Optimizing The Nations Investment In Academic Research

Research universities are critical contributors to our national research enterprise. They are the principal source of a world-class labor force and fundamental discoveries that enhance our lives and the lives of others around the world. These institutions help to create an educated citizenry capable of making informed and crucial choices as participants in a democratic society. However many are concerned that the unintended cumulative effect of federal regulations undercuts the productivity of the research enterprise and diminishes the return on the federal investment in research. Optimizing the Nation's Investment in Academic Research reviews the regulatory framework as it currently exists, considers specific regulations that have placed undue and often unanticipated burdens on the research enterprise, and reassesses the process by which these regulations are created, reviewed, and retired. This review is critical to strengthen the partnership between the federal government and research institutions, to maximize the creation of new knowledge and products, to provide for the effective training and education of the next generation of scholars and workers, and to optimize the return on the federal investment in research for the benefit of the American people.

Research universities are critical contributors to our national research enterprise. They are the principal source of a world-class labor force and fundamental discoveries that enhance our lives and the lives of others around the world. These institutions help to create an educated citizenry capable of making informed and crucial choices as participants in a democratic society. However many are concerned that the unintended cumulative effect of federal regulations undercuts the productivity of the research enterprise and diminishes the return on the federal investment in research. Optimizing the Nation's Investment in Academic Research reviews the regulatory framework as it currently exists, considers specific regulations that have placed undue and often unanticipated burdens on the research enterprise, and reassesses the process by which these regulations are created, reviewed, and retired. This review is critical to strengthen the partnership between the federal government and research institutions, to maximize the creation of new knowledge and products, to provide for the effective training and education of the next generation of scholars and workers, and to optimize the return on the federal investment in research for the benefit of the American people.

From the time of Vannevar Bush and his 1945 report on U.S. science policy, academic research has played a role in the nation's economy. Vannevar Bush's report, Science the Endless Frontier, maintained that major investments in research should be made to the nation's universities. He stated that the research capacity of the colleges and universities was significantly important to long-term national interests. Currently, some Members of Congress have expressed concern about the health and competitiveness of the nation's colleges and universities. There are those who continue to maintain that the long-term competitiveness of the nation is linked to the strength of the academic research infrastructure. It has been shown that academic research is integrated into the economy and impacts at both the local and national level. By one estimate, approximately 80% of leading industries have resulted from research conducted at colleges and universities. Colleges and universities are the primary performers of basic research, with the federal government being the largest funding source. In FY2008, the federal government provided approximately 60% of an estimated $51.9 billion of research and development funds expended by academic institutions. When measured in current dollars, federal academic support increased by 2.5% between FY2007 and FY2008. When inflation is taken into account, it equates to an increase of 0.2% from FY2007 to FY2008 following two years of decline in constant dollars since FY2005. An issue before the 112th Congress is that with further budget reductions expected, how does the nation best reduce the budget while adjusting the support for research conducted at colleges and universities?

This report identifies major global trends in scientific research, describes the changes occurring within six industrialized countries in response to these trends, and discusses the challenges facing these countries in the future. At the symposium, historians of science and higher education traced developments and described current conditions of research systems in "new world" countries, represented by Japan, Russia, and the United States, and in the "old world," represented by Germany, France, and Great Britain. ISBN 0-309-04249-6: $15.00.

This book will expand the body of literature on capacity-building in science and improve public understanding of the issues regarding geographical concentration of federal research funding. The federal government has been the primary sponsor of academic research in the U.S., and the peer-review system has been the primary mechanism for distributing federal government funding for research among universities. The peer-review system ensures the production of the best science by funding the most capable researchers in the country. As a result, federal research funding has been concentrated in high-capacity states where many of the most capable researchers reside. Despite official action - such as the implementation of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which targets low capacity jurisdictions for federal funding - the amount of resources going to each state for research is highly uneven. This book provides recommendations on how to improve policy design and program implementation for better research capacity-building outcomes. The book lends itself to a wide audience, as it does not focus entirely on high-level statistical analysis, but will have specific appeal to researchers in science policy, federal budgeting and higher education policy.

The President's Council of Advisors on Science & Technology has sought to identify the weak points that threaten the otherwise strong web that binds together the federal government & the tax-paying public with the research-intensive universities into a major scientific research & higher education partnership. They have also considered the relationship between universities & industry. In this report, they present their findings & recommendations for strengthening the overall enterprise.

This volume analyzes the impact of public policy on the knowledge economies and higher education systems of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the overall European Union. Given that innovation is a national economy’s most valuable asset in today’s global marketplace, countries are investing more than ever in academic research, doctoral education, and the process of knowledge transfer. Policymakers now perceive the academic enterprise as a means of sustaining international competitiveness, and newly implemented national innovation policies represent a marked shift away from traditional science and technology policies. The contributors examine this new relationship between higher education and national systems of innovation, posing important questions: How is public policy affecting academic research? How are postsecondary institutions responding? The book concludes with a careful assessment of the effectiveness of current national innovation policy on higher education systems. Bolstered by the latest economic research on higher education, this book will be read by researchers and policymakers worldwide.

Learn all the basic principles involved in initiating an academic career and building an externally funded academic research program with this practical guide. Based on the author's extensive experience as a government funding agency director and successful academic, it provides step-by-step advice on how to identify an appropriate funding agency and program manager, how to present your research in a concise and effective manner, and, ultimately, how to obtain your first research grant. It explains the faculty recruitment process in detail and outlines the key timelines associated with being on the tenure track. Providing a unique insight into research funding agency operation and expectations, this is the 'go to' guide for new faculty members in engineering, the sciences, and mathematics looking to gain a head start in their academic careers.