Relation of the Federal Government to Research 



77 



On the other hand, the budget officer of a department 

 that has been relatively successful in expanding its 

 research program, in spite of occasional temporary 

 limitations, stated that there was little difficulty in 

 obtaining reasonable appropriations when the purpose 

 of the proposed research and the needs for it were 

 made clear. Similarly, fi-oni a large semiautonomous 

 bureau having both scientific and administrative work 

 comes the statement: "Wliile it has happened in the 

 past that some researches regarded by the Service as 

 urgent have been deferred or abandoned by lack of 

 funds, in general the value of research in (this field) 

 appears to have been well appreciated by the com- 

 mittees concerned" in tlie Department, the Bureau of 

 the Budget, and the Congress. 



Importance of Presentation. 



If research funds are harder to obtain than funds 

 for other purposes, the difficulty seems to lie not so 

 much in the research character of the work proposed 

 as in the failure of the person preparing and present- 

 ing the proposals to make a convincing case for the 

 particular program. Lack of a clear statement of the 

 function of the research program, and failure to re- 

 move specific objections of particular persons who may 

 be under a misapprehension, explain at least some 

 of the rejected requests for new or increased funds, 

 especially when the research proposals are in juxta- 

 position to well presented plans for other types of 

 work. Conversely, information in easily understood 

 form about the nature of the work and its immediate 

 and ultimate function is usually enough to obtain intel- 

 ligent consideration of the program by the budgetary 

 and appropriating bodies. Proposals for objectives 

 that are understood and respected receive more favor- 

 able consideration and engender fewer doubts than sug- 

 gestions for activities that are unfamiliar in purpose 

 and need, as well as in method. Exceptions having to 

 do with political influences or individual idiosyncra- 

 sies are unavoidable by any procedure or organization. 



Since research is an essential function of any vital 

 organization, requests for appropriations should not 

 need to be hidden under the major functions for which 

 research itself is undertaken. The public is becoming 

 acqiiainted with research and results of research, and 

 it should be necessary no longer, if it ever was, for 

 scientific work to masquerade in budget hearings under 

 the guise of another function, or to be called by a 

 pseudonym. 



The foregoing statements assume that researches in 

 the Federal Government have definite and desirable 

 immediate objectives. Wliether projects involving pure 

 research, without immediate purpose or incentive other 

 than pushing back the frontier of human knowledge or 

 increasing the nation's prestige, would be possible on 



a large scale in the Federal Government is a question 

 probably depending largely upon whether such re- 

 search is also shown to be useful to the nation in the 

 long run, for example, in the potential creation of new 

 industries. 



Possible Aids in Presenting Research 

 Budgets 



Probably an able research man should not be ex- 

 pected to have the qualifications of a successful sales- 

 man, however much he maj' be interested in his work. 

 Certainly an exceptional combination of qualities is 

 demanded of a research director in a large Federal 

 organization. Not oidy should he possess the highest 

 degree of scientific imagination and technical compe- 

 tence, but he should also be something of a publicist 

 and an effective organizer and administrator as well. 

 Because such qualities are rarely found together, peo- 

 ple possessing all of them can command larger salaries 

 than governmental agencies can usually pay. Hence 

 a research agency is apt to be faced with the dilemma 

 of either obtaining inadequate funds through failure 

 to carry on effective publicity ; or on the other hand, of 

 stressing publicity values too much with the result that, 

 although funds may be adequately or even generously 

 supplied and the work expanded, the research activities 

 become routine and devitalized without benefit of pro- 

 gressive imagination or adequate technical criticism. 

 Such a dilemma can be partly or almost wholly met 

 when a research organization has a capable budget offi- 

 cer and administrative aid to present proposed research 

 plans effectively to the Bureau of the Budget and to 

 the Congress, as well as to outsiders. Even in this 

 case, however, the intelligent help of the research 

 director and his staff could not be dispensed with. The 

 research director would at least have the obligation 

 of convincing the willing budget and administrative 

 aids within the agency itself of the value of the 

 proposed research projects. In most organizations, 

 nongovernmental as well as governmental, success in 

 persuasion is an important element in beginning 

 effectively, or furthering the success of, any type of 

 work, and organizations that carry on research are no 

 exception. 



To supplement budget officers of research organiza- 

 tions, the Bureau of the Budget and congressional 

 appropriation committees might find it useful to have 

 staff advisers on some important specialized subjects 

 such as engineering, statistics, mapping, etc., who 

 could give disinterested and informal advice in con- 

 nection with the appropriation requests in their re- 

 spective fields. As an alternative, a separately organ- 

 ized Research Advisory Council with a small staff 

 of active investigators might be capable of giving ad- 

 vice on desirable priorities in different field of research. 



