| Problem | Components |
|---|---|
| Policy issue area: | Science |
| Policy issue: | Technology |
| Description: | Government policies and insufficient funding prevent an adequate level of R&D for business and industry, and the maximum utilization of technology to serve national needs. |
| Symptoms: | Advanced, innovative technology is not developed at a rate sufficient to improve productivity, revive declining industries and meet foreign competition; technology frequently results in unanticipated negative side-effects; growing anti-technology attitudes. |
| Causes: | Most of government supported research is directed to defense (69% of total); insufficient government investment in non-defense R&D; anti-trust laws that prevent joint R&D efforts; lack of institutions to assess the impact of new technologies and direct the development of new ones. |
| Cost of problem: | - |
| Solution | Components |
| Resources: | Universities and research institutes; Federal and state governments; nation's educational system; scientists. |
| Goal: | 1. Commit annually 3% of GNP to civilian R&D 2. Direct R&D efforts to areas promising broad economic returns in advanced technology and productivity 3. Ensure that new or emerging technologies are evaluated, and measures are taken to prevent undesirable impacts. |
| Program area: | Knowledge development |
| Program-remedy: | 1. An Advanced Technology Institute, to apply quickly research and inventions to
developing new products and applying cost-saving production techniques 2. Help universities and R&D centers improve and modernize laboratories and research tools 3. Enlarge the scope of existing government technology assessment efforts 4. Reallocate military R&D toward civilian R&D 5. A national science program to educate future scientists and engineers in high- tech fields. |
| Program-prevent: | National Technology Development and Application Policy. |
| Cost of program: | - |
| Beneficiaries: | Business and industry; educational and research institutions. |