Confronting the Nation's Water Problems The Role of Research (2004) / Chapter Skim
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6 Coordination of Water Resources Research
6 Coordination of Water Resources Research
Pages 199-214
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From page 199... ...
Without a clearer national water strategy, there is no adequate way to entirely address this issue. Beyond the total investment, there are both topical and operational gaps in the current water resources research portfolio.
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From page 200... ...
The National Earthquake Protection Act mandated tasks for four agencies and a two- to three-year reauthorization cycle. Other facilitating conditions noted by the panel included having research agendas based on scientific objectives and related to agency missions and mandates -- obviously a challenge for research areas like water resources that involve multiple federal agencies.
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From page 201... ...
None of the panelists characterized their own programs as having an ideal coordination mechanism. Some of the challenges mentioned included the importance of paying attention to both long-term and emerging issues, and filling gaps when research needs fall between agency missions.
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From page 202... ...
Practically speaking, there is no fungible pot of money repre senting water resources research funding for all agencies. TABLE 6-1 Subcommittee Jurisdiction of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee Responsible for Each Federal Agency Doing Water Resources Research Agency Appropriations Subcommittee Army Corps of Engineers Energy and Water Environmental Protection Agency Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
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From page 203... ...
National Agenda Setting and Strategic Planning Chapter 3 introduced thinking about public investments in research as being analogous to a diversified financial portfolio, which is built on the premise that a diverse mix of holdings is the least risky way to maximize return on investments. In the context of water resources, a diversified research portfolio would capture the following desirable elements of a national research agenda: it would have multiple national objectives related to increasing water availability, to understanding water use, and to strengthening institutional and management practices; it would include short-, intermediate-, and long-term research goals supporting national objectives; the research would encompass agency-based, contract, collaborative, and investigator-driven research; it would address national and regionspecific problems; and data collection would be in place to support all of the above.
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From page 204... ...
Thus, the goal of coordinating water resources research is to enable the collection of information about the level and types of research and to advise OMB and Congress on a preferred shape of the entire portfolio, and in particular, a long-term research agenda to address national priorities in water resources. Note that a well-conceived vision of national priorities would not require revision each year; every three to five years would likely suffice.
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From page 205... ...
Over the last several decades, coordination mechanisms through the USGS Federal-State Cooperative Program and the National Water Quality Assessment program have been effective vehicles for conveying state-of-the-art surface water and groundwater modeling tools, water quality monitoring methods, and water management approaches. A BRIEF REVIEW OF COORDINATION OF FEDERAL WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH Over the last half century, Congress has occasionally opted for temporary, stand-alone bodies -- most notably, the National Water Commission (see Chapter 2)
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From page 206... ...
However, the committee's view is that agency efforts to look beyond their own missions and define long-term national research priorities are necessary but not sufficient. Indeed, Congress and OMB closely scrutinize agency budgets specifically to avoid so-called "mission creep." The absence of a sustained, independent, broad, and long view of water research priorities means that both the administration and Congress are deprived of vital information to guide funding priorities.
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From page 207... ...
The coordinating body also needs a reliable means to tap into stakeholder groups and other constituencies to learn of their needs, and to communicate potential new directions for which feedback is desired. Past experiences also suggest that an effective coordination mechanism should be synchronized with the schedule of the federal budgeting and appropriations processes to maximize impact.
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From page 208... ...
This option also could include a competitive grants program located within the NSF. A competitive grants program would serve two important functions: to increase the proportion of long-term research and to address topical gaps in the current water resources research portfolio.
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From page 209... ...
As such, the SWAQ is invisible to the public at large as well as the research community outside of the federal agency leadership; as yet, it has conducted no outreach activities. Option 2: A "Third Party" Water Research Board Model A second option involves Congress authorizing a neutral third party called the Water Research Board to carry out the following functions: · do a regular survey of water resources research using input from federal agency representatives · advise OMB and Congress on the content and balance of a long-term national water resources research agenda every three to five years · advise OMB and Congress on the adequacy of mission-driven research budgets of the federal agencies · advise OMB and Congress on key priorities for fundamental research that could form the core of a competitive grants program administered by NSF or a third party (identical to that described above under Option 1)
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From page 210... ...
Indeed, as with the SWAQ under Option 1, a Water Research Board would require modest funding both for the competitive grants program and for its own operation. Ideally, this would be provided by Congress, but it may be drawn from agency base budgets.
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From page 211... ...
OMB and Congress would be assured of a credible infusion of advice on national priorities, with an integration of views from a much broader range of stakeholders than would be the case through the NSTC option described in Option 1. However, OMB clearly would be challenged to manage the increase in staff and funding required to meet the objectives of a Water Research Board as described in Option 2.
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From page 212... ...
As conceived here, coordination includes national research agenda setting, leadership in tackling large and complex multiagency research efforts targeted at emerging problems, sustained attention to the composition of the research portfolio and identification of gaps, and a competitive grants program that addresses national research needs unaddressed by agency missions. Coordination of the water resources research enterprise is needed to make deliberative judgments about the allocation of funds and scope of research, to minimize duplication where appropriate, to present Congress and the public with a coherent strategy for federal investment, and to facilitate the large-scale multiagency research efforts that will likely be needed to deal with future water problems.
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From page 213... ...
As described in Option 2, a Water Research Board associated with an objective, third-party organization would represent a marked improvement in representation and consensus-building beyond the Option 1 mechanism. Further, the independence from the agencies afforded by this option makes it possible to focus the competitive grants program on those research needs falling outside the areas of interest of the agencies.
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From page 214... ...
REFERENCES Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
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