Advising the Government:
Creating Sound Science
Policy
Kelvin K. Droegemeier
University of Oklahoma
19 June 2014
Given to Sandia National Laboratory
Disclaimer
I
am making this presentation as a
faculty member and vice president for
research of a public university – NOT as
a member of the National Science Board
 Nothing in this presentation should be
construed as representing the position or
views of the National Science Board or
the National Science Foundation
Setting the Context Globally
and Nationally
The U.S. Still Leads the World
Asia/Pacific are on the Rise
The Elusive Concept of
“Policy”
 What
is it?
 Who/what determine it?
 Who enforces it?
 How is it changed?
 How do we avoid bad policy?
According to Webster…
 Policy
is…
– Any plan or course of action designed to
influence and determine decisions or
actions
– A guiding principle or procedure
“Public” Policy
 Is
a process that draws out the
collective wisdom of a diverse group to
reach a common public goal
 Does not involve the generation of
knowledge, but the (wise) use of it
National Examples







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Immigration
Gun control
Climate change
Education standards
Social services
Storage of nuclear waste
Foreign policy – assistance to other nations
Budget
Stem cells/cloning
UAS integration into the NAS
What Policy is NOT
 LAW!!!
Development of Science
Policy

Scientists discover and communicate facts and
uncertainties
 Policy analysts consider the above in light of values held
by various sectors and frame the problems as well as
propose courses of action
 Policymakers assess the significance by making value
judgments to determine how research outcomes will be
applied
 Communicators (media, government) facilitate
understanding by the public
Some Challenging Policy
Issues

Global climate change/funding for research
 Genetic engineering/cloning
 Stem cell research
 Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and deep
injection wells
 Value of social, behavioral, and economic
sciences research
 Accountability and transparency
 Others…
An “Iron Triangle”
Policy Makers/Legislators
Advocates/Lobbyists
Scientists
An “Iron Triangle”
Don’t want to make
Policy Makers/Legislators decisions that upset
their constituency;
pass the buck to the
scientist  funding!
Advocates/Lobbyists
Scientists
An “Iron Triangle”
Policy Makers/Legislators
Advocates/Lobbyists
Get $$ to expand
knowledge and help
resolve policy issues
(IPCC)
Scientists
An “Iron Triangle”
Policy Makers/Legislators
Looking for
scientific
data to support
their
position
Advocates/Lobbyists
Scientists
An “Iron Triangle”
Policy Makers/Legislators
Looking for
scientific data
to support
their
position
Looking for
scientific
data to support
their
position
Advocates/Lobbyists
Scientists
The War Zone
 Policy
analysis increases the range of
alternatives available to decision
makers by associating scientific
results with a range of choices and
outcomes
The War Zone
 Political
advocacy decreases the
range of alternatives, often down to
a single result that supports the view
of a party or legislator
Science Becomes the Battle
Ground
 Legitimate
debate about values and
interests is being replaced by tactics of
professional character assassination,
spin
 The war zone: policy analysis versus
political advocacy
Example: Global Warming
 The
IPCC does not assess scientific results
in the context of policy
 Leads to interpretation by advocates,
lobbyists, industry, interest groups
 The objective research outcomes fit
everyone’s need but are entirely politicized
A Different Approach

Traditionally, scientists have intentionally and
rightly avoided political influence
 But scientists can no longer work in a vacuum,
throwing results over the transom and hoping for
for the best
 Researchers need to be aware of policy
implications but not be influenced by them!
 And researchers need to be active in explaining
their work and its value/purpose
So Who Advises the
Government? INFORMALLY

Lobbyists
 Professional societies
 Trade organizations
 Political action committees
 Civic organizations, Chambers of Commerce
 Non-profits and think tanks
 For-profit companies
 Individual citizens
So Who Advises the
Government? FORMALLY

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Office of Science and Technology Policy (in the Office of the
White House – President’s Science Advisor) (OSTP)
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
(PCAST)
National Academies (via the National Research Council, the NAS
operating arm)
National Science Board (NSB)
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI)
Professionals (via formal Congressional hearings)
Others (e.g., Council on Environmental Quality)
Federal Funding for Research
Fields of
Science
Departments
& Agencies
National Science
and Technology
Council Research
Committees
Budget
House & Senate
Review
Budget Committees
Offices (OMB) (Budget Functions)
Senate
Authorization
Committees
House and
House
Senate
Authorization Appropriations
Committees Subcommittees
(With significant R&D $)
DOD
Engineering
National
Security &
International
Affairs
Defense
Agency for International
Development
National
Defense
International
Armed Services
National Security
Defense
Foreign Relations
International
Relations
Foreign
Operations
Energy & Natural
Commerce
Energy and
Water
Development
Affairs
Physical
Sciences
Energy
Environment and
Natural
Resources
Interior
Math &
Computer
Science
Agriculture
NASA
Environmental
Sciences
International
Science,
Engineering and
Technology
General Science,
Space & Technology
Natural
Resources,
Energy, and
Science
Energy
Resources
Natural Resources &
Environment
Environment &
Public Works
Resources
Interior
Transportation &
Infrastructure
NSF
Agriculture
NRC
Commerce, Science,
& Transportation
Science
Science, Space,
Justice, &
Commerce
Agriculture
Agriculture &
Related Agencies
Banking & Financial Affairs
MilQual
Resources
Economic &
Educational
Opportunities
Transportation &
Related Agencies
Veterans Affairs
Veterans Affairs
Labor, Health &
Human Services, &
Education
Judiciary
Judiciary
EPA
Life
Sciences
Economics
&
Government
Transportation
Psychology
Social
Sciences
Housing &Urban
Development
Science
Labor
Transportation
Agriculture,
Nutrition, & Forestry
Banking, Housing
& Urban Affairs
Community & Regional
Development
Labor and Human
Education, Training,
Employment, & Social
Services
Education
Health & Human
Services
Other
Sciences
Commerce & Housing
Credit
National Security
DOC/NOAA
Technology
Health
Human
Resources,
Veterans,
and Labor
Veterans Benefits &
Services
Justice
Administration of
Justice
Courtesy Joel Widder
OTSP

Political appointees (reflect Admin views)
 Loaners from other agencies
NSTC
National Academies

Chartered by President Lincoln
 Advises the nation on issues of science, technology and
medicine
 Enlists the nation’s most eminent scientists and
engineers
 Agencies can request, Congress can require

Coordinates federal environmental efforts and works
closely with agencies and other White House offices in
the development of environmental policies and
initiatives.
 Reports annually to the President on the state of the
environment
– oversees federal agency implementation of the environmental
impact assessment process
– acts as a referee when agencies disagree over the adequacy of
such assessments.
Gathering Community Input
The National Science Board
Origin of the National Science
Foundation: The Manhattan Project

Intensive 2-year, $2B (in 1940 dollars) effort
to build a fission weapon to end World War
II
 Involved hundreds of academic scientists and
technicians – universities were raided
 Los Alamos was created to bring everyone
together in a secure location
 At end of war, scientists were heroes
(penicillin, radar, the bomb)
 Office of Scientific Research and
Development (OSRD) was created to fund
research projects in university and industrial
laboratories – precursor to the NSF
Key Individual
Vannevar Bush – President Roosevelt’s
science advisor
 Directed the OSRD
 Convinced President Roosevelt that the
best way to continue using US
researchers was to keep them on their
campuses and fund them with Federal
dollars
 This was a bold new idea
– $20 M in research at universities in
1930s
– $90 M by mid 1940s

Manifesto that Created NSF
V. Bush (1945)
Available at http://www.nsf.gov
The NSF Act of 1950

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
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
So-called “Organic Act” that established the NSF
Signed into law by President Truman on May 10, 1950
Mission: To promote the progress of science; to advance the
national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national
defense; and for other purposes.
“The NSF Shall Consist of a National Science Board … and a
Director”
Unlike ALL other agencies that have science components
(NASA, NOAA, DOE, DOD, EPA, USGS, etc), the NSF does
not reside within a Cabinet Department – it is completely
independent
NSF thus is not a traditional “mission agency” though it has
a clear mission!
One of the best run agencies in Government
Support:
Total Federal
Federal Basic
Research
Support at
Institutions
Research at Academic
BasicAcademic
Institutions
$12.6B
NIH
61%
NSF
20%
Other
19%
The NSF Today

Annual budget of $7B
 The NSF is unique – it funds all
areas of science and engineering
(exclusive of medicine)
National Science Board Roles and
Responsibilities

The NSB is part of the NSF
 The NSB
– Establishes Policies of the
National Science Foundation
– Oversees and guides the
activities of the National Science
Foundation
– Serves as an independent
national science policy body that
provides advice to the President
and the Congress on matters of
national science and engineering
policy
Advising the President and
Congress

Responding to Congressional Inquiries
 Initiating its own activities
 The NSB is very unique and valuable as an
advisory body because it
– Answers to no Cabinet department
– Can be fully candid and not fear political
pressure
NSB Recommendations
 Focus
on the Science
 Harmonize/Streamline Requirements
 Eliminate or Modify Ineffective
Regulations
 Increase University Efficiency and
Effectiveness
Who Protects Us From Bad
Policy?
Today, COGR's primary function is to provide advice and information to its membership and to make
certain that federal agencies understand academic operations and the impact of proposed regulations on
colleges and universities. COGR helps to develop policies and practices that fairly reflect the mutual
interests and separate obligations of federal agencies and universities in research and graduate
education.

An independent,
nonpartisan agency that
works for Congress.
 Often called the
"congressional
watchdog," GAO
investigates how the
federal government
spends taxpayer
dollars.
Seat of the Pants or Informed
Strategy?
Ways to Become Involved

As individual citizens: meeting with Members
of Congress (each has local offices)
 Serving as a AAAS Fellow in Federal agencies
 Serving on Agency boards and committees


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NOAA Science Advisory Board
NSF Directorate Advisory Committees
Being invited to testify at Congressional
hearings
 Joining advocacy groups and contributing to
campaigns
Don’t Just Wing It!!!
Research and the Public
Public sentiment is
everything. With
public sentiment,
nothing can fail;
without it, nothing
can succeed.
-- Abraham Lincoln
Courtesy A. Leshner, AAAS
What We Can Do

Researchers need to do a much better job
communicating their work and its purpose and
value to the public

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It’s more than “If the public just knew more,
they would understand”

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Communicate with, not to the public – need to LISTEN!
Conflicts exist with core values and beliefs
Researchers need to respect opposing views and
engage in dialog, listening rather than looking
down upon
Engaging the Public
Large venues don’t usually work well
 Better options are

–
–
–
–
–
–
Open houses
Science museums
Kiwanis, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce
Church groups
High school programs
City Council meetings
Personal Reflections
 The
three-generation model of many small
and medium-sized businesses
– First generation: Creates something out of
nothing!
– Second generation: Maintains/nurtures but is
not bold
– Third generation: Kills it!
 Does
this apply to the US research
enterprise today?
Personal Reflections
We hear about the “innovation deficit” and
indeed, we have one
 Our BIGGEST problem is a deficit of trust,
integrity and honesty
 Where do we find them? Personal
relationships, private industry, sports, church,
governance??
 No, but mostly, in the research enterprise,
where we use rigorous methods, think deeply,
and avoid arbitrary actions

https://www.amacad.org/content/Research