Report Strips R&D Down to the Basics

摘要

When it comes to federal spending on research, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) hopes that less may be more. A report released this week argues that the federal science budget is now defined so broadly that its ups and downs say little about thehealth of U.S. research. Instead, the academy argues, a tighter definition of R&D that includes only activities that generate new knowledge or technologies, and leaves out items such as developing new weapons and launching rockets, would provide a muchsounder basis for federal policy-making. It would focus attention on the elements of the science budget most likely to keep the nation healthy and economically strong.