Science Policy on a Budget: Aligning Evidence-Based Evaluation With Budget-Driven Decision-Making

Monday, June 20, 2011
American Association for the Advancement of Science Auditorium
1200 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005

Webcast and White Paper | Overview | Agenda | FIRE Organizing Committee | Contact Us

Webcast and White Paper

Thank you for participating in the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships FIRE Symposium, "Science Policy on a Budget: Aligning Evidence-Based Evaluation With Budget-Driven Decision-Making."

Click below to view an archived Webcast and a White Paper Write-up of the FIRE/AAAS Symposium, June 20, 2011.

• View the Symposium Webcast
• Read the White Paper

Overview

Many federal research and development (R&D) funding agencies experienced unparalleled one-time budget infusions from the 2009 American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA). Only two years later and faced with the possibility of substantial budget cuts, federal agencies must now make high stakes decisions about program funding that will have long-term ramifications not only for science and technology research, but also for innovation, the economy, and the future of US competitiveness. Congress and the public are demanding high quality, rapid reporting, greater transparency in funding decisions and disbursements, and evidence that the nation's investment in science spurs innovation and job growth. Given that many years often elapse before federal R&D investments produce measurable economic and societal outcomes, how do agencies provide policy-makers with the most useful evaluations on which to base crucial science policy decisions during a period of fiscal restraint?

Critical stakeholders from the legislative and executive branches of government, academia, and the private sector will gather at the American Association for the Advancement of Science for a one-day conference to discuss "Science Policy on a Budget."

A series of panel discussions and interactive forums will cover:

• The new culture of transparency and how collaboration between government, industry, and academia is generating a vast array of new data-gathering and analysis tools.
• The evaluation of ARRA-funded R&D programs, including the emerging data on short-term outcomes and important lessons learned.
• The perspective of various agencies and how they are using these new tools to make evidence-based science policy decisions in an era of uncertain budgets.

Agenda

Keynote Address, Kei Koizumi, Assistant Director for Federal R &D at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Panel 1. Data Transparency and the New Tools of Evaluation
Increased transparency has been called for by Congress and promoted by the Obama administration. The Open Government Initiative, ARRA, and the GPRA Modernization Act place new requirements on agencies to make raw funding data and comprehensive program evaluations available for public consumption. This panel will examine these new open data initiatives and the next generation of data analysis tools being developed by the government, academia, and the private sector.

(left to right) Stefano Bertuzzi, Aman Bhandari, Denise Duncan and Cameron Neylon

Panel Moderator

Stephen Ezell, The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Confirmed speakers:

• Stefano Bertuzzi, Health Science Policy Analyst, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health
• Aman Bhandari, Senior Advisor for Innovation, Department of Health and Human Services
  
• Denise Duncan, Senior Fellow, LMI Government Consulting
• Cameron Neylon, Senior Scientist, Science and Technologies Facilities Council (UK)

Panel 2. Evaluating ARRA: A Natural Experiment
As an economic stimulus to an ailing economy, ARRA provided an enormous, but temporary, boost to federal R&D funding. ARRA disbursements are nearly complete, and agencies are now beginning to evaluate ARRA's short-term economic and scientific outcomes. This panel will examine what has been heralded as an exciting "natural experiment" for economists who explicitly study the impact of federal R&D funding on the economy.

(left to right) Colin Macilwain, David Croson, Richard Freeman, Luci Roberts, and Bill Valdez

Moderated by: Colin Macilwain, Research Fortnight and Research Europe (UK)

Confirmed speakers:

• David Croson, Program Director in the Science of Science & Innovation Policy, National Science Foundation and Professor SMU Cox School Business
• Richard Freeman, Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics, Harvard University/National Bureau of Economic Research
• Luci Roberts, Director, Division of Planning and Evaluation, Office of Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health
• Bill Valdez, Acting Director, Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, Department of Energy
  

Panel 3. To Cut or Not To Cut: The Agency Dilemma
Facing potential budgetary austerity measures, agency policy-makers are now tasked with deciding how to prioritize funding for specific programs and identifying programs for elimination. This panel will address the dilemma faced by agencies and the approaches they use to evaluate their programs.

(standing) Richard Van Atta (seated left to right) Sharon Drumm, Christopher King, Jitinder Kohli and Eric Toone

Moderated by: Richard Van Atta, Science and Technology Policy Institute

Confirmed Speakers:

• Sharon Drumm, Staff Officer, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture
• Christopher King, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
• Jitinder Kohli, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
• Eric Toone, Deputy Director for Technology, Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency

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FIRE Symposium Organizing Committee

(left to right) Rebecca Rosen, Sapun Parekh, Kurt Marek, Zofia Gajdos, CJ Geraci and David Litwack

For more information, please contact:
Rebecca Rosen, E-Mail: rebeccarosen@gmail.com
Sapun Parekh, E-Mail: sapun.parekh@gmail.com

*All photos taken by David Litwack