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Scientific Research in Education
mechanics that differentiates successful agencies from unsuccessful ones; agencies are effective when their culture supports the principles of science.
To develop such a scientific culture, the agency must have an infrastructure that is insulated from political micromanagement, supported by sufficient and sustained resources, and led by staff with top scientific and management credentials who have the flexibility to make decisions and are accountable for them. Importantly, responsibility for the success of such an agency lies with all education stakeholders. The government cannot mandate a healthy federal role. In particular, the community of education researchers—as a matter of professional responsibility—must engage in its work to promote the agency’s critical role in a vibrant education research enterprise. The design principles that follow elaborate these core ideas and include suggestions for supporting mechanisms.
DESIGN PRINCIPLE 1 Staff the Agency with People Skilled in Science, Leadership, and Management
The director of the agency should have demonstrated outstanding leadership capabilities and be a respected researcher in education. Research staff should hold similar qualifications, as well as be adept at writing grant announcements, engaging with the field to identify research gaps and priorities, and assembling panels of peers to perform various tasks. Qualified staff is so critical to a healthy agency that we believe without them, little else matters. Only with such staff can the norms of scientific research in education become infused into the agency.
DESIGN PRINCIPLE 2 Create Structures to Guide the Research Agenda, Inform Funding Decisions, and Monitor Work
The research agenda must be developed through a collaborative process that engages the range of stakeholders in education. An advisory board of researchers, practitioners, business people, and policy makers (perhaps modeled after the Na-
