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VII CONSOLIDATED CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: A PROGRAM TO IMPROVE THE UTILIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING TALENT In the course of this study, certain themes clearly emerged in our discus- sion and played a central role in shaping our recommendations. These major considerations are presented below and are followed by a con- solidated list of the recommendations presented in the preceding pages. Seven in number, these themes are: 1 The massive influence of the federal government on the deploy- ment and utilization of scientists and engineers. This influence imposes on government an entirely new order of responsibility to prevent mal- utilization. Government must assess in advance the effects of its deci- sions on the deployment of large numbers of scientists and engineers, both in undertaking new projects and in discontinuing old ones. 2 The need to strive consciously for a balanced allocation of scien- tific and engineering talent. For example, we should avoid emphasizing "big science" to the detriment of the individual investigator or scholar- teacher. The government should be mindful of the manpower needs of the civilian economy in considering great technological projects. 3 The pressing national need for meaningful, reliable data, expertly analyzed and coordinated, on the allocation and utilization of scientists and engineers. Because of the inadequacy of such data, decisions affect- ing utilization have so far been based largely on hunches, intuition, and fragmentary information. 4 The key role of managerial leadership in achieving a wise alloca- tion and utilization of scientists and engineers. In our innovative society we need more managers with a new dimension: managers who can match comprehension of a complex, changing technology with mastery of the arts of leadership.
5 The central importance, in any manpower policy, of maintaining high standards of accomplishment. Increasing the supply of scientists and engineers at the expense of quality may be more harmful than help- ful, while overcommitment of the existing manpower in any field may seriously lower standards of performance. 6 The importance of carefully thought-out policies and strategies for human resources development and use. We must do more than preach that investment in men is more important than investment in things. We must carry this view into practice. 1 The need for institutions and individuals to be adaptive to change. Individuals must have a deep commitment to innovation and self- renewal. Institutions must continually adapt their policies and proced- ures to new tasks. They also have an increasing responsibility for encouraging personnel, especially those in the professions, to renew, update, and extend their skills throughout their careers, and for pro- viding them opportunities to do so. These seven themes provide the perspective from which the Com- mittee's recommendations for improved utilization of scientific and en- gineering manpower emerged. These recommendations, discussed in the preceding sections, are brought together in a consolidated program in the following pages. 48
UTILIZATION AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 1 Before the government reaches a decision to undertake a great technological program (e.g., the lunar landing or the supersonic jtaoe IS transport projects), it should make a careful assessment of the impact of the decision on the deployment and utilization of scientists and engineers. Responsibility should be assigned to a unit within the Executive Office of the President for (a) stimulating and coordinating pagf U planning by federal departments and agencies with respect to scientific and engineering manpower; (b) promoting research, both inside and outside government, that is likely to facilitate such planning and the solution of manpower problems; and (c) taking the lead in developing an integrated program for the continuing collection and analysis of information, relevant for operating and policy purposes, on scientific and engineering manpower. While the Committee does not recommend a specific location for this unit in the Executive Office, it notes the feasibility of placing it in the Office of Science and Technology. Each department and agency charged with major scientific or engineering activities should assign to one of its top officials page IS responsibility for improving the utilization of civilian scientists and engineers, both those the agency employs and those whose work it finances. The duties of that official should include: (a) participating in government-wide scientific and engineering manpower planning activ- ities; (b) bringing to the attention of his colleagues the implications, in terms of scientific and engineering manpower, of proposed new pro- grams; (c) assessing the impact on manpower of cancellation, curtail- ment, or alteration of major programs; (d) analyzing the influence of various management practices and policies on the effectiveness with which scientific and engineering manpower is utilized; and (e) providing for the collection and analysis of the information he needs to meet his other responsibilities. Specifically, the Committee recommends that an
official be assigned these responsibilities in the Department of Defense in order to improve the utilization of civilian scientists and engineers working on defense programs both within and without the department. 4 The Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal Aviation Agency, the Atomic page IS Energy Commission, and other agencies with major technological pro- grams should continue to place great emphasis on improving the man- agement of major projects by assigning to these projects identifiably top-quality managers with both technical and administrative skills, and giving them authority, responsibility, and resources necessary for suc- cessful completion of projects. Government agencies responsible for development programs should continue to place great emphasis on accurate estimates page 17 of their cost and feasibility, and on the use of multi-phase contracts. 6 In development programs, the use of fixed-price and incentive contracts instead of cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts is to be com- page 17 mended. Great care must be taken by government agencies to establish meaningful and realistic performance criteria. The Committee commends federal contracting agencies in the fields of defense and space for their increasing ability to act at page I8 an early stage to cancel, curtail, or materially alter major programs that do not appear to be worth their cost. Federal departments and agencies should work with industry to develop plans and programs for minimizing the dislocation page 18 and consequent malutilization of scientists and engineers as a result of program cancellation or redirection. 50
9 Federal support of contractor-initiated technical effort by government industrial contractors should be maintained at a page 19 substantial level. Incentives should be developed for encouraging corpo- rate managements to emphasize quality and continuity, and to orient work toward long-run objectives. 1O Greater emphasis should be placed on assuring a high level of professional competence in the federal scientific estab- paoe to lishment. In support of this objective, the administration proposals for higher salaries at the upper levels of government service should be promptly enacted by the Congress. 11 The U.S. Civil Service Commission should take the lead in working with government departments and agencies to im- page XI prove the working environment of scientists and engineers employed by the federal government. It should also help to foster improved fore- casting of their future requirements for scientific and engineering per- sonnel. The Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commis- sion, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, page 11 the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and other government departments and agencies should periodically review the missions and programs of the mission-oriented research laboratories they finance in full, both those they operate directly and those operated under contract, in order to make sure (a) that their resources continue to serve high-priority national needs and objectives, (b) that the arrangements for their management and location provide them maximum opportunity to be strong and creative, and (c) that their programs and administrative arrangements are compatible with the objectives of the institutions with which they may be linked. The Committee suggests that the resources of the President's Science Advisory Committee could be called upon in con- ducting these reviews and in arriving at decisions. 51
UTILIZATION AND INDUSTRY Corporate managers should identify their most promising scientists and engineers, and take action to enable them paai to fully develop and apply their competence. Corporate managers should strive to provide a climate for creativity and productivity of highly qualified scientists and page 14 engineers in keeping with their great potential value to their firms. A key to the success of a system-development "project" team is the quality of its central core of technical and ad- page f 5 ministrative talent. This group should be given authority consistent with its objectives. 16 Industry, government, and the universities all share a re- sponsibility to train and develop more managers and project Jfage 15 engineers who combine thorough understanding of the technology they manage with mastery of the art of leadership. Companies that use scientific and engineering manpower should actively seek ways to help their high-talent man- page 96 power augment and replenish their professional capabilities. 18 Utilization of scientists and engineers in industry could be further improved if there were more systematic study of pagett the art and science of research management. With industry taking the lead, private foundations, industry, and government should provide more stimulus and funds for this purpose. The Committee recommends intensive study of the experience of modern corporations that are 52
heavily committed to research and innovation, or whose chief business is research and development rather than production. gfl ^^ The Committee recognizes the existence of some waste of ⢠^^ scientific and engineering talents inherent in practices such as "goldplating," "brochuremanship," and "stockpiling" of manpower. This waste, in the Committee's view, can best be minimized by improved management in both government and industry along the lines suggested in this report, and does not demand a fundamental overhauling of gov- ernment procurement methods or the imposition of extreme controls over contractors. Coordinated action by industry and government is needed to stimulate more research and development in areas of page 19 the economy where the rate of innovation has been relatively slow. UTILIZATION IN THE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Colleges and universities engaged in scientific and engineer- ing education must accept full responsibility for maintaining page 3t a proper balance among the claims of teaching, research, and public service. They should systematically seek the cooperation of the federal government in maintaining the proper balance. Since the scholar-teacher plays an indispensable role in the culti- vation and development of first-rate minds, scientists and engineers who accept faculty membership should also, with few exceptions, assume an obligation to teach that is as clear and compelling as their commit- ment to research. We need better ways to recognize and reward dis- tinguished teachers of science and engineering (who are not always distinguished in research). While this is a direct responsibility of the universities, professional and honorary societies, which recognize other distinctions by awards and memberships, have given far too little recognition to great teaching. These organizations, together with such national bodies as the President's Science Advisory Committee, might well suggest more effective ways of recognizing great teachers and creative contributions to the teaching process. 53
The nation needs not only to further the efforts of its present centers of educational excellence in science, but page S6 also to develop new ones that are as good as the best it now has. Programs of curriculum development and reform that in- volve outstanding scholars in the universities working page 38 jointly with pre-college teachers should be encouraged and supported with greatly enlarged funding. Universities with strength in science should accept a responsibility to provide special study and research op- page 39 portunities for faculty members of independent liberal arts colleges. Moreover, these colleges need to strengthen the quality of their science teaching through increased funds for salaries, research, and faculty leaves for professional development. Efforts now being made to improve the professional edu- cation of engineers should be augmented and accelerated page 40 along the following lines: (a) Strengthen and expand graduate study in engineering, (b) Continue the reform of engineering undergraduate education, reducing its rigidity and enriching its scientific content, (c) Continue to modern- ize the laboratory facilities of engineering schools. Universities, in close cooperation with industry and gov- ernment, should develop a concerted attack on the prob- page W lem of updating engineering and scientific manpower. Universities should take the lead in expanding research on the educational process. Curriculum reform, improve- page4t ment in engineering schools, expansion of teacher training, and the establishment of new centers of excellence all require a sound foundation in research. 54
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH The Committee recommends that the government, in- dustry, and the universities expand or initiate research page 43 efforts that will provide the broader perspectives and increased knowl- edge needed for dealing more effectively with the issues of scientific and engineering manpower utilization. Examples of research areas include: (a) the economics and dynamics of scientific and engineering manpower, (b) unused potential in human resources, (c) technological aids, (d) the organization in its operating environment, (e) the scientist or engineer in his working environment, (f) scientific and engineering manpower and public policy. IN CONCLUSION These recommendations should not be taken as harsh criticism of gov- ernment, industry, and the universities, to which they are mainly di- rected, but rather as an expression of the Committee's conviction that our society can adjust to new conditions and requirements. The Com- mittee has confidence in the ability of our institutions to adapt to change, and it is this adaptation that it seeks to facilitate by the program of action recommended above. Our goal should be to encourage the flowering of individual skills and to open new avenues of individual fulfillment. In our research- oriented, innovative society we have an unprecedented opportunity to encourage all our citizens to be creative, each in his own way. Science and technology can hasten the achievement of this goal if we deploy and use our creative talent wisely. 55
