

 EPA, DOE, and DOD laboratories 

 (EPA. DOE, DOD, NSF) 



Applied Research 



Uses research methods to address 

 questions with a specific purpose; 

 pays explicit attention to 

 producing knowledge relevant 

 to producing a technology' or 

 ser\'ice; overlaps extensiveh' 

 with basic research; can be 

 short- or long-term 



Predicting ground motion and landslides 

 caused by earthquakes — at universities 

 and federal laboratories (USGS) 



Discovering flexible, non-brittle, 

 manufacturable, high-temperature 

 superconducting wire — at Los Alamos 

 National Laboratory and universities 

 (DOE. DOD) 



Conducting clinical research on cancer 

 chemotherapy and clinical trial 

 methodologv'— at NIH, FDA, and 

 academic health centers (NIH, FDA, CDC) 



Studying ethnography and sociology of 

 drug abuse rituals related to AIDS 

 transmission — at state health departments 

 and universities (NIH. CDC) 



Studying econometric projection 

 techniques — in universities and various 

 federal agencies (NSF DHHS, USDA,DOD) 



