Government scientists warned at a conference last week that if federal science agencies focus only on measurable successes to fulfill requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act, they will run the risk of neglecting basic research.
"We have to make sure that GPRA does not stop the innovation in the basic research area," said Arthur Guenther, a research professor at the University of New Mexico. "You must find a way to award risk, otherwise the innovation process will die."
During a workshop sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, representatives from the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Defense and Transportation, along with scientists from the National Institutes of Health, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reviewed and explained their agencies' performance plans.
In addition to examining the question of how GPRA would affect basic research, participants at the conference looked at GPRA implementation across agencies. It is difficult to determine how well the government has implemented GPRA, because every agency has its own approach to the law, said John Uzzell, director of the evaluation office at NIH.
GPRA helps agencies focus on how research relates to their mission, argued Curt Marshall of NOAA's Office of Policy and Strategic Planning.
"If you lose the ability to do good science, you also lose the ability to meet long-term performance goals," he said.
Kevin Teichman, associate director of EPA's Office of Science Policy, agreed.
"We try to strike a balance and not to become too results-focused. Hopefully, we achieve a good balance between research and goals," Teichman said.
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