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Executive Summary
Pages 1-9

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From page 1...
... , the needs and potential uses of NSF's ROD data by a variety of users, the goals of an integrated system of surveys and other data collection activities, and the quality of the data collected in the existing Science Resources Statistics (SRS) surveys.
From page 2...
... Some users are deeply troubled by the apparent discrepancy between reports of federal spending on RED and the amounts that academia and industry report that they have received from the federal government. This large discrepancy casts doubt on the reliability of some of the data sources.
From page 3...
... It was last redesigned in 1991, to expand the sample into the service sector of the economy and make other changes. The panel recommends that NSF address the problems associated with this survey first, and lists its recommendations below in order of priority.
From page 4...
... The panel recommends the use of supplemental lists of RED performers in drawing the sample. There are a number of practical problems to be solved in using one or more supplemental lists.
From page 5...
... The panel concludes that innovation, linked activities, and outcomes can be measured and the results used to inform public debate or to support public policy development. Furthermore, the panel recommends that resources be provided to SRS to build an internal capacity to resolve the methodological issues related to collecting innovation-related data.
From page 6...
... . Similarly, the panel recommends that NSF devote attention to further researching the issues involved with converting the federal support survey into a system that aggregates microdata records taken from standardized, automated reporting systems in the key federal agencies that provide federal support to academic and nonprofit institutions (Recommendation 5.3 )
From page 7...
... Sensitive to these concerns, the NSF staff has recently introduced several innovations in the questionnaire and in process automation. The panel recommends that the experience in the fielding of the revised questionnaire in 2003 be carefully evaluated by outside cognitive survey design experts, and that the results of those cognitive evaluations serve as the foundation for subsequent improvements to this mandated survey (Recommendation 6.7)
From page 8...
... The panel recommends that future comparisons of federal funding and performer expenditures be based on outlays versus expenditures, not obligations versus expenditures (Recommendation 7.1)
From page 9...
... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 by the Science Resources Statistics Division in fostering an environment for the improvement of data quality. We continue to be hopeful that these recent initiatives, buttressed by additional resources and supplemented by further initiatives such as those outlined in this report, will lay a basis for further improvements in the future.


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