Hacker 2/HACKER2.mdf/cud/cud456b.txt

Text File | 1995-01-03 | 7KB | 142 lines

Date:         Mon, 2 Nov 1992 08:20:24 -0500
>From:         "(Gary Chapman)" <[e-mail]>
Subject: File 2--Carnegie Commission on S&T Policy/Long-Term Goals

The Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government has
released a new report on democracy and science and technology policy,
entitled, "Enabling the Future:  Linking Science and Technology to
Societal Goals" (September 1992).  The report was prepared by a small
panel that was a subset of a larger group studying the entire range of
science and technology policy issues; the larger group's report has
not yet been released.  The panel on long-term social goals was
chaired by H. Guyford Stever, who was director of the National Science
Foundation during the Ford administration, White House Science Adviser
to both Nixon and Ford, and president of Carnegie-Mellon University
>from 1965 to 1972.  Panel members included Harvey Brooks of Harvard
University; William D. Carey, former head of AAAS; John Gibbons,
director of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment; Rodney
Nichols, head of the New York Academy of Sciences; James B.
Wyngaarden, foreign secretary of the National Academy of Sciences and
former head of the National Institutes of Health; and Charles Zracket,
former CEO of the MITRE Corporation and now a Scholar-in-Residence at
the Kennedy School at Harvard University.

This report begins as follows:

         The end of the Cold War, the rise of other economically
         and scientifically powerful nations, and competition
         in the international economy present great opportunities
         for the United States to address societal needs:  policy-
         makers may now focus more attention on social and econo-
         mic concerns and less on potential military conflicts.
         In the next decade and those that follow, the United
         States will confront critical public policy issues that
         are intimately connected with advances in science and
         technology. . . . Policy issues will not be resolved by
         citizens, scientists, business executives, or government
         officials working alone; addressing them effectively will
         require the concerted efforts of all sectors of society.

Further on, a passage worth quoting at some length:

         We believe that American faces a clear choice.  For too
         long, our science and technology policies, apart from
         support of basic research, have emphasized short-term
         solutions while neglecting longer-term objectives.  If
         this emphasis continues, the problems we have encountered
         in recent years, such as erosion of the nation's indust-
         rial competitiveness and the difficulties of meeting
         increasingly challenging standards of environmental
         quality, could overwhelm promising opportunities for
         progress.  However, we believe there is an alternative.
         The United States could base its S&T policies more firmly
         on long-range considerations and link these policies to
         societal goals through more comprehensive assessment
         of opportunities, costs, and benefits.

         We emphasize the necessity for choice because there is
         nothing inevitable about the shape of the future:  the
         policy decisions we make today will determine whether
         historic opportunities will be seized or squandered. . .
         As Frank Press, President of the National Academy of
         Sciences, said recently, "Without a vision of the future,
         there is no basis for choosing policies in science and
         technology that will be appropriate for the years ahead."

The panel says that their report does not propose societal goals that
should be met by changing S&T policy; "we believe this is primarily a
political process," the report says.  The report instead addresses the
process of defining social goals and shaping policy to meet them.

There are five major recommendations of the panel:

1.  Establishment of a nongovernmental National Forum on Science and
Technology Goals.  This Forum, says the report, would "assemble a
broad-based and diverse group of individuals who are both critical and
innovative, and who can examine societal goals and the ways in which
science and technology can best contribute to their achievement."
This group would also sponsor meetings and research, and would
eventually propose "specific long-term S&T goals in both national and
international contexts, and identify milestones in achieving them."
The panel proposes two options for the convening of such a National
Forum:  under the umbrella of the National Academies, or as a new,
independent, nongovernmental organization.

2.  The panel says that "Congress should devote more explicit
attention to long-term S&T goals in its budget, authorization,
appropriation, and oversight procedures."  The panel recommends annual
or biennial hearings on long-term S&T goals before the House Committee
on Science, Space, and Technology.

3.  The panel suggests that federal government agencies supporting
science and technology policy should be directed to aid the Congress
in assessing long-term S&T goals, such as OTA and the Congressional
Budget Office.

4.  The same goes for executive branch agencies, particularly the
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of
Management and Budget.

5.  Finally, federal departments and agencies should contribute to the
process of developing long-term goals by coordinating R&D efforts and
sponsoring extramural research that helps support analysis and vision.

The panel does propose some potential societal goals that might be
addressed through the process the report recommends.  The goals are
very broad and include education; personal and public health; cultural
pluralism; economic growth; full employment; international
cooperation; worldwide sustainable development; and human rights,
among other very expansive goals.

The report also identifies the "players" that should be part of the
process of policymaking.  These include the above-mentioned components
of the federal government, state governments, academia, industry, and
nongovernmental organizations.  In the latter category, the panel
mentions professional societies in science and technology,
environmental organizations, and the National Academies complex, which
includes the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine,
the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Research
Council.

The report very admirably concludes with a quote from Einstein: "The
concern for man and his destiny must always be the chief interest of
all technical effort:  Never forget it among your diagrams and
equations."

Copies of the 72-page report are available for free from:

The Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government
10 Waverly Place, 2nd Floor
New York, NY  10003
[phone] (voice)
[phone] (fax)

Gary Chapman
Coordinator
The 21st Century Project
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
Cambridge, Massachusetts
[e-mail]

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