Background
Since Abraham Lincoln approved the Congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences in 1863, the Academy complex—now made up of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council—has been advising government about the impact of science and technology on society. The Academy complex provides independent advice to government by appointing committees of experts who serve without compensation, asking these committees to prepare draft reports by consensus, and subjecting these drafts to rigorous independent scientific review before release to ensure their quality and integrity. To avoid potential conflict of interest and bias, careful attention is given to the composition and balance of study committees.
As the 21st century approaches with science and technology assuming increasing importance in society, the Governing Board of the National Research Council has synthesized, summarized, and highlighted principal conclusions and recommendations from recent reports to inform decisions in a number of key policy matters. The resulting series of papers do not address all the intersections of science and technology with public policy, but they do address some of the most important. They are directed to federal administrators, members of Congress, university administrators, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, and all others involved in the development and implementation of public policies involving science and technology.
This paper focuses on government policies regarding technology development and proposes measures to facilitate the translation of new knowledge to new capabilities. Another paper in this series, “Science and Engineering Research in a Changing World,” describes policies that can strengthen linkages between science and engineering research and national objectives.
Previous reports from the Academy complex have had a major effect on the technology activities and policies of the federal government. For example, two 19th-century reports provided advice on restoring the Declaration of Independence and controlling landslides during the construction of the Panama Canal. The issues summarized in this paper from past reports continue to be relevant to the work of the Academy complex and to the nation.
This document, with direct links to the text of all reports cited herein, is available on the Internet at http://www2.nas.edu/21st. A box at the end describes other ways to obtain information on the Academy complex and the topics discussed in this paper.