Reviving the Spirit of Enterprise: Role of the Federal Labs
DOI: 10.1063/1.881064
About 400 research facilities officially classified as Federal laboratories employ nearly 185 000 of the nation’s scientists and engineers and account for roughly $18 billion per year—a third of all Federal R&D funding in fiscal 1985. Most of this support went to a relatively few large centers devoted to energy and weapons research, highenergy physics experiments, medical programs and space science and exploration. Besides the multipurpose national labs such as Sandia, Argonne, Los Alamos and the National Bureau of Standards, which perform a broad range of R&D activities, the full roster includes a diversity of installations, including the Boll Weevil Research Laboratory; the National Radio Astronomy Observatory; the Insect Attractant, Behavior and Basic Biology Center; the FBI Laboratory; and even the National Zoo. Despite the contributions of the Federal labs, how they can enrich the nation’s R&D enterprise with “public technology” has been a subject of concern in Washington for decades.
References
1. J. M. Wyckoff, ed. Federal Laboratory Directory, 1982, National Bureau of Standards (January 1983).
See also H. Mark and A. Levine, The Management of Research Institutions, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1984) for an excellent account of the history and operation of the Federal laboratory system.2. Report of the White House Science Council, Federal Laboratory Review Panel, Office of Science and Technology Policy (May 1983). For an overview, see PHYSICS TODAY, September 1983, p. 39.
3. Progress Report on Implementing the Recommendations of the White House Science Council’s Federal Laboratory Review Panel, vols. I and II, Office of Science and Technology Policy (July 1984).
4. See PHYSICS TODAY, December 1985, p. 20.
5. Report to the President on Government Contracting for Research and Development, Bureau of the Budget for Committee on Government Operations, US Senate (17 May 1962).
6. Final Report of the Multiprogram Laboratory Panel, vols. I–III, Energy Research Advisory Board, Department of Energy (September 1982).
For an overview, see PHYSICS TODAY, January 1983, p. 59.7. The President’s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, Global Competition: The New Reality, Government Printing Office (January 1985).
8. Revitalizing Federal Management: Managers and their ‘Overburdened Systems,’ National Academy of Public Administration (November 1983).
More about the Authors
Paul A. Blanchard. OSTP.
Frank B. McDonald. Chief Scientist of NASA.
