1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 growth are compatible with the use of resources and with the preservation of a benign environment; (3) the mobilization of science and technology to further United States diplomatic objectives and assure the adequacy and effective global allocation of raw materials, food, and energy, while maintaining a proper balance, in the development and export of technology, between aid to lagging foreign economies and maintenance of an equitable balance in world trade; (4) the training and education of adequate number of scientists, engineers, and technologists and insuring their full utilization, including retraining; and (5) the encouragement of person-to-person and other interchange of scientific information in the national and the world scientific communities. IMPLEMENTATION (b) To implement the policy enunciated in subsection 18 (a) of this section, the Congress declares that: (1) There should be a focal center in the executive branch, to guide executive agencies in mobilizing resources for essential science and technology programs, to present to the Congress the justification of such programs, to secure appropriate funding for those programs, and to systematically review Federal science policy and programs and recommend legislative amend 6 ment thereof as appropriate. A major element of this endeavor should be an advisory mechanism within the Executive Office of the President so that the Chief Executive may have available to him independent, expert judgment and assistance on policy matters which require accurate assessments of the complex scientific and technological components involved. (2) It is a responsibility of the Federal Govern ment to insure prompt, effective, reliable, and systematic transfer of science and technology information by such appropriate methods as the funding of technical evaluation centers, cost-sharing of information dissemination programs conducted by industrial groups and technical societies, and assistance in the publication of properly certified science and technology information. In particular, it is recognized as a responsibility of the Federal Government not only to coordinate and unify its own science information systems, but to facilitate the close coupling of institutional scientific research with industrial application of the useful findings of science. (3) It is further an appropriate Federal function to support science and technology efforts which are in tended to provide results beneficial to the public welfare but which may yield no commercially marketable product. be (4) Science and technology activities which may properly centralized in the Federal Government should be distinguished from those in which interests are shared with State and local governments and the private sector. Federal preemption of such fields should be avoided by establishing cooperative relationships that enable the sharing of science and technology decisionmaking, funding support, and program planning and execution, among all interested elements of society. (5) A formal procedure should be developed to determine what level of national effort in science and technology should be sustained, taking into account competing public needs and available resources. (6) While granting the need for pluralism within and among Federal, State, local, and nongovernmental activities in science and technology, it is essential that means be proportioned to ends in the conduct of national science and technology programs. Such programs should be reviewed by a single technically qualified institution to assure rational allocation of funds and resources, to identify public problems and objectives, to anticipate future concerns to which science and technology can contribute, and to devise strategies for the conduct of science and technology for these purposes. (7) Comprehensive legislative support for the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 national science and technology effort requires that the Congress be regularly informed of the condition, health and vitality, and funding requirements of science and technology, the relation of science and technology to changing national goals, and the need for legislative modification of the Federal science endeavor and structure at all levels. PROCEDURES (c) The Congress further declares that, in order to 10 expedite and facilitate the implementation of the policy 11 enunciated in subsection (a) of this section, the following 12 coordinate procedures are of paramount importance; (1) Federal procurement policy should encourage the use of science and technology to foster frugal use of materials, energy, and environment; to enhance product performance; and to promote economy. (2) Explicit criteria, including cost-effectiveness principles, should be developed to identify the kinds of science and technology programs that are appropriate for Federal funding support, and to determine the extent of such support. In particular, projects of inherently large or long-term cost should conform with established criteria. (3) Federal promotion of science and technology 9 should maximize quality of research, stability of scientific and technological institutions, and, for urgent tasks, timeliness of results. With particular reference to Federal support for basic research, funds should be allocated to encourage education in needed disciplines, to provide a base of scientific knowledge from which future essential technological development can be launched, and to add to the cultural heritage of the Nation. (4) A uniform patent policy should be promulgated for all Federal agencies, having as its primary objective the full use of beneficial technology to serve the public. (5) Antitrust regulation to compel competitive economic pluralism should not foreclose cooperation among competing firms in industrial research and development beneficial to an entire industry and to the public. (6) A closer interrelationship should be encouraged among practitioners of different scientific disciplines. (7) Federal departments, agencies, and instrumentalities should assure efficient management of laboratory facilities and equipment in their custody, including acquisition of effective equipment, liquidation of inferior and obsolete properties, and cross-servicing to maximize the productivity of costly hardware. Disposal policies |