Meeting of President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology

The President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) met on Monday. Among their agenda items were:

OPENING REMARKS: OSTP Director John Gibbons welcomed OSTP Associate Director for Science Arthur Bienenstock and Associate Director for Technology Duncan Moore. Gibbons cited each for their knowledge of physics. The President appointed John M. Deutch, who has held senior Defense Department positions and headed the CIA, to PCAST. Gibbons briefly discussed the PCAST energy R&D report (see FYI #7 ), remarking that it had influenced administration thinking on the budgets for FY 1999 and beyond.

BIODIVERSITY: PCAST member Peter Raven summarized an almost year-long effort on biodiversity. The resulting report describes the essential link between a healthy environment and the economy, calls for U.S. approval of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and recommends increased federal spending on the field (current spending is $460 million; funding should increase by an additional $200 million/year over three years.)

EDUCATION: PCAST member Shirley Malcom outlined a study on the use of technology to strengthen K-12 education, building on previous research on “what works.” Outside comments have been solicited. There was considerable discussion about a report to be released this spring on university reimbursement policies. Of particular interest, Bienenstock said, are questions concerning cost sharing, administrative cost caps, intellectual property, and, especially, the role of graduate students. Gibbons warned that the sum of often small and unintended consequences resulting from administrative changes could be “potentially devastating to graduate education.” Expect PCAST to be quite interested in this issue this year.

GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS ACT (GPRA): Jonathan Breul of the Office of Management and Budget and Phil Kiko of the House Science Committee offered their views on this law requiring federal agencies to measure their effectiveness. The budget released next week will give considerable attention to this law passed in 1993. Breul described GPRA as a results-oriented, multistage, management tool. Measurements are to be made at a “macro” level -- NOT on the university or project level. Kiko said House Science Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) is very interested in GPRA, plans additional hearings on it, and will work closely with the appropriations committee. Some PCAST members voiced concerns about measuring research outcomes. Kiko countered that scientists should not expect federal money if they do not want to discuss measurement, although all those commenting acknowledged this could be a difficult process. Breul said the size of the first report required from agencies has varied greatly: the Department of Energy report was about 30 pages long, while that of the Department of Health and Human Services was 9 inches thick. OMB found the DOE report “quite instructive” because of its leanness.

OTHER MATTERS: Issues discussed for future PCAST review were State Department staffing, investment in critical infrastructures, education, shifting rationales for federal science funding, maintenance of the intellectual infrastructure (including trends in the support of specific fields), and several environmental issues (with the international reduction of greenhouse gases as a follow-up to the energy R&D study given particular emphasis.)