PAGENO="0001"
UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL LABORATORIES
H~ ~
-
HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH,
AND DEVELOPMENT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NINETIETH CONifRESS
SECOND SESSION
MARCH 26, .27, 28; APRIL 2, 3, 4, 1968
[No. 6]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Science and Astronautics
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
93-201 WASHINGTON : 1968
PAGENO="0002"
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASPRONAIJTICS
GEORGE P. MILLER, California, Chairman
OLIN E. TEAGUE, Texas
JOSEPH B. KARTH, Minnesota
KEN HECHLER, West Virginia
EMILIO Q. DADDARIO, Connecticut
J. EDWARD ROUSH, Indiana
JOHN W. DAVIS, Georgia
WILLIAM F. RYAN, New York
THOMAS N. DOWNING, Virginia
JOE D. WAGGONNER, JR., Louisiana
DON FUQUA, Florida
GEORGE B. BROWN, JR., California
LESTER L. WOLFF, New York
WILLIAM J. GREEN, Pennsylvania
EARLE CABELL, Texas
JACK BRINKLEY, Georgia
BOB ECKHARDT, Texas
ROBERTO. TIERNAN, Rhode Island
CHARLES F. DUCANDER, Executive Director and Chief Counsel
JOHN A. CARSTARPHEN, Jr., Chief Cldrk and Counsel
PHILIP B. YEAGER, Counsel
FRANK R. HAMMILL, Jr., Counsel
W. H. BOONE, Chief Technical Consultant
RICHARD P. HINEs, Staff Consultant
PETER A. GERARDI, Technical Consultant
JAMES B. WILSON, Technical Consultant
HAROLD A. GOULD, Technical Consultant
PHILIP P. DICKINSON, Technical Consultant
JOSEPH M. FELTON, Counsel
RICHARD E. BEEMAN, Minority Staff
ELIZABETH S. KERNAN, Scientific Research Assistant
FRANK J. GIEOUX, Clerk
DENIS C. QUIGLEY, Publications Clerk
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT
EMILIO Q. DADDAItIO, Connecticut, Chairman
J. EDWARD ROUSH, Indiana ALPHONZO BELL, California
JOHN W. DAVIS, Georgia CHARLES A. MOSHER, Ohio
JOE D. WAGGONNER, Ja., Louisiana DONALD RUMSFELD, Illinois
GEORGE E. BROWN, JR., California D. B. (BUZ) LUKENS, Ohio
WILLIAM F. RYAN, New York
JA1~IES G. FULTON, Pennsylvania
CHARLES A. MOSHER, Ohio
RICHARD L. ROUDEBUSH, Indiana
ALPHONZO BELL, California
THOMAS M. PELLY, Washington
DONALD RUMSFELD, Illinois
EDWARD J. GURNEY, Florida
JOHN W. WYDLER, New York
GUY VANDER JAGT, Michigan
LARRY WINN, JR., Kansas
JERRY L. PETTIS, California
D. B. (BUZ) LUKENS, Ohio
JOHN E. HUNT, New Jersey
(II)
PAGENO="0003"
CONTENTS
STATEMENTS
Tuesday, March 26, 1968: Paga
Dr. Donald F. Hornig, Director, Office of Science and Teehnology 4
Dr. Alvin M. Weinberg, Director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory - 27
Wednesday, March 27, 1968:
Dr. Allan V. Astin, Director, National Bureau of Standards 4
Dr. William McLean, Technical Director, Navy Undersea Warfare
Center 71
Thursday, March 28, 1968:
Harold B. Finger, Associate Administrator, Office of Organization and
Management, NASA 88
Dr. William H. Pickering Director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory 115
Phillip S. Hughes, Deputy Director, Bureau of the Budget 126
April 2, 1968:
Dr. Donald M. MacArthur, Deputy Director (Research and Tech-
nology), Office of Defense Research and Engineering, Department of
Defense; accompanied by: Edward Tv1. Glass, Assistant Director
(Laboratory Management), Office of Defense Research and Engi-
neering, Department of Defense 147
Dr. Leon Jacobs, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science, Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare; accompanied by Dr. G. Bur-
roughs Mider, Director of Laboratories and Clinics, National
Institutes of Health 207
April 3, 1968:
Dr. Gerald F. Tape, Commissioner, Atomic Energy Commission_ - - 228
Frank W. Lehan, Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology,
Department of Transportation 254
Dr. Thomas F. Rogers, Director, Office Of Urban Technology and
Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development 269
April 4, 1968:
Dr. Alfred Blumstein, Institute for Defense Analysis 288
Quinn Tamm, Executive Director, International Association of Chiefs
of Police 311
Joseph M. English, Director, Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Institute,
of Criminal Law and Procedure, Georgetown University Law Centen 329
(III)
PAGENO="0004"
IV
APPENDIXES
Appendix A:
Report to the President on Government Contracting for Research Page
and Development (Bell report) 339
Appendix B:
Executive Order No. 10521: Administration of scientific research by
agencies of the Federal Government 368
Appendix C:
Executive Order No. 10807: Federal council for science and technology_ 371
Appendix D:
Circular No. A-64 (Revised): Position management systems and em-
ployment ceilings 374
Appendix E:
Circular No. A-76 (Revised): Policies for acquiring commercial or
industrial products and services for Government use 379
Appendix F:
AEC Pollution Research 389
Appendix G:
The "Kilhian Committee" Report, National Academy of Sciences,
1964 392
Appendix H:
Department of Defense In-House Laboratories 399
Appendix I:
DOD Laboratories in the Future, by Edward M. Glass 424
Appendix J:
Notes on the Economy Act of 1932 430
Appendix K:
Scientists and Engineers in the Federal Personnel System, 196&. 431
Appendix L:
The Library of Congress-Legislative Reference Service Principal Pub-
lications Relating to the Future use of Government Laboratories_ - 456
PAGENO="0005"
uTILIZATION OF FEDERAL LABORATORIES
TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1968
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
C0MMIrrEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,
SU1~COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT,
Wa8hingt&n, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a.m., in
room 2325, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Emilio Q. Daddario
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. DADDARIO. This meeting will come to order.
This morning the subcommittee begins 6 days of hearings on the
utilization of Federal laboratories.
The subcommittee's interest in Federal laboratories, and by this I
mean both Government owned and operated such as the National
Bureau of Standards and those which are dovernment owned and
contractor operated, such as Oak Ridge, stems from a number of rea-
sons.
First of all, the Federal Government has a tremendous investment
in laboratory facilities and trained manpower, and in a time of budget
constraint such as we are experiencing now, we must assure that our
available resources are utilized most effectively. Much research and
development is needed to restore the quality of our environment; to
cope with crime; to solve the transportation crisis, and to supply food,
water, and shelter to a growing population. But we are coming to
realize that our resources assignable to science and technology are not
infinite, and that they do have limits. Yet, within these limits, we must
accommodate the continuing demands for new research and develop-
ment.
I am not inferring that every new agency or every new program
find accommodation for all of its research and development within
existing Federal laboratories, but I am saying we should look first to
the expertise we already have developed. What the subcommittee is in-
terested in is the policy guidelines that govern agency decisions in this
area, and how existing competence can be applied to new areas of
opportunity.
These issues are not new, but they do warrant the continuing atten-
tion of the Congress.
In a 1960 Joint Committee report about the future of the Atomic
Energy Commission's laboratories, the AEC describes its laboratories
as vital national assets that should not be considered the exclusive
resources of the atomic energy field. This view was endorsed by the
Commission's General Advisory Committee which added the thought
that:
(1)
PAGENO="0006"
2
The Commission's laboratories . . . should be doing what, at the time, best
serves the National welfare and security.
Two years later, the Bureau of the Budget issued its report to the
President on Government contracting for research and development.
This report, known as the Bell report, focused upon improving the
quality and the utilization of Federal laboratories. The President en-
dorsed the recommendations in the report; however, there has not been
an overall review since that time that shows what was done to carry
out these recommendations of 1962.
In 1966 the Research and Technical Programs Subcommittee of the
Committee on Government Operations published a case study on uti-
lization of Federal laboratory resources which raised questions relevant
to our present hearings.
Most recently, this committee received a report from the Ndtional
Academy of Sciences in 1967 entitled "Applied Science and Tech-
nological Progress." One conclusion of this report was that the "ap-
plied research establishments of the Federal Government should be
examined for redeployment in the light of changing national needs."
The Panel recommended, and this recommendation was endorsed by
the Academy's Committee on Science and Public Policy, that pro-
grams and organizational locations of Federal laboratories should be
examined at intervals to determine whether the maturity of their
original missions would justify some reassignment of effort to emerg-
ing problems of challenging national interest. "Thus redefinition" the
report states, "is essential for exploiting new developments in science
and technology in a timely and effective way, and for realizing the
maximum benefits from prior investments in science."
I believe these actions indicate that we are moving into a new phase
of the relationship between science, technology, and Government, and
one iii which more attention will have to be given to the allocation of
scarce resources among important, competing demands. This will in-
volve hard and difficult decisions, and we expect that the testimony
we will hear over the next few days should highlight the present Fed-
eral policy for use of Government laboratories and a better under-
standing of some of the opportunities and problems involved in such
action.
We are pleased to have as our opening witness Dr. Donald F.
Elornig, Director of the Office of Science and Technology and sci-
ence adviser to the President. Dr. Hornig always has been a great
help to this subcommittee in the past, and we look forward to his
testimony again today.
Following Dr. Hornig, we will hear from Dr. Alvin M. Weinberg,
Director of. the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. Weinberg has
been on the forefront of applying AEC-developed technology to new
fields, and he has been an articulate spokesman of ideas that can shape
and effect Federal policy for use of Government laboratories.
We are pleased that we are starting these hearings, and believe
that the subject is important. We feel that we have the foremost
spokesmen available to us here today. We are particularly concerned
about this problem because the use of national laboratories and the
applied technology capability of our country has been discussed a
number of times in our previous hearings and seminars~ The oppor-
tlThiies availab'e fo make them more useful in accomplishing some of
our national goals are enormous.
PAGENO="0007"
3
Dr. Hornig, I am happy, of course, to see you, and we are anxious
to hear from you.
(Dr. Elornig's biography follows:)
DR. DONALD F. Honuia
Dr. Donald F. Hornig was born in Milwaukee on March 17, 1920, the son of
C. Arthur Hornig and the former Emma Knuth. In 1943 he married Lull Schwenk
and they have four children: Joanna, Ellen, Christopher and Leslie.
Dr. Hornig became Special Assistant to President Johnson for Science and
Technology on January 24, 1964. He was simultaneously named by the Presi-
dent to be Chairman of the Federal Council for Science and Technology. On
January 27, 1964, the Senate confirmed the President's nomination of Dr. Hornig
as Director of the Office of Science and Technology in the Executive Office of the
President. Dr. Hornig also serves as the Chairman of the President's Science
Advisory Committee.
A graduate of Harvard University, where he received his B.S. degree in 1940
and his Ph.D. in chemistry three years later, he was awarded a Guggenheim
grant and a Fuibright scholarship for research at St. John's College, Oxford
University, England in 1954-55, and in 1955 was appointed the first Bourke
Overseas lecturer by the Faraday Society of London.
After receiving his doctorate at Harvard, Dr. Hornig spent a year as a Re-
search Associate at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
From 1944 to 1946 he was a Group Leader at the Los Alamos Laboratory in
New Mexico and in the latter year he joined the faculty at Brown University
as assistant professor. Three years later he became an associate professor and
Director of the Metcalf Research Laboratory. He was promoted to the rank of
Professor in 1951 and the following year became Associate Dean of the Graduate
School. Subsequently be was Acting Dean. In 1957 he joined the faculty of
Princeton University and was appointed Chairman of the Department of Chem-
istry in 1958. Dr. Hornig was the first incumbent of the Donner Chair of Science
at Princeton, established in 1958 by the Donner Foundation, Inc.
Dr. Hornig has been an associate editor of the Journal of Chemical Physics
and a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of Spectrochimica Acta and
Molecular Physics. He was President, from 1945 to 1947, of Radiation Instru-
ments Company, and served as Chairman of Project Metcalf of the Office of
Naval Research in 1951-52. Before coming to Washington in 1964, he was a
member of the Advisory Committee, Office of Scientific Research, U.S. Air Force.
In 1959 be was appointed to the Space Science Board of the National Academy
of Sciences, on which he served until February 1964. In 1960 President Eisen-
hower appointed Dr. Hornig to his Science Advisory Comittee, and he was reap-
pointed by President Kennedy in 1961. In late 1960 he served on the Kennedy
Task Force on Space to help formulate policy in this field for the new adminis-
tration.
In 1962-63 Dr. Hornig served as a member of the U.S. Delegation headed by
Dr. Hugh Dryden which negotiated the agreement with the U.S.S.R. for cooper-
ation in certain space activities.
Dr. Hornig was elected in 1954 to a three year term on the Executive Com-
mittee, Division of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, American Chemical So-
ciety. He is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society (Member, Executive
Committee, Division of Chemical Physics, and Chairman 1957-58); a Fellow of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; a Fellow of the Faraday Society,
London, and was elected as member of the Washington Academy of Sciences in
1967. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1957,~ and in
1964 he was named a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University.
He was elected an Honorary Member of the Rumanian Academy of Sciences in
February 1965. Dr. Hornig is a member of the American Philosophical Society
(1967); in February 1967 was awarded the Engineering Centennial Award by
PMC Colleges, Chester, Pennsylvania; and was the recipient of the 1967 Charles
Lathrop Parsons Award of the American Chemical Society on November 30, 1967.
Dr~ Hornig has published about seventy papers in the Journal of Chemical
Physics, Journal of the Optical Society of America, Journal of Physical Chem-
istry, Review of Scientific Instruments, Physics of Fluids, Molecular Physics,
Spectrochimica Acta, Discussion of the Faraday Society, etc. on molecular and
crystal structure, infrared and Raman spectra, shock and detonation waves,
relaxation phenomena and fast chemical reactions at high temperatures.
PAGENO="0008"
4
Dr. Hornig has been awarded honorary degrees by: Temple University (LLD
1964); Yeshiva University of New York (Doctor of Humane Letters 1965) ; Uni-
versity of Notre Dame (LLD 1965) ; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Doctor of
Science 1965) ; University of Maryland (Doctor of Science 1965) ; Ripon College
(Doctor of Science 1966) ; Boston College (Doctor of Laws 1966) ; PMC Colleges
(Doctor of Science 1967) ; University of Wisconsin (Doctor of Science 1967)
and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Doctor of Engineering 1967).
STATEMENT OP DR. DONALD P. HORNIG, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OP THE
PRESIDENT
Dr. H0RNIG. Mr. Chairman, it is always a pleasure to appear before
this subcommittee.
These hearings are addressed to the question of how to make the
best use of existing Federal laboratories. It is a very important ques-
tion, about which I have been much concerned, as has the Federal
Council for Science and Technology and the President's Science
Advisory Committee. There are well over 100 laboratories of substan-
tial size in the Federal Establishment, and perhaps several times that
number of installations where some research and development is per-
formed. Around $3.5 billion is being spent annually in laboratories
operated by the Federal Government and our cumulative investment
in these facilities in the last decade exceeds $7 billion.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to consider the utilization of
existing laboratories in isolation from larger problems. The function
of laboratories is to solve present problems and to lay the foundation
for the future. Their productivity must be measured by their effect on
current and future programs, public and private, of the entire Nation,
usually involving expenditures many times greater than those directly
involved in laboratory operations. Because of this "multiplier effect"
it is important that the utilization of the Federal laboratories be
viewed in the context of their overall contribution to national progress
rather than a narrow problem of the administration of the laboratories
themselves.
The most critical questions are: (1) The choice of problems, their
significance, and the feasibility of finding solutions through research
and development; (2) the creation of capabilities in the laboratories
which can, in fact, solve the most difficult problems; and (3) the trans-
lation of the results of the laboratories' work into action in either the
public or the private sectors. The variations in how these questions
are answered may far outweigh such other questions as whether one
agency uses the capabilities of another agency or whether all facilities
are used to the maximum extent.
These questions have received a great deal of consideration and
thought from my office through the years. I must tell you frankly that
I am not satisfied with our performance; I cannot give you a solution
myself, but I know of no one else who thinks he has final answers,
either. Of course, there are no final answers, but we can look for the
best provisional answers in a constantly changing situation.
There has been a Committee on the Federal Laboratories in the
Federal Council for Science and Technology since 1959, chaired by
Dr. Allen Astin, Director of the National Bureau of Standards. It
has studied the salary and nonsalary factors that bear on the ability
PAGENO="0009"
5
of laboratories to attract and retain superior scientific and engineering
people, and thus maintain their competence and ability. Two reports
were published in 1962 under the title, "The Competition for Qual-
ity." More recently, the views of laboratory personnel were compre-
hensively polled oii how they weigh the relative importance of various
factors in sustaining laboratory excellence. The results were published
in 1966 under the title "The Environment for Quality." What
emerged was that the single most important factor in laboratory
morale was a sense of purpose on the part of each scientist and a sense
that the results mattered to someone.
The broadest single study made to date of Federal R. & D. activi-
ties, the "Report to the President on Government Contracting for
Research and Development" was prepared by a committee of Federal
department and agency heads, chaired by David Bell, then Director
of the Bureau of the Budget, and including the Special Assistant for
Science and Technology. The Bell report was chiefly concerned with
questions related to the Government's use of private institutions and
enterprises to obtain scientific and technical work needed for public
purposes. It exploded the conditions under which contractor opera-
tions are effective and the limitations which make Federal laboratory
operations difficult. As regards Federal laboratories, it emphasized
the importance of the relationship between the laboratory and the
agency it serves, as follows:
Director Federal operations, such as the governmental laboratory, enjoy a
dose and continuing relationship to the agency they serve which permits maxi-
mum responsiveness to the needs of that agency and a maximum sense of
sharing the mission of the agency. Such operations accordingly have a natural
advantage in conducting research, feasibility studies, developmental and ana-
lytical work, user tests and evaluations which directly support the management
functions of the agency. Furthermore, an agency-operated research and develop-
ment installation may provide a useful source of technical management per-
sonnel for its sponsor.
Mr. DADDARIO. At that point, Dr. Hornig, I would like to quote
again from the Bell report and ask you a question. The Bell report
recommended, and I quote:
It would seem, based on the results of this review, that it would be possible
and desirable to make more use of existing government facilities and avoid the
completion of duplicate facilities. This is not as easy as it might seem. Never-
theless, in some cases, and to some extent, it is clearly possible to do this and
a continuing scrutiny is necessary in order to make sure that the facilities
which the government has are used to their fullest extent.
No, the first question is, Who do you see is providing the continu-
ing security factor ~
Dr. H0RNIG. Well, in a very general sense, I suppose this is to some
extent my responsibility. These questions of mating facilities to agen-
cies involve matters of considerable detail, both in the management and
functions of the agency and the capabilities of the laboratory, and so
the hard questions really relate, I think, to the technical managers
in the individual agencies and to the laboratory directors.
Mr. DADDARIO. I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that men do
their best work and morale is highest when they relate their work to a
specific mission of the agency. Yet, somewhere along the line, doesn't
this begin to fall apart if the mission objectives of the agency have been
pretty much completed?
PAGENO="0010"
6
Dr. H0RNIG. Yes; but this can be done in a variety of ways. In many
cases, the best may be simply to close down the laboratory and turn its
physical properties over to another agency rather than to push a low
morale, inefficient organization into another job which it might do just
as poorly. What I am saying is that if one grades laboratories from
zero to a hundred and puts our best laboratories at a scale of a hundred,
there will be lots of laboratories which come down to 10 in their
productivity. It isn't because everybody isn't busy, and it wouldn't
necessarily be helped if you put somebody else's job in those labora-
tories. They would produce at the level 10 no matter what you did to
them.
Mr. DADDARIO. There is no question but that the subcommittee feels
that the closing down of laboratories is one of the possibilities, and
we ought to be able to come to a judgment about how to do it sooner
rather than later.
On the other hand, it is more important to understand what the
good laboratories are, in fact, doing and to develop within them the
competence and the confidence that they may continue to do highest
quality work and not feel that every Federal laboratory was under
pressure of being closed down. Somewhere along the line a rating
system, perhaps, seems to be in order.
Dr. H0RNm. As I will indicate in my testimony, my own office, the
Federal Council, and the Science Advisory Committee, have been try-
ing to do precisely the things you said: to work with the system as a
whole, to work with the individual agencies, and to look at specific
laboratories and try to encourage better performance where we see it
is necessary, and to close down where it is necessary, too.
Mr. DADDARIO. Why don't we go on? We can come back to this when
you are finished.
Dr. HORNIG. All right.
The Federal organization for the conduct of in-house research has
also been periodically examined by the President's Science Advisory
Committee. In 1961, a PSAC panel, under the chairmanship of Dr.
George Harrar of the Rockefeller Foundation, studied the scientific
programs of the Department of Agriculture. In 1964, PSAC asked
Dr. E. R. Piore, vice president for research of IBM Corp., and formerly
Chief Scientist of the Navy, to head a panel on Government labora-
tories. The Panel was asked "to search for ways to increase the total
effectiveness with which the resources of over 100 laboratories of
widely differing size and purpose can contribute to the missions of the
executive agencies." This is exactly the question you have asked me.
At the same time, the PSAC set up a panel scientific and technical
manpower for Government service, under the chairmanship of Dr.
Albert G. Hill of MIT. The Panels ended up working very closely to-
gether because they both concluded that the central problem was man-
agement rather than administrative and personnel procedures, par-
ticularly the validity of the laboratory missions and the way the lab-
oratories report into the departmental structure.
Both of these Panels focused their attention on the Department of
Defense because DOD has a far larger and more complex technical
organization than any other agency of the Federal Government.
In the course of their studies, the Panels initiated a series of pro-
ductive discussions with the Defense Department which are continuing.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Hornig, was the PSAC report ever published?
PAGENO="0011"
7
Dr. HoRNIG. No, the Committee has worked closely with me, and
with the agencies concerned, but they produced no published reports.
Mr. DADDARIO. Its purpose was other than a published publication?
Dr. H0RNIG. That is right. The purpose was to secure some action.
Mr. DADDARIO. The Panels have been working together?
Dr. H0RNIG. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. And you feel it has produced action?
Dr. H0RNm. Yes. There is lots more needed, but on many of these
things one can achieve much more by working with the people who
have to remedy the problem than by publishing documents about them.
Mr. IDADDARTO. Could we sometimes say when we bring together a
commission of this kind that it will not necessarily produce a report
so when it does not, there will not be suspicion about it?
Dr. H0RNm. The normal state of affairs for the President's Ad-
visory Committee is that it does not publish reports. It is the case 95
percent of the time.
Mr. DADDARTO. Notwithstanding that, when somebody heads a panel
to perform a study and the study is not published, then there are
sometimes dire statements made in the press about something of a
cloudy nature being hidden. I know that is not the case, but it might
be a good idea to spell it out in the first instance~
Dr. HORNIG. I think this is an excellent suggestion.
During the past year the Department of Defense has been taking
vigorous steps to realine and redefine the missions in the Army and
Navy laboratories, and to some extent the Air Force laboratories. An
analysis has been made to determine whether the administrative inhibi-
tions found in those laboratories have their origin in congressional
actions, in civil service rules, or have been self-generated within the
individual departments and commands. Most commonly it is the latter~
What emerges in all these studies is that the laboratory is, and must
be, closely related to the organization of the service of which it is a
part. Thus, there is no single general prescription even for the Depart-
ment of Defense.
In 1964-65 a major study of the National Institutes of Health was
conducted under the auspices of the Office of Science and Technology
by a distinguished panel headed by Dr. Dean E. Wooldridge. Its
report, entitled "Biomedical Science and Its Administration," was
published in February 1965. The panel found that the national bio-
medical program had been extraordinarily productive, but that there
was much room for improvement in its management. Many of the
suggestions have been taken into account.
From the various studies which have been carried out, there emerge
some guidelines for successful laboratory operation on which there
seems to be a remarkable consensus among groups with diverse
backgrounds.
The Bell report states:
It is generally recognized that having significant and challenging work to
do is the most important element in establishing a successful research and
development organization.
I would add to this the need for the laboratory to have strong,
capable leadership, able to relate the laboratory to the purposes of
its sponsoring agency or agencies~ and able to motivate the laboratory
personnel.
PAGENO="0012"
8
In my view, the people in the laboratory should have the strong
sense of purpose which is essential to success. A strong sense of pur-
pose is not nearly so much a matter of havmg a carefully written
statement of laboratory mission, useful as this may be, as it is of
having genuinely significant things to do, strong leadership, and a
continuing sense of accomplishment.
The Bell report also recommends:
Delegating to research laboratory directors more authority to make program
:and personnel decisions, to control funds, and otherwise to command the resources
~which are necessary to carry out the mission of the installation.
Providing the research laboratory director a discretionary allotment of funds,
to be available for projects of his choosing, and for the results of which he is
to be responsible;
Eliminating, where possible, excess layers or echelons of supervisory manage-
ment, and insuring that technical, administrative, and fiscal reviews be con-
ducted concurrently and in coordinated fashion; and
Making laboratory research assignments in the form of a few major items
with a reasonable degree of continuity rather than a multiplicity of small nar-
rowly specified tasks; this will put responsibility for detailed definition of the
work to be done at the laboratory level where it belongs.
I strongly believe that all of these points are still valid. So is the
report's emphasis on the need for salary scales which will attract and
hold highly competent men and women in the Federal laboratories.
Salary reforms in the recent past have done much to improve the com-
parability between Federal and private pay scales for technical and
scientific personnel, but we repeatedly find situations where key per-
sonnel receiving less than $20,000 are able to move easily to positions
in the private sector paying two or three times that figure. There also
remains a serious problem of compression of the~ top management
salary levels, so that the highest echelons receive comparatively little
more than the middle levels and are most likely to leave the Govern-
ment service.
Mr. DADDARIO. Would you go back to the first two recommendations
and spell out for us a little more what you mean by saying that labora-
tory directors should have more authority to control funds and should
have a discretionary allotment of funds. What amount of money or
what percentage are you talking about and how does this compare with
a private laboratory such as Du Pont?
Dr. HORNIG. It varies from laboratory to laboratory, but I would
say that the laboratory director ought to have something like 10 per-
cent of his funds which are internally allocable. I don't think that
one can give a general prescription without looking at the detailed
circumstance of any given laboratory. The more general purpose the
laboratory is in some ways and the stronger its leadership the more
discretionary funds I would like to trust to its director.
Mr. DADDARIO. You have to relate the laboratory to the agency as
you have said is one of a criteria of strength. If~the laboratory direc-
tor has this discretionary authority to use funds as he sees fit, how
do you protect him from the people back in the agency? They may
think he is spinning his wheels in areas which are not related to mission
purposes, and this is in a time when they are looking for every dollar
possible to accomplish a mission objective?
Dr. HORNIG. He still has to submit an annual budget and review of
what he does, and if he goes off on tracks which don't contribute to his
agency, you don't fund him.
PAGENO="0013"
9
Mr. DADDARIO. Isn't that one of the problems that would arise? The
reason I ask you that is to make a comparison with the private sector.
If he does have to explain it and if he is not going to get support, he
does not really have discretionary authority which you would like him
to have.
Dr. HORNIG. I don't have any hard figures for the private sector.
Mr. DADDARIO. How it would work generally?
Dr. H0RNIG. In general, `when research directors confer with us from
the private sector we learn that there are more discretionary funds in
a private business than we allow our directors in a Federal laboratory.
The director is supposed to know what his job is; if he is in a com-
pany he knows what the business is. If it is discretionary, it is still not
within his discretion to go off and do something that the company is
not involved in.
When we give a laboratory director a discretionary authority, it is
discretion essentially to explore what are the best technical opportu-
nities to contribute to his job, not to go off on tangents. You catch up
with him on the next year's budget if he goes off on tangents.
Mr. DADDARIO. Let me ask you this question to see if I can satisfy
some of the questions in my mind. Being fundamentally of the opinion
that the laboratory director should have this authority, do we in fact
enhance the capabilities of the laboratory. Are we able to make better
use of the knowledge developed and do it more quickly? We just had
hearings on pollution and unless we are able to rapidly use the knowl-
edge in this particular area, the problem will get out of hand. We must
apply our knowledge quicker rather than later. One of the objectives
we would hope to achieve by giving the laboratory director this dis-
cretionary authority would be to do this.
Dr. H0RNIG. I think this is precisely right. In the first place, very
little of what we are talking about is basic research.
Secondly, the job of the laboratory is not to accumulate a pile of
knowledge or to turn over the grains of sand in the Sahara Desert
and examine them one at a time. Its hardest problem is to decide what
the problems really are and how they can be tackled, and for this
one needs keen technical insight. It is not usually true that desk-
bound people like myself can sit at the top of the pyramid and say
what the real technical problems are that are soluble next year. This
takes ideas from the people who are hard at work and this is the
importance of the role of the laboratory and its director. In many
cases one can define the general outline of problems from the agency
level, but the question of whether you make progress depends on
picking the right detailed problems, those which are ripe for solving
at a given time. That requires keen technical insight. This is why I
emphasize the role of the laboratory director. As all the study panels
have emphasized, the most critical thing is the technical talent.
Mr. DADDARIO. The discretionary authority then would allow the
director to pick the right problem because he has the best ability to
do that, and then he would be able to pick the right people to accom-
plish the job.
Dr. H0RNIG. Ninety percent of a program is laid out between the
laboratory director and his management. But when there are gooct
ideas arising from the technical staff, subject to internal review, that
look promising, he should be in a position to move rapidly. This is
PAGENO="0014"
10
important both for the results it will give us and for what it does
for the morale of his people when they can act on good ideas when they
come up, rather than writing proposals for successive review which
may result in permission 2 years later to go ahead with it.
Mr. DADDARIO. How far would you allow this discretionary author-
ity to go if during the course of his work a laboratory director saw
an opportunity to be helpful in an area of great interest to the
country? For example, if Dr. Weinberg sees that some of his people
in accomplishing one thing developed an ability to handle certain
of our problems relating to crime, would you allow him to use part
of his discretionary funds to prove this out to the point where it
could be used?
Dr. HORNIG. Well, this, for instance, gets outside of the general
mission of Dr. Weinberg's laboratory, so I would say that no, I
would not include any real program in crime within his discretionary
authority.
On the other hand, if his people came up with a really good and
promising idea that was on a relatively small scale, and as a prelude
to discussion with, for instance, the Attorney General, if he wanted
to do some exploratory work to test the validity of the concepts they
were going to provide, I would say, yes, this made good sense.
Mr. DADDARIO. This is one of the weaknesses I see in your argument
about the agency relationship. On occasion, knowledge could develop
to the point where it could be applied to other problems and people
who are working on this, having a social conscience, being concerned
about the problems of the country, should be allowed to pursue it.
In fact, it may affect their work if they were not allowed to have this
kind of flexibility. I recognize it is a difficult decision, and should not
be allowed in every instance. Nor do I, at the moment, see any type
of language that we as a committee could recommend as a guideline.
Nonetheless, I think that there ought to be some provision whereby
such work can be done even though it is not related to the particular
agency.
Shouldn't we in some instances allow the director to do a certain
amount of whatever he wants, regardless of the mission objective?
Dr. HORNIG. You ask a number of questions. Obviously, if the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory has capabilities, for instance, in the crime
or pollution area, we can and we do use its capabilities on behalf of
other agencies. But this is a little different from a question of what
should he do within his discretionary authority, because within his
discretionary authority he is using AEC funds. I think Dr. Weinberg
would have a pretty hard time explaining to the Joint Committee on
Atomic Energy any extensive efforts in areas not related to atomic
energy which he carried out with money appropriated for atomic
energy. This is a management problem. Somebody else has got to
pay for it.
Mr. DADDARIO. That is what we are trying to find an answer to.
Dr. H0RNm. ~\Te do it.
Mr. DADDARIO. But how will he know this capability has other ap-
plications in the first instance? He would have to compress his activity
because it is not within the mission objective. Therefore, you would be
stifling this growth before it has a chance to prove itself.
PAGENO="0015"
~11
11r T~T~JG. I don't ~ how to answer this question generally. You
can ask him about it. There are two routeS. One ~s general. If it is
within his discretion, he can do it. It is important, of course, that we
utilize the full capabilities of a laboratory, but I would simply say
that within the discretionary funds the scale of what he undertal~e5
in a different direction is actually limited. I don't think it inhibits him
very much.
Dr. Weinberg, and I will mention this later in my testimony, does do
work for the Office of Saline Water ; he has worked in collaboration
with the National Institutes of Health. I believe, for instance, that
other agencies put about $50 million a year into all the AEC labora-
tories. The route you mention is surely one we want to go, but the
problem that has to be answered in detail is when and what scale one
should go off in new directions.
I remember in the early days of missiles when just about every
military organization and laboratory in the business wanted to go ot1~
and invent its missiles and this hadl to be brought back under control.
Granted crime and pollution are very important problems, we don't
want every agency in the country to go off on its own private pollution
program, except where it has something special to contribute.
Mr. DADDARIO. This committee has wrestled with this laboratory
problem, and I can recall some years back we were, some of. us, against
the development of a biomedical capability within NASA. Notwith-
standing that, they did develop a capability which went along for
years until the committee was able to put certain budgetary restraints
on them. They are now getting together and working more with other
agencies. The fact is that it is not always an easy thing to do. If the
agency head recognizes that Congress does want the laboratory direc-
tor to have such authority, it would be somewhat easier.
The reason I am asking these questions is to see if somehow we can
lay the base with this testimony on which we can develop some guide-
lines which would protect the director. I would suspect he would need
some protection, in fact.
Dr. HORNIG. I think I would say that a reasonable fraction of his
budget ought to be at his discretion in order to cope with the points you
mention.
I mention 10 percent, but I think that is a variable number. It de-
pends on the nature of the organization, whether it is a highly focused
organization or a general nature organization.
Mr. DADDARIO. The point you raise in comparing this with the pri-
vate laboratories is that a private company which is successful allows
their research people to have some discretion because it is a profitable
thing to do.
Dr. H0RNIG. But the laboratory director knows what business his
company is in when he is exercising this discretion. I have conferred
with a number of big private industries on this matter. I find they make
statements, for instance, that yes, they have given him authority
to pursue any promising opportunity that appears. I then try to find
out what did he do. He never strayed very far from the peņeral
area in which the company might utilh~e his results, and the r~ason is
very simple. The talent he had assembled in the laboratory was related
to the business. His own interests were related to the company, and the
promising ideas appear to be related.
PAGENO="0016"
In the case of ~ne big company, I k~ ~ ~ii~ ol tneir ~
men had a good idea that went off at completely right angles, and by
mutual consent he went somewhere else.
Mr. DADDAEIO. What you have said is extremely helpful. If we could
establish the guidelines so that within that framework there would be
that type ~of latitude, we would improve the situation from what it
presentlyj is.
Dr. HoRNm. Yes. In the best cases, that is the way it is, but it isn't
widespread enough. I would agree with you.
Almost all reports agree that there is generally excessive admini-
strative control and not enough freedom given to the directors of the
laboratories, due not only to civil service or other rules, but to practices
and procedures which have evolved through the years in the various de-
partments.
For example, in the military departments there has been a difficult
problem in the relationship between military and civilian personnel in
the direction of laboratories, which has been accentuated by the policy
of rotation of technically qualified officers.
Everyone has observed that the average capability of the Govern-
ment laboratories compares favorably to the average capability of in-
dustrial laboratories and most university laboratories.
Mr. DADDARIO. Has there developed a retraining program so that
those employees who are not up to snuff because they have not been
trained and whom you cannot get rid of because of civil service regu-
lations could, in fact, be retrained in order to keep them up to the
quality level you would like?
Dr. H0RNIG. There is retraining authority. It is exercised in
some laboratories and some organizations, but what is actually done
is highly variable among the laboratories and agencies of the
Government.
Mr. DADDARIO. Should there be a procedure or control of this, or is
this one of the things that ought to be left to the discretion of the
laboratory director?
Dr. HORNIG. Well, as a general principle there always ought to be
some training and retraining activities. I think just how this is done,
and the extent to which it is done, depends again on the nature
of the laboratory, the nature of its personnel and the nature of its
task, and I think considerable discretion should be left to the director.
When there is lack of performance it can usually be associated with
lack of mission, lack of urgency, and lack of a reward system for
performance and recognition.
I should like to underscore the importance of discretionary funds
for the laboratory management. We just discussed that. The labora-
tory director ought to be able to seize initiatives without waiting for
the 24-month cycle of budget requests by the laboratory, budget ap-
proval by the agency, budget requests by the agency to the Bureau
of the Budget, approval by the President, appropriations re-
quests to the Congress, and congressional appropriations action. But
even if funds are available, there is a question of whether all ideas
from a laboratory should be subjected to successive detailed reviews
by deskbound administrators.
A laboratory needs to be able to generate its own ideas abo~ ~yJi~
it should be doing. A significant number o~ major technical develop-
PAGENO="0017"
13
ments coming out of our Federal laboratories, such as the Sidewinder
missile which is still one of our best air-to-air weapons, were started
or nurtured with funds that would not have been available if the
laboratory director had taken the rules too literally.
I will leave the details of this problem for laboratory directors such
as Dr. Weinberg and Dr. McLean who will follow me.
Let me now turn to the adaptation of Federal laboratories as they
complete the tasks for which they were established, or the immediacy
of tasks changes, or the nature of the problem is modified by subse-
quent events. How to assign new tasks to existing laboratories, when
to establish new laboratories, and when and how to disband existing
organizations and abandon existing facilities are closely related
questions.
It is certainly true that the roles of some of the Federal laboratories
have changed significantly or diminished with time, leaving a sub-
stantial combination of talent and capital investment without a clearly
defined job. At the same time, the changing needs of the Nation from
time to time require inauguration of new research programs, whether
in the effects of pollutants and the setting of standards, the abate-
ment of pollution, improved transportation systems, or crime control.
The question, of course, is how to manage the total collection of Fed-
eral laboratories to take account of the changing mix of priorities.
One of the suggestions which has been made is to establish a Fed-
eral agency to operate laboratories and perform what is in effect con-
tract research for the rest of the Federal establishment. This hypo-
thetical agency has sometimes been termed a "GSA for Federal re-
search." This is essentially what is done in the Soviet Union for every-
thing but defense research, atomic energy research, and basic research.
The feasibility of such an approach depends, I think, on how the
agency is conceived and what kinds of work are assigned to it. As a
housekeeping and general management device, it might be successful
in the same way as the industrial contractors who operate the AEC
laboratories. However, I have serious misgivings about this approach.
An effective R. & D. program involves a dynamic give and take be-
tween the laboratory and its parent agency. It must not only carry
out assigned tasks, but spell out the tasks which need to be performed;
it must be a source of ideas for its parent agency and help the agency
to put the laboratory's output into practice. All of this requires a very
close identification between a laboratory and its sponsoring agency.
Nonetheless, under certain conditions, we have seen that one Federal
agency can perform research effectively for another. The Office of
Saline Water in the Department of the Interior, for example, is one
of the best examples we have of a technically oriented Federal agency
which has performed an important part of its research and develop-
ment work through "contract" with other Federal agencies. Since part
of this work is being done at AEC's Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
you may want to go into some detail about it with Dr. Weinberg.
OSW work has also been performed by other Federal agencies such as
the National Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Reclamation.
In general, OSW experience suggests that work performed by other
Federal agencies can be highly successful provided the performing
laboratory shares fundamental objectives and research traditions with
the sponsoring agency. The question really comes down to compati-
93-20i-68-----2
PAGENO="0018"
14
bility in how the two organizations do business. The problems of liai-
son, of making sure that the sponsoring organization has effective
means of input into the performing organization and vice versa, are
distinctly more complicated when a direct line of management control
is absent, but when conditions are right, this difficulty can be over-
come. It is not unlike the problem of contracting for research outside
the Government which is, after all, the way we carry out most fed-
erally sponsored B. & D.
Each case must be considered on its merits, but I would hope that
we could encourage more of the kind of use OSW has made of capa-
bilities in other agencies, so that we can obtain a broader base of ex-
perience on which to make judgments in the future. It is probably
no accident that the transfer of work has been niost effective when
carried out in the large "general-purpose laboratories" such as the
Bureau of Standards or the AEC's national laboratories.
Such considerations lead me to the conclusion that it would be a
mistake to establish general Federal policies at this time, either legis-
latively or otherwise, regarding performance of Federal research and
development work in Federal laboratories outside the sponsoring
agency. I am not aware of any current policies or procedures which
hinder one agency from using another's capabilities. As a practical
matter, there may be a need to remove or modify personnel ceilings for
laboratories which are going to perform research for nonparent agen-
cies. It is also possible that in some cases, one might need to seek fur-
ther interpretation by the Comptroller General of the Economy Act
of 1932. If there are any real obstacles, I would want to work to re-
solve them.
The temptation to keep all existing laboratories busy and to make
maximum use of capital facilities already in existence is strong. How-
ever, the simple fact is that in many cases we would do better to start
afresh on a new problem. The question of when to start new labora-
tories, and what to do about those that are obsolescent or too small
to be effective, should also receive careful attention on a case-by-case
basis. Obsolescent laboratories are inefficient, because the best people
leave first. Facilities and equipment established for one purpose often
are very difficult and costly to adapt to wholly new missions. It is
not at all clear that one gains financially by trying to refurbish old
laboratories, and meanwhile one may be losing the dedication and
enthusiasm which often go with a wholly fresh start.
In restructuring the Federal laboratory system, it is important to
recognize that laboratories need to be of a critical size to be really
effective. There should not only be adequate strength in the principal
areas of effort, but also enough scientific and technical disciplines
represented among the laboratory personnel to yield useful interac-
tion among them-as when the biologist needs the help of a physicist
or an engineer to overcome a particular problem. A "critical mass" of
people allows for internal redisposition of jobs and people and permits
it to take on new assignments without undue strain or complete re-
organization. A scattering of small laboratories, such as some in the
Department of Agriculture, for example, dissipates this opportunity.
One of the recommendations of the PSAC study of agricultural re-
search which I mentioned earlier is that many of the USDA research
field stations be either closed or transferred to the State experiment
stations.
PAGENO="0019"
15
In short, if we are really seeking efficiency, I believe the place to
start is by shoring up our determination to close old or ineffective
facilities down and walk away from them. It isn't easy. Agencies
themselves often find it hard to contemplate the shutdown of a facility
which may still be doing some useful residual work and with which
it may have developedclose personal relations over the years. Labora-
tories, like any other installations, become a part of the economic life
of the communities in which they are located. The communities do not
like to see them closed, and it is not uncommon for Members of the
distinguished body you gentlemen represent to take a lively interest
in plans to close facilities located in their disLricts. Secretary McNa-
mara has proved that obsolete facilities can be closed by tough-
minded Federal managers. Moreover, this can be done with the under-
standing of a Congress which recognizes the need for efficiency and
flexibility.
The Bureau of Mines closed down 11 of its 30 laboratories during
its 2 years under the direction of Dr. Walter Hibbard, who is resign-
ing next week to take over an important industrial post. The Bureau
also opened one new laboratory in this period, for the very good
reason that it is hard to study permafrost anywhere in the United
States except Alaska, where the new facility is located.
The closed laboratories were judged by the Bureau to be too small
or too weak to make an effective contribution to the Bureau's work.
Their more important tasks have been transferred to other instal-
lations. In Dr. Hibbard's judgment, there are additional laboratories
which ought to be closed, but in at least one case he has been prevented
from taking action by congressional direction. It is clear that we have
continuing need for mutual understanding and accommodation be-
tween firm and effective executive management, on the one hand, and
~the Congress and the political realities, on the other.
Mr. DADDARIO. I am pleased you have made reference to Dr. Walter
Hibbard and the work he has done. Dr. Hibbard was a classmate of
mine and one of the most distinguished members of our class. I con-
sider it a great honor that you have complimented him this morning.
Dr. HORNIG. He has done a distinguished job at the Bureau of
Mines.
I would like to note in conclusion that the Federal laboratories are
not there just to do research for its own sake. They are there to pro-
duce the ideas on which the next generation of the parent agency's ac-
tivity will be based. The laboratories need to operate as a system and
not as loose collection of disconnected components. They need to have
meaningful problems to work on, where the end results of what they
do will be visible and on which they can be judged. We need more of
the sort of thing the Navy is doing in reorganizing some of its labora-
tories around problem areas such as antisubmarine warfare.
While effective adaptation of the Federal laboratories to changing
missions is an important consideration, it is not the only obstacle to
the attainment of higher levels of effectiveness. Salary scales that are
not competitive with either universities or industry, particularly in
the upper brackets, are a central issue. Heavy layering of the power
of decision above the level of laboratory directors is a particularly
:acute problem.
PAGENO="0020"
16
I not that most industrial laboratory directors report directly to
the top management. Similarly, a wide array of administrative rules
imposes a deadening effect upon the operation of laboratories in many
agencies.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you have any recommendations about salary
scales, how to overcome what is obviously an inhibiting factor here?
Dr. H0RNm. The main recommendation is that in the first place we
ought to keep comparability more current. One of the problems with
comparability at present is it lags several years behind.
Secondly, as compared to industrial salary scales, not only for the
technical people, but generally in the Federal Government, our distri-
bution is cut off at the top. Therefore, I would say more attention to
the salary scale for the key people who guide the ventures is a particu-
larly acute problem.
These are the people who really determine whether this flexibility
we want to give the laboratories and the laboratory directors can be
wisely exercised. These are the people who guide the work.
Mr. DADDARIO. Recognizing that this is a problem, and considering
the opposition that you get regarding the supergrade level, which is
really not so super, would an institute such as that mentioned in the
Bell report be the answer? The Bell report recommended an institute
which would have its own merit system, its own salary scales, and
this type of thing.
How do you justify your opposition to the creation of such an in-
stitute? It seems to me you were going counter to the recommendation
of the Bell report. Although I have not come to any conclusion about
the need to establish such an institute, it seems to me that it does of-
fer the capability, at least, of establishing control over this salary
problem.
Dr. HORNIG. If it is basically a housekeeping device, and if it gave
one the handle to solve the salary problem, I think this might be a
good argument for it. I would hope, however, that we could approach
the salary problem more directly.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you consider it a serious enough problem so that
if you are not able to do it considering civil service rules and regula-
tions, congressional opposition, that this would be something we ought
to consider? Is the salary situation that serious?
Dr. HORNIG. No. We have taken enough steps to improve the salary
situation that I think all of the groups that have looked at it agree
that the salary situation is a serious problem, but not the most serious
one. In the poll that Dr. Astin's committee took of Federal person-
nel in Federal laboratories, this was not considered to be the most
central question as regards their staying, their leaving, or their happi-
ness in the job.
The most central one to them was the question of whether they
thought they were doing a useful job and their ability to get on with
the things that they thought were important. The internal manage-
ment of the laboratories is still a more critical problem than the prob-
lem of salaries.
Mr. DADDARIO. You think it would be a mistake for this committee
to isolate it, but rather to take it into consideration with these other
problems?
PAGENO="0021"
17
Dr. HORNIG. I think all of the advice that I have had is that it is
one of a complex of problems.
Mr. Mosm~u. You just went back to a sentence on page 11 in Dr.
Hornig's testimony that interested me. It says,
Such considerations lead me to the conclusion that it would be a mistake to
establish general Federal policies at this time.
Are you emphasizing that phrase "at this time"? Are you implying
the time may come when, for some reason of greater experience or
something like that, the Congress might then attempt to establish
general Federal policies?
Dr. HORNIG. Yes. I was emphasizing two things. The word "gen-
eral" because there is such a wide variety of institutions and tasks, and
was emphasizing somewhat "at this time" because I think as we get
more experience with the transfer of tasks from one laboratory to an-
other that we might want to reconsider that.
Mr. MOSHER. You aren't going to mention any specific time such as
2 years from now or 10 years from now?
Dr. H0RNIG. I think it is extremely unlikely, considering our efforts
over the last 4 years, that the time is anything like 2 years.
Clearly there is work to be done. My Office and its associated mecha-
nisms-the President's Science Advisory Committee and the Federal
Council for Science and Technology-have played an active role
throughout their existence in trying to improve the administration of
Federal laboratories.
I consider the most important job to encourage the departments to
strengthen their own internal management structure for scientific and
technical activities. This has resulted in the past in the establishment
of positions such as the Director of IResearch and Enginering in the
Defense Department, the Assistant Secretary for Science and Tech-
nology in the Commerce Department, and recently, for example, a
Director of Laboratories in the Navy.
Fundamentally, I see the problems I have discussed as questions of
effective management and effective mana.gers. This emphatically in-
cludes the whole complex of questions relating to effective use of exist-
ing laboratories, including how to cope with obsolescent missions, use
by one agency of the laboratories of another, and when to start new
facilities to meet newly emphasized problems such as transportation,
pollution, housing, and crime.
The problem for the Federal Government is that it has no models.
The successful management of B. & P. is one of the most elusive prob-
lems of industrial management. But the range of problems and the
size of the B. & P. establishment in several agencies is greater than in
the largest industrial corporations.
Therefore, for the present I see the best room for progress in encour-
aging effective management within the Federal agencies. Beyond this,
my Office and all its associated mechanisms will continue to advise and
assist the President and work with the Bureau of the Budget and the
executive agencies to continually seek improvements in the system as~
a whole.
Thank you.
Mr. ROUSH. Mr. Chairman.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Roush.
PAGENO="0022"
18
Mr. Rousn. Dr. Hornig, I have before me an article written by
Dr. Harvey Brooks entitled "Needed-More Freedom in our National
Labs." It occurred to me during the discussion you had with the~
chairman on this matter of discretion that the managers of the labs
perhaps do need more freedom. On the other hand, I wonder if they
are capable of identifying the real problems relating to the needs and
wants of the people. I am afraid they are liable to decide to stress the
sex life of a frog instead of the population explosion and its effect~
on the economy and the social life of the country.
Dr. H0RNm. I would answer it this way. There is a range of decision'
which ought to be allowed at each level of management, and we are
trying to say, How do we make a whole dynamic system work?
Obviously, the general guidelines as to what topics need to be
tackled in the public interest have to come from the political structure
of the Government, but the translation of those into what is technically
feasible, and where the technical opportunities lie is the job of the
technical people.
When you ask how much responsibility is appropriate, this depends'
entirely on the qualification of the laboratory and the laboratory
director. I could make two general observations. It turns out to be~
precisely the best and busiest laboratories that have also the best
ideas as to what else they might be doing. In those laboratories which
have run out of missions, the standard thing to do is turn to basic'
research, and one finds this building up in these laboratories. In some
ways, laboratories which have the most capacity to absorb more are~
the ones that have the fewest ideas as to what they should most effec-
tively do. I don't know how to make a general prescription, except to'
have a good management.
Mr. RousH. I think these hearings are going to be very fruitful
and very good. lit seems to me that you put your finger on it in your
testimony when you said that one of the most critical questions was
the choice of problems.
Now, the chairman in his preliminary statement identified several
problems which confront the Nation and are going to confront the
Nation. He pointed out such things as crime, transportation, housing,.
food, and water.
Now, one of the difficulties is that~ these are very general. We would
like for a lab which may be dealing with atomic energy t.o be able
to know that one of the problems is, for example, the storage of
food, and that in the course of their work they should be alerted to
the fact that perhaps through the use of radiation they can store
foods for longer periods of time. Another lab which may. be working
on communications should know that one of the problems in crime
detection is the need for rapid, prompt, accurate communications,
or in the storage of knowledge, the use of the computer. I think
that our problem is to tell. these people on this leveT that this is what
we are seeking, not that they are to solve at that laboratory all of t.he
problems of crime.
Dr. HORNIG. I think that this is precisely ri~rh~. If we c~u encr~1rage
ideas to come up from anywhere, so they will all know that they can
contribute, then it becomes a management problem to do it at the best
places.
PAGENO="0023"
19
Another topic we haven't touched upon is the problem of duplica-
tion. That is the other half of this problem.
Mr. Rousii. Is there any program or is there any plan to get these
problems to the various Government laboratories? Is there any way
at this time that we are alerting them to these various problems or do
we just put them on their own initiative?
Dr. H0RNIG. It is very hard to talk in general. I think I can say,
though, as we begin to put together a program in housing research
and development there has been a quite careful look at the possibility
of utilizing both the in-house establishment and contractual methods.
In-house approaches are all in competition with contractual relations
with outside performers. There are even more potential contractual
performers than there are Government laboratories.
I think a more or less constant examination is necessary.
You will find when you talk to Dr. Weinberg that his laboratory
provides a constant series of proposals. I think the area covered by
these proposals extends well beyond the narrow bounds of nuclear
energy. I think the first proposals for desalting plants came out of
the Los Alamos Laboratory and subsequently were developed by Dr.
Weinberg's group at Oak Ridge. They are starting in one area and
moving into another area. They are now developing the idea of large
industrial complexes as a way of getting at the food problem in some
parts of the world.
It is an open question whether that should be developed at Oak
Ridge or some parts should be developed at another place. The ideas
are out for discussion and consideration now.
Mr. ROUSH. It is my own feeling that we do not have a program of
directing these problems to the labs with the thought that they might
pick up ideas which will be helpful, and I am particularly referring
to the problem of crime. It seems to me that we just have not directed
an endeavor in this direction and that if we did it would be most
helpful.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Roush brings up a point I would like to just
touch on before turning over to Mr. Mosher.
Dr. Weinberg in his book, "Reflections on Big Science" states :
"When a government laboratory finishes a project it cannot ask what
are the most important national problems as seen from the widest
possible viewpoint to which our talents can be put. Rather, the lab-
oratory must ask, what is the most important problem coming within
the purview of our sponsoring agency to which we should next turn."
Would you be fundamentally in disagreement with this quotation
from Dr. Weinberg's book?
Dr. H0RNIG. No, I wouldn't be in disagreement. It is stated from
the advantage point of the director of a strong general purpose labora-
tory of a very high level of competence which can turn to various
problems that it can perform. Whether this particular collection of
people should turn to something else or be disbanded is a question that
would have to be decided case by case.
Mr. DADDARIO. Then, your recommendation in that regard would
seem to follow somewhat the committee's feeling at this point.
Although we haven't had an opportunity to examine it in detail, it
would appear necessary to classify laboratories and to give wider
flexibility and latitude to the directors of some, and to take a harder
line on some of the others.
PAGENO="0024"
20
Dr. H0RNm. I think there is no question that there is a great range
in the quality and competence both of the laboratories and the direc-
tors. There is also a great range in the character of the laboratories,
and all of these differences ought to be taken into account by proper
technical management.
Mr. DADDARIO. One of the points that we are including within the
scope of these hearings is whether highly competent and highly
qualified laboratories have the capability to do as much as they are
able.
Mr. Mosher?
Mr. MOSHER. No further questions.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Hornig, we still have to hear from Dr. Weinberg.
I have a whole series of other questions. I am going to ask you just
one and we will send the rest of them to you, if we could.
Dr. H0RNIG. That is fine.
Mr. DADDARIO. I know that imposes a burden on you, but we can
work it out in a way most suitable to you.
On page 11 you say you know of no current policies or procedures
which hinder one agency from using another's capabilities. Aren't
you saying that because we have gotten where we are in this whole
area as a result of purely happenstance, that somehow it has worked
out pretty well, and, therefore, we ought not to change it?
Dr. HORNIG. Not in the least. I know of no formal administrative
bars to carrymg out the work of one agency in another. It means
exactly what it says. It doesn't mean to imply anything further than
that.
Mr. DADDARIO. It does not mean that if we were to improve the
management set up as it presently exists we would not, in fact, make
it easier?
Dr. H0RNIG. When I say bar, I mean that there are no rules or
regulations, except possibly the ones I mentioned which exist, such
as personnel ceiling. The laboratory can't always expand to take a new
task at the present time, and there is some question regarding the
Economy Act of 1932 which has been interpreted by some-and this
is a somewhat open question-to restrict the recipient laboratory from
building new facilities to take on the work from someone else. There
may be some marginal bars, but I means that the big bar lies in the
technical management of the agencies. The big problem is to determine
when it is appropriate to use facilities in other agencies-when this
is the best procedure as opposed to contracting it out or building a
new facility in which the collection of people is particularly adapted
to the problem. The procedure of job shopping in the case of a big
problem might be a very weak way of doing it. The principal bar and
the principal problem is that of the technical management in the
agencies.
Mr. DADDARTO. We always make a mistake in not setting aside the
whole day of hearings to hear you, and we have in this particular
instance, but I appreciate the fact that you have been here. You have
already given us a great deal of help and we will call on you again.
Dr. HoRNIG. You have a very distinguished list of witnesses who
~can speak really first hand to many of the problems we have addressed
this morning.
Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you ever so much.
PAGENO="0025"
21
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO DR. DONALD F. HORNIG BY THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT
Question 1. To what ewtent does section 8 of Ea~ecutive Order 10521 represent
the policy of the present Administration with respect to the effIcient use of scien-
tific research equipment and facilities held by Federal agencies?
Answer. Section 8 of Executive Order 10521 (March 26, 1954), as amended by
Section 6 of E.O. 10807 (March 13, 1959), correctly states the general policy of
the present Administration with respect to the efficient use of scientific research
equipment and facilities held by Federal agencies. This section reads as follows:
"Sec. 8. To facilitate the efficient use of scientific research equipment and facifi-
ties held by Federal agencies: (a) the head of each such agency engaged in
scientific research shall, to the extent practicable, encourage and facilitate the
sharing with other Federal agencies of major equipment and facilities; and (b)
a Federal agency shall procure new major equipment or facilities for scientific
research purposes only after taking suitable steps to ascertain that the need
cannot be met adequately from existing inventories or facilities of its own or of
other agencies."
Question 2. What information about Federal laboratories-including both di-
rectly and contractor operated laboratories-is maintained by OST and the Fed-
eral Council?
Answer. Neither OST nor FCST maintains information on individual labora-
tories, just as they do not maintain complete information on research projects
or on Federal research funds supplied to individual universities. OST and FCST
endeavor (1) to ensure that systems for collecting and analyzing important data
exist so that appropriate information will be available to OST and FCST on call,
and (2) to promote good administration of laboratories, including efficient use
of equipment and facilities.
The National Science Foundation maintains information `on Federal research.
funds, and the Science Information Exchange (SIE) maintains information on
research projects in progress. Some of the FCST Committees maintain informa--
tion on research funds and projects of special interest to them. The Federal
Council's Committee on Scientific and Technical Information has worked steadily
on the improvement of Government-wide information systems for managers, as
well as for bench workers. For example, a 1966 DOD-NASA agreement to use
common research project formats for information reporting is being expanded.
to other agencies as a result of a 1967 FCST agreement, and a contract study is*
underway to improve agency project reporting activities.
As noted below, the Federal Council is considering the maintenance of an
inventory of Federal laboratories and facilities.
The attention given by OST to the question of the efficiency of Federal labora-
tories has been directed at issues that are considered to be more central than
the efficient use of research equipment and facilities, although this element of
efficiency is encompassed within the broader questions. The role of Federal
laboratories, the criteria for deciding whether work should be done in in-house
labs or under contract, personnel policies, adaptation `of laboratories to changes
in missions, and means of up-grading management capability have been matters.
of primary concern.
Question 2(a). How does this compare with what you would consider to be
the ideal information for fostering full and effective use of government labora-
tories and their capabilities?
Question 2(b). What guidance has O$T or the Federal Council given to agency
heads about information they should maintain?
Answer. FCST has instructed its Committee on Federal Laboratories to
develop a plan for an inventory of all Federal laboratories, building upon the
substantial experience that has accumulated in preparing agency-wide or special
purpose inventories. It is not yet clear that the benefits from compiling and
publishing an inventory of laboratories will equal the cost of doing it. Accord-
ingly, we expect that any plan approved by the FCST will be oil an experi-
mental basis and that the plan will provide for an assessment of the value of the
inventory.
įiiestion 2(c). Without information about what work the various Federal
laboratories are doing and whether or not they are being used to capacity, `is it
realistic to. say that an agency should make use of ea'isting resources?
Answer.Phe existing system rests on the assumption that scientists, engineers
and research administrators in Federal laboratories are well acquainted with
their scientific colleagues ~ and out of government, and that they have a realistic
PAGENO="0026"
22
idea of their resotirces and what work they are doing. This assumpti~n is, of
course. not entirely true. For this reason. the plan to establish an inventory of
Federal laboratories will be put into effect.
Question 3. What consideration has been given to applying the standards anti
procedures devised for appraisal of contractor research and development per-
forlna4?,ce to government-operated laboratories? To what entent would this be
desirable?
Answer. Appraisal of in-house laboratory performance is a normal responsi-
bility of agency management and does not differ in any important way from the
appraisal of contractor research and development performance. Procedures in
use in the Government for both in-house and contractor R&D appraisal commonly
involve such techniques as visits to the laboratory by teams of agency manage-
ment representatives; evaluation of results by agency management and-espe-
cially where more basic research is involved-by outside advisory groups; and
continuing reviews of laboratory operations through reports, audits, conferences,
day~to-day contacts, and so on. In some cases, development activities lend theni-
selves to controlled scheduling procedures such as PERT, but such control
methods are generally not applicable to research near the basic end of the
spectrum. Evaluations are necessarily qualitative rather than quantitative to a
vonsiderable degree, and involve judgments based on such factors as experience
and comparison with good practice elsewhere.
The prime objective is not the application of any specific set of administrative
techniques, but the elevation of the quality and efficiency of administration of
Federal laboratories totally, including such matters as maintenance of challeng-
lug and relevant laboratory missions, elevation of salary scales to attrac-t first
class managers, and securing sufficient freedom for laboratory managers.
Question 4. What was the eaperience of the Federal Council Committee for Long-
Range Planning in its attempts to put together a long-range plan for the research
and development planned by the various agencies? Are there alternative
approaches to this goal of long range planning?
Answer. The answers to these questions have been well stated in a 1967 report,
"The Office of Science and Technology" of the Science Policy Research Division
of the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress for the Military
Operations Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations.
"Planning is one of the commonly accepted elements of modern administration.
As such, planning has held the attention of the White House Science structure.
Long-range planning for research and development has been described by the
Federal Council as: * 2 * the process of identifying the major alternative
strategic paths that programs might follow, ~veightag the technical knowledge
and resource commitments required if each alternative path w-ere followed,
assessing the full consequences of following each path, assessing the major con-
tingencies that might arise if each path were followed, and making sets of deci-
sions in the light of all of ;these considerations.1
According to the Council, two considerations tend to extend the time scale for
Federal long-range planning for research and development. First, the required
resources take a long time to create. Second, once created, many of the important
resources for sCience have a long life.
The Committee on Long-Range Planning.-In September 1961 the Federal
Council concluded that more systematic, continuing planning was necessary for
all the departments and agencies active in research and development. Accordingly
it recommended appointment of a Committee on Long-Range Planning. The
recommendation was approved and the Committee w-as established. Its functions
are to :2
1. Identify and coordinate long-range goals of Federal agencies in science
and technology.
2. Foster preparation of an inventory of research resources-manpow-er
and facilities.
3. Project future demands for resources and funding.
4. Develop techniques for Government-wide planning to minimize gaps and
redundancies, and to achieve maximum utilization of resources.
~ The Role of the Federal Council for Science and Technology: Report for 1963 and 1964.
Office of Science & Technology. Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965, p. 19.
2 Federal Council for Science and Technology: 1962 Annual Report. Office of Science and
Technology. Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963, p. 12. Departments and
agencies represented on the Committee on Long-Range Planning are; Agricnltur~i Côm-
merce; Defense; Health, Education, and Welfare; Interior; and the Atomic Energy Com-
mission; the Federal Aviation Agency; the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion; the National Science Foundation. Time Bureau of the Budget may observe its meetings.
PAGENO="0027"
23
5. Formulate recommendations for program emphasis and allocation of
resources.
6. Function as a clearinghouse of information on planning techniques, to
aid departments and agencies in formulating their individual plans and
programs.
The first chairman of this Committee was Dr'. Harvey Brooks, the only chair-
man of a Federal Council Committee who was not a Federal official. The Corn-
mittee's actiivties were described in the Federal Council's reports for 1962 and
for 1963-64. The draft FCST report for 1965 does not mention the Committee at
all. According to the Office of the Federal Council's secretary, this Committee is
presently inactive.
The Interdepartmental Study of Long-Range Plann.ing.-One early undertak-
ing of the Committee on Long-Range Planning was to begin a survey to develop
.a projection through 1970 of research and development plans and requirements
of the Federal agencies. Working with the Science Resources Planning Office of
the NSF, data was to be sought for funds, facilities, and technical manpower
requirements.
The Federal Council described preparations for this report as follows:
With due conSideration for practicability of data solicitation, definitions were
formulated and categories selected for in-house versus out-of-house; basic versus
applied research and develpmen't; of different fields and subfields of science
and of objects of science (missions). Assumptions which underlie planning and
*constraints imposed by agency, departmental, executive, and legislative branches
are also being studied.
A serie.s of briefings have begun by representatives of individual agencies to
share their experience in planning policies and practices.3
The study, however, was not published by the Federal Council, which gave
the following reasons:
1. It was difficult to secure from all agencies usable assessments of basic goals,
issues and alternatives because some were more immersed in looking ahead
and had a more favorable attitude toward long-range planning than others.
2. The initial approach had centered upon one dimension of planning-re-
source use as measured by money and manpower, and had placed less stress
upon matters of vital practical significance, such as identification of goals,
and alterantive paths of program development.
3. Attention and resources directed to future consequences of current decisions,
and their implications, were not fully adequate at all points of the Government.
Here the report specifically said that the OST did not hrve the staff resources
required to keep attention centered on the major goals of the study, and that
the National Science Foundation was not adequately equipped to guide the study
toward exploration of policy issues.
4. Finally, it had proven impossible in this first effort to add the data from
the agencies together for the Federal Government as a whole in a meaning-
ful way.4
Looking at this experience, the Federal Council observed that planning must
proceed simultaneously in a number of largely autonomous spheres, which had
important implications for planning process, for there could be no such thing as
"the plan."
* * * there can under such a concept be no thing as "the plan," just as
there is no simple, single national science policy. There are many plans, each
representing a valid way of looking at science and technology. This characteristic
of planning process is consistent with our pluralistic approach to the definition
and resolution of important public matters. Pluralism allows wide participation
end the stressing of various kinds of legitimate goals. This sort of process is a
familiar one in political affairs, and it makes planning for science consistent
with our fundamental traditions.5
The Councils conclusion was that such developments as the experience of the
Committee on Long-Range Planning had led to concepts and methods of long-
range planning for science which are more realistic and more complex than those
of a few years ago. Future activities of the Federal Council related to long-range
planning will reflect experience accumulated by all of these groups.
The OST and Long-Range Planning.-Statements by the OST have shown its
interest in long-range planning for research and development. Its budget state-
Federal Council for Science and Technology; 1962 Annual Report, op. cit., p. 13.
The Role of the Federal Council for Science and Technology: Report for 1963 and 1964,
op. cit., p. 20.
5 Ibid., p. 22.
PAGENO="0028"
24
ments for fiscal years 1964 and 1965 highlighted the planning function. For fiscal
year 1965, OST said it was "spearheading an effort to rationalize long-range
planning of Federal research and development." OST said it was working closely
with the Bureau of the Budget and the planning staff of the National Science
Foundation, but did not mention the Federal Council's Committee on Long-Range
Planning. OST's expectations indicated an optimistic outlook for long-range
planning in 1964:
We expect to identify more clearly the aggregate requirements for Federal
funds and for skilled manpower; to determine future commitments to support
major research and development facilities; to visualize the implications of con-
centration or diffusion of effort between scientific fields and between institutions,.
where the impact of support from a number of separate agencies may be quite
different from that determined on an agency-by-agency basis. Such long-range
planning should also make it possible to identify unwitting duplication in the
planning of new research facilities and to illuminate gaps in programs which in-
advertently occur when one agency is of the belief that another has assumedt
program responsibility*°
But by 1966 Dr. Hornig apparently had changed his views. In testimony early
in 1943f~ to the Research and Technical Programs Subcommittee of the House
Government Operations Committee, he said:
I do not believe that any single mechanism within the Executive Office of the
President, for example, or even within the office of the head of Oach depart-
ment and agency, could be relied upon to blueprint the nature of research and
development to satisfy our needs.7
In answer to a question, he elaborated further, saying:
I do not think a single planning mechanism-I have watched attempts-is cap-
able of introducing enough ideas to make the system good. I do not believe the
blueprinting process from the top is the best method.
What we try to do, therefore, is collect and put together ideas from outside
the Government and from within the Government and develop programs. That
I think is a proper central function.8
Question: 5. What past or present studies sponsored by the Federal Government
are providing information about factors that determine the "critical size" for a
given laboratory? Are any future studies planned?
Answer: There have been no formal studies of what consitutes a "critical size"
for a Federal laboratory. The critical size would vary widely depending on the-
purpose and function of the individual laboratory concerned. The Defense Science
Board, for example, has judged that 1,000 or more professional scientists and~
engineers would constitute a critical mass in a "weapon-center" laboratory; one
can visualize other situations where a number smaller than 10 might be sufficient.
This is properly a matter for judgment by the technical managers of each agency..
Studies and discussion of what constitutes a "critical size" under varying circum-
stances might be helpful, but no specific studies are planned by OST at present..
Question: 6(a). What has been done to implement the Bell Report recom-
mendation that "arrangements should be made to call on Government laboratory
and development center personnel to a larger ectent for technical advice and par-
ticipation in broad program and management decisions-in contract to the pre-
dominant use of outside advisors."
Answer: I agree wholeheartedly that Government laboratory personnel should
be called upon for advice and should participate in broad program and manage-
ment decisions. At the same time, of course, there remains a strong need to
provide continuously to the system the breadth, freshness of viewpoint and
independence which is obtained only from outside advisers.
A number of agencies have taken steps since publication of the Bell report
to increase participation in management decisions by their laboratory directors.
I would refer you, for example, to the testimony by the Defense Department,
which discussed the establishment in the Armed Services of new overall manage-
ment positions responsible for the effective management of the laboratories, and
of the improvements in communication with the laboratories this is helping to
provide. Groups of laboratory directors meet regularly with these top technical
managers to discuss requirements and capabilities, and to exchange views with
"Independent Offices Appropriations for Fiscal Year l96~." Hearings before a subcom-
mittee of the House Committee on AppropriatIons, 88th Cong., 2d sess., 1964, p. 903.
"The Federal Research and Development Programs: The Decisionmaking Process,"
op. cit., p. 8.
`Ibid., p.9.
PAGENO="0029"
25
~users. Other agencies such as the Commerce Department have established
Assistant Secretaries for research and development in recent years, who as a
general rule meet frequently with directors of the laboratories for which they
are responsible.
The Committee on Federal Laboratories of FCST has sponsored a series of
important seminars in which the major participants have been laboratory
~managers. Major topics have included (1) how to create and sustain an environ-
ment for creativity in Federal laboratories and (2) administration of personnel
~ceilings. In the fall of 1968, Federal laboratory managers will meet with repre-
*sentatives of universities to discuss the educational role of Federal laboratories.
Question 6(b) - (c). How many laboratory directors are now members 01 Pt~AC
and its established panels? How many are O~T consultants?
Answer: One of the present members of PSAC is Dr. Lewis Branscomb, Direc-
tor of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics of the National Bureau
of Standards. Several past members of PSAC have served, prior to their terms
on PSAC, as Federal laboratory directors or as Federal technical program
managers.
Federal laboratory directors occasionally serve as active OST or PSAC panel
members, but much more frequently are called upon for advice or assistance on an
ad hoc basis. For example, Drs. Astin and McLean who appeared at the recent
hearings of the Subcommittee on Science, Research and Development, have
served actively in the past on panels and as consultants, and my office continues
to seek their advice on a variety of matters as the need arises. Dr. McLean
is currently a members of a PSAC panel studying certain military technology.
This of course is in addition to the extensive involvement of Federal laboratory
directors and research managers in the work of the many committees of the
Federal Council for Science and Technology, which itself is an adjunct of the
OST structure.
Question 7. Do you agree with Dr. Astin's statement about the essential im-
portance of a laboratory directors' council, and if so, what steps are being taken
to form a laboratory directors' connoil at the O$JT level? Would it include direc-
tors of contractor operated laboratories?
Answer: Dr. Astin has assured me that his comment regarding the usefulness
of councils of laboratory directors was intended to apply to the departmentai
level. OST does not now have a laboratory directors' council, and has no present
plans to establish one. The Committee on Federal Laboratories of the Federal
Council for Science and Technology, under Dr. Astin's chairmanship, is making
a very effective contribution in my opinion to bringing together the best judgments
of the Federal agencies on how to improve laboratory management and utiliza-
tion. Membership of this Committee is as follows:
COMMrrTEE ON FEDERAL LABORATORIES
Chairman
Dr. Allen V. Astin, Director, Administration Building, National Bureau of
Standards.
Members
Edward M. Glass, Assistant Director (Laboratory Management), O.D.R.&E.,
the Pentagon.
Dr. George W. Irving, Jr., Administrator, Agricultural Research Service.
Dr. Robert W. Berliner, Director of Laboratories and Clinics, National In-
stitutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
E~recutive Ffecretary
George E. Auman, Assistant to the Director, Administration Building, National
Bureau of Standards.
Alternates (A) and/or ~tafj' Assistants (~)
Evan Anderson, Staff Assistant, Office of Assistant Director (Laboratory Man-
agement), O.D.D.R.&E., the Pentagon.
Dr. Robert J. Anderson, Associate Admir~istrator, Agricultural Research
Service.
Dr. Steven C. King, Assistant Director, Animal Husbandry Research Division,
Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland.
Dr. Seymour J. Kreshover, Director, Institute of Dental Research, National
Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
PAGENO="0030"
26
James H. Noone, Personnel Management Specialist, National Institutes of
Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
John M. Sangster, Chief of Personnel, National Institutes of Health. Bethesda,
Maryland.
Dr. Allen 0. Gamble, Chief, Manpower Planning and Studies Section, Resources
and Analysis Branch, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Members
Boyd C. Myers, II, Deputy Associate Administrator for Advanced Research &
Technology (Operation), NASA Headquarters.
Dr. William T. Pecora, Director, U.S. Geological Survey.
Dr. S. Dillon Ripley II, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
Harold H. Leich, Chief, Policy Development Division, Civil Service Commis-
sion.
J. Lee Westrate, Management Analyst, Office of Management & Organization..
Alternates (A) and/or Btaff Assistants (B)
Grove Webster, Director, Personnel Division, Office of Administration, NASA
Headquarters.
Dr. William Thurston, Assistant to the Science Adviser, Office of the Secretary.
Interior Department.
Leonard Pouliot, Director of Personnel, Smithsonian Institution.
Dr. Philip G. Ritterbush, Assistant to the Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
Observers
Dr. Sidney G. Reed, Jr., Head, Office of Planning and Policy Studies, National
Science Foundation.
Question 8(a). Would you please describe what. OBT has done to make sure
that the facilities which the Government has are used to their fullest eatent,
and what direction it has provided to bring the needs of technical managers and
laboratory directors together?
Answer: Through studies such as the one on Federal laboratories conducted
under PSAC sponsorship by a panel chaired by Dr. II. R. Piore, my office has
examined the question of improving the effectiveness of Government laboratories
and has discussed its findings with the agencies. Members of my staff, who are
in close touch with the agencies, are continuously concerned with. effective use
of these facilities, and the Federal Council provides a continuing forum for
discussion. The Budget Bureau is of course much involved in these questions as
well.
The question of bringing together the needs of laboratory directors and tech-
nical managers remains fundamentally a responsibility of the agencies and
departments. OST can encourage the establishment of mechanisms for doing this,
as indicated in the answer to question 6(a).
Question 8(b). Is it a fair statement to say that the Federal Council's Lab-
oratory Committee looks more to the internal management and operation of
laboratories than to questions of duplication of work by different laboratories?
Answer: This statement is essentially correct. We do not believe the problem
of duplication of work is a serious one. When it does come up, however, we take
steps in cooperation with the Bureau of the Budget to eliminate it.
Question 8(c). Would a laboratroy management office at the OBT level, with
functions comparable to those of the Office of the Assistant Director for Lab-
oratory Management of DOD, be a constructive addition?
Answer: In view of the primary function of my office to advise and assist the
President, it would seem inappropriate to establish an activity in this setting
which would have a management fimction analogous to the DOD Assistant
Director for Laboratory Management. Establishment of a separate office for this
purpose at the Presidential level seem to me to be out of proportion to the size
and nature of the problem. I am continuing to examine the question of whether
the existing OST-BOB and Federal Council machinery can be strengthened to
accomplish the essential functions you have in mind.
Question 9(a). Of the over 100 laboratories of substantial size in the Federal
establishment which you mentioned, in how many do you estimate the laboratory
director has discretionary funds? What do you estimate is the average amount of
these funds as a percentage of the laboratory's budget?
Answer: The diversity and nature of agency practices makes this a difficult
question to answer with any certainty, but I would estimate on the basis of dis-
cussion with the major R&D agencies that directors of perhaps 75-80 percent
PAGENO="0031"
27
of the larger laboratories have either earmarked "discretionary funds" or have
internal reprogramming authority which in effect gives them significant latitud&
to take initiatives.
Reprogramming authority is theoretically quite extensive in some cases. The
"real" flexibility available to these laboratory directors probably averages in
the range of 5-10 percent of their total budgets for in-house work.
The Defense Department, for example, operates somewhat more than half of
the Federal laboratories. It provides earmarked discretionary funds to its labora-
tory directors ranging from 0% to perhaps 8% of in-house budgets, depending
on negotiations between the directors and the Assistant Secretaries for Research
and Development in the three Services. The laboratories performing research of
a more basic character generally have smaller earmarked discretionary funds-
the Naval Research Laboratory has none, for example-but provide relatively
wide latitude to the director in program determination.
Question 9 ( b ) - ( c). Do any directors of contractor operated laboratories now
have discretionary funds? Is the same reasoning regarding discretionary funds
for the directors of Government operated laboratories applicable also to con-
tract or operated laboratories?
Answer. I believe that the same general reasoning applies to both. Flexibility
is. provided in principle to the directors of many contractor operated laboratories
(1) through provision for independent R&D as an allowable cost under the con-
tract, `(2) through the fee paid to the contractor-part of which can in some
cases be. used for independent research and development-or (3) through the
management practices of the agency, which permit some internal shifting of
funds at the director's discretion.
Question 10. What is your reaction to the DOD proposal to eliminate man-
power controls on cross-agency work to achieve fiea~ibility similar to that avail-
able to the AEG contract laboratories? If you agree, what action do you propose
to take? If you do not agree, what is the basis for your position?
Answer. In general, I believe that laboratory directors can be most effective
when they have reasonably wide latitude in internal allocation of financial re-
sources made available to them. When controls or manpower or other resources
are superimposed on dollar limitations, the effect tends to circumscribe the direc-
tor's flexibility in ways which in some cases may be undesirable. Under the
present system, manpower controls are applied by the Budget Bureau to entire
agencies or departments, which must then reallocate these controls internally.
Although this system theoretically provides internal flexibility within which an
agency might be expected to meet newly arising needs for cross-agency work,
the agencies have indicated that this flexibility is difficult to preserve in practice.
I endorse the DOD proposal as an ideal solution, but recognize that we can not
consider it seriously under the new restrictions on Federal employment. If future
circumstances permit relaxation of the overall limitations, we will work with
the BOB to see whether the DOD proposal can be adopted.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. W&nberg, do you have others with you whom
you would like to sit at. the table?
Dr. WEINBERG. No, just myself.
Mr. DADDARIO. You have come alone?
Dr. WEINBERG. Yes, sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. We are happy to have you.
Dr. WEINBERG. It is a pleasure to be with you here to talk to you
on a question that has concerned me for many years.
STATEMENT OP DR. ALVIN N. WEINBERG, DIRECTOR, OAX RIDGE
NATIONAL LABORATORY
Dr. WEINBERG. In spite of much talk about the necessity of re-
deploying Federal laboratories, I shall begin my testimony with an
admonition against premature redeployment. There are many urgent
problems of the Federal Government to which large Federal establish-
ments have devoted themselves for a long time. But simply because
the problems `are difficult, and progress is slow, does not mean that the
PAGENO="0032"
28
instrumentalities devoted to these problems ought to be scrapped and
the problems forgotten. I want to warn most earnestly against re-
deploying a laboratory before the problem around which the laboratory
was originally mobilized has been resolved. You notice I don't use
the word "solve", but "resolve".
I dwell on this point because in so many of the discussions of re-
deployment the atomic energy laboratories are given as examples of
establishments that have worked themselves "out of a job." In point
of fact, nuclear energy development is entering a completely new and
unprecedentedly hopeful era: The development of the really eco-
nomical breeder reactor. Until this goal has been reached, nuclear
energy has not achieved its goal, nor has the nuclear research com-
munity come close to working itself out of a job. The cheap breeder
reactor represents a permanent solution to the world's energy problem.
Insofar as a cheap, ubiquitous, and inexhaustible source of energy can
serve to extend mankind's natural resources indefinitely, it is clear that
the achievement of this goal is one of the most important long-term
jobs of our society. Any talk of dismantling or massively redeploying
the Government laboratories responsibile for getting on with this job is,
in my opinion, irresponsible and mischievous.
Mr. DADDARIO. I hope that is not a charge.
Dr. WEINBERG. No, I didn't have any Members of Congress in mind
when I wrote that. It is rather some speeches I have heard recently by
people other than Congressmen.
Having made this disclaimer, I shall describe the way in which
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has partially redeployed into
several new areas, and I shall try to draw some general conclusions
from our experiences in redeployment. I am submitting for the record
~ short history of ORNL, but in this statement I shall refer only to
those aspects of our history that are relevant to the matter of redeploy-
ment.
In 1955 I wrote an article, "Future Aims of Large Scale Research,"
in which I pointed out that the job of creating a new energy source
from fission, though very difficult, was finite. Eventually the labora-
tories concerned with fission reactor development would no longer
be so centrally occupied with this job, although, as I have already
said, this time has not yet really come. In line with this sort of specu-
lation we organized a series of "advanced technology seminars" at the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1961. At these seminars we exam-
ined a number of large-scale technological problems, generally those
having important social implications. The subjects treated at these
seminars included desalting the sea, atmospheric pollution, carcino-
genesis, civil defense, liquefaction of coal, and space technology. As
matters turned out, we have in the ensuing 7 or so years become in~
volved in a major way with desalting, civil defense, and carcinogene-
sis. I shall described how we became involved in each of these activi-
ties, and what our experience has been.
Desalting the Sea.-Our involvement with desalting the sea had
two separate origins. On the one hand, several of our solution chem-
ists who had worked on the original development of plutonium chem-
istry during the Manhattan project were intrigued by the physical
chemistry of desalting, a topic we discussed in our advanced technol-
ogy seminars. At that time I was a member of the President's Science
PAGENO="0033"
29
Advisory Committee, and I was in close contact with the President's
Science Adviser, George B. Kistiakowsky, and Roger Revelle, Science
Adviser to the Secretary of the Interior. Encouraged by both Drs.
Kistiakowsky and Revelle, we held conversations with the Atomic
Energy Commission and the Department of the Interior about Oak
Ridge. working in this field. The two congressional committees in-
volved-the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and the House Com-
mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs-became interested in the possi-
bility of Oak Ridge participating in this work. A rather formal agree-
ment was executed between the two Government departments, and the
agreement was officially sanctioned by the corresponding committees,
setting ORNL up as a desalting laboratory for the Department of the
Interior, but still operated as a contractor establishment of the AEC.
The program, headed by Dr. K. A. Kraus, has involved about 20 chem-
ists and engineers, and has been largely concerned with the physical
chemistry of reverse osmosis. The budget for the work runs around
$600,000 per year. In the 6 years since the work started, some very
striking findings have been made, the most important being the dis-
covery of "dynamic" membranes that have much higher capacities
than any previous reverse osmosis membranes.
The second thread in the ORNL desalting story began in 1961 when
Dr. R. P. Hammond of Los Alamos pointed out in a lecture at ORNL
that heat from nuclear reactors could be used to desalt the sea economi-
cally if the whole process, including evaporation, were performed on
a large enough scale. Though greeted at first with skepticism, we at
ORNL finally were persuaded that Hammond was basically correct.
These exciting findings were conveyed to Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner, the
President's Science Adviser, to the AEC, and to the Office of Saline
Water. A. committee under Roger Revelle was formed to investigate
the validity of. these claims; the committee in the main substantiated
these claims and as a consequence the AEC and the Department of the
Interior expanded their programs in nuclear desalting. By this time
Hammond had moved to Oak Ridge and, since ORNL was the Labora-
tory most interested in desalting, it was natural that the responsibility
for research and development in nuclear desalting should devolve on
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
At present we have about 90 scientists and technicians working on
all phases of desalting, both its nuclear and nonnuclear aspects. The
total budget for these activities is around $3.6 million per year, of
which $2.2 million comes from the Department of the Interior, $1.4
million from the AEC. This makes ORNL one of the larger, if not
the largest, desalting laboratories in the world. However, this repre-
sents only about 4 percent of the entire operating budget of the
Laboratory.
Civil Defen~se.-In 1962 the distinguished Nobel laureate, Eugene P.
Wigner, became deeply concerned about the state of civil defense in the
United States. Largely under his urging, the National Academy of
Sciences sponsored a summer study,: Project Harbor, which tried to
assess our knowledge of civil defense. One of the recommendations of
Project Harbor was that one orseveral laboratories be set up to.study
civil defense in acoherent, integrated way.
Participating in Project Harbor were several Oak Ridgers. More-
over, Eugene Wigner, who was the guiding spirit of the effort, was a
93-201-68-----3
PAGENO="0034"
30
former Research Director of ORNL. It was therefore natural that
ORNL `be put forward as a possible site for one of the civil defense
laboratories proposed by Project Harbor. This idea met with the ap-
proval of both the AEC, whi'Oh has some statutory `responsibility in
civil defense, and the Department of Defense, and a civil defense proj-
ect was established at ORNL in 1964. The project has been rather
small-about 20 engineers, natural scientists, and social' scientists-
and its total budget is around $730,000 of whi'ch DOD (O'OD and
ARPA) contributes $580,000, AE'C $150,000. `Though the group is
`small, it is one of the few groups that looks at the problem of civil de-
fense from a global, coherent vie'wpoint. It therefore probably has had
more influence on our country's civil defense policies than its small
`size'~vould suggest.
`Co-carcino genesis and other Involvements with iVIH.-ORNL has
ál*ays'been extremely strong in the biological sciences: the largest
single division at the laboratory (450 scientists and technicians) is
`the biology division. The laboratory has always been concerned with
the genetic and somatic effects of radiation. Since radiation is only
`one of the many physical insults to the biosphere, it seemed natural to
many of us at ORNL (and this came out of one of our advanced tech-
nology seminars) to see whether we could contribute to resolving
biological problems caused by environmental contaminants other than
radiation. Our interest came to a head at about the same time the
Government began to take a serious interest in the "Rachel Carson"
problem, as I like to call it, which is the growing deterioration of
our biological environment as a result of the spread of chemical agents
of one sort or another.
These concerns led to conversations with the National Institutes
of Health, particularly with the National Cancer Institute, and a
joint ORNL-NCI program aimed at elucidating the synergistic action
of radiation and chemicals in inducing cancer was set up. At present
this co-carcinogenesis program runs at about $2 million per year.
Another important involvement with NIH came about through
our development of the zonal centrifuge, an outgrowth of the centri-
fuges developed for uranium isotope separation. In this case, Dr.
Norman Anderson saw the usefulness of these devices for separating
biological moieties of various sorts. This was a matter of obvious
interest to NIH as well as to AEC, and a joint program to develop
zonal centrifuges for ~biomedical use was undertaken. The program
has been a success: this past year ORNL zonal centrifuges have been
used to purify flu vaccine for human use, and it is likely that, before
too long, many vaccines will be routinely processed by means of
ORNL-NIH developed zonal centrifuges.
We find ourselves being further drawn into work of interest to,
and supported by, NIH: bioengineering, automation of clinical chem-
istry, and large-scale separation of transfer RNA's. In most of these
cases the unique characteristic of ORNL-a mission-oriented, inter-
disciplinary institution in which strong biology and strong engineer-
ing coexist-seems to be a strong attractant for NIH. At present
ORNL spends $4,500,000 per year for biomedical research sponsored
by NIH.
Other Invo'Zvem~ents.-ORNL also does work for NASA and
various defense agencies. The total of all non-AEC work comes to
PAGENO="0035"
31
about ~`$12 milliOn per year, which represents about 13 percent of
ORNL's total operating budget.
As things are now going, we may find ourselves drawn ever further
into matters that grow naturally from what we already do. For exam-
ple, civil defense, with its requirement for dual-purpose tunnel.shel-
ters, inevitably impinges on the whole question of the basic structure
of the city. Thus to do civil defense properly, we become involved in
the city itself; and HIJD is interested in involving our civil defense
staff in some of its research.
* Or from our interest in desalting, we are drawn to the fascinating
question first of desalted water for agriculture, and then to the possi-
bility of agro-industrial complexes in desert areas as an instrument of
international development. Here we become involved, very naturally,
and almost inevitably, in dry-land agriculture and irrigation; hence,
our involvement with the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau
of Reclamation, foreign aid agencies, and possibly those agencies con-
cerned with natural resources, since cheap power can be used to extend
our resources.
Or again, from our interest in radiation ecology, co-carcinogenesis,
and analytical chemistry, we find ourselves drawn toward the generai
question of pollution, and particularly the matter of eutrophication
of fresh waters. In this we are being encouraged by the Joint Commit-
tee, and also by the recent amendment to the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 that directs AEC laboratories to participate, under proper cir-
cumstances, in research aimed at promoting public safety and health.
General 0 bservations.-What general lessons do I draw from our
experience at Oak Ridge in partial redeployment? Perhaps the most
important is that successful redeployment is possible, but only if the
redeployment flows naturally from the interest and capability of the
laboratory itself. We discussed desalting for more than 2 years before
we took the plunge; during that time many of our people acquired
familiarity with the issues. I like to use the phrase, "Successful rede-
ployment must be done adiabatically"-that is, gradually, so that the
redeployment activities are natural extensions of the old ones.
The big mission-oriented Government laboratories are to my mind
uniquely useful and powerful instrumentalities for helping to solve
difficult sociotechnological problems. Perhaps the most important
advantage that these mission-oriented, interdisciplinary laboratories
afford is their ability to impose a reintegration on the fragmented
research that is inherent in the splinter organization of the Federal
Government.
Mr. DADDARTO. You would then somewhat support the Bell Commit-
tee's recommendation of such an institute?
Dr. WEINBERG. I thmk I would support that in the long run, but
I agree with Dr. Hornig's view that gradually o'iving Government
agency laboratories much more of the flavor of ~overnment labora-
tories is the proper direction to move at the present time.
Whether we should eventually seek some Federal policies that of-
ficially deals with redeployment that now seems to happen rather
naturally, I can't say at present. At any rate, I agree with Dr. Hornig
that the time is not yet ripe to make a general Federal policy on the
matter as was envisaged in the Bell report.
PAGENO="0036"
32
Mr. DADDARIO. You already have given some examples of how your
laboratory gradually developed other activities to the point where
now some 13 percent of the funds you expend come from other
agencies.
Dr. WEINBERG. Right.
Mr. DADDARIO. Notwithstanding that, you then said you agreed with
Dr. Hornig that we ought not to be rushing into this. This subcom-
mittee is particularly concerned about taking advantage of what we
have learned, and I would think that we ought to make this gradual
development a little more accelerated. I guess our argument here would
be a matter of speed.
Dr. WEINBERG. Yes.
I guess I am not prepared at this stage to say that we should have
a GSA for the general laboratories. It is to this extent that I disagree
ivith the Bell report.
On the other hand, I agree with you fully, Mr. Daddario, that giv-
ing the agencies a Government-wide flavor is a good thing, and I think
`it can be done in the way that we have been doing it at Oak Ridge.
Mr. DADDARIO. At this stage I do not believe I would be in favor of
a GSA-type program, either. But that is not to say that I believe that
because various agencies of Government or even various committees
of the Congress have jurisdiction over certain areas that it ought to be
that way and we ought not to recognize these as to what they are and
then break them down. It would follow more logically from one type of
laboratory to another if these inhibiting barriers can be removed.
Dr. WEINBERG. I agree
Take civil defense, for example. The Federal Government supports
some 200 separate contracts, but where can one go for a "coherent
doctrine" with respect to civil defense? The interdisciplinary "projec-
tism" that characterizes research in the national laboratories can im-
pose a much-desired coherence on the research of the Federal Govern-
ment. The crossing of agency lines implies a reintegration at the work-
ing level that can counteract the inevitable fragmentation caused by
the structure of our Government. Problems transcend agencies. Only
when problems are dealt with as a whole, as is possible in the big
laboratories, do they get solved as a whole. Desalting requires the
technology of evaporators and the technology of energy sources; in a
laboratory these two can be reintegrated, even though in the Govern-
ment they are fragmented, the one being the concern of the OSW,
the other of the AEC.
I am convinced that the key to the responsible redeployment of the
big laboratories is the role and attitude of the top management. I be-
lieve that the redeployment will be successful and in the national
interest if the laboratory director himself views very broadly his
responsibilities in a way that transcends the confines of his own sup-
porting agency, and if he is aware of and sensitive to the national in-
terest. It is on this account that I have strongly recommended that
directors of big interdisciplinary Government or captive laboratories
be brought into the highest levels of Government science policy. I
would recommend that PSAC, for instance, always have at least one
laboratory director on it. I must say that I have always valued my own
term on PSAC not so much for what I contributed, but rather for
the breadth of understanding that my tenure gave me, a breadth that
has proved invaluable in the current redeployment of ORNL.
PAGENO="0037"
33
How can the crossing of agency lines be made smoother? Our ex-
perience at ORNL suggests that though the initial stages are some-
times rough, smooth relations can be worked out. As to the question of
when a laboratory ought to become involved in something outside its
own agency, I think this is judged best from within the laboratory,
particularly by the laboratory director, in cooperation with the labora-
tory's main supporting agency.
The redeployment can run into difficulty if there is no fiscal "fly-
wheel" to smooth out fluctuations in funding. Our Laboratory is an arm
of the AEC; we, therefore, have enough flexibility in shifting funds
between AEC programs to shield our scientists from drastic fiscal
fluctuations. Without such flexibility on how to use social scientists.
effectively, I think that we begin to see a pattern of mutual interaction
at our institution that might eventually serve as a pattern for how
National Socio-Technical Institutes of the future should operate.
Thank you, Mr. Daddario.
Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you, Dr. Weinberg.
When you talk about this fiscal flywheel as means of exploring new
ideas, do you mean to put it all together? Wouldn't you run into a
problem there of giving the other agencies who have assigned work to
you an understanding that they need not be as efficient as they ought
to be in paying and as a result you would not have sufficient funds?
Dr. WEINBERG. We would hope that the other agencies, if they are
satisfied with what the Laboratory is doing, would deal with us in
much the same way as our parent agency does.
The fiscal flywheel I have in mind here is partly to eliminate thia
redtape problem which has beset us and partly to take account of the.
fact that the fiscal year for some agencies seems to go a little differently
than the fiscal year for other agencies; and perhaps most important
is the matter of having the option of using this money to get com-~
pletely new things started.
Mr. DADDARIO. That really is the point to which I am referring.
Dr. WEINBERG. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. If you could separate out this redtape situation from
the good-idea area, how much or what percentage are you thinking
about?
Dr. WEINBERG. This depends really on the size of the laboratory. A
laboratory as large as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory would be
in very good shape in this respect if the laboratory director had an
overhead account of, say, 4~ percent.
Now, the money presumably would be used when a real hot idea
comes up. The director would not, of course, use very much of his
"kitty" without informing his sponsoring agency, but I would think
that there would be enough give and take in the situation so that the
sponsoring agency, if it has confidence in the director, would give
him some leeway in using these funds. As Dr. Hornig said, some of the
best ideas are the bootlegged ideas.
The way Harvey Brooks puts it is very good. It should always be
possible to bootleg work in one of these laboratories, but it shouldn't
be too easy to bootleg; and having a 4-percent overhead which is part
of the laboratory's property strikes me as being about the right sort
of thing.
Mr. DADDARIO. How much would that all amount to, what you are
bootlegging and the 4 percent you will get?
PAGENO="0038"
34
Dr. WEINBERG. We have a director's account in our Laboratory
which is rather a private matter.
Mr. DADDARIO. Just tell me privately.
Dr. WEINBERG. About one and a half percent, but it really isn't all
that much that is within the control of the laboratory director. The
AEC feels this is a very real problem and would like to do something
ubout giving the Director additional leeway. The Commission feels
that it is constrained because of the way the money is appropriated.
Congress puts labels on its money and is very uncomfortable if money
that is appropriated for something is used elsewhere.
I can understand the concern from the point of view of the Joint
Committee, but I really think the laboratories should say, well, there
is a certam cost of doing business at our laboratory and that cost is
the director's kitty.
Mr. DADDARIO. What would it do to the quality of your laboratory
if you were able to have such a fund?
Dr. WEINBERG. After the very kind things that Dr. Hornig said about
me and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, I couldn't say anything but
that it would remains as good as it is.
Mr. DADDARIO. Anything can be improved.
Dr. WEINBERG. But I would say that I think this more than any
other single thing would give to the Laboratory a kind of flexibility
and flare that really would make a very great difference.
Mr. DADDARIO. I recognize that there are problems here and that there
must be some judgment as to how it ought to be done and with whom.
It does appear, however, that for a relatively small percentage of the
total funds expended that the quality of effort could be raised con-
siderably.
Dr. WEINBERG. I agree completely, and if the Subcommittee on
Science, Research, and Development can somehow put this across, I
would say that it would be doing the Federal research picture a very
great service.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Weinberg, you talked about this irresponsible and
mischievous redeployment with which I would agree and-
Dr. WEINBERG. I speak of massive redeployment there.
Mr. DADDARIO. Yes. I would not feel that there is support for the idea
that the AEC laboratories are working themselves out of a job.
You talk about the tremendous hope that you have for the new
breeder reactors and the effect it would have on our resources gen-
erally.
Then you look to the future and visualize the place of your labora-
tory. I would agree that this would be a proper and logical develop-
ment, yet it will not come about unless we pay some attention to it now.
What guidance can you give us as to whether you expect this to occur
and in what way you conceive it coming about?
Dr. WEINBERG. Let me say that at the Oak Ridge National Labora-
tory we already have started co-opting social scientists. We have about
five social scientists who work full time. These are mainly connected
with the work on civil defense, but this summer we had chemists, agron-
omists, and sociologists, working with us on developing this new
agro-industrial complex for desert areas. You ask how I visualize our
acquiring a "social" floor; I think it will follow rather naturally from
our involvement in problems that obviously have stronger social corn-
ponents.
PAGENO="0039"
35
If civil defense ever becomes a serious question in the United States,
or if our involvement in civil defense really does develop into
concern with urban development, then it is inevitable that we shall
have to bring in additional social scientists. In general, the proper
word is "gradualism." We seek salients where we can make important
contributions. We move in those salients when they coincide with
obvious national necessities; where these salients do have social com-
ponents, we draw in the social scientists as we need them.
I don't visualize the Laboratory simply saying, "We will, whole
hog, establish a department of social science," without having some
rather definite job for the social scientists.
Mr. DADDARIO. But as this gradual redeployment activity takes
place, you find other areas of activity coming before you. Unless
competent people can be assigned to these projects, they will flounder
and cannot be taken advantage of. Do you see this as a need for you
to have such a flexibility?
Dr. WEINBERG. I think it is. I guess we have moved in this direc-
tion perhaps more strongly than most of the AEC laboratories; about
13 percent of the Laboratory is redeployed in areas some of which
have strong social implications. The question of how much further
and how much faster we should move is something that is under
active discussion at our Laboratory, and I guess I am not prepared to
say how much further and how much faster we should move.
Mr~ DADDARIO. You could not have arrived at the point where you
are now in this redeployment unless you had been able to make ar-
rangements to transfer personnel or if you had personnel ceilings.
Dr. WEINBERG. We operate our Laboratory by contract, so we don't
have a personnel ceiling; this actually is one of the advantages, in
this redeployment business, of dealing with contractor laboratories
because they have dollar ceilings rather than personnel ceilings, as
the civil service laboratories do.
However, we generally have obtained personnel for new projects
by taking them away from things that in our judgment and the judg-
ment of the Atomic Energy Commission were less important, and
putting them to work on those things which we thought to be most
fruitful and with which the Commission seemed to agree.
The 90 people on desalting were taken from predominantly AEC
jobs, but the AEC contributes about half of desalting support.
Of the 20 who are working on civil defense, about half had been
working on other jobs. The chap who is in charge of Civil Defense at
ORNL, Dr. J. C. Bresee is a very able chemical engineer who became
interested in civil defense.
Mr. DADDARIO. Isn't this one of the important objectives we ought to
have, people who have been working in one field who have a flare or
have developed a capability of applying knowledge?
Dr. WEINBERG. Very much so.
I must say I don't know if this is entirely relevant to the question
here, but this assumption that out of social science as we now know
it will come the solutions or resolution of problems-this is on the
whole a vast and unprovable assumption. It may be what we need
is a completely new breed of social engineers or possibly hard engineers
who learn something about social science. I think that what the social
scientists supply to the solution of problems which have a technolog-
PAGENO="0040"
36
ical component is not so much their expertise and method as it is
their perspective. They know what the problem is. They have read
widely on the historical and social factors involved. Designing a social
system isn't like designing a desalting plant, but a desaltmg plant can
be an economic base around which a changed approach to an unsatis-
factory social system can be organized. It is much more tricky and
difficult to help correct a social ill. But to me it seems reasonable to
have emerge what might be called sociotechnical institutes which
would result from the redeployment of the present mission-oriented
laboratories. Well, we don't have a book that says this actually can
be done, but we should try as best we can.
Mr. DADDARIO. What you are doing is developing an environment in
which the engineers can work together and get to understand each
other. They will be talking to each other about the same problems and
have their ideas rub off on one another, and this is certainly a lot better
than it has been.
Dr. WEINBERG. I agree, and therefore I consider this idea of National
Sociotechnical Institutes as sort of the paradigm for the Federal
Research Institute of the coming generation.
I take this thought quite seriously. Support for it comes from both
sides. On the one hand you see the hardware people like we are reach-
ing out toward social science people.
On the other hand, you also see the think tanks, which are predomi-
nantly social, reaching toward hardware solutions. We have had a
variety of conversations with think tankers about the possibility of
having them supply some of the social science expertise that we might
need.
Mr. DADDARIO. We ought to get them out of the tank.
Dr. WEINBERG. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. That is a boxing expression; not a very nice one.
But at any rate, Dr. Weinberg, we have reached the point where this
first day's session must close.
I certainly appreciate your coming here and I do think you have
given us some advice that will be helpful in the formulation of cer-
tain of our objectives and guidelines, and the criteria through which
these objectives can be obtained. The committee appreciates your
presence.
(The following is a brief history of the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory:)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIlE OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY
In the war years of 1940, 1941, and 1942 there emerged in the United States
several physical research groups whose aim was centered on the exploration of
techniques for releasing power from the atomic nucleus. The groups soon com-
bined into three main centers-one at the University of California in Berkeley,
one at Columbia University in New York, and one deliberately misnamed the
"Metallurgical Laboratory" at the University of Chicago. These efforts were
coordinated under the sponsorship of the Office of Scientific Research and De-
velopment in Washington, but in a year they grew so big that they needed a
new administration, and thus was born the now famous "Manhattan District"
of the United States Army. Almost simultaneously, the three projects, plus a
fourth, demanded large-scale engineering realization of their laboratory efforts.
The Army engineers in the Manhattan District decided upon "site X" in eastern
Tennessee, 25 miles west of Knoxville, protectively located, rather sparsely settled,
in an attractive countryside, well watered, and supplied with abundant electric
power from the Tennessee Valley Authority. A 58,8S0~acre tract of land was
PAGENO="0041"
37
marked off, the bulldozers moved in, and a city which reached a maximum of
75,000 inhabitants sprang up in a matter of months. The community was named
Oak Ridge, for it lay along a crest known as Black Oak Ridge, and the whole
establishment was called "Clinton Engineer Works," after the nearby town of
Clinton.
The scientists from Columbia joined forces with the Union Carbide Corpora-
tion and set up an enormous plant for separating isotopes of uranium by means
of their new gaseous diffusion process. The men from California joined with the
Tennessee Eastman Company and erected a fantastic set of magnetic separators
as an independent attack on the same job. The fourth plant was designed and
constructed for the separation job also, but its process, based on thermal thifu-
sion, was deemed less promising and the project was discontinued. The physicists
and chemists from Chicago had a different kind of problem on their hands. They
joined forces with the Du Pont Company, and it is their story that we wish to
follow in particular.
Late in 1942 the Metallurgical Laboratory had succeeded in the controlled re-
lease of nuclear energy. Conditions had been found under which neutrons could
propagate a chain reaction in uranium, burning the rare isotope U-235. This,
however, was only the first step `toward the wartime need. The chain reaction
supplies extra neutrons which on being absorbed by the other uranium isotope,
11-238, produces a new element, plutonium. Plutonium in kilogram quantities was
the objective of the moment. However, it was unsafe to operate a high-powered
nuclear chain reactor in the midst of Chicago, with little shielding and under
the knowledge that the reaction bad in it the power to go out of control and cause
a disaster. Therefore the Metallurgical Laboratory established at its branch,
"Clinton Laboratories" in Oak Ridge, a much larger chain reactor, air-cooled and
originally designed to dissipate 500 kilowatts of heat from nuclear fission, but it
was quickly raised to several `times that level. This "X-10" reactor was the first
nuclear reactor to be run at power; it gave mankind its first experience in the
behavior of reactors when they are operated under other than cold conditions.
And most importantly, it provided the plutonium needed to operate the pilot plant
and show that the separations process to be used for full scale production at
Hanford was workable.
Although the original purpose of Clinton Laboratories, later named the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, was met by mid-1945, these early years left an
imprint which remains even today. There is an acceptance of the responsibility
for pursuing goals in the national interest, and teams composed of many disci-
plines are willing to work together in achieving important objectives. There still
exists the chemical and chemical engineering flavor of the Laboratory's first
assignment, and it shows up in ORNL-developed processes used for fissionable
material production throughout the Commission and for the recovery of uranium
and thorium from ores. Even the ORNL power reactors, based upon the fluid
fuel concept, follow this chemical tradition.
After the war there was a period of readjustment. Many of the scientists left
for university posts, but a sufficient number remained to form the nucleus of
what is now the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The `University of Chicago re-
linquished the responsibility of operation, to be followed by the Monsanto
Chemical Company, and then by the Union Carbide Corporation, whose contract
with the Atomic Energy Commission has been in force at the Laboratory since
1948. Thus `the business and personnel policies of the Laboratory are those of
the Union Carbide Corporation, but the research policies are determined by the
Laboratory management in direct collaboration with the Atomic Energy Com-
mission or other government agencies such as may be involved.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory today provides a striking contrast to the
original laboratory which cost $13 million and had a wartime peak staff of 1515
people. The now diverse program which encompasses almost every area of interest
to the AEC-and other federal agencies as well-is carried out by a staff of more
than 5400 people in facilities valued at $3~35 million. The annual operating cost of
ORNL is about $100 million. About 87% of this represents programs of the
AEC itself; the balance, work for other government agencies. Of the AEC por-
tion, approximately 44% is devoted to reactor development and technology;
39% to physical research; 15% to the life sciences; 2% to radioisotopes develop-
ment; and smaller amounts to nuclear education and training.
At ORNL, two approaches to organization are traditional. First, we have
divisions which may be grouped somewhat homogeneously by discipline. Five
divisions are primarily chemically oriented; six are ipainly concerned with
physics; and five are concerned one each with biology, health physics, math&
PAGENO="0042"
38
matics, metallurgy and ceramics, and engineering. A second kind of organiza~
tion, projects, crosses divisional lines; these projects are organized to attack
large problems that require a massive effort on the part of a multidisciplinary
team. The project-division structure of ORNL fits well with the role of basic
research at the Laboratory, with about 25% of the research classified as "basic."
However, because this basic research is performed in the environment of a lab-
oratory dedicated to large national purposes, it usually acquires a general rel-
evance that often is missing in basic research conducted in institutions whose
sole purpose is basic research.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory's contractor, Union Carbide Corporation,
operates three other installations for the Atomic Energy Commission, two of
which are in Oak Ridge, and the third in Paducah, Kentucky. ORNL derives
many advantages from the single contractor operation. By the use of common
functions such as purchasing, accounting, and legal staff, many economies are
realized. Both personnel and work may be moved with relative ease between in-
stallations. Many ORNL successes, such as the liquid centrifuge and the High
Flux Isotopes Reactor, are due in considerable measure to support received from
the other installations in Oak Ridge.
MAJOR PROJECTS AT ORNL
Thermal breeding
We have long believed that our most important objective is attainment of an
inexhaustible, cheap source of energy. The ORNL approach to abundant energy
by means of the thermal breeder may be traced back to 1944 when studies of
an aqueous homogeneous reactor were carried out. Two small experimental
homogeneous reactors were operated during the period 1952-1960. The more
significant step, however, was taken in 1949 when the Laboratory became involved
in development of the nuclear powered aircraft. In the course of this investiga-
tion, a vast amount of knowledge of molten fluoride fuel systems was accumu-
lated, and the work culminated with the operation of the Aircraft Reactor
Experiment in 1954. Since that time, study of molten fluoride systems as fuels
and molten salt breeder reactors has continued, and the great promise of the
concept has now been proved in the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment.
Although the Laboratory's major power reactor effort is devoted to the molten
salt concept, a program aimed at thorium utilization in general is also carried
out.
Transuranium element development
The Laboratory has been interested in the trahsuranium elements since its
inception, with development of processes for purifying plutonium providing a
vein of continuity. The program reached a milestone in 1965 when the High Flux
Isotopes Reactor, the world's highest flux research reactor, became critical. The
HFIR ultimately will produce 1 gram of californium-252 per year, as well as
other interesting elements of both higher and lower atomic number, for use in
the national heavy element research program. Other parts of the transuranium
element complex are the Transuranium Processing Facility, where targets con-
taining heavy elements to be irradiated in the HFIR are made. Following irradi-
ation in the HFIR, the targets are returned to the Transuranium Processing
Facility for separation of the transuranium elements. Because study of the heavy
elements requires special facilities, a Transuranium Research Laboratory was
constructed. Up to one-half of the staff may be composed of visiting scientists
from other parts of the United States and the world.
Water and food
The economics of nuclear power are such that very large reactors are rela-
tively less expensive than small ones. This introduces the possibility of vast
agro-industrial complexes. Such a complex might employ a 10,000 MWe reactor
to produce inexpensive water and electricity. The electricity would be used to
make agricultural chemicals and other products, and the excess reactor heat
would be used for evaporating sea water. The water and agricultural chemicals
from one such complex would then be used by methods of intensive agriculture
to provide food for millions of people. We are currently making economic studies
of big reactors, and research is being carried out on improved evaporators. A
recent summer study was devoted to the agro-industrial complex itself.
PAGENO="0043"
39
Nuclear safety and other reactor develoDment
Our largest activity in reactor development is the nuclear safety program.
From a modest beginning in 1955, when a few observations were made on fis'
sion product release from overheated reactor fuel, the scope of the program has
increased to encompass almost all of the safety problems which confront the
nuclear power industry, including seismic effects on reactors, structural prob-
lems of pressure vessels, reactor safety standards, and an information center
serving the industry. In addition, the Laboratory conducts a variety of smaUer
studies in support of most phases of the U.S. reactor development program.
Isotopes development center
It is natural that we should always have been interested in fission products,
for they presented so many problems in the early work on plutonium purifica-
tion-problems that were oniy resolved by gaining an understanding of the fission
products themselves. In addition, the Laboratory found itself with an available
riactor and a collection of the best electromagnetic separators in the world.
As a result of these circumstances, modest production of radioisotopes and sepa-
rated stable isotopes was undertaken, and, on August 2, 1946, the first commercial
shipment of radiolsotopes-to the Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital-was
made. For many years the Laboratory remained the world's largest producer of
radio- and stable isotopes; the impact on science, technology, and medicine of the
Laboratory's efforts in isotope production has been enormous. At one time, proc-
esses for producing commercial quantities of about 100 radioisotopes and more
than 250 stable isotopes of 52 elements were operating. By the end of 1962, more
than i~/2 million curies of radioisotopes and 5 kilograms of enriched stable
isotopes had been shipped. For many years now, ORNL has been steadily with-
drawing from radioisotope production to make way for private industry. In spite
of this, each year the number of curies shipped from the Laboratory has increased,
reflecting a transition from making many small shipments to making a few very
large ones. Today we are concerned mainly with those difficult problems of
isotope technology such as big power sources with which private industry is not
prepared to cope. The Isotope Development Center, in addition to producing
isotopic power sources, seeks new ways of using radioisotopes and radiation and.
provides an information service for radioisotope users.
Controlled thermonuclear program
Research on ways of obtaining power from the fusion process has been under
way since 1953. The ORNL approach is based on continuous high energy injection
into a containing magnetic field. Two large devices, POX-i and DCX-2, have
been built to study the processes involved. More recently, increased emphasis has
been placed upon the theoretical aspects of plasma instabilities and finding ways
of dealing with them.
Life sciences
Biology.-Some of the earliest investigations carried out at ORNL had to do
with the effect of radiation on animals and man and finding ways of ameliorating
these effects. Over a period of many years, an extensive mouse colony was estab-
lished to permit study of these effects, and experimental techniques were devel-
oped. By 1.946 the program was sufficiently extensive to warrant establishing a
Biology Division at the Laboratory. In the last few years, biological science at
ORNL, as elsewhere, has undergone growth at a rate akin to that of physics
during the early decades of the century. The Biology Division is now the largest
division of the Laboratory. Many of the programs being carried out for other
federal agencies are based in large measure upon experience acquired in the
study of radiation effects: problems of aging, the effects of germ-free environment
on animal welfare, and chemical mutagenesis. Equipment is being developed, and
techniques for applying ultracentrifugation to the separation of viruses and to the
preparation of vaccines are being pursued. The entire biology program at ORNL
is underlain by a very large program of basic research in many areas of modern
biology.
Ecology.-During the war years radioactive waste from the Laboratory was
discharged to the environment, and it is natural that adjoining areas should be
exploited as a unique laboratory for studying the effect of radiation on the en-
vironment. The program has expanded greatly and now constitutes a comprehen-
sive effort aimed at understanding most aspects of radiation ecology.
PAGENO="0044"
40
Physical sciences
Physics.-Physics research at ORNL lies predominately in the low- and medi-
um-energy ranges. k large fraction of the program concerns reactions of neutrons,
especially those pertaining to reactor development or the utilization of neutrons
as tools for research. Important problems under investigation are elucidating
the physics of fission, nuclear structure determinations, measurements of cross
sections of importance to both thermal and fast reactors (and the origin of the
universe), and studies of shielding both reactor and space radiation. In much
of this work the Laboratory's superb reactors and medium-energy accelerators
are used.
Chemistry.-Studies of chemical properties and of reactions in aqueous and
nonaqueous media are carried out, to a large measure, in support of the AEC's
reactor programs. The first weighable quantities of technetium were separated
at ORNI, and the element promethium was discovered at the Laboratory. More
recently, emphasis has been placed on the chemistry of the transpultonium ele-
ments; and, in early 1968, two new isotopes of neptunium were discovered at
ORNL.
Metallurgy and solid state Physics.-The iniportance of materials problems in
reactor technology were fully appreciated in 1946 when the Metallurgy Division
was established. Early work on fuel element development resulted in an alu-
minum plate-type fuel technology upon which much of the current generation
of research reactors is based. More recently, attention has been focused on the
materials problems of new reactor types and on high-temperature materials suit-
able for high-performance reactors and space applications.
Research in solid state physics deals not only wi.th the effect of radiation on
simple systems such as single crystals but also on actual material of contruction,
with the hope of undertanding the processes involved and ultimately controlling
them.
Education
Since its inception, the Laboratory has been active in education and training,
beginning with training the staff for such AEC installations as Hanford, Savan-
nah River, and the National Reactor Test Site. Between 1950 and 1965 more than
1000 individuals, many from industry, were provided formal training in the Oak
Ridge School of Reactor Technology. Almost from the beginning, ORNL staff
members have taught at the neighboring University of Tennessee, but a major
step forward was taken in 1963 with the awarding of a Ford Foundation grant
to UT. This makes it possible for 30 senior ORNL staff members to spend one day
per week teaching at the University as regular members of the faculty. In late
1965 a major new undertaking, the Oak Ridge-University of Tennessee Graduate
School of Biomedical Sciences, was initiated. The school is jointly administered
by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and UT; the first class of students entered
in the fall of 1967.
For many years the Massachusetts Institute of Technology maintained a prac-
tice school in Oak Ridge. This school was re-established in September, 1966; and,
in late 1967, the University of Tennessee established a similar practice school.
Other educational activities at the Laboratory include the Research Participa-
tion Program, under which college faculty members work at *the Laboratory,
a Traveling Lecture Program, and a program which permits promising technical
:students to work at the Laboratory during the summer months. Currently, more
than 140 people are engaged in graduate thesis activities at ORNL.
March 25, 1968.
QUESTION'S SUBMITTED TO DR. ALVIN M. WMNBERG BY THE SUB-
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT
1. In your prepared statement you say that the key to responsible redeployment
is the role and attitude of top management, and that a laboratory director must
view very `broadly his responsibilities in a way that transcends the confines of
his supporting agency.
(a) Are there any policy statements that you are aware of at the OISIT or
Bureau of the Budget level that would specifically foster or hinder this policy?
(b) Do you believe that you could have redeployed your laboratory as you
described without the specific authorization of the AEC and the Joint Committee?
(c) The other side of the redeployment question is duplication of activities.
How do you encourage the former without encouraging the latter? What guide-
lines would you recommend?
1. (a) I know of no statements sponsored either by OST or BOB that partic-
PAGENO="0045"
41
ularly relate to this question. I believe the attitude of top management toward
redeployment `would be improved if laboratory directors had more opportunity
to participate in the w'ork of OST and PSAC. Although I know of no policy to
hinder this, I believe there `is no special policy `to foster such participation.
(b) In every ca'se of redeployment, our laboratory received `the full sanction
and concurrence of ABC. All money spen't at ORNL goes through ABC-either
by direct appropriation or through interagency transfer.
(c) Duplication is not really much of a problem since ultimately what any
governmen't or contractor laboratory spends is paid for `by a government agency,
and the government agency presumably has cognizance of `what is going on in
fields it pays for.
2. While the present Laboratories Committee of the Federal Council for
science and Technology is concerned with Government laboratories as such, with
the ea~ception of Dr. Astin its members are not working laboratory directors.
What advantages and disadvantages do you see for establishing a small council
of Federal laboratory directors that would represent the views of both directly
and contractor operated Federal laboratories at the Ewecutive Office level?
2. I don't think much of a council composed exclusively of Federal laboratory
directors. They would spend most of their time talking a'bout unessential adinin-
istrative questions. Rather, Federal laboratory directors should be brought into
the existing scientific policy~rnaking framework of the government as panel
members, advisors, and members of the regular committees such as the Defense
`Science Board, General Advisory Committee to ABC, PSA'C, etc.
3. A sharp line frequently is drawn between those Government laboratories
that are directly operated and those that are contractor operated. In terms of
your eceperience, what are the principal characteristics of each mode of opera-
tion and the differences between them that are significant to utilization of Gov-
ernment laboratories?
3. The main practical difference is that a government laboratory usually oper-
ates both on a personnel and budget ceiling, a contrac'tor laboratory only on a
budget ceiling. This gives the contractor laboratory a good deal more flexibility
than the government laboratory. On the other hand, `since the contractor labora-
tory is not really part of government, its influence on government practice is apt
to be less direct. However, this depends profoundly upon the personalities of the
laboratory management and their counterparts in government.
4. What authority do you have to deal directly with other agencies that may
wish to engage ORNL's research and development services?
4. Strictly speaking, all our contacts must go through AEC; in this sense we
have no authority to deal directly with other agencies. However, AE'C has inter-
preted our prerogatives in this respect `liberally, and, once contacts through
official channels have been set up, day-to-day relations with other agencies are
handled about like day-to-day relations with separate branches of AEC.
5, As a general policy, do you believe that discretionary funds should be made
available to all laboratories or only those which have demonstrated quality
work (a reward for competence)?
(a) Do you believe that discretionary funds should be used only in further-
ance of an agency's mission or could some of the funds be used as seed money
to ecoplore how technology developed by a laboratory could be applied to other
national problems, perhaps outside the jurisdiction of the sponsoring agency?
5. I think some discretionary funds should be available to every laboratory.
The size of the fund should be negotiable, and naturally would be cut `back if
the management used these funds irresponsibly.
The laboratory management should be allowed to use the funds for very broad
exploration, even if this leads outside the agency'~s narrow mission. Again what
is required is a sense of proportion and responsibility on the part of manage-
ment, and this comes from participation in policy formulation.
6. The DOD witness proposed the elimination of manpower controls on cross-
agency work in order to achieve fleceibility similar to that available to the AEC
contract laboratories. What is your opinion of this proposal?
6. As I said in number 3, I agree that there should be a budget ceiling, not
a personnel ceiling on a laboratory. This implies that people can be fired; I as-
sume that even within Civil Service this is possible when there is a reduction
in force.
Mr. DADDARIO. This committee will adjourn until tomorrow morning
at this same place at 10 o'clock.
(Whereupon, at 12:15 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned to recon-
vene at 10 a.m., Wednesday, March 27,1968.)
PAGENO="0046"
PAGENO="0047"
UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL LABORATORIES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1968
HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES,
CoMMIrnE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,
SUBCOMMITrEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT,
Washington, D.C.
The subconimittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10:20 a.m., in
room 2325; Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Emilio Q. Daddario
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. DADDARIO. The meeting will come to order.
This is the second day of our hearings on the utilization of Federal
laboratories, and the subcommittee will hear from two distinguished
Federal laboratory directors and from an able and thoughtful adminis-
trator of Federalresearch and development.
The achievements of the National Bureau of Standards and its lab-
oratories are well known and need not be recounted here, but there is
one particular attainment whose history is virtually a case study of
Federal laboratory utilization. During the urgent days of World
War II, the National Bureau of Standards developed the proximity
fuse, and subsequently the scientists and engineers of this project spun
off to become the present Harry Diamond Fuse Laboratory of the De-
partment of Defense.
This indicates, I believe, that laboratories can be responsive tourgent
national needs, and indicates also that a capability existing in one
agency can be successfully redirected to other agency ~
We are pleased, therefore, to have as our first witness Dr. Allan V.
Astin, Director of the National Bureau of Standards. Dr. Astin is also
the Chairman of the Federal Council's Laboratory Committee. The
human resources of our Federal laboratories are a precious asset and,
like other assets, their value to society depends upon howwell or how
poorly they are used.
Following Dr. Astin, we will hear from Dr. William B. McLean,
teChnical director of the Navy Undersea Welfare Center. Dr. McLean
is responsible for the development of the Sidewinder air-to-air mis-
sile system, and has received the President's Award for Distinguished
Federal Civilian Service.
Our final witness this morning will be Mr. Harold B. Finger, Asso-
ciate Administrator for Organization and Management, NASA. Mr.
Finger has had extensive experience as a research and development ad-
ministratör and has been a frequent witness before our committee.
As the space program has matured during the last 10 years, it has
produced a wealth of new knowledge, technology, and methods of
management which have found application far removed from their
original space-oriented purpose, and we are particularly interested in
(43)
PAGENO="0048"
44
NASA's experience in accelerating the transfer of space science and
technology to other national goals or problems.
Dr. Astin, we would appreciate it if we could insert your first state-
ment in the record, perhaps with a few general comments, and have
you go right into your statement concerning the Laboratory Com-
mittee.
Dr. A5TIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be most happy to
do that.
(Dr. Astin's biography follows:)
DR ALLAN V ASTIN
Dr. Astin was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1904. He received his bachelor's
degree in, physics from the University of Utah in 1925 and his PhD from New
York University in 1928. From 1928 to 1930 he was a National Research Council
Fellow at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr., Astin joined the staff of the National' Bureau of Standards in .i932~ His
principal fields of work included precision electrical measurements, the develop-
ment of early radio telemetering techniques, and during World War II the de-
velopment of proximity fuzes. He was named Chief of the Bureau's Ordnance
DevelOpment Division in 1948. The President appointed him as' the fifth Director
of the National Bure'tu of Standards May 31 1952
Honors and awards include the, following: Gold, Medal Exceptional Service
Award, Deparfnient of `Commerce; honorary, Doctor of Science Degrees from
Lehigh University, George Washington `University, New York University; the
National Civil Service League Award; the Rockefeller' Public' `Service Award;
the Scott Gold Medal `of the American Ordnance Ass'ociation; the Award to
Executives of the American Society for, Testing and Materials; and the Distin-
guished Alumni Award of the University of Utah. Dr. Astin is a Fellow of the
American Physical Society, the Institute of E1ectrical and Electronic Engineers;
an honorary life member of the Instrument Society of' `America, the' Standards
Engin~ers Society Inc `~nd the American Dental A~sociation He is a member
of the American Philosophical Society American 4~cademy of Arts and Sciences
and the National Academy' of Sëiences. He serves as the U.S. member on the
International Committee of Weights and Measures and as Chairman of the
Committee on Federal' Laboratories o'f the Federal `Council for Science and
Technology. , ` ` ,
STATEMENT OP DR ALLAN V ASTIN, DIRECTOR OP THE NATIONAL
BUREAU OP STANDARDS
Dr ASTIN I would also like to offer to the committee two descriptive
documents ,concerning the Bureau which I think some of you. have
seen: We would be happy to furnish additional copies if you wish.
First, the recently published history of the national Bureau of
Standards called "Measures for Progress," and the other is our 1967
annual report.
The history contains a foreword by Dr. Vannevar Bush, in which
he says, "If men are to accomplish together anything useful whatever,
they must above all be able to understood one another. That is the
basic reason for a National Bureau of Standards."
Our basic concern is, as Dr. Bush indicated, to provide the frame-
work for communication, understanding, and exchange in the Nation's
sc1entific and engineering community.
We have a second function, however, of providing a center for scien-
tific and technical services to the Government and to the private sector.
The first responsibility consists really of two aspects. We must pro-
vide the national framework for uniform, consistent, accurate, com-
patible, physical measurement in this country. That includes provid-
PAGENO="0049"
45
ing services so that everybody can be assured of means of coupling to
the measurement system, and coordinating our measuring system with
that of other nations.
The second part of this particular function is to provide data on
the properties of materials which are of great importance to science
and not available elsewhere.
These two activities involve us very much in the science of measure-
ment with close coupling with everybody in the country who uses
physical measurement. In this connection, we acquire various skills
which have led to the Bureau being looked upon as. a scientific service
center to the rest of Government. This is the function which is chang-
ing, and which I would like to talk about briefly to summarize some
of the things that are in my statement.
In the early days of the Bureau we were very much involved in in-
dustrial research and development. We were involved in such things
as development activities on automOtive and aircraft engines, and in
the development of optical glass. As the Nation's technical competence
rose we rapidly got out of these activities and concentrated on the
measurement problems to insure compatibility of the many activities
in the various technical fields.
At the same time the Bureau began early in its history to serve
the Federal Government as a service center. I think one of the first
tasks was the testing of material used in the old House Office Building.
We have also been used by other Government agencies as a central
resource for research. The Navy Department used the National
Bureau of Standards as its research center for 10 years before the
Naval Research Laboratory was established.
The old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics used the
National Bureau of Standards for its laboratory resource for several
years before it established laboratories of its own.
You referred to our part in the formation of the Harry Diamond
Laboratories. The Navy Ordnance Laboratory at Corona, Calif., was
spun off from the National Bureau of Standards at the same time.
More recently, our former Central Radio Propagation Laboratory
became a key research component of the newly formed Environmental
Science Services Administration.
These represent instances where other organizations use the Bureau
for a particular job The work develops to a certain stage, or they
acquire facilities of their own, and then the activity is taken out of
the Bureau.
We have similar things now in process. We are working with the
General Services Administration and helping them set up in our fa-
cilities a laboratory to develop product acceptance test procedures and
do qualified product testing for GSA.
At the same time we have a laboratory dealing with several aspects
of motor vehicle safety research for the Department of Transporta-
tion. We expect that these two activities, as they mature, will probably
ultimately be transferred to the sponsor agency.
We are also working with the Department of Housing and Urban
Development toward use of our building research activities as a
resource to help them in the solution of some of their problems. So,
you see, in this way we provide a central service to Government, and
it is a changing service.
93-201-68----4
PAGENO="0050"
46
We sometimes play a similar role in relation to the industrial
sector. Our staff will frequently get involved in and interested in some
aspect of development which they find they cannot carry as far as
they would like to and still remain part of the National Bureau of
Standards. This is because we do not encourage or authorize the
development of commercial or proprietary products. However, we
can't and would not want to stop people from getting ideas.
Frequently when this happens, the individuals leave the National
Bureau of standards, either to go with a commercial company, or
very often to set up their own companies. Examples of this have been
Harris Laboratories, Rabinow Engineering, The Weinschel Engi-
neering Laboratories.
In addition, we have helped organizations like the American Gas
Association and the National Institute of Dry Cleaning in setting up
laboratory activities of their own.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Astin, you bring up the way in which the
Bureau has been helpful in developing the first steps which have led
to the creation of other agencies in Government and new industry. It
would seem to me that the ones that have been established in industry
developed in response to needs within our society.
What is your thinking about the way in which the Government
agencies have developed laboratories after the groundwork has been
broken. Is it your view that this is a healthy situation and that it
should always work this way? Does your experience give you any
indication as to how this pattern might, in fact, be improved? We are
concerned about how we can, in fact, develop better laboratories, and
I have some question really as to whether they should always be under
and completely subservient to the agency which has a particular
mission.
Dr. ASTIN. I am not sure that I could define any general rules for
this. It is my view that any agency, particularly some of the new ones
who think they need a laboratory, should explore the opportunities
to have their work done in existing facilities before the decision is
made to establish a new laboratory.
It is specifically for this reason that I mentioned the experiences
with the Department of Transportation in the vehicle safety area
and with GSA in the product testing area. I think, ultimately, these
will become laboratories within the parent agencies, but what they
did was to look first for some existing activity on which they could
build before they start something on their own.
Mr. DADDARIO. Would your work as Chairman of the Federal Coun-
cil's Laboratory Committee include some judgment on whether or not
such laboratories are to, in fact, be established? We know that some
laboratories are established only because the parent agency has the
authority to do it under its organic legislation. We had some problems
in this area, as you will recall, with the biomedical developments
within the space program. We had some concern about whether this
work should have been done in existing laboratories. We have kept
after it over the course of time, and yet it did grow in a very strange
way.
Dr. ASTIN. The interdepartmental committee has not looked at the
problem of criteria for establishing laboratories. We have been very
much concerned, however, with the elements which make for the effec-
PAGENO="0051"
47
tive operation of laboratories and it is one of our conclusions that one
of the most important things for any laboratory is a broad, dynamic,
and challenging mission. This would mean, I think, that one would
not set up a laboratory unless there is a broad, challenging, continuing
responsibility. I would think that one would avoid setting up a labora-
tory for an ad hoc task because then you . get stuck when the )Ob is
done with a resource that you really don't know what to do with.
I would like to make one more comment about the activities of the
National Bureau of Standards before going on to the Federal Council
activities. This concerns our coupling with the educational community
as well as the industrial community. We like to look upon the resources
of the National Bureau of Standards as national resources which are
available to anyone with a legitimate need for sharing or using them.
At our new laboratories at Gaithersburg, for example, we have a num-
ber of very unique facilities. We have sorne~very fine ionizing radia-
tion producing facilities. We have probably the best spectroscopy
facilities in the world. These are facilities which we share. We have
mechanisms in operation for sharing with the scientific and techno-
logical community throughout the area, including most of the uni-
versities in this area and other Federal agencies like the Naval Re-
search Laboratory and the National Institutes of Health. So we look
on these as facilities that have unique and significant aspects, but
they are national facilities, national resources, and are there to be
shared.
Similarly, we make all of our facilities available to the industrial
community for their people to come in and work with our people on
problems of interest to them and of national significance.
At the present time we have approximately 65 people who are on
the staffs of different industrial organizations working in our labora-
tories on problems of mutual interest. This sharing thing, I think,
is most important, and it is one of the things I wanted to emphasize
before closing my comments on the Bureau.
* Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Astin, you touched on your work, with the De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development. I wonder if you could
go into that in a little detail because that is a subject of interest to us.
Dr. ASTIN. Yes. We are interested in. working with HUD in devel-
oping better techniques for evaluating building structures and their
components. We feel that much of the present technology for evalua-
tion of building systems is archaic and does not really take adequate
account of the performance aspect. In general, most building codes
to which buildings must conform are based on detailed specifications
as to the materials that go into a structure and the form and arrange-
ment of materials. They have no relationship, or very remote relation-
ship, I should say, to the functions the building is to perform.
Consider, for example, the wall of a building. A wall. provides struc-
tural support. It also provides shielding from heat and light and
sound. Ideally, one should specify the properties of a wall in terms
of its ability to~ attenuate sounds, to withhold the transmission of
heat or cold and in terms of the forces it is required to withstand.
Most building codes specify materials. If it is going to be a brick
wall they specify the sizes of the bricks, the composition of the mor-
tar and things of this sort, or if it is a wood wall they specify size
and spacing of the structural members.
PAGENO="0052"
48
This completely freezes innovation. if we are going to bring to bear
the b~st of nmdern technology in coping with the Nation's housing
problems, particularly the problems of lOw-cost housing, we have to
have building codes and building regulations which permit to the
maximumpossible extent the development of new ideas. This can only
be done if we know how to specify the performance requirements of a
building and have related test methods to determine whether or not
a proposed structure will conform to these requirements.: It is this
problem that we are working with. We are outlining now some spe-
cific activities, some short term, some long term, where we can begin
to get performance-type building codes rather than design-type build-
ing codes. This is a specific problem area~
Mr. DADDARIO. The objective would also be to do this at a lesser
price than presently?
Dr. ASTIN. Definitely, yes. Through innovative use of modern tech-
nology I am sure that much more can be done in getting better hous-
ing for less money.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you have any estimate, Dr. Astin, of how much
lower? I think this is important because the way you are going to get
building codes down is by public opinion being drawn to this particular
fact. V
Dr. ASTIN. Well, I have no good way of making an estimate as
to howV nmch the possible lowering of cost would be. I am sure Vthat
there could be some significant reductions if we could get away from
many of the restrictions V of present designed base building codes.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you contemplate it to be in the order of 10 per-
cent, 20 percent, or do you have no judgment at Vail on it?
Dr. ASTIN. I would rather not make an estimate on it at this time,
sir. I think it would be large enough to devote considerable amount of
effort to try and bring this about. In Other words, I think the gain is
well worth whatever it costs tO develop performance based building
codes. V
Mr. DADDARIO. You are talking about better houses at a lower price
tag? V V V V
Dr. ASTIN. That is right, yes, sir.
I would now like to speak to you jflV my capacity as Chairman of the
Federal Council for Science and Technology's Committee on Federal
Laboratories. V V V
The Committee on Federal Laboratories is the current designation
for a continuing Federal Council VCommitteeV which, under a series of
different names, has concentrated from the time of its formation in
1959 on achieving the most effective V operation of Federal laboratories
from a management point of view, as contrasted to other Federal
Council committees which deal primarily with programs and policies.
Perhaps the best way to explain the functions, operation and concerns
of the Committee on Federal Laboratories is to trace its development
and activities starting with a predecessor group to the Federal Council,
the Interdepartmental Committtee on Scientific Research and
Development. V V
PAGENO="0053"
49
1THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
The Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and De-
velopment (ICSRD) was established by Executive Order 9912 in 194~7.
One of the duties of the Interdepartmental Committee as enumerated
in the Executive order was to:
Study or propose studies and recommend changes in administrative policies
and procedures, including personnel policies, designed to increase the efficiency
*of the Federal research and development program.
While ICSRD was also concerned with Federal policies and
practices concerning research grants and contracts, encouraging col-
laboration among Federal agencies engaged in scientific research and
development, obtaining advice from persons outside the Federal Gov-
ernment, and similar matters, its most productive activities generally
proved to be in the area of administration of scientific programs.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FCST AND THE PANEL ON ENVIRONMENT AND
INCENTIVES FOR RESEARCH
In 1959 Executive Order 10807 established the Federal Council for
Science and Technology and revoked Executive Order 9912. The new
order, in addition to establishing the Federal Council, specifically in-
cluded provision for a Standing Committee of scientist-administrators
to undertake studies for and make reports to the Council, and to pro-
vide a continuing source of recommendations. Thus, in effect, Execu-
tive Order 10807 provided for the abolition of ICSRD and its reconsti-
tution as a Standing Committee of the Federal Council.
Two of the functions of the Federal Council are to recommend poli-
cies and other measures to provide more effective planning and admin-
~istration of Federal scientific and technological programs and to
achieve more effective utilization of the scientific and technological re-
sources and facilities of Federal agencies, including the elimination of
unnecessary duplication. To help carry out these objectives the Council
organized the Standing Committee of scientist-administrators, as
specified in the order, and the Standing Committee in turn appointed
a Panel on Environment and Incentives for Research. This was the
predecessor of the present Committee on Federal Laboratories.
From its beginning the Panel on Environment and Incentives for
Research concerned itself with (a) problems affecting the assigned
responsibilities of Federal laboratories, (b) the condition of Federal
laboratory management, and (c) organizational and personnel prac-
tices.
ACTIVITIES DURING 1961 AND 1962
During 1961 and 1962, an obvious and increasing deterioration in the
ability of Federal laboratories to recruit and retain sufficient numbers
of the outstanding scientists and engineers vital to effective accom-
plishment of their missions was perceived by the Panel to be the pri-
mary matter of importance requiring immediate attention.
Accordingly, the Panel, with the help of a working staff contributed
by its members, initiated studies and recommendatioUs as to both
the salary and nonsalary factors which were affecting the Govern-
ment's ability to obtain its share of highly competent people from the
PAGENO="0054"
50
competitive market. The Panel's subsequent analysis and recommenda-
tions were adopted by the Council and submitted to the President in
a two-part report entitled "The Competition for Quality". The portion
bearing on salary reform was used in developing the administrations
legislative proposals and was submitted to the Congress with relevant
statistics on July 12, 1962. The analysis of nonsalary factors which
could be effected by administrative action was transmitted by the
President to department and agency heads on May 13, 1962, with a
publicly released directive for implementation.
During 1962 the Panel also submitted recommendations to the Fed-
eral Council on improved utilization of the Government Employees
Incentives Awards Act of 1954.
Mr. DADDARIO. At the top of page 3 you speak of the Panel looking
at problems affecting the assigned responsibilities of Federal labora-
tories. Are you talking there about duplication or are you talking about
internal management of those organizations?
Dr. ASTIN. We are talking about the organizational and procedural
problems which interfere with getting the job done.
Mr. DADDARIO. How do you bring the individuals together and how
do you allow the people who are involved in the Federal laboratories
to participate? Yesterday we had some testimony on the need to do
this more often than we do, not only because you can get different
points of view, but also because laboratory directors would find out
more what was going on and they could improve their own manage-
ment activities.
Dr. ASTIN. Well, it is my feeling that every laboratory manager or
director should have some responsibility for formulitting at least a
portion of his program. In general the laboratory supports the mis-
sion of the agency, and to be effective, it has to be responsive. But if
the program is to be dynamic and effective, then formulation of some
portion of this program has to be under the control of the laboratory
manager.
At the same time it is desirable, I think, for him to have mecha-
nisms for seeking advice from experts in the technologies involved..
In general advisory committees to laboratory managers have proved'
very helpful.
Now, this essentially means first of all, that the laboratory director
should have some significant input into the program he is concerned~
with.
Second, he must have the necessary resources, freedoms, and fiexi-
hilities to manage the program that is assigned to him.
We have been concerned with both aspects of this problem; that
is, with the manager's need for some role in defining his program con-
tent, and second, with the authorities which he needs to have in order'
to effectively manage the program assigned to him.
Mr. DADDARIO. What kind of discretionary authority are you talk-
ing about and what amount of funds percen~agewise would you allow
him, in order to develop this capability that you are talking about?'
Dr. ASTIN. I would think that the amount of funds or resources at
his disposal would vary some with the nature of the mission. I would
guess, in general, it could run from a low of 5 percent up to perhaps
20 or 25 percent of his total resources. This would depend on the
PAGENO="0055"
51
nature of his mission or program, but of that order, well under a
half, but better than 5 percent.
Mr. DADDARIO. You fluctuate from a low to a high?
Dr. A5TIN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you include in that, that there should be some
judgment made as to the amount in respect to the laboratory?
Dr. ASTIN. Yes. A laboratory with a very routine responsibility
would probably need less. A laboratory with extremely difficult tech-
nological problems to solve would need more. It would depend to
some extent on the nature of the assignment to the lab.
Mr. DADDARIO. The nature of the assignment and the quality of the
laboratory?
Dr. ASTIN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. Are you going to rate them through this committee?
How are you going to do that?
Dr. ASTIN. No. Our interagency committee will not get involved
in rating laboratories.
On the other hand-
Mr. DADDARIO. You indicate that they should be?
Dr. ASTIN. I think that it is essential in any organization that is
concerned with a number of laboratories. I think they have to have
some mechanism of rating. Within the National Bureau of Standards,
for example, I consider that NBS is a composition of many labora-
tories. I think one of my responsibilities is to have techniques for
rating the different laboratories within the organization, and where
the leadership or management is ineffective, doing something about
strengthening it as well as encouraging those that are strong.
Mr. DADDARIO. I think it is extremely important to come to some
determination about how much flexibility and discretionary authority
you would allow a director. I would quite agree it should vary what-
ever the figures might be, and one of the most important criteria
would be the quality of the laboratory itself. I have the feeling.
although we have not come to that conclusion as yet, that a small
percentage of funds would, in fact, raise the quality of good labora-
tories even further. If a director had this authority, it would not only
enhance his capability, but it would have some bearing on the entire
quality of the performance of the people under him. You would, I
imagine, support that?
Dr. ASTIN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Hornig yesterday touched on part of the responsi-
bility that he has and came to some determination about eliminating
laboratories when they reach a certain point. Considering that he was
considering a judgment of that kind, would his office be the place
where this rating process should take place?
Dr. ASTIN. I am not sure whether that would be a proper place or
whether it ought to be done on a department basis. Most certainly,
though, I would think Dr. Hornig's office is concerned with the over-
all quality of Federal laboratories. That is one of the reasons his office
has encouraged our interagency committee because we are very much
involved with the problems which affect the quality of Federal labora-
tories. In fact, most of our reports deal with one or another aspect
of the quality of Federal laboratories.
PAGENO="0056"
52
Mr. DADDARIO. However, it might be done; then, we ought to be
giving it considerable thought to how this could be brought about?
Dr. A5TIN. Yes, I would agree.
Mr. DADDARIO. The idea that a laboratory director's council be
formed has been proposed from time to time. Do you see this as a
helpful step in allowing the directors to participate better in overall
management policy?
Dr. As~rIN. I think it is essential. I don't think you will either de-
velop or retain good laboratory directors unless they have the oppor-
tunity to have such participation.
Mr. DADDARIO. That is a very good answer, Dr. Astin. I do think
that there is a requirement to allow these men to so function. They
are men of such competence that their advice would be helpful.
I guess we can move along.
Dr. A5TIN. All right.
NAME AND REPORTING CHANGE
In line with its primary preoccupatiqn with the quality of the Fed-
eral R. & D. staff, in May of 1962 the name of the "Panel on Environ-
ment and Incentives for Research" was changed to the "Panel on Sm-
entific Personnel." In 1963 the committee began reporting directly
to the Federal Council rather than through the standing committee
and the title was changed to th~ "Committee on Scientific Personnel."
ACTIVITIES DURING 1963
During 1963 the Council concentrated on putting into effect the
recommendations in the committee's 1962 report, "The Competition
for Quality." The recommendations stressing the threat to the qual-
ity of science in Federal laboratories arising from noncompetitive
salaries for the higher level positions were a factor in enactment of
Federal salary legislation. The recommmendations of the committee
relating to the environment and incentives for work in Federal labo-
ratories were considered within the executive branch.
Based upon the committee's report, the Council agreed that these
steps should be taken by agencies:
(a) To sustain a challenging scientific environment capable of
keeping and attracting good people, the missions of laboratories
should be broad enough to present a set of scientifically challenging
tasks, and redefined wherever necessary to give them continuing
vitality;
(b) Research directors should have more authority;
(e) Layers of management over laboratories should be reduced;
(d) Full advantage should be taken of the flexibility existing in
civil service regulations, and these regulations should be less often
used as a rationalization for ineffective personnel management.
Also, during 1963 members of the Committee on Scientific Person-
nel, together with several invited scientists, met with the Civil
Service Commissioners and senior officials of the Commission to dis-
cuss staffing and personnel management problems associated with the
administration of Federal research and development activities and to
explore possible remedies. A summary report of this conference was
distributed by CSC Chairman John Macy to senior scientists and
PAGENO="0057"
53
engineers in the Federal Government. The primary point of the re-
port was to reemphasize that the existing Federal personnel system
is, in general, quite adaptable to the special needs of research and de-
velopment establishments if full use is made by management of this.
adaptability.
Mr. DADDAIiIO. Dr. Astin, yesterday I asked about the recommenda-
tion made by the Bell committee on the formation of a GSA type re-
search institution which would have its own merit system, its own sal-
ary levels, and this type of thing. I did not understand Dr. Hornig t&
be particularly in support of that. What are your feelings?
Dr. ASTIN. Well, we have considered this problem within the com-
mittee. As a matter of fact, one of the reports that I am coming to a.
little later in my statement began initially to try and see if there was
a need to create a special scientific corps in the Federal Government.
We came to the conclusion that this is not necessary, although there
are special considerations in terms of environment and management
that professional personnel need. If management is aware of the spe-
cial requirements for professional growth and development, then these
can probably be achieved quite satisfactorily without setting up a
special scientific corps.
I think, though, one of the best arguments I can think of for the
development of a corps, or something associated with it, is the absolute
necessity of providing in any scientific and engineering organization
for the continuing education of the staff.
We have, I think, at NBS a fairly good program for this, but it
could be better and one of the reasons it isn't better-one of the reasons
it isn't better throughout Government-is that it takes money and it
takes an investment of resources to train people.
Now, the military services do this and the way they can do it is be-
cause they are a corps. I think estimates have ben made that people
in the military officer corps spend as much as 10 to 15 percent of their
time in total career life in training. No scientific agency begins to ap-
proach this, but I don't think the requirements are any less critical
in a scientific organization for continuing education if they are to keep
abreast of new developments and to maintain a high level of quality.
Again I say that if one recognizes the special requirements for pro-
fessional development and has an opportunity for it, you don't need
a corps, but maybe it would be easier to get them if we had a corps..
Mr. DADDARIO. You could have this constant education which would
be helpful to a person's career as it is in the military. There is the
problem, though, that if a man were to decide to take a year's leave
of absence to go off somewhere on his own, when he came back he
could find himself in a position where his career might be affected ?
Dr. ASTIN. That is correct.
Mr. DADDARIO. But in the military, unless you go to these various
schools, your military career is affected by not going. it is just the
opposite.
Dr. ASTIN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. What areas, particularly, need constant education?
Dr. ASTIN. I don't know of any field in the physical, medical, bio-
logical, or engineering sciences that do not require continuing educa-
tion. In scientific fields there are always new discoveries in technology,.
there are always new and better ways of doing things, new tools to do
PAGENO="0058"
54
things with. Unless there is a mechanism to keep up to date on these,
the scientist's effectiveness is lowered.
I remember a number of years ago a meeting involving the late
Lloyd Berkner. He made the assertion that Ph. D.'s ought to be out-
lawed when they are 7 years old because they are no longer effective,
* and if a man is to keep his Ph. D. effective he should reearn~ it every
7 years.
Mr. DADDARIO. Then you would say that the quality of our national
laboratories, as good as some of them are and as pooi as others might
be, that all would improve in quality if we did, in fact, have a policy
for such education?
Dr. A5TIN. I have no doubt about it, sir. It is most desirable.
Mr. DADDARIO. This would be something that you would advise us
to set our goals to?
Dr. A5TIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. LtTKENS. May I ask a question?
Mr. DADDARIO. Yes.
Mr. LUKENS. I a.m interested in this program. I certainly endorse
it fully, and I agree with your assessment that continuous training
* is vital.
I would like to ask this. Iii the military a person is retrained for
* specific assignment and reassigned every 3 years. Do you think that
the personnel assignment concept within the scientific discipline is a
major advantage or would there by any advantage to changing the
physical surroundings, or is there a basic advantage to have a man
serve for 20 years in one position?
Dr. ASTIN. It varies. There are many cases, and we have a number
of them at the National Bureau of Standards, where very intensive
and long specializations are essential.
However, I am of the opinion that any individual, any senior indi-
vidual in one of the Federal laboratories, would be a better man if
his outlook were broadened; that is, if he had a better appreciation
of where his work fits in, not only to his own agency's mission, but
where his agency's mission fits into national goals. For this reason
I have been a strong proponent of training fellowships which tend
to broaden an individual's outlook.
Now, we have in the Department of Commerce a science technical
fellowship program. It was established while Dr. Hollomon was As-
sistant Secretary for Science and Technology. Its primary purpose
is to give promising individuals within the four technical agencies
of the Department a broadened outlook on the Government's involve~
ment in science. They are selected on a merit basis, and spend an aca-
demic year in such training. It generally consists of a series of courses
consuming perhaps 2 months and then actual work assignment in
another agency. All of these individuals return to either their prior
job or a better job at the end of the training assignment. This tram-
ing is now in its fourth or fifth year in the Commerce Department.
I would think that a program of this sort governmentwide would
help very much to improve the overall quality and certainly the per-
spective and breadth of view of the scientific and professional people.
Mr. LUKENS. This is assumed with a minimum jeopardy?
Dr. ASTIN. Yes. The man is assured of either his present job at the
*~nd of the training assignment, or a different, and usually better, job.
PAGENO="0059"
55
Mr. LtTKENS. Mr.. Chairman, may I ask permission to ask a couple
of more questions ? ..
Mr. DADDARIO. Yes.
Mr. LIJXENS. What is your assessment of the . fellowship program
right now. It seems to have paid off very handsomely.
Dr. ASTIN. Our postdoctoral associate program, which is now about
12 or 13 years old, is in my judgment one of the most effective devices
we have for maintaining the quality of our scientific staff. It is a pro-
gram that brings into the Bureau 16 to 20 new Ph. D.'s each year.
These individuals are selected for us by the National Research Council.
They come in and work on any one of a list of projects we propose,
and with any one of a list of supervisors they select from the list we
have given. So, they have essentially all of the freedoms of a post-
doctoral research fellowship in any university.
The appointment is for 1 year subject to .1 year renewal. This pro-
gram does for us two things. It provides a continual flow through the
organization of extremely bright people because they represent some
of the best new Ph. D.'s in the country.
For example, this year for the 16 appointments we could make there
were over 100 applicants, and the National Research Council certified
to us around 50 of these as being well qualified. This means that we
~an select only a third of the very best of these.
Thus we have this flow through the Bureau continually of this
bright talent.
It has another advantage, although this is secondary. We retain a
few of these people, approximately a third, as permanent employees of
the NBS. Those that came through the program first now. represent
some of our very best young scientists in the organization.
Mr. LUKENS. At the University of Colorado you also have a visiting
fellowship program. Are there any plans to increase that?
Dr. A5TIN. ~es. All of these programs are limited now by lack of
funds. Both of these programs essentially represent an investment in
t:he long-term capability of the organization. When we are in a time
of extremely tight budget, we have to defer some of these long-term
investments, and we are in that state right now.
Mr. LUKENS. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for your courtesy.
I would like also to go on record to say that you, Dr. Astin, are
doing a very fine job, and the National Bureau of Standards has a fine
reputation throughout the world. I think whatever help we can give to
NBS in the furtherance of these basic programs and standards would
certainly have my vote and my support.
Dr. A5TIN. Thank you very much, sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. You would like to hear that more often, wouldn't
you, Doctor?
Dr. ASTIN. Yes, sir. I would like to hear it tomorrow. [Laughter]
I am scheduled to appear before the Appropriations Committee.
Mr. DADDARIO. Will you keep this in mind?
Mr. LUKENS. That is not my committee. [Laughter]
Dr. ASTIN. "Change in Function of the Standing Committee."
About this time a reevaluation of the functions of the standing com-
mittee of scientist-administrators was undertaken and resulted in a
proposal, accepted by the Council, that the standing committee have
PAGENO="0060"
56
as its primary function the improvement of communication between
policy level officials in the various agencies and the entire body of
career scientists, engineers, and administrators of technical programs.
The major device for communicating would be symposia held once
or twice a year as the need arose, with wide participation and with.
publication of transactions so as to reach roughly 2,000 senior Fed-
eral scientists and research administrators.
The first symposium, planned in close cooperation with the Corn-
mittee on Scientific Personnel and sponsored jointly by the Civil
Service Commission, was held in October 1963, and dealt with "Cur-
rent Problems in the Management of Scientific Personnel." A second
symposium in April 1964, was concerned with "Technical Informa-
tion and the Federal Laboratory."
A third symposium in December 1964, was organized for the pur-
pose of discussing "The Environment of the Federal Laboratory."
This symposium, like the first in the series, was jointly sponsored by
the Federal Council and the Civil Service Commission. The program
included a review of many completed and ongoing studies of inflexi-
bilities and management problems in the Federal service and provided'
for small group discussions of specific problem areas.
Copies of the proceedings of the three symposia and of the other
panel reports have been published and are available if the committee
would like to have them.
Mr. DADDARIO. Is there any way we can come to a judgment about
what effect they have had?
Dr. ASTIN. We have not appraised their value. I think they have'
been of some use. I have been a little disappointed in the use that has
been made of them, but I occasionally get reports from someone that
they found something of value in one or the other of them.
Mr. DA~DARIO. We will not go into your reasons for havmg been dis--
appointed at th~s time, but we should explore it for the record along'
with other questions we may have.
Dr. ASTIN. We would be pleased to explore these things with you;'
yes.
CONSOLIDATION OF STANDING COMMI?I~1~EE AND COMMITTEE ON SCIENTIFIC
PERSONNEL
As the activities and committees of the Federal Council continued
to expand, the standing committee' became concerned primarily with
the effective operation of laboratories operated by the Federal agen-
cies. This had much in common with the interest and activities of
the Committee on Scientific Personnel and in May of 1965 operations
of the two committees were merged into the standing committee.
STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IMPORTANT TO FEDERAL SCIENTISTS
AND ENGINEERS
A major project of the Committee on Scientific Personnel, arid subse-
quently the standing committee, during 1964 and 1965 was the system-.
atic identification and assessment of environmental factors important
~o Federal scientists and engineers. Questionnaires were administered
to suitably chosen samples totaling some 1,025 Federal scientists and
engineers employed in 17 representative Federal laboratories through-
PAGENO="0061"
57
out the United States. A summary of the data and its analysis was
presented to the Federal Council during March 1966. The analysis
indicated the importance of various environmental features to Federal
scientists and engineers and evaluated the extent to which these per-
sons were satisfied with provision of these features in the Federal
service. The results were published in a report entitled "The Environ-
ment for Quality" and in the July-September 1966 issue of the Civil
Service Journal.
The Committee's analysis clearly identifies three sets of factors of
high importance to Federal scientists and engineers. These are: (1)
professional values, such as the opportunity to work on creative and
challenging projects and to make full use of skills and abilities; (2)
features concerning appropriate and equitable pay and ability to ad-
vance; and (3) matters related to adequate on-the-job support. On
the other hand, such things as job titles, the retention of rights to
patents, consulting fees and honoraria, rigidity of security controls,
and freedom to consult, lecture, and teach are considered relatively
unimportant by the vast majority of persons.
STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING MARGINAL EMPLOYEES
The Standing Committee took account of frequent indications of
~concern and dissatisfaction about the difficulty of removing marginal
employees and the consequent adverse effects upon the efficiency of
laboratories. The Standing Committee studied problems related to
marginal employees in some depth and concluded that these could
best be minimized by the continuous and systematic application of
sound personnel practices at all stages of employment and at all levels
of management within the agencies.
Changes in civil service rules and new legislation were proposed in
a number of cases. These were identified in a report, "Management
:and the Marginal Employee," and related to 22 specific recommenda-
tions directed at laboratory managers and directors, agency officials,
the Office of Science and Technology, the Civil Service Commission,
and the Bureau of the Budget. The report was distributed by the
Chairman of the Federal Council to the heads of major Federal
:agencies.
Legislative needs implicit in the situation include the authority to
require a longer probationary period for research scientists and engi-
neers and the ability in some cases to reimburse prospective ap-
pointees for a preemployment interview at the Federal laboratory.
Avoidance of marginal employees begins with the initial selection and
screening process.
USE or FEDERAL LABORATORIES POR EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
During 1966 and 1967 in response to a request from the Federal
Council for Science and Technology, the standing committee under-
~took a study relating to the use of Federal research and development
(B. & D.) facilities for advanced education and training : (1) To deter-
mine how well Federal laboratories are doing in continuing educa-
~tional efforts, (2) to make recommendations for improvements, and
(3) to explore the potential of Federal agencies in contributing more
ibroadly ąo ihe educational activities of the Nation.
PAGENO="0062"
58
The principal requirements for the study were knowledge of pres-
ent types of relationships between Federa~ laboratories and':universi~
ties, identification of successful experiences, and definition of the
major impediments to more productive int~rp1ay,':To.obtain the neces-
sary information several members of a committee task: force visited
and interviewed laboratory managers and their staffs, at some .75 Fed-
eral research and development inst~allations and one Federal contract
research center located throughout the United States..
Information gathered by the task force was analyzed, summarized,
and submitted together with recommendations for improvement action
to the Federal Council in September 1967. The Federal Council has
approved the report in principle and it is presently in~the process of
revision and publication for possible general use. `
Concurrently with the study of educational relationships the Corn-
mittee on Federal Laboratories was asked to help evaluate a closely re-
lated policy statement proposed by the National Science Board to
facilitate increased use of Government facilities by ~the general scien-
tific community. A report and recommendation was presented to the
Federal Council and accepted' for appropriate action. Data, discus-
sion, and recommendations pertinent to this proposal have been incor-
porated in the aforementioned report on university-laboratory rela-
tionships. _____
CURRENT AND FUTURE COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
In July 1967, in order to provide a more meaningful name in line
with its present functions, the name of the standing committee was
changed to the Committee on Federal Laboratories.
Currently the Committee is engaged in followup activities to its
study and recommendations on "Education and the Federal Labora-
tories." Tentative plans are being made for a symposium of Federal
laboratory and department' officials to discuss the findings and facili-
tate implementation of the recommendations throughout the Federal
service. Planning for this is an early item of business.
One specific recommendation of the committee is that a further
study of some aspects of university-laboratory relationships be under-
taken jointly by a group made up of both universities and Federal
representatives. If feasible this might begin by planning for the above
symposium to include university as well as Federal laboratory par-
ticipation.
Another subject which the committee is tentatively exploring for
possible future study is the procurement, management and utilization
of Federal R. & D. equipment and facilities. As yet no definitive an-
swers have been arrived at as to the feasibility and advisability of
such a study.
In addition to the foregoing, numerous factors such as restrictions
on travel, which tend to hinder training programs and communication
with the wider scientific community; the compression of salaries at the
top of the grade structure; manpower ceilings; and similar matters
which reduce the ability of Federal laboratory managers to manage
in a flexible and effective manner, are, and will continue to be, matters
of concern to the Committee on Federal Laboratories.
PAGENO="0063"
59
SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS
As Chairman of the Committee on Federal Laboratories, I feel that
the subcommittee's interest in increasing the flexibility and usefulness
of existing Federal laboratories to avoid needless proliferation of or-
ganizations is a sound one. The extent of contracting for outside
research and development, the creation of new Federal Contract Re-
search Centers, and the disruption of staffing efforts resulting from
periodic expansions and contractions of Federal research programs,
have all been matters of concern to committee members, to Federal
B. & D. officials, and to the Congress itself from time to time.
In this context the experience of the Committee on Federal Labora-
tories does have something to offer. Probably one of the primary rea-
sons for the creation of new laboratories is the need for a rapid buildup
or restructuring of R. & D. capabilities for specific programs. To the
extent that Federal salaries do not permit the rapid recruitment of
frequently scarce and highly competent personnel, to the extent that
Federal examining procedures and the establishment of registers slow
down the hiring process, to the extent that Federal leave and other
benefits are not designed to accommodate the staffing fluctuations, and
to the extent that it is difficult to terminate, retrain, or transfer em-
ployees with no longer needed skills, the inevitable tendency is for offi-
cials responsible for new programs to let new contracts or start new
facilities.
There are a number of legislative and administrative steps that
could be taken to alleviate the above deterrents to Federal laboratory
flexibility. One is the ability to make short-term appointments to all
levels of positions without conferring permanent civil service tenure
and without going through the routine examination process. To at-
tract the type of people needed, one should also eliminate such side
deterrents as the inability of new appointees to take any leave during
the first 90 days of their appointment.
There are times when new programs need to have the ability to hire
scientists of other nations. A legislative proposal for a visiting scien-
tist and scholar program that would correct some of these deficiencies
is currently in the process of preparation.
Further restrictions hindering the ability of the directors of exist-
ing Federal laboratories to adjust to new and changing programs are
administrative and budgetary controls on travel, which hinder train-
ing and informational exchange; unduly restrictive controls on man-
power; extra-laboratory controls of various types on the number of
employees at various grades and on average grade and salary levels;
and narrow management interpretations of agency and laboratory
missions.
The number of hierarchical levels in an organization generally has
an increasingly restrictive effect upon laboratory flexibility as their
number increases.
As a concluding statement I would recommend that, to the maxi-
mum extent practicable, laboratory directors be given an overall al-
location of resources with which to achieve a mutually understood
set of program goals. Within this general framework, administrative
and management decisions as to the proper mix of staff, supporting
services, facilities, travel, et cetera, should be left to the judgment of
PAGENO="0064"
60
the laboratory director, who should be held subject to postaudit and
fully accountable for the end results.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
(The prepared statement follows:)
PREPARED STATEMENT OF ALLAN V. ASTIN, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL BUREAu
o~' STANDARDS
Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, I am pleased to have this oppor-
tunity to participate in these discussions on the utilization of Federal labora-
tories.
The National Bureau of Standards, which observed its 67th birthday this
month, is among the oldest and largest of the Federal laboratories. Since its in-
ception, the Bureau has been concerned primarily with providing the central
basis within the United States for a complete and consistent system of physical
measurement. This responsibility for measurement standards and techniques, and
for reliable data on the properties of matter and materials constitutes a unique
continuing mission that will exist so long as we have scientific and technological
activities in this country.
Furthermore, it is a most demanding mission. This was well expressed by the
Ad Hoc Committee of the National Academy of Sciences that evaluated the
Bureau's functions and responsibilities in 1953. Their report stated:
"It is not sufficient to have fairly good standards of measurements, fairly good
methods of testing materials, mechanisms, or structures, or reasonably good de-
terminations of important physical constants. The standards, the measurements,
the test procedures must be the very best, the most accurate, the most reliable
that can possibly be achieved at any given time, limited only by the state of
the art at the time. It is thus more than a play on words to say that the ~stand-
ards' by which the Bureau is judged must be the very highest and best."
By its very nature, the measurement standards mission grows with each pass-
ing year. As our Nation's science and technology advances at an ever accelerating
rate, our measurement capabilities must keep pace. As our Nation becomes in-
creasingly dependent upon science and technology for industrial growth, and
for solutions to a variety of pressing national problems ranging from environ-
mental pollution to safety on our highways, the measurement standards mission
of the Bureau becomes increasingly important to our national welfare and
national goals.
While this basic measurement mission has provided the prime focus of NBS
activities through the years, the Bureau also has served since its inception as a
central resource of scientific and technical competence within Government. Other
agencies have made extensive use of the Bureau's competence and facilities, par-
ticularly in the exploratory stages of new technical endeavors. This has been a
constantly changing role that has involved the Bureau, at least temporarily, in
a great variety of technical activities, some of which have continued and have
grown to become major national programs involving new Federal laboratories.
A brief résumé of the Bureau's historical development may help to illustrate
ways in which its program has changed to meet changing requirements of the
Government and of the Nation.
ESTABLISHMENT OF NBS
The National Bureau of Standards was established in 1901, after oirer 20 years
of effort toward this goal by the Nation's scientists and engineers.
Standards laboratories in other countries had been meeting the needs of
industry for measurement instruments of maximum reliability, accuracy, and
range. Outstanding among these were the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt
established in 1887 in Germany and the National Physical Laboratory author-
ized in 1899 in Great Britain. At the same time the United States was emerging
from a primarily agricultural nation to a primarily industrial one with a rapidly
expanding export market.
In 1900, the National Academy of Sciences, supported by unanimous endorse-
ments from professional societies and the country's leading physicists, chemists,
and engineers strongly urged the Congress that the establishment of a National
Bureau of Standards was indispensable to the Nation's scientific, technical, and
economic progress.
PAGENO="0065"
61
Congress responded in 1901 by passing the Organic Act which established the
Bureau as the central point within the Federal Government for the construction,
custody and comparison of measurement standards, and the determination of
physical constants and the properties of materials, when such data were of
great importance to scientific or manufacturing interests and were not to be
obtained of sufficient accuracy elsewhere.
The first and most urgent task of the National Bureau of Standards in 1901
was to establish its own working standards so that it could begin to provide
calibration services to science and industry. The prototype meter bar and kilo-
gram had been in the custody of the Treasury Department's Office of Standard
Weights and Measures. The office and the two standards were transferred to
the new Bureau and work was begun on developing multiples and submultiples
of these two primary standards.
A few electrical standards were obtained from the national standards labora-
tory of Germany, and the Bureau immediately embarked upon what was to
become a long and difficult program-ranging over a time span of almost 50
years-before suitable standards for the basic electrical units were assured.
Other agencies of Government were quick to recognize the exceptional scien-
tific and technical competence of the staff being assembled at the Bureau in
those early years, and were eager to draw upon their talents. For example,
when the Bureau was established, there were no other government scientific
laboratories in the fields of physics and engineering. Soon, the Bureau began
to test and evaluate materials other agencies were using. This gradually led to
the development of methods of testing and standard purchase specifications, an
activity in which we continue to have some involvement to this day.
Private industry was equally interested in standardization. In 1904, at the
request of the American Chemical Society, work was begun on standards of
purity for chemical reagents. A year later, the American Foundrymen's Associa-
tion turned over to the Bureau a project on the standardization of four types
of cast iron. These were reanalyzed by chemists at the Bureau, and in industrial
and commercial laboratories. They were then issued as National Bureau of
Standards standard samples. This program has grown, until today, there are
more than 600 standard reference materials issued by the Bureau, including
metals, ores, chemicals, spectroscopic standards, isotopic standards, and radio-
activity standards. The demand by science and industry for new standard refer-
ence materials is so great it seems unlikely the list will be completed in the
near future.
DECADES OF EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION
During the first two decades of its existence, the Bureau was, in many respects,
carrying on an industrial research program. Typical investigations involved:
lubricating oils, automotive engineering, studies of refrigerants, electrolysis,
corrosion, determination of critical points of steels, properties of ceramics, lime,
metals, protective coatings, rubber, textiles, paper, and optical glass. In many of
these areas, industry rapidly recognized the value of the Bureau's pioneering
research and organized its own research programs. As this occurred, the Bureau
would gradually withdraw from the field, except insofar as the remaining prob-
lems involved compatibility of physical measurement.
The second two decades might loosely be described as a period when the Bureau
became involved in standards of practice and performance, codes and specifica-
tions. This trend had been accelerated by the industrial problems connected with
the First World War. Typical of these activities were programs on screw thread
standardization, development of the National Electrical Safety Code, and Com-
mercial Standards and Simplified Practice Recommendations.
The two world wars offer a striking comparison of the general level of science
and technology, and the way NBS programs were utilized to meet urgent national
needs. In the first war the Bureau aided in the development of a method for
manufacturing precision gauge blocks, production of high quality optical glass,
and sound-ranging devices to locate artillery. The problems were essentially of
an industrial nature, and the facilities and competence of the Bureau were
utilized accordingly.
World War II made different demands upon science and industry, and the
Bureau's role was thus of a different nature. The Bureau contributed to the
development of methods for the purification of reactor materials in the Man-
hattan project, the radio proximity fuze, the BAT guided missile, and the predic-
tion of radio weather for long-range military communication. Here, the Bureau's
93-~O1-6S----5
PAGENO="0066"
62.
long-standing work in chemistry, radio, electricity and electronics had been
needed.
The heavy commitment of NBS resources to the assistance of other Federal
agencies during World War II, and the almost explosive development of Govern-
ment concern with scientific and technological programs in the years immediately
following, created severe problems for the Bureau. In its efforts to be responsive
to the many demands for technical assistance from the military, the Atomic
Energy Commission, and numerous other agencies intent upon exploiting and(
refining the scientific and technological breakthroughs achieved during the war,,
the Bureau at times devoted as much as 77% of its manpower to the programs
of other agencies, and depended on funds transferred from those agencies for
up to 85% of its financial support.
In 1953, following a study of the Bureau's programs and activities by a com-
mittee of the National Academy of Sciences, substantial changes were initiated~
in the content of the Bureau's scientific activities and in the emphasis which
would be placed on its varied functions. Military development programs were
transferred to agencies of the Department of Defense. Plans were begun to de-.
crease the amount of work done by the Bureau for other Government agencies..
These moves would enable the Bureau to concentrate `its efforts on the vital
measurement and calibration services needed. by the Nation, and on the deter-.
mination of the physical constants and the properties of materials. It would
continue its long-standing, close cooperation with industrial and scientific stand-.
ardizing organizations. This reorientation of the Bureau toward its original,.
basic functions was given special emphasis and appropriateness by the greatly
increased demands made upon the Bureau's measurement services as a result of
the advent of the space age in 1957.
The new and exacting requirements of the space age, the widening use of.
automation, the ever faster application and transfer of technological break-.
throughs to the civilian economy-these factors and others all offer evidence
that the measurement needs of the Nation will be greater in the years ahead~
than ever before. It is within this context that the Bureau during the last decade
has modernized its facilities, and has continued to strengthen its measurement"
capabilities and the research which is essential to its measurement competence..
CHANGES IN LEGISLATION
The' evolutionary changes in NBS activities that I have outlined were not~
accompanied by significant changes in the Bureau's basic legislation until 1950..
This was possible largely as a result of the liberal interpretation of the compara-.
tively general language in the original Organic Act and a substantial amount~
of authorizing language inserted in appropriation bills over the years. In 1950,.
the Organic Act of 1901 was amended to include more specifically' four additiOnal'
functions which the Bureau had been performing for many years. These were
(1) The development of methods for testing materials, mechanisms, and
structures, and the testing of materials, supplies, and equipment, including items.
purchased for use of Government departments and independent establishments.,
(2) Cooperation with other Government agencies and with private organiza-.
tions in the establishment of standard practices, incorporated in codes and
specifications.
(3) Advisory service to Government agencies on scientific and technical~
problems.
(4) Invention and development of devices to serve special needs of the
Government.
In 1950, the Bureau also was given authority to establish a working capital
fund that has proved to be an excellent mechanism for handling reimbursements,
for the extensive services we render to other agencies and the public.
NEW IDEAS AND ORGANIzATIONS
The National Bureau of Standards has served over the years as a breeding~
ground for both new ideas and new organizations. This, quite possibly, has been
one of the most important contributions of the Bureau to the operations of the
Government and of the private sector. It has taken various forms. In some cases
actual organizational units were transferred from NBS to another agency. In
others, research initiated at NBS was picked up and carried on elsewhere-in
another Federal laboratory, in private industry, in standards-making organiza-
tions, and in standards laboratories. This has not occurred by accident. It has
PAGENO="0067"
63
been the continuing policy of the Bureau to do those things in the physical
sciences which are related to our basic missions when a national need exists and
the work is not being done adequately by anyone else~ When another agency or
industry develops the capability to carry on and become self-reliant in the field,
we step aside and turn our attention to the unending appearance of new areas
that require our attention.
For example, the Naval Research Laboratory, established in 1923, absorbed
research on radio communications with submarines that was initiated in labora-
tories at the Bureau during World War I. Similarly, the Naval Ordnance Labora-
tory absorbed work NBS had done on range finding and the stabilization of naval
guns.
For a time after the establishment of the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics in 1915, the Bureau served as its main research facility. The early
aerodynamic research performed at NBS was ultimately greatly expanded in the
NACA's own laboratories, which in turn became a part of the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration.
In 1953, in response to the recommendations of the National Academy of
Sciences Committee I mentioned earlier, ordnance work generated at the Bureau
during World War II and the Korean conflict was transferred from NBS. Three
NBS divisions became the Harry Diamond Laboratories under Army Ordnance.
Naval Ordnance took over NBS work on missile development that had been con-
ducted at Corona, California.
Other examples could be cited concerning research initiated at NBS that has
provided a basis for activities now conducted by the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration, the Federal Communications Commission, and others. Most recently, our
Central Radio Propagation Laboratory became a key research component of the
newly formed Environmental Science Services Administration.
NBS also has provided a breeding ground for private endeavors. Many of our
staff members get ideas that need industrial, exploitation and leave the Bureau
for this reason. Two of our neighbors in Maryland, Rabinow Electronics, and
Weinschel Engineering, were formed by former NBS employees. The American
Instrument Company was also founded by a former employee, and techniques for
geophysical prospecting became the basis for private enterprises headed by former
NBS employees working in that field.
Certain of the technical activities in which the Bureau pioneered provided the
basis for extensive industries. For example, there was no optical glass made in
the United States prior to World War I. When the war cut off supplies from
Europe, NBS established a research program in the making of optical glass. The
technology developed in that research program, especially the development of
new types of pots for melting the glass, was the foundation of our domestic opti-
cal glass industry.
In 1921, NBS scientists tested their first crude radio guidance system for air-
craft. By 1929 they had refined it to the point where the pilot could keep on
course and know his approximate position at all times without being able to see
outside his plane. By 1930 they had accomplished the first blind landing of an
airplane entirely by radio guidance. The continuation of this technology under
private development has helped to shape large segments of the transportation
and instrument industries.
There are other examples. The printed electronic circuit which is used so
widely today was developed under NBS sponsorship during the wartime ordnance
development. NBS built the first internally programmed electronic computer in
this country. The technology from that project was absorbed immediately into
what has become a multimillion dollar private industry. Numerous other cases
could be cited.
SHARING RESOURCES
As you can see, the Bureau has a long tradition of sharing its laboratories-
both staff and equipment-with others. This is provided for in our Organic Act
as amended.
NBS is really a complex of many laboratories. The range of research in them
and the sophistication of the labs themselves have grown greatly over the years.
So much so that our former quarters in the District of Columbia became hope-
lessly cramped and outmoded. Provision was made for moving the Bureau to its
present quarters at Gaithersburg, Maryland. The present facilities are as modern
as today's state of the art permits. These facilities, and the professionals who
staff them, are available, to varying degrees and in diverse ways, to the Federal
PAGENO="0068"
64
and State governments, the academic community, private and public standards
making bodies and standards laboratories, professional societies, and industry.
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
We do a considerable amount of work for other Federal agencies, ranging from
fairly fundamental research to testing and calibration. A. substantial part of the
NBS annual budget-currently 40% of the total-is made up of funds transferred
to us from other agencies for services rendered. This percentage has varied over
the years, and even now differs among the various organizational units within
the Bureau. For example, about 70% of the funds available to the Institute for
,Applied Technology is transferred from other agencies. While we wish to, and
`will continue to, provide services to other Federal agencies, we do have to be
~careful that the ratio of other agency funds to appropriated funds is such that the
basic missions of the Bureau are not distorted by over-dependence on outside
support.
NBS laboratories also serve State and local needs, primarily In the weights
and measures field. Here, our specialized expertise is passed on to the States
mainly through the mechanism of the NBS-sponsored National Conference on
Weights and Measures, an annual meeting of State weights and measures officials,
In which NBS scientists and engineers actively participate. We are also in con-
stant contact with State officials on calibration problems, measurement tech-
niques, training of local personnel, and other areas related to weights and meas-
ures used in commerce.
THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY
NBS interactions with the academic community are varied and growing. They
include use of our laboratory facilities in a number of ways.
NBS has an Associate Director for Academic Liaison, with the following ob-
jectives: (1) to improve and stimulate the intellectual quality of NBS programs
and staff, (2) to make the fullest possible use of NBS special resources, both
laboratory facilities and staff, (3) to strengthen national competence in those
areas of science and engineering which are related to NBS missions, (4) to pro-
vide a means for NBS staff to further their education through collaborative
research, (5) to train personnel in fields important to NBS but in which a short-
age of competent people exists, (6) to serve as a resource to industry through
educational training programs aimed at meeting national as well as regional in-
dustrial needs.
An outstanding example of Government-university cooperation is the Joint
Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA), a cooperative effort of NBS and
the University of Colorado. JILA itself is located at the University of Colorado
in Boulder, Colorado. Its purpose is to further laboratory and theoretical re-
search and graduate level training in astrophysics. The faculty comes from both
the University and NBS. The laboratory facilities of both institutions are like-
wise shared. In addition, JILA's visiting fellowship program brings to Boulder
about 10 distinguished scientists in the broad field of laboratory astrophysics.
These scientists eome from all over the world.
We maintain a graduate school at NBS. Courses may be given for credit at
universities or strictly on an in-hours career development basis. Enrollment is
not limited to NBS or other Federal employees.
The postdoctoral associate program is another important cooperative effort
involving the academic community. A list of candidates is chosen and ranked by
a National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council panel. An NBS Post-
doctoral Committee meets at lest annually and makes its selections from this
list. The program was started at NBS in 1955. Since then, it has been success-
fully extended to many other laboratories in the Federal Government.
PRIVATE STANDARDS ORGANIzATIONS
NBS works very closely with private standards making bodies, of which
there are some 500 in the United States. We participate in the work of many of
the organizations, such as the United States of America Standards Institute,
and of course help any of them with problems associated with measurement
standards and techniques.
In 1961, NBS sponsored the establishment of the National Conference of
Standards Laboratories, and has acted as its secretariat ever since. The NCSL
is a continuing, non-profit, laboratory-oriented organization to promote coopera-
PAGENO="0069"
65
tive efforts toward solving common standards and measurement problems. Its
members include standards laboratories of individual companies, universities,
independent laboratories, and those in other government agencies.
NBS extends its laboratory resources to professional societies and standards
groups in several ways. Our experts visit groups all over the country and pass
on the latest developments of NBS research in different fields. We also sponsor
(or are host to) many conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings, and such,
at which Bureau scientists and engineers report on the latest results of NBS
research, and participants are given an opportunity to visit NBS labs, and thus
note how our special facilities may be used at some future time to solve a
measurement or standard problem.
INDUSTRY
Finally, our laboratory facilities are shared with industry itself. The most
effective mechanism is our Research Associate Program. Under this plan, in-
dustrial groups sponsor research at `the Bureau which is of special interest to
them and yet has public significance. Experiments are carried out by Research
Associates who are paid by their sponsors but who work in Bureau laboratories
with the Bureau staff. The knowledge and skills thus derived by Research Asso-
ciates are expected to advance the Nation's economy and to increase utilization
of NBS research results. The Research Associates contribute their industrial
experience and their knowledge of urgent industrial needs.
The work of Research Associates is not directed to proprietary solutions. In-
stead, it is aimed at removing obstacles to the use of measurement; such ob-
stacles may arise from a lack of sound data or instrumentation, or from a lack
of criteria or of appropriate techniques.
At present there are 63 Research Associates at NBS representing 23 com-
panies, trade groups, and government organizations.
In summary, the laboratories of the NBS are utilized in many different ways
and by many groups. These include actual use of NBS equipment by others,
work done for others, extension of our laboratory capability through contact
between our experts and others, calibration and testing for various customers,
and by the distribution of our laboratory products, such as the standard refer-
ence materials and reference data.
THE PROBLEM OF ADDED RESPONSIBILITIES
Since 1950, when the basic missions of the Bureau were fully spelled out, a
number of responsibilities have been assigned to us-some by amendment of
the Organic Act, some by specific legislation, and some by delegation from the
Secretary of Commerce. Among these new assignments are:
(1) The dissemination of technical, scientific and engineering information
through the Federal Clearinghouse for Scientific and Technical Information.
(2) The establishment of uniform Federal automatic data processing
standards.
(3) Operation of a National Standard Reference Data System.
(4) Research on and development of flammability standards for fabrics and
household furnishings.
(5) Operation of a National Fire Research and Safety Program.
The problem is not that we don't have the capability of performing these
functions, but that we have not been provided with the resources necessary to
carry out the programs at optimum levels. The result is that `we have had to
do extensive reprogramming which has seriously hurt our longer established
programs. Our ability to pick and choose priorities now is practically non-
existent. And we face this situation at a time when there is an urgent need to
keep abreast of rapid technological advances requiring basic standards and data
services. As a Nation, we can ill afford any unnecessary delays in these tech-
nological advances which are vital to our domestic economy, to the expansion of
our export trade, and to the solution of such far ranging national problems as
urbanization, environmental pollution, transportation, anU many others.
Mr. DAr~DAuIo. Just one question, Dr. Astin, because we do have two
more witnesses.
On your first statement, the one that I asked you to summarize, you
say on the last page "our ability to pick and choose priorities now is
practically nonexistent."
PAGENO="0070"
66
Do you have a whole series of things that you would like to do ~
Dr. ASTIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. This position would seem to make it difficult to ac-
complish any of those.
Dr. ASTIN. Well, the point I was trying to make there is that we
have been given a number of new responsibilities at the National
Bureau of Standards, some by exective direction, some by legislation,
and we are finding it difficult to get resources for these new respon-
sibilities.
For example, the standard reference data responsibility given to
us nearly five years ago now by the Federal Council for Science and
Technology is being funded primarily through curtailment we have
made in other activities in order to put `some resources on it. We have
been unsuccessful in convincing the Congress of the importance~
funding this program at the level that would make it most effective
for the Nation's scientific and technological effort. This country spends
approximately $17 billion a year for scientific research and develop-
ment. Standard reference data, if adequate, would greatly facilitate
this total activity. If it only improved it as much as a percent or two,
which I think would be a very modest achievement to expect from a
data system, the savings would be phenomenal, but we are now operat-
ing the standard reference data program at one-tenth the level we
consider necessary to be effective.
Similarly, the Congress two and a half years ago gave us the respon-
sibility to develop standard for automatic data processing systems,
and to assist other Government agencies in the optimum or more effec-
tive utilization of automatic data processing systems. During the hear-
ings preceding the enactment of that legislation it was shown that if
that program were. adequately implemented it would save the Govern-
ment around $150 million every year in its expenditures for automatic
data processing systems.
The Government's expenditures totaled about $3 billion a year, and
it was conservatively estimated during the hearings that savings of
a hundred and fifty million would be achieved. This is some 20 times
what we think it would take in appropriations to NBS to operate the
program-clearly a good investment, but we are nowhere near the
operating level it takes. Because we consider these important pro-
grams, we have converted our resources to them to the maximum ex-
tent possible, but we can't do any further reprograming of this sort
without killing something equally as important.
Mr. DADDARIO. The inhibiting factors placed by the Congress is not
anything we are trying to avoid. We have made it clear from time to
time that these programs do reflect quality. From the standpoint of
standard reference data program, we hope that we can impress upon
the Senate the need to pass the bill already passed by the House.
The reason I asked you this question about the problems you have
insofar as priorities are concerned is because it does appear clear that
there are management problems and some of these management prob-
lems are related things that Congress has or has not done. We do not
intend to infer that all the problems `are in the executive branch.
I am pleased, Dr. Astin, you brought up these two points because
without any question the effectiveness of your activities could be en-
hanced by support in these areas. They are good examples.
PAGENO="0071"
67
Dr. Astin, we are pleased to have you here. As always we overesti-
mate Our ability to hear the number of witnesses we had planned be-
cause what you have to say is of such importance to us.
Dr. ASTIN. It is always a pleasure to appear before you, Mr. Chair-
man. Thank you.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO DR. ALLAN IT. ASTIN BY THE SUBCOM-
MITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Question 1. Are contractor operated laboratories represented on the Laboratory
Committee? If not, why? Is the work done by the Laboratory Committee in-
applicable to contractor operated laboratories?
Answer: Contractor operated laboratories are not represented on the Com-
mittee on Federal Laboratories. The Committee on Federal Laboratories is con-
cerned with the `management and staffing of the Government's in-house labora-
tories and with the rules, policies and procedures that affect their operation.
Contract operated laboratories are no't bound `by `the same laws and regulations
as in-house laboratories, and their employees are not under the civil service
system. However, if and when some of the management principles or problems
dealt with `by the Committee on Federal Laboratories would appear to be of
interest and concern to contract laboratories, the Committee would not hesitate
to seek the participation of contract laboratories in pertinent studies. This has
been done in `at least one instance.
Question 2. You state that the "inevitable tendency is for officials responsible
for new programs to let new contracts or start new facilities" because of certain
problems you mention in connection with the Civil Service laws and regulations.
Can you illustrate specifically what the problems are and what you believe
should be done to correct them?
Answer: When an agency is made responsible for a program requiring a
significantly new or different R&D capability, or when a new agency with an
R&D need is created, the key consideration usually is how can this need be met
within `the pressing time requirements that generally prevail. In this context,
unless one can readily expand and/or restructure existing Federal R&D staffs
and facilities, agencies are prone to establish a new laboratory for several
reasons.
The need for greater flexibility in providing for something new, frequently
leads to the formation of a federally financed or related laboratory outsi'de of
the civil service system. This is due to the fact that appointments can be made
easier and `faster; prospective appointees can be paid for their travel for pre-
employment interviews; more competitive salaries can be paid-~particularly at
the critical higher levels; procurement of supplies, equipment and facilities can
be accomplished quickly with less red tape; etc.
Establishment of new laboratories within the Federal structure occurs in part
because of the time consuming and difficult problems involved in reorienting or
reshaping existing staffs. These may include difficulties in terminating marginal
people or those wit'h no longer needed skills, in transferring civil service person-
nel to other units, in retiring non-productive employees, and in getting sufficient
manpower ceiling or travel and training allocations to retrain significant por-
tions of the present `staff.
A second reason for the formation of new in-house laboratories is the human
tendency of many people to want to have the work for which they are responsi-
ble performed under their immediate control rather than through some other
organization. Other persons may `have an empire building tendency.
A third reason for the formation of new laboratories is the simple fact that
the person involved may not be aware of the existence elsewhere of a suitable
existing Federal competence that could do the work.
Specific management actions that would facilitate redirection of effort would
be the maximum delegation of authority for consummating personnel, training,
and procurement actions to the laboratory director leveL Legislative and regu-
latory actions that would help would be to increase the ability of laboratory
managers to hire the necessary professional talent. Some current examples of
such legislative action would be passage of the bill to permit the reimburse-
ment of selected professional applicants for preemployment interview travel,
and the attainment of truly competitive salaries for top scientific positions.
Federal laboratories need the capability to hire outstanding experts for limited
PAGENO="0072"
68
periods of time as embodied, for example, in a legislative proposal for a Visiting
Scientist and Scholar Program which has recently been submitted to Congress
by the Civil Service Commission. Additional authority to permit the temporary
hiring of research scientists and engineers for periods up to five years without
going through competitive civil service examinations and registers and without
granting them permanent civil service status would facilitate the hiring of
eminent scientists and ensure much greater flexibility in more readily restructur-
ing laboratories' staffing capabilities. The present law precluding the taking of
annual leave during the first 90 days of employment hinders, in some instances,
the recruitment of top quality and senior personnel. The ability to retire people
after 30 years of Federal service at the option of management would also help.
Question 3. You mentioned that you were a "little disappointed" in the effect
of the three symposia which were sponsored in conjunction with the Civil Serv-
ice Commission. What did the symposia attempt to accomplish and why were you
a "little disappointed" in the results?
Answer: In general the symposia sponsored by the Federal Council for Science
and Technology were designed to exchange ideas about effective ways of solving
administrative matters and Government problems-particularly those pertain-
ing to personnel. A number of valuable ideas were exchanged.
In the Committee's experience, management and staffing problems m Federal
laboratories are due much more frequently to the policies, practices and decisions
of managers at various levels within the departments and agencies than to
the Government-wide laws and regulations. The symposia attempted to deal
with this problem through fostering communication (1) laterally among labo-
ratory management officials regarding the system and what is possible and (2)
vertically with agency officials at various bureau and department leveLs in
order to arrive at better understanding of the operating level's problems and
needs. While the symposia have been generally successful in respect to item 1,
we were in the main unsuccessful in obtaining the attendance of a broad
spectrum from the higher administrative levels.
In retrospect, another weakness in the planning was that the Committee did
not include a mechanism for followup to determine how much was achieved.
From random comments received from some participants it did appear that
some symposium generated information was useful. Accordingly, plans for the
next symposium will include provisions for a systematic followup to evaluate
results.
Question 4. If the Committee decides not to study the procurement, manage-
ment and utilization of Federal HdW equipment and facilities, is there any other
organization at the O~T level that could perform the study? What considerations
would be before the Coin~inittee in deciding whether or not to ma/ce the study?
Answer: The Committee on Federal Laboratories is currently making an
abbreviated survey of Federal equipment policies and practices. Whether or not
the Committee decides to make a detailed study and analysis will depend on
its ability to devise a meaningful objective study pertaining to the utilization
of equipment, being able to obtain the necessary types of information, and being
able to foresee some rationale for analysis that would seem to promise useful
and generally relevant conclusions and recommendations.
At present we know of no other organization at the OST level that might
readily perform such a study, although, of course, the Office of Science and
Technology could, if it so decided and funds were available, hire a person and/or
staff specifically for the purpose of monitoring the management and utilization
of Federal facilities and equipment.
Question 5. What information about Federal laboratories-both directly and
contractor operated-should be collected and maintained by the Eccecutive
Branch? Who should do it? How desirable and feasible would it be to set up a
clearinghouse for information about selected Federal laboratories?
Answer: In order to carry out the intent behind this question one needs
to resolve a basic matter of understanding, namely, definition of what con-
stitutes a laboratory. To illustrate, we frequently have difficulty in responding
to queries about the "laboratories" of the National Bureau of Standards. Does
the Bureau have three laboratories-the Institute for Basic Standards, the
Institute for Materials Research, and the Institute for Applied Technology? Or
does it have three laboratories-one in Washington, D.C., one in Gaithersburg,
Md., and one in Boulder, Colorado? Looking at the definition from a more
specific point of view, is each of the technical divisions, each with its own
distinctive types of activity, a laboratory? In other agencies with numerous small
field stations, one needs to make a decision as to minimum size. Is a five, ten
PAGENO="0073"
69
or twenty man unit a laboratory? This suggests that at least two parameters
in any definition would be the questions of geographical concentration and of
the number of professional personnel.
Once a laboratory is identified, I would say the following data would be helpful
in making an initial screening of existing Federal facilities for possible new
program assignments:
Name of Federal laboratory;
Location;
Number of professional staff, broken down by major disciplines, that is,
engineers, physical scientists, biological scientists, behavioral scientists, and
medical scientists;
A statement of the laboratory's major mission(s) ; and
A brief statement concerning each of the laboratorY's major facilities
or fields of competences.
I believe it would be fea~sible to establish a center clearinghouse for this type
of information, probably in OST. However, in 1955 the Interdepartmental Com-
mittee on Scientific Research and Development, the predecessor to the present
Committee on Federal Laboratories, in response to Executive Order 10521, did
prepare a Government-wide inventory of major Federal laboratories and equip-
ment. A supplement was issued in 1957. Insofar as the Interdepartmental Com-
mittee was able to determine, little or no use was ever made of the informa-
tion, which, incidently, was given a security classification of "restricted" be-
cause of the amount of specific, detailed information in the total compilation.
Two types of clearinghouse might be considered. One type would be to establish
an office which would promulgate certain guidelines as to the level and type
of information to be sought and a standard format for its presentation. Then to
periodically request, update and disseminate the information. This would be
a formidable undertaking requiring a fulitime staff of several persons, use of
automatic data processing and printing equipment, space, and significant fund-
ing. A second, less ambitious approach would be one of gathering existhig equip-
ment, facility and program inventories which are already being produced in
varying degrees by many `agencies and simply function as a central reference
and information facility. Even this latter approach would require a minimum
staff capable of establishing a useful integrative indexing system and of motivat-
ing agencies to fill in blank si~aces where inventories do not now exist. This
too would require space and a not insignificant amount of financing if it was
to really fill a useful role.
This leads to the question of desirability of establishing a clearinghouse of
such information. Its desirability would have to `await the test of use. I think
this would depend heavily on the extent to whieh agencies were brought to
think in job shop terms by direction, policy, and urgings from Congress and
top Executive Branch officials.
Question 6. ~S'evcral agencies have set up procednres to appraise the perform-
ance of contractors that do research and development for them, or that manage
agency laboratories. To your knowledge, what consideration has been given to
applying the standards and procedures of these appra4sal processes to Govern-
ment operated laboratories? To what cwtent would this be desirable?
Answer: The Committee on Federal Laboratories has not studied this subject.
The Department of Defense uses criteria to measure contract performance, but
I am not familiar with the standards and procedures referred to. We plan to
investigate these. In view of the foregoing, I am not prepared to say to what
extent specific existing appraisal techniques should be used in any particular
laboratory other than our own. From a management viewpoint, of course, some
type of evaluation is a practical necessity.
Question 7. What criteria do you use to' rate the laboratories within the NB~?
Answer: To answer this question meaningful for NBS I would like to para-
phrase the question as follows: What means or criteria do you use to assess
program capabilities within the NBS? The answer is that an annual or some-
times more frequent series of reviews of all of the significant programs of the
Bureau are made by operating personnel to top NB'S officials. Generally pro-
grams are closely related to one or several organizational units. The program
of each division is also subject to review at least annually by Advisory Com-
mittees of the National Academy of Sciences. Finally, an outside evaluation of
the Bureau as a whole is made by a Statutory Visiting Committee which reports
annually to the Secretary of `Commerce on the efficiency of NBS operation's.
At the program reviews those responsible for the program discuss their past
accomplishments, present work and future program plans. Information is given
PAGENO="0074"
70
and questions raised concerning the adequacy and competence of the staff and
future requirements,; similar matters are covered in respect to facilities, equip-
ment, funds and other resources. Program requirements and priorities are dis-
cussed in respect to their relationship to national needs. On the basis of all of
the above, `the present health and future outlook of Bureau programs are as-
sessed by NBS officials, priorities are set, and appropriate allocations and coin-
mitments are made. Occasionally decisions are made that some programs of
substantially diminished importance have outlived their usefulness. When such
decisions are made, the staff menThers involved are reassigned when possible or
reduced in force when reassignment is impracticaL
Question 8. The DOD witness proposed the elimination of manpower controls
on cross-agency work in order to achieve flewibility similar to that available to
the AEC contract laboratories. What is your opinion on this proposal?
Answer: As indicated in my statement before your Committee, I feel strong-
ly that laboratory directors should be given an overall allocation of resources
with which to achieve a mutually understood set of program goals and, within
this general framework, should be free to use the resources as he best sees fit.
In this context I would endorse the elimination of manpower controls on cross-
agency work in terms of numbers. However, laboratory directors should be sub-
ject to certain policy guidelines to ensure a reasonable balance. For example,
one such guideline might be that the laboratory not undertake such work when
acceptance of it would require the building or acquisition of additional space.
If political considerations or policies require some type of manpower con-
trols then a more acceptable and practical limitation would be one placed on
the total amount that could be paid for salaries, rather than one in terms of
staffing patterns. Manpower controls contribute `to the inflexibility of in-house
procedures and, in our judgment, sometimes lead to contracts for personal
services as a means of circumvention.
Question 9. What criteria should govern: (a) how much independent money
a laboratory director should have? (b) the appraisal of what the director has
accomplished with funds previously authorized to him?
Answer: In respect to the criteria for part (a), I would agree with Dr. Hornig
that suitable factors to apply would be the degree of narrowness or leeway in
the mission and work of `the agency and the quality of the laboratory and its
management. The more general the nature of the work and the higher the quality,
the more independent money should be provided. This might reasonably range
from 3 to 15 percent.
In respect to question (b), the appraisal of what a director has accomplished
with funds previously authorized to him could probably best be accomplished by
periodic program reviews at which laboratory officials present and discuss their
program accomplishments, plans, and problems with a competent technical
review board of higher authority. These periodic reviews should evaluate the
results obtained from use of `the independent funds in terms of their relevance
and contribution to:
1. The laboratory's mission;
2. The parent agency's mission; and
3. Building and strengthening the basic `capability of the laboratory staff.
A pattern of results of trivial value or little relevance to the above objectives
would indicate inefficient use of funds.
Question 10. Does your laboratory have ceilings for its personnel? If so, how
are these ceilings set and who does it? What flexibility do you have for assign~
ments within a ceiling? How feasible is it for you to obtain a change in personnel
ceiling to accommodate work for another agency?
Answer: The NBS does have manpower ceilings controlling the number of per-
sonnel. Bureau requests are reviewed by Departmental and Bureau of the Budget
officials with the numbers adjusted accordingly. The manpower ceiling allocated
to the Bureau is specified in terms of two numbers: (1) total employment and
(2) number of permanent full-time positions. Within these overall totals NBS is
free to shift personnel assignments among any of its subordinate organizations.
If forecast in time, a change in personnel ceiling to accommodate work for an-
other agency would be reflected in our yearly manpower request to the Depart-
ment. If this was not known until after allocation of the annual ceiling, it would
require a request that the ceiling be changed. The result would depend on the
decision of Department officials. In a recent case the Bureau's manpower ceiling
was increased to accommodate a new program for another agency to implement
recently enacted legislation.
PAGENO="0075"
7,1
Question 11. The concept of utilization implies that sooner or later decisions
will have to be made to allocate and schedule ewisting laboratory capability
among competing agency needs. Is there as present any place in the Ewecutive
Branch short of the President where priorities can be assigned to Federal mis-
sions for the guidance of agency heads and laboratory directors in the event of
competing requirements for the same facility? What is the function of the Labo-
ratory Committee in the setting of such priorities and scheduling?
Answer: I think that assistance and coordination in the assessment of mission
priorities and the allocation and scheduling of work at existing laboratory ca-
pabilities is presently an important function of the FCST and the Office of Sci-
ence and Technology. For the most part this is a voluntary effort depending on
consensus and the acceptance of guidelines by agency officials. The Committee
on Federal Laboratories has no role or responsibility in the setting of such priori-
ties and scheduling. Its concern is primarily with the procedures and resources
by means of which the policy decisions are implemented.
Mr. DADDARIO. Our next witness is Dr. William McLean, technical
director, Navy Undersea Warfare Center.
(Dr. McLean's biography follows:)
Da. WILLIAM B. MCLEAN
Dr. McLean obtained BS (1935), MS (1937), and Ph.D. (1939) degrees in
physics from the California Institute of Technology and served as a part-time
physics instructor. He received a Post Doctoral Fellowship for academic years
1939-40 and 1940-41 at the University of Iowa and entered Federal Civil Service
in 1941 as a nuclear physicist with the National Bureau of Standards. In 1945,
Dr. McLean transferred to the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, Cali-
fornia where he advanced to the position of Head, Aviation Ordnance Depart-
ment. In 1954, he was appointed to his present position of Technical Director.
Special awards include the maximum Federal Government Award of $25,000
for the development of the SIDEWINDER air-to-air missile (1956), the Naval
Ordnance Test Station's L. T. B. THOMPSON Award (1956), a Resolution of
Commendation by the California State Legislature (1957), the President's
Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service (1958), and the American
Ordnance Association's Blandy Gold Medal (1960).
He is a member of Tan Beta P1, Sigma Xi, American Physical Society, Ameri-
can Association for Advancement of Science, Research Society of America,
American Ordnance Association, Institute of Radio Engineer, American Society
for Public Administration, and American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics.
STATEMENT OF DR. WILLIAM B. McLEAN, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR,
NAVY UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER
Dr. MCLEAN. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I appreciate this op-
portunity to talk with you about the research and development effort
in Federal laboratories.
As recognized by this group in its present inquiry, the management
of research has become a national problem of some magnitude. The
researcher is no longer concerned only with purely technical problems
but also with the application of his technology to social, economic, and
political problems' on a national and an international scale. I am of the
opinion that research is never a job that can be completed, but will
continually expand as more positive results become available. It is,
therefore, obvious that no sfiigle organization can ever attempt to cover
all possible areas of research, even in a very superficial manner. I
believe it should be our objective in research to make sure that our
work is as near the frontiers of knowledge as is possible; that we are
working in those areas where we have strong interests and the proper
tools to carry out the research; and that we are continually searching
for a better understanding of nature and are always on the lookout
PAGENO="0076"
72
to find discrepancies in our known knowledge which will lead us to
interesting new possibilities.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. McLean, I am pleased to see that you have
]ncluded in your preliminary remarks the concern that the researcher
has with the social, economic, and political problems. I believe this to
he a very important aspect.
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. This gives us a great opportunity to use these
talented men in the solving our social, economic, and political problems,
and a great effort must be made to enhance this capability.
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes, sir. I think the interdisciplinary work is very
important to include in laboratory programs.
Mr. DADDARIO. You were here yesterday when Dr. Weinberg talked
about this?
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. In some of their work at Oak Ridge they find as
they begin to accomplish some of these objectives for other agencies
they are going further and further into problems of society. This
would also be the case from what you have said.
Dr. MCLEAN. I believe so, yes.
We know that federally financed research and development can be
accomplished through several different means: the in-house laboratory,
the Government-owned facility operated by a contractor, universities
provided grants or contracts, contracts with nonprofit organizations,
and contracts with private corporations. All of these types of manage-
ment structure appear to work well. To me, the crux of the problem
is not the type of organization but the process of setting management
objectives for the organization so as to keep them broad enough and
just impossible enough that people can generate their own methods
of working toward these common objectives and he judged by the
impersonal process of competition. Management of the development of
our weapons systems is a complex and complicated task requiring not
only the skills to solve the purely technical problems, but also the
highest order of management coordination. Let me illustrate from my
past experience as Technical Director of the Naval Ordnance Test
Station, a laboratory of approximately ~,OOO people engaged prin-
cipally in the development of air launched weapons-now the Naval
Weapons Center.
The ASROC weapons system involved an extensive research and
development effort whereby NOTS as lead laboratory for the Bureau
of Naval Weapons undertook project responsibility for development
of the entire weapons system, including propulsion, fire control,
launcher, and development of the torpedo and mechanical test and
incorporation of the nuclear depth charge. This required interfaces
with a wide range of governmental and industrial activities, includ-
ing several Navy bureaus, the Atomic Energy Commission, and nu-
merous prime and subcontractors for production of the system and its
component parts. The laboratory's involvement with this program
started with the definition of a fleetS need. It carried through concept
development, feasibility demonstration, prototype development, con-
tractor direction on production, and finally fleet introduction and
troubleshooting.
PAGENO="0077"
73
NOTS was able to accomplish this program because of its broad
mission, extensive experience in a variety of program areas, and di-
verse technical skills. It is my belief that a broad charter and work
experience utilizing skills from many disciplines are essential key-
stones to undertaking large systems developments which must be
supported by the effort of many agencies.
In addition, some one must have the desire, determination, and skill
to establish and maintain control of all the variables involved.
The concept of a single responsible designer for systems as compli-
cated as those of our modern weapons has not been employed fre-
quently in our current military designs. To achieve a simple, inte-
grated design, we should employ the concept of appointing a single
master designer for each system, who would execute his responsibili-
ties in a manner similar to that of the master architect of a buildiiu~.
If we are to have a truly integrated design, a single man must under-
stand what he is trying to create, must be responsible for the choices
among the infinitude of alternatives available, and must weave the
various elements of the design into the integrated system. Like an
architect, he must understand the tools of his trade. An outstanding
example of such an architect is Adm. Levering Smith in the Polaris
program.
In the planning of military equipment, with which I am most f a-
miliar, we have for centuries operated under the general objective of
developing devices to destroy more effectively the enemy or his tools
for making war. During recent years our national IR. & D. effort has
achieved for us the capability of near total destruction. I believe
now that our national goals have shifted a portion of our R. & D.
attention to "limited warfare," which in effect is the extension of
police methods and weapons against international crime.
The control of crime on a national level and waging conflicts such
as the one in Vietnam would seem to have many aspects in common.
It is highly probable as your questions suggest, that we will see the
use in international settings of the techniques and equipment developed
for control of national crime and vice versa.
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center is a relatively new organiza-
tion, established on July 1, 1967. The functions and programs, however
that were brought together to make up this new organization were al-
ready well established within the Navy laboratory structure, and will
provide the takeoff point for new program developments.
This new organization was part of a general Navy plan to restruc-
ture in-house laboratory effort into centers of excellence for improved
utilization of laboratory resources. The plan encompassed the de-
velopment of a number of self-contained organizations, to include en-
larged systems integration capabilities, with each center working to-
ward the identification and solution of specific and related military
problems.
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center was created from elements of
the former Nayal Ordnance Test Station and Navy Electronics Lab-
oratory. It is a primary research, development, test, and evaluation
activity of the Naval Material Command, and it is responsible to the
Chief of Naval Material for the administration of assigned funds,
conduct of operations, and the accomplishment of the mission. The
mission of the Center is to support the fleet by originating and anal-
PAGENO="0078"
74
yzing new ideas in undersea warfare and ocean technology, by trans-
lating these into effective operating systems and by assisting in the
introduction of resultant undersea warfare systems and technologies
into production and service use.
The work of this Center covers a wide range of research and develop-
ment in such fields as underwater optics, underwater acoustics, mili-
tary oceanography, sonor technology, oceanometrics, fluid dynamics,
lasars; and advanced computer techniques, and systems developments
in submarine launched weapons, deep submersibles, homing torpedoes,
deep sea salvage systems, deep-operating research vehicles, fire control
systems, underwater sensors, and search and recovery systems.
I have provided your committee with brochures and reports of our
work. Some of the material describes the work of the new Center or-
ganization; some from the former Navy Electronics Laboratory and
the Naval Ordnance Test Station describe our ocean research and sen-
sor development, ASW weapon developments and ocean engineering
programs prior to the reorganization of last July which transferred
these programs to the new Center.
NTJWC is currently operating on the original sites of the two pri-
mary laboratories from which the Center was formed. The Center has
major laboratories both in Pasadena and on the Point Loma water-
front at San Diego, Calif. with additional research facilities at Mis-
sion Beach, Calif.; Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii; Cape Prince of
Wales, Alaska; and Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho. The Center operates
test ranges at Morris Dam, Long Beach, and San Clemente Island in
California.
The Center is currently operating with a civilian ceiling of 1,400, in-
cluding 567 scientists and engineers. We have 350 assigned military
personnel. The budget for this fiscal year is $51.1 million. Resources
in technical facilities and equipment assigned or used by NTJWC, are
valued at approximately $100 million.
The functions of this laboratory are moving in the direction of de-
signing equipments and techniques needed for the inspection, explora-
tion, and control of the undersea environment. A broad mission in this
area is required for the support of the Navy's undersea warfare effort.
The programs on the detection and tracking of submarines are pri-
marily classified and designed for control of the seas. They involve
sonar systems, advanced data processing, weapons, and fire control,
as well as investigations of the structure of the oceans of the world
on a regional basis. The report of the Panel on Oceanography of the
President's Science Advisory Committee (issued by the White House
in June 1966) provides us with excellent guidelines for exploration
and use of the sea during the next 10 years. National goals as expressed
in this report are: Prediction and control of the sea's phenomena for
safety and economy of seagoing activities, the full development of
marine resources for man's use, and more strategic use of the under-
sea environment to enhance national security. . .
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center work at this time includes ef-
fort in all of these areas. The Center is currently a strong element in
implementing the recommendations of the President's Science Advis-
ory Committee. For example, NTJWC was designated by the Chief of
Naval Material as the lead laboratory for the deep ocean technology
program. The interlaboratory task team working on this program is
PAGENO="0079"
75
coordinating its effort with the national agencies and committees work-
ing in the fields of oceanography and engineering.
Other efforts now underway are in such areas as marine biology,
oceanography, underwater photography, and the man-in-the-sea pro-
gram. These provide NTJWC with skills and capabilities for the pur-
suit of research and development tasks for other agencies outside the
Department of Defense.
The most difficult problem for the laboratory director is to under-
stand and evaluate the multiple conflicting inputs which he receives,
and from them choose a course of action for the employment of his
limited resources to do research and exploratory work on which to
base future programs. His guesses may be inaccurate but he must
take them. My guess at the present is that the Navy will contmue to
execute its historical mission of exploration and control of new re-
sources and of providing the tools for furtherance of the U.S. mter-
national aims. The changes during the next 10 years will reflect the
facts that the new resources are on the sea floor and that the exertion
of political pressure by the United States is limited by the existence
of mutual atomic deterrence.
We, therefore~ should be putting research and exploratory effort
into:
1. New equipment to explore and operate on the sea floor.
2. Understand how to define and recognize limited and definite
objectives.
3. Creating a variety of the precise tools, equipment and procedures
needed to achieve objectives of limited scope.
It would appear that a limited war operating with clearly defined
objectives involving persuasion rather than destruction will require
procedures similar to those needed for the control of crime under the
objectives created by national law.
You discussed yesterday the question of a national policy for
laboratories. This question is related to the whole problem of organiza-
tional life cycle. A laboratory of the type I have been associated with
takes at least 5 years to become productive and after perhaps 20 years
has come to know its field so well that it is sure that nothing new is
likely to arise. Creativity requires bringing together previously un-
associated ideas; that is, change requires knowledge applied to new
problems. The continuing resource and essential product of Govern-
ment laboratories is the accumulated experience of its people. The
organizational problem is to continue to generate changes which will
allow this experience to be applied in new areas. Organizational
changes are needed at a rate matched to the effective life cycle. For
R. & D. labs, changes at rates less than 5 years will stop productivity
and at more than 20 years will promote atrophy.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you fit into that the need to retrain people?
Dr. MCLEAN. To send the people away for training.
Another method is to reorganize so that you need people in new
positions. Any mechanism that keeps things from becoming too stable
I think will keep the laboratories alive.
Mr. DADDARIO. Since you depend to a degree upon guesswork, it
would help in making your guesses more accurate.
Dr. MCLEAN.. Broader experience will help make the guesses more
accurate.
PAGENO="0080"
76
A Federal policy which would insure that the changes in laboratory
management and mission are slower than 5 years and more rapid
than 20 might be considered desirable for maximum return on the
investment made in creating experienced laboratory people. The pres-
ent procedure of establishing new organizations as new needs arise is
probably good if it can be coupled with a mechanism for transferring
people and facilities from organizations whose effectiveness and mis-
sions are disappearing. The procedures for disestablishmg labora-
tories should be improved. In the real world many organizational
loyalties make the dissolution process extremely difficult.
In the process of selecting between laboratories, as in any growth
process, competition is very important. Therefore, if the Government
were to establish clearly defined, narrow, and exclusive missions for
its laboratory organizations it would eliminate competition and would
soon be faced with the complete coverage of all areas of technical
endeavor by organizations convinced that nothing can be changed
and all new projects are worthless.
Within the effective life cycle of a laboratory I believe the labora-
tory can develop its competence to the highest degree if it is exposed
to a variety of problems. The legal limitations on accepting work
from other agencies have presented no problems. The general belief
that there is a definite relationship between manpower and perform-
ance does present problems. My own experience would indicate that
people can perform at rates at least in order of magnitude (factor of
10) different depending on interest or lack of it in the work being un-
dertaken. Interesting programs are easy to add to an already full work-
load.
As Parkinson states in one of his organizational laws, "Work ex-
pands to fill the time available for its accomplishment." I believe in
the converse and that only by overloading development groups can
we be sure of maximum return. We should by all means encourage
interagency use of laboratory facilities.
The policies on interagency use are generally permissive rather than
directive. The procedures for placing work in other laboratories or
accepting work from other agencies are well established and can be
utilized on a mutual agreement basis. There is much merit in doing
work for multiple agencies. There is no substitute for being known by
one's peers and outside effort accomplishes this objective. Interlabora-
tory contacts also provide data for the comparison of civil service
standards.
There are limiting factors that control the amount of outside work-
load that can be accepted. These limiting factors are the physical
plant, the mix of scientific talent available, existing program commit-
ments, and restrictions on the use of resources (overtime limitations,
for example).
Laboratories lack a fast reaction time when new facilities are
required. As you know, to construct new facilities requires a minimum
of 5 to 6 years from the time that the requirement is first known. There
needs to be more flexibility in construction for research and develop-
ment activities. Because of the complicated array of factors affecting
laboratory workload, it is difficult to assess the the laboratory capa-
bility remotely. This assessment should be a prime function of the
laboratory director assisted by his staff.
PAGENO="0081"
77
In addition to evaluating laboratory workload, the laboratory
director has complete control of the line items in the budget allocated
to independent research and independent exploratory development. I
believe that one of his most important functions is to apply these
resources in such a way as to investigate new ideas of the laboratory
personnel. The ability to act quickly on new suggestions is very
important in maintaining the morale of scientific people.
In selecting from ideas, which are always more numerous than the
funds available, the director must have clearly in mind the needs of
his parent organization and the state of technology. He should give
highest priority to suggestions that will provide developments which
the organization will need in the next 5 years and to experiments
which attack critical questions on the forefronts of technology.
Mr. DADDARIO. You are talking about areas which he feels fall within
the province of his agency's jurisdiction or mission. How far would
you allow him to vary that in the achievement of national goals?
Dr. MCLEAN. I think that this is a very complicated question to an-
swer because there are two forces working. One is that he has to have
things which will show a need by the organization in the immediate
future, and at the same time he needs to know that things are likely to
have the biggest payoff, so he needs to look to things that are quite
far out and haven't really ever previously been associated with his
organizational needs, but in the future might very well have advan-
tages to the organization.
Mr. DADDARTO. Would your recommendation be that he be given, if
guidelines were to be established, the widest possible latitude or would
you narrow it down?
Dr. MCLEAN. I believe he needs the widest possible latitude in the
choice of problems and at the same time the greatest amount of in-
formation on what the organization needs and how it is likely to be
going in the next period. In other words, he needs both information
and latitude in selection.
Mr. DADDARIO. A laboratory council would be helpful in this regard.
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. Would you agree with Dr. Astin that laboratory di-
rectors ought to meet and tell each other what they are doing, and that
if they are given wide latitude they could come to a judgment about
their problems?
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes. The Navy has had such a council working for the
last 8 years between the laboratory directors and this has been very
helpful.
Mr. DADDARIO. You suggest it be expanded?
Dr. MCLEAN. I suggest it is needed very much. The only problem is
size, that you will have to limit the size of the groups because all the
laboratory directors of the Federal Government in one organization
or one meeting would be unmanageable.
Mr. DADDARIO. Please continue.
Dr. MCLEAN. The independent programs are reviewed after the fact
and future allocation of new funds made on the basis of judgments on
the success of each laboratory's past programs.
The most unbiased judgment of a director's use of independent
funds is the degree to which the laboratory secures development pro-
jects from the parent organization based on information and demon-
strations made possible by independent work.
93-2Oi-68-----~
PAGENO="0082"
78
Of the various methods of supplying independent research funds, I
would favor the one which assigns a certain percentage of the total
budget of the laboratory for this purpose. The rewards for careful use
of the funds to guide developments toward things which are needed
by the sponsoring agencies will, in this case, be automatic. Cross agen-
cy use of the laboratories will be improved and will provide that each
user pay part of the support needed to develop laboratory competence.
Mr. DADDARIO. What is the percentage amount in your own instance?
Dr. MoLn~N. In our own experience we have had about 5 percent in
this category, and I believe that this is a workable number.
Of course, you always have more things to do than 5 percent will
allow you to accomplish, but-
Mr. DADDARIO. If you were to have 5 percent and the widest dis-
cretionary authority in the use of it, you feel this would be a good
beginning?
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes. I have had 5 percent over the last 20 years and
this has been very useful in directing the laboratory's program. It is
the money which keeps the laboratory creative, I believe.
Mr. DADDARIO. We do not have time to get into that now, but it is
something we would like to develop for the record, Doctor.
Dr. MCLEAN. All right.
Civilian personnel ceilings are set for the laboratory by the Director
of Navy Laboratories who receives a total allocation of billets for
Navy laboratory operations from the Office of Civilian Manpower
Management.
The Navy ceiling, of course, is derived from overall DOD and
Executive establishment limitations. Hirings are based upon funds
available to support a certain employment level, within the estab-
lished ceiling. Increases to the ceiling depend upon a number of fac-
tors including need, total employment level within the Department of
the Navy, and ceiling points available within the system for realloca-
tion. Typically, the laboratory ceiling is not adjusted for performing
particular projects, whether these are Navy sponsored or for another
agency. Rather, the laboratory is expected to adjust its total resources,
which should in the long run, represent the optimum size and skills
mix to perform a broad spectrum of work to meet priority needs.
I might repeat that there is value in a workload consistently higher
than the laboratory can handle, since the pressure of taking on addi-
tional interesting work tends to force out low interest and low pay-
off programs and promotes the early transfer of work to industry.
However, with an accounting system where an efficient operation can
be judged and rewarded, the need for manpower ceilings as a con-
trol could be removed and greater flexibility obtained by allocating
funds.
Mr. DADDARIO. If you really took off the personnel ceilings, would it
have that effect or would it just give you the opportunity to continue
low payoff programs? Would it make matters worse rather than bet-
ter? I don't know that I would particularly agree with you. I recognize
this is a problem, but you already raise the problem by saying you can
only force out low priority work by having something new and more
interestmg.
PAGENO="0083"
79
Dr. MCLEAN. The reason if you don't have the manpower ceilings
you need a very good accounting system which relates money to man-
power.
Mr. DADDARIO. What you mean is you establish your own ceiling.
Dr. MCLEAN. And it is controlled by funds and you have to use the
funds to force out the low interest, low payoff problems.
Mr. DADDARIO. What do you do by forcing them out anyway?
Dr. MCLEAN. Generally that is a problem of-actually, they get
forced out just by the fact that nobody works on them if they have
other work to do.
Mr. DADDARIO. You say that you have to force them out and I agree
with you. You are not just raising it for the first time. One of the ob-
jectives ought to be to come to some determination about how to prevent
this from coming about in the first~instance.
On the other hand, we have had some recommendations covering re-
training and giving the directors more authority.
Dr. MCLEAN. The most effective method, I believed, for forcing out
programs of low payoff is to give the men something more interesting
and something more valuable to do.
Mr. DADDARIO. The low payoff comes not because the director has
been negligent, but rather some of the guesswork is bad. You get things
going-
Dr. MCLEAN. And he has been working on the job for a long time
and he has reached the area of marginal return for effort in that par-
ticular area. He has discovered all the things that are really important,
but if he doesn't have any new job to go to, the pressures to keep
going on the old job are very strong.
Mr. DADDARIO. So we have to follow your suggestion to develop bet-
ter capabilities in the first instance to keep it narrowed down.
The other is to come to the earliest assessment possible about what
ought to be eliminated.
Dr. MCLEAN. It isn't so important to assess what ought to be elimi-
nated. The problem is to give them new work that is better, that they
will recognize as being better.
Mr. DADDARIO. Then you know what is better and what should be
eliminated. I recognize it is not an easy decision.
Dr. MCLEAN. No, it is not easy, but I think the more we can push
people into new fields the easier it is to get them to transfer from work
that they have been with for a long time, but should be dropped.
Mr. DADDARIO. Please continue, Doctor.
Dr. MCLEAN. When doing work for agencies other than the parent
activity the balance between work for the parents and others is im-
portant. In the laboratories where I have worked, the ratio was about
90 percent for the Navy and 10 percent for other activities. I think
this is a reasonable split to provide outside contacts and exchange of
information. In military laboratories it might be desirable to have as
much as 5 percent of the effort supported by nonmilitary agencies. We
have performed work supported by other agencies or of direct benefit
to them, such as warhead and missile tests for the AEC and Army,
provision of ocean range facilities for NASA and major industrial
firms such as Lockheed, North American, General Atomics, and West-
inghouse. Other effort includes undersea geologic maps used by the
Geological Survey, assistance to the Air Force and AEC in recovering
PAGENO="0084"
80
lost objects, calibration work on instruments, assistance to Arctic
Research Institute on the structure of sea ice, and the use of sonar to
count fish in the Columbia River for the Department of Interior. One
corrnnercial aspect of our work is the appearance on the market of
handheld sonar for skindivers and sonar equipment for fishermen.
NUWC test facilities are available to all Government agencies and
contractors.
I believe the only nonsubjective measure of effectiveness in R. & D.
must result from comparisons on a competitive basis. This means that
we need more than one laboratory in each field of endeavor which is
important to Government operations; or more realistically, we need
two or three groups of laboratories, each having a broad scope of activ-
ities extending all the way from research through development, test-
ing, and evaluation, and limited production of the type needed to
provide guidelines for large-scale industrial production. Competition
between these laboratories, or groups of laboratories, should be encour-
aged and the record of their accomplishments evaluated. Our abilities
to satisfy society's needs are judged by competition and rewarded by
success or failure. This process provides high incentives and high
motivation. People work best when they feel they have set their own
objectives and have control of the process. The general management
can be very loose and competition can provide opportunities both to
try and to judge organizational procedures. Such management will
be successful only for laboratories with a broad mission since parts of
the total process cannot be productive by themselves, for example,.
pure research without application is never profitable; the final product
is the most reliable measure of productivity.
In my opinion, the most practical method of supporting interagency
research and development is through a direct agreement between the
laboratory and the outside agency. Joint undertakings and interagency
transfer of funds, while quite feasible in principle, tend to become
enmeshed in workings of the system to the point where a great deal
of program effort is absorbed by administrative and communication
problems unless a central focal point exists. When a program needs
integrated planning the existence of a planner or a master architect
seems essential. This man should have the following characteristics:
1. Technical competence.
2. Dedication and enthusiasm for the job.
3. Planned availability for the duration of the job.
4. Knowledge of, and control of, the needed resources including
supporting laboratory efforts.
If such a man is not available the programs will proceed better in
smaller units without overall coordination. A study of our successful
and unsuccessful projects as related to the continuity of management
might serve to enlighten this point.
In conclusion, gentlemen, I feel that in the management of Federal
laboratories the following operational principles should be retained:
(a) Self-determination of the direction of a laboratory's programs
by the skillful use of independent funds and friendly interlaboratory
competition.
(b) Reward for achievements and discipline for ineffectiveness
through competition.
I propose also that the management of Federal laboratories:
PAGENO="0085"
81
(a) Extend and augment the concept of laboratory centers of excel-
lence with broad missions such as the Naval Weapons Center, Naval
Undersea Warfare Center, Naval Ship Research and Development
Center, and Naval Command Control Communications Laboratory
Center.
(b) Extend and augment councils of laboratory directors to pro-
mote better interlaboratory communications and understanding of lab-
oratory capabilities.
(c) Use the methods of the Navy's Vietnam laboratory assistance
program to bring technical problems directly to people with the req-
uisite technical competence for resolution of the problems.
(d) Ask laboratories to review their contractual actions for cross-
service to other laboratories; that is, reward interlaboratory coopera-
tion.
(e) Propose legislation that will decrease the leadtime required to
procure facilities to support research, test, and evaluation effort.
(f) Continue to make laboratories available to other agencies so long
as this effort does not exceed 10 percent of the total effort of the lab-
oratory.
(g) Give the laboratory directory the authority to decide on proper
balance between programs.
(Ii) Consider colocation of facilities by Federal agencies in order to
broaden the experience of each.
Mr. DADDARTO. lElow do we get this evaluation process to the pomt
where it can be effective so that Congress, which must make the final
determination and allocation of funds, can effectively deal with it?
Dr. MCLEAN. I think it has to be done on the basis of having more
than one group in each field. They don't have to cover the same field,
but for instance, we have had for many years the work which was
pretty well allocated to just one organization so if anybody wanted
n particular fuse of a particular kind it was only that organization
which could provide it.
I think it would have been much better if we had had more than
one organization in that particular field. At the present time we have
only one organization for producing guided missiles, or I mean space
vehicles. I hate to suggest it, but perhaps two NASA's would have
been useful and perhaps the Air Force performs a useful function in
providing competition to the NASA organization.
Mr. DADDARIO. Well, when you say we oniy have one, we do in fact
have two.
Dr. MCLEAN. That is probably a good idea.
Mr. DADDARIO. Are you saying we should have three ?
Dr. MCLEAN. No, but I think we need to maintain that idea of
competition throughout the whole research and development struc-
ture. It is very bad to get an organization charged with the entire
responsibility for a particular area that is important to the Govern-
ment.
That brings up the problem-
Mr. DADDARI0. You wouldn't say in every instance?
Dr. MCLEAN. No, but I think the users, the people who need the
product, ought to have more than one alternative when it comes to
getting a particular kind of job done and therefore there should be
a number of laboratories with broad missions rather than the same
number of laboratories with very specific missions.
PAGENO="0086"
82
Mr. DAnD~nIo. I do not find any argument with that. But you do
have to come to some judgment as to what they are all doing in the
final analysis even though you create this competitive situation.
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes. I guess it might be nice to make that a user
choice. Congress, for instance, in allocating funds to particular or-
ganizations can decide which ones it thinks have been doing the best
job and does decide that.
Mr. DADDARIO. I think we tried to do it. My question goes to the
mechanism. I do not believe that we have a particularly workable
system at the moment although we try to come to these judgments.
However, to come to these judgments in the most effective way re-
quires that we improve the decisionmaking process.
My interest in asking these questions is who do you see as making
these decisions? Do you think that the director or the agency head
should come to a judgment through some mechanism which he would
establish?
Dr. MCLEAN. Well, in the experience that I have had at the Naval
Ordnance Test Station where we were developing systems that could
be used by the Army, the Navy, or the Air Force, one of the mech-
anisms of judging progress was how many systems were purchased
by the Army or the Air Force, whereas the development work was
supported primarily by the Navy.
Mr. DADDARIO. We are not going to develop this mechanism here
and now, but your general attitude about this is helpful.
What do you mean by reward for laboratory cooperation?
Dr. MCLEAN. From the standpoint of the interlaboratory coopera-
tion rather than disapproving.
Mr. DADDARIO. Rewarding by looking with pleasure rather than
dissatisfaction.
Dr. MCLEAN. For instance, one way to punish rnterlaboratory co-
operation is to have a management that doesn't understand what
either of them is doing, threaten to take funds away from one and
give it to the other laboratory without any idea as to whether either
program is being effective.
I was caught between competition as a deciding mechanism and
the fact that that also punishes for cooperation between laboratories.
The same problem that industrial organizations have. If they are in
competition they have difficulty in cooperating.
Mr. DADDARIO. By cooperation do you means people working side by
side in the same building, joint use of personnel, or even the transfer
of personnel from one agency to another if the facilities are available?
Dr. MCLEAN. I mean more of the side-by-side cooperation so that
they understand each other's programs.
Mr. DADDARIO. So that they would be available to each other?
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. And business would be made easier.
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes, they know the kind of programs the other labora-
tories are working on, and can utilize their facilities if they are par-
ticularly adaptable.
Mr. DADDARIO. That being possible in every instance, it would cer-
tainly increase the use of technology in this regard, which today is
considerable.
Dr. MCLEAN. Yes.
PAGENO="0087"
83
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. McLean, you have been extremely helpful, and
I hope that we might send some further questions to you for the
record.
Dr. MOLEAN. All right.
Mr. DADDARI0. I appreciate your being here.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO DR. WILLIAM B. MCLEAN BY THE SUB.
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
1. In your statement you say, "the procedures for disestablishing laboratories
should be improved." What specific recommendations would you make in this
regard?
This problem was introduced only in recognition of the need for more considera-
tion and study of alternatives for accomplishing the disestablishment of labora.
tories. My mention of the need was intended to indicate the lack of ideas as to
workable techniques for the closing of laboratories. Some of the factors which
make the disestablishment of laboratories difficult, or in some cases prevent it, are
the following:
a. The organizational unity and loyalty necessary to the operation of an orga-
nization prevents its rapid dissolution. The more effective and productive an
organization has been in the past, the more it generates internal resistance to
disestablishment.
b. The political environment in which laboratories exist also contributes to the
difficulties encountered in the dissolution of laboratory organizations.
2. In your testimony you speak of competition as a measure of quality, yet the
other side of the coin is duplication. How do you draw the dividing line, anti what
criteria are there to guide you?
In research we set a general goal of understanding the operation of nature.
Such an objective allows freedom for each research man to define his own areas
of interest. Competition provides a general management function as long as all
the individuals can understand what the others are doing ar~d can judge their own
rate of progress relative to that of others. We have a breakdown when the rate
of progress exceeds our ability to absorb, and we have duplication through
ignorance. This is obviously a waste and the demands for centralized planning
come to the front. We have a choice between broadening our ability to consume
by discovering better methods for transmitting and absorbing information, or we
can choose to limit production by instituting centralized planning as a substitute
for individual goals.
I like to think of research as being those operations which occur at the borders
of the known area of knowledge and which are concerned with the penetration
into the surrounding infinitude of the unknown. As the realm of the known
increases, it is obvious that the total number of areas of research which can be
undertaken will also increase.
We hear a great deal about planning research in such a way as to avoid gaps
in coverage, about trying to make sure that all research will be profitable, and
about the necessity to avoid duplication. It is my belief that it will always be
impossible to cover all possible areas of research. The best we can do in the
management of research is to find people who have a genuine interest in carrying
out research activities and try to stimulate discussions across organizational
lines in order to promote th.e generation of new ideas. I hope we can forget about
clearly defined missions and the avoidance of duplication. No well-informed and
sensible research man is going to deliberately do the same kinds of work which
are being carried out in another organization. The more the planning of research
can be delegated to the man close to the work, the more likely it is that it will
approach the boundaries of the known realm of knowledge.
3. In your testimony you state that the 5 percent discretionary funds which
you have had "keeps the laboratory creative." Would you please provide some
anamples of how this authority has helped?
The following items or techniques were fostered or developed by the use of
discretionary funds available to me:
(a) The Johnson Shark Screen (a major advancement in the Navy's search for
adequate protection of its personnel from sharks).
(b) Syntactic Foam (this buoyant material is now used in most deep sub-
mersible vehicles).
(c) The use of ultra sonics for wire and metal forming.
(ti) Color sonar (presentation of sonic information in color). This may prove
useful in the recognition of specific rock formations below the sea floor.
PAGENO="0088"
84
(e) Sea-See. A research vessel designed for observation of biological activity
in the first 50 feet of the ocean's depth. The device utilizes plastic hemispheres
which provide the observer with all-around visibility and will be useful for obser-
vation of fish schools, porpoise behavior, sea lions, and the operation of travel
nets.
4. $everal agencies have set up procedures to appraise the performance of con-
tractors that do research and development for them, or that manage agency lab-
oratories. To your knowledge, what consideration has been given to applying the
standards and procedures of these appraisal processes to Government-operated
laboratories? To what eat ent would this be desirable?
For any organization or individual to feel successful there must be some
mechanism for measuring the degree in which they have fulfilled their goals.
In an organization which is profit-oriented, such an evaluation is straight-
forward, rigorous, and simple. If the figures are in the black, all associated
with the organization are happy. If they are in the red, or tending toward the
red, then something must be done to rectify the situation. Government organiza-
tions, military organizations, educational institutions, and research and de-
velopment activities, whenever they are adequately removed from the profit-
making pressures, have a more difficult time in establishing a proper evalua-
tion of the effectiveness of their processes and results. For all such organiza-
tions I believe the evaluation must be on the basis of competition similar to
that involved in making a profit. The fact, however, that results cannot easily
be expressed in terms of a single variable, such as money, tends to make the
evaluation proëess much more difficult. Governments are judged by history, and
military organizations by wars. These are very harsh and final judgments and
do not provide a very adequate, self-rectifying mechanism.
In essence, the appraisal of contractor and laboratory performance is limited
by the capabilities of the individuals available to perform the appraisal. Of
necessity, an appraiser must be a person who has been very successful in the
field being evaluated. Yet, every appraiser has his own set of biases and b&
lieves that his own approach is the only correct approach. The competitive
system is the only appraisal system that leaves open the possibility of innova-
tion.
In spite of these difficulties in evaluation, the Navy is setting up technically
competent review committees to review laboratory performance. The effect of
these committees on laboratory performance has yet to be evaluated.
5. The DOD witness proposed the elimination of manpower controls on cross-
agency work to promote flewibility similar to that available to the AEG contract
laboratories. What is your opinion of this proposal?
I believe that some form of manpower controls or ceilings are essential in the
absence of competition or techniques for measuring the output of a laboratory.
Independent of the size of an organization assigned any particular job, pressure
will always arise to demonstrate the requirements for more people.
The difficulty of maintaining effective communication with increasing size of
an organization is the reason, I believe, that organizations tend to become less,
efficient as they become larger. Dr. R. B. Kershner of the Applied Physics Labor-
atory, Johns Hopkins University, has written a very interesting paper' on the
optimum size of organization for any given job. He plots the time to accomplish
a given objective against the number of people assigned to the task and shows
that the curve has a minimum value. With too few people assigned, the job
moves too slowly to maintain the interests of the people and their sense of ac-
complishment. As a result, a long time is required to finish the job. If the number
of people is increased beyond the optimum, competition for the jobs available
becomes keen. Communications begin to fall off. The understanding of what is
to be accomplished becomes more remote. The need for specific, definite sped-
fications becomes greater. And, finally, the ability of each engineer to participate
in setting the goals toward which he is working, and his contribution to the tota'
design, becomes less with a resulting loss of interest. Tension within such an
overstaffed organization grows, mistakes become more common, and the ability
to try new things which might lead to significant short cuts becomes entirely too
risky. The need for more coordination and more planning as the program lags
becomes more apparent. The system is self-accelerating in that, as more co-
ordinators are added, the engineers and scientists have less opportunity to pro-.
vide feedback into the setting of specifications; thus, progress toward the final
1R. B. Kershner, "The Size of Research and Engineering Teams," in Th~ Proceedings of
the Eleventh National Conference on Adnvin~stration of Research, Penn State University
Press, September 1957, pp. 77-83.
PAGENO="0089"
85
goal is further delayed. If we want to avoid these difficulties and have a par-
ticipative type of operation, we should, as managers, try to do every job with.
an organization which is at the optimum, and this usually means the smallest
size for its effective completion. If we increase beyond the optimum size, how-
ever, the forces become such as to automatically justify further increases in
size.
I have proposed that as a management tool every important job should be
undertaken by two organizhtions having a factor of ten difference in size.
6. What criteria should govern:
A. How muck independent money a laboratory director should have?
B. The appraisal of what the Director has accomplished with funds previously
authorized to him?
a. Of the various methods of supplying independent research funds, I favor
the one which assigns a certain percentage, say 5%, of the total budget of
the laboratory for this purpose. This should not be an automatic level for all
laboratories but should vary according to the original and significant work
that is accomplished by a laboratory.
b. The independent programs are reviewed after the fact, and future alloca-
tion of new funds is made on the basis of judgments on the success of each
laboratory's past programs. In my opinion, therefore, the most valid appraisal
of a director's use of independent research funds is the degree to which the
laboratory secures development projects from the parent, or other sponsoring
organization, based on information and demonstrations made possible by inde-
pendent research.
7. Does your laboratory have ceilings for its personnel? If so, how are these
ceilings set and who does it? What fiewibility do you have for assignments within
a ceiling? How feasible is it for you to obtain a change in personnel ceiling to
accommodate work for another agency?
Oivilian personnel ceilings are set for the laboratory by the Director of Navy
Laboratories who receives a total allocation of billets for Navy laboratory opera~
tions from the office of Civilian Manpower Management. The Navy ceiling, of
course, is derived from overall DOD and Executive Establishment limitations.
Hirings are made based upon funds available to support a certain employment
level within the established ceiling. Increases to the ceiling depend upon a
number of factors including need, total employment level within the Department
of the Navy, and ceiling points available within the system for reallocation.
Typically, the laboratory ceiling is not adjusted for performance particular
projects, whether these are Navy sponsored or for another agency. Rather, the
laboratory is expected to adjust its total resources, which should in the long
run, represent the optimum size and skills mix to perform a broad spectrum of
work to meet priority needs. I might repeat that there is value in a workload
consistently higher than the laboratory can handle, since the pressure of taking'
on additional interesting work tends to force out low interest and low pay-off
programs and promotes the early transfer of work to industry. However, with
an accountin.g system where an efficient operation can be judged and rewarded,
the need for manpower ceilings as a control could be removed and greater
flexibility obtained.
I feel that the need for ceilings will decrease in proportion as our ability to
correlate manpower and costs and performance improves. If the accounting
and evaluation can be such as to make this possible, then one ceiling on money'
should provide the local managers with more flexibility.
Mr. DADDA1UO. I apologize that we will not be able to hear you today
Mr. Finger, but I hope you will be able to come back tomorrow and be
our first witness.
Mr. Finger has done fine work for NASA and the AEC, and we are
pleased to have him as a witness. We are sorry that we have to hold you
over to tomorrow.
Our other witnesses tomorrow will be Dr. 1~\Tilliam H. Pickering,
Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Phillip S. Hugbes,
Deputy Director of the Bureau of the Budget.
This committee will be adjourned until 10 a.m. tomorrow at this
same place.
(Whereupon, at 12:25 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned to recon~-
vene at 10 a.m., Thursday, March 28, 1968.)
PAGENO="0090"
PAGENO="0091"
UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL LAB ORATORIES
THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1968
HoUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
CoMi~trm~E ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,
StTBCOMMIrrEE oN SCLF~NCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a.m., in room
2325, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Emilio Q. Daddario
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. DADDARIO. The meeting will come to order.
Today we continue our hearing on the utilization of Federal
laboratories.
Our first witness today is Harold B. Finger, Associate Adminis-
trator, Office of Organization and Management, NASA. We had hoped
to hear from Mr. Finger yesterday, but time prevented us from doing
`so. We appreciate your coming back again this morning.
Our second witness is Dr. William H. Pickering, director of the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The outstanding performance of the Sur-
veyor spacecraft, and the other missions to the moon and the planets,
have made the Jet Propulsion Laboratory a well-known name through-
out America. The technologies of telemetering, remote control, com-
munication, data processing, and analysis that have been developed
for these missions appear to have application to many other Federal
`programs and in many nonspace fields. The subcommittee notes, for
example, that two important areas mentioned by the President's Crime
Commission which would have the most significant ini1pact on law-
enforcement work were the need for better communications and the
need to apply systems analysis to police operations.
Our final witness this morning is Phillip S. Hughes, Deputy Director
of the Bureau of the Budget. It was the Bureau of the Budget that
produced the Bell report which has been referred to a number of times
in these hearings.
In preparing the President's annual budget request to Congress, the
Bureau has the opportunity to effect the proper utilization of Federal
laboratories to a great extent. By budget allocation between agencies,
the Bureau in effect must decide whether to use existing facilities to
accomplish Federal research and development programs, to establish
new facilitie~s, or to expand existing ones. What we are interested in
today is how these decisions are made.
Mr. Finger, we are pleased again to have you here and to find out
what you have to say about this problem.
(Mr. Finger's biography follows:)
(87)
PAGENO="0092"
88
HARoi~ B. FINGEB
Mr. Finger was appointed to this position on March 15, 1967. He reports di-
rectly to the Administrator and is responsible for the evaluation and strength-
ening of agency-wide management policies and practices involved in the conduct
of NASA programs and activities. He provides executive leadership for the offices
under the direction of the Assistant Administrators for Administration, Industry
Affairs, Technology Utilization, University Affairs, and Special Contracts Review
and Negotiation. In addition, elements responsible for audit, inspection, Head-
quarters administration, and organization and management planning report to
him.
Previously, Mr. Finger had been Manager of the Space Nuclear Propulsion
Office since August 1960. This office is responsible for nuclear rocket develop-
ment for both NASA and the Atomic Energy Commission and isotopically-heated
rocket thruster work for the AEO. Beginning in November 1961, he also served
as Director of Nuclear System.s for NASA's Office of Advanced Research and
Technology. In this capacity, he managed research, development and flight
testing of nuclear electric power systems and electrical propulsion and the flight:
testing of nuclear rocket systems. During this period he was also named Director'
of AEC's Space Nuclear Systems Division in June 1965. Here he `headed a new
Space Electric Power Office, administering space reactor and isotope electrical
power systems work.
Finger had been on the NASA Headquarters staff since it was established in
October 1958. He was Chief of the Nuclear Engine Program. On March 5, 1961,
he was appointed Assistant Director for Nuclear Applications.
Finger joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predeces-
sor to NASA, in 1944 as an aeronautical research scientist at the Lewis Flight
Propulsion Laboratory, Cleveland. In 1952, he was named Head of the Axial Flow
Compressor Section and in 1854, Associate Chief of the Compressor Research
Branch. Three years later, after nuclear training at Lewis, he was made Head'
of the Nuclear Radiation Shielding Group and of a Nuclear Rocket Design
Analysis Group.
Finger was born in New York City, February 18, 1924. He earned a B.S. degree
in Mechanical Engineering from City College of New York in 1944. He was
awarded an M.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Case Institute of Tech-
nology in 1950.
Finger has specialized in `research on turbo-machinery, gas turbine engines~
nuclear rockets, and shielding. Author of numerous technical papers, he was co-
winner of the 1957 Society of Automotive Engineers Manley Award for the. best
paper on aeronautics. He is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics.
Mr. and Mrs. Finger (the former Arlene Karsch) `and their three daughters live
in Bethesda, Maryland.
Mr. FINGER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Members of the committee, I find that anything any one of us can
say in this area is only a small part of this total problem because there
are so many factors to be discussed in determining how best to use the
laboratories and get them to adjust to new needs and get them pre-
pared for new needs that may come along as essential national re-
quirements. Therefore, although I have prepared a lengthy statement
on this subject, it does not cover all of the points that need discussion.
With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I propose that I summarize my
statement using it only as an outline.
Mr. DADDARIO. Fine.
STATEMENT OP HAROLD' B.. FINGER, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR
FOR ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL AERO-
NAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Mr. FINGER. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a research
PAGENO="0093"
89
and development agency applying its scientific, engineering, and
management capabilities primarily to the accomplishment of aero-
nautical and space programs for which it is responsible.
NASA's laboratories are its in-house technical strength and are
an essential element of its management system. That strength has been
carefully and deliberately built up to provide a national resource that
is now applying its talents to advancing the technology of aeronautical
and space systems so as to provide scientific understanding of the
earth and its atmosphere, of the solar system, and of man and other
forms of life and also to apply that technology in other ways that will
also benefit mankind. These other ways include the direct applications
of space technology to communications, weather prediction, and navi-
gational aids.
I want to emphasize, however, that the funds for this program,
about 90 percent of our budget, are spent in industry with the in-house
laboratory competence providing a technical interface with the con-
tractors to anticipate problems, help guide the contractors to the
proper solutions of problems that come up during the development
programs. The laboratories are then a very key part of our system for
getting the work done, but we do rely very heavily on the available
capabilities of industry. Also trying, during the course of the pro-
gram, to strengthen the capabilities of industry to carry out advanced
technological programs and to apply that advanced technology in
other areas.
Although NASA could not predict or guarantee the magnitude or
exact direction of future mission activities, it did establish its labora~
tories so that expansion or retrenchment could be achieved while
maintaining this basic capability.
Thus, when the most active periods of mission-oriented work begin
to ~decline, the laboratory does not have to deteriorate and decline as
well. It has the flexibility to take on new roles and missions, to shift
its primary emphasis (from development to research, for example) or
to retrench its total capability to a lower level where effectiveness can
still be maintained. In the broad range of science and technology, there
should be no end to a laboratory's mission or purpose. The best labo-
ratories of all kinds repeatedly demonstrate the aibility to go through
a continuous renewal of challenging objectives in order to stay alive
and vital. And this process of renewal is only successful where the ne~v
objectives are those which are best oriented toward new needs.
NASA now has 11 research and space flight centers; counting the
various unique installations that are associated with these centers,
we have 19 installations, plus 27 tracking stations. We own a total
of 143,000 acres of land and utilize through leasing and other arrange-
inents an additional 194,000 acres. We now have 32,442 civil service
employees and, in addition, contractor and university employees op-
erating or supporting these installations. These employees cover the
span of disciplines from mechanics and technicians to Ph. D.'s in all
of the science and engineering disciplines. Our total capital invest-
ment at these in-house installations is over $3.5 billion.
In addition, there is another half a billion dollars that is located
with various other institutions, industrial contractor and university
institutions, where we have ownership of the capitalized equipment
sand facilities.
PAGENO="0094"
90
The development and growth of NASA's laboratory competence has
been accomplished in several ways that are indicative of the changing
mission goals that have been and must be assigned to research and
development organizations.
When NASA was established, the research capabilities of the Na-
tional Advisory Committee for Aeronautics-the Langley, Lewis,
Ames, Wallops, and Flight Research Centers-were brought in to
serve as the nucleus for this country's aeronautical and space research
and development.
The research laboratories of the NACA still serve as a major NASA
element leading the forward thrust of our aeronautical and space
technology. Each of these research centers directs limited flight mis-
sion development projects as a means of using its capabilities to assist
NASA in handling it.s large growth in flight activity and also to keep
so involved in real flight problems that research activities are realisti-
cally directed toward advancing the country's capability in aero-
nautics and space.
Among the flight development activities that have been placed in
these research centers are, for example, the responsibility for directing
the development of the Centaur rocket at the Lewis Research Center,
the Pioneer Solar probes at the Ames Research Center, the biosatellite
projects aimed at determining the effects of the space environment on
life forms at the Ames Research Center, the Lunar Orbiter project
directed by the Langley Research Center. Because their emphasis is
on a broad program of research and technology development, their~
activities are characterized by relatively stable workloads that are not
subject to the rapid buildup and phasedown characteristic of mdi-
vidual flight mission projects.
In addition to the research capabilities required to carry out the
assignments made by the National Aeronautics and Space Act to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Congress as-
signed to NASA a development and space flight operations responsi-
bility that required a scientific and engineering development capa-
bility beyond that available in NACA.
As a result of authorities specified in the National Aeronautics and
Space Act of 1958, the Vanguard team of the Naval Research Lab-
oratory was transferred to NASA and formed the nucleus for NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Incidentally, they were supplemented by a group out of the Signal
Corps activities in Fort Monmouth that later became the leading
people in the weather, meteorological, and atmospheric science areas.~
The Development Operations Division of the Army Ballistic Missile
Agency was transferred to NASA to form the basis for the Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Jet Propulsion Labora-
tory operated for the Army by the California Institute of Technology
was transferred to NASA, and you will hear more about that from
Dr. Pickering.
A cadre of personnel of the Langley Research Center was assigned
to the space task group to initiate this country's first manned space
flight activities in Project Mercury. In 1961 when the national commit-
ment was established to develop a space flight capability sufficient to
land men on the moon in this decade, the space task group became the
core of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston that is now responsi-~
PAGENO="0095"
91
ble for developing the Apollo command and service modules and the
lunar module that will land men on the surface of the moon and for
the flight operations of these systems. What is now the Kem~edy Space
Center in Florida was established as an outgrowth of the launch
operations directorate of the Marshall Space Flight Center.
We generally refer to these newer centers as our "development"
centers because of the nature of their mission responsibilities. Although
their emphasis is on the development and conduct of space missions,
we still maintain the research and advanced technological develop-
ment base at these centers as a means of anticipating the best means
for carrying out and planning our future programs and, in the process,.
to maintain their technical competence. These centers have been re-
sponsible for our major space flight missions including our manned
Mercury and Gemini missions in which almost 2,000 hours of manned
space flight were achieved and the capabilities of man to operate in
space were demonstrated. These flights also demonstrated the capa-
bility to control, rendezvous, and dock vehicles in space and evaluated
many other requirements for manned space operations. The NASA
development centers have also directed the development of such proj-
ects as the TIROS, Nimbus, Syncom, Relay, Ranger, Mariner, Sur-
veyor, and many other major scientific space experiments and satel-
lites that apply this technology for communications and meteorology.
All of these organizational units were, therefore, based on the scien-
tific, engineering, and management discipline competence that was
already in existence as a national resource. These skills are now ap-
plied to different mission goals and have resulted in substantial prog-
ress toward the achievement of those goals.
In order to carry out the programs that have been established, the
NASA civil service employment has grown from 8,420 employees in
1958 to a peak of 33,726 in 1967 and is now down to 32,422. Combined
with the contractor and university people who are working with us in
our installations, this manpower and the equipment and facilities that
are available to them give NASA the competence to carry out the
missions assigned to it and also provide the competence that can be
applied to other activities by NASA within its overall area of respon-
sibility.
If we consider the history of all of these centers from their NACA
and Department of Defense background to the current time, we find
a continual change in work assignment, in mission goal, and even in
discipline mix. Facilities have also undergone continual change. For
example, the altitude wind tunnel was built at the Lewis Research
Center in 1942. Its 20-foot diameter test section was used to test air-
craft reciprocating engine-nacelle-propeller combinations at speeds of
500 miles an hour and at conditions equivalent to 50,000-foot altitudes.
During World War II tests in this facility resulted in important
contributions to the improvement of the B-29. That facility is now
known as the space power chambers. It has been divided into separate
environmental space chambers that simulate conditions up to alti-
tudes of 400,000 feet and temperatures approaching space condi-
tions. It is, therefore, now a space environmental test facility. From
aircraft tests at 500 miles an hour and altitudes of 50,000 feet we
have now gone to tests of the Centaur rocket and to models of large
solid rock nozzles and also to tests of space power systems.
PAGENO="0096"
92
The Lewis 10- by 10-foot supersonic wind tunnel was completed
in 1955 as part of the nationwide unitary wind tunnel plan. it was
used to test turbojet and ramjet engine systems, but was then modi-
fied after NASA was established to do work on rocket systems that
included the investigation of the vehicle base heating problem which
results when multiple engines are clustered together, such as is the
case in our Saturn rockets. During recent years that facility has been
modified again to provide the capability to simulate conditions that
would be experienced in a supersonic aircraft so that engine and
engine inlet configuration matching problems can be investigated for
the supersonic transport.
The engine propeller research `building was built in 1942 and was
the first operational facility at the Lewis Research Center. It was used
for a reciprocating engine testing, for turbojet engine testing, and
is now used for electric propulsion research.
At the Langley Research Center, which is our oldest installation,
having been established in 1918, many facilities have been converted
to meet new needs.
The fan drive system of the full-scale wind tunnel at Langley was
modified so that accurate control was possible through the tunnel
speed range required for vertical and short takeoff landing research
and low-speed flying quality `studies of high-speed aircraft designs.
Changing research needs prompted the phasing out of the gust
tunnel and the conversion of the available space to an urgently needed
noise research laboratory. The aircraft loads calibration laboratory
is a large laboratory building which has undergone several conver-
sions to meet changing research needs; it now houses such simula-
tion equipment as LOLA (Lunar Orbit Lctdown `and Approach sim-
ulator), zero gravity simulation water tank, a tactical effectiveness
simulator, and visual simulator for a foot control maneuvering unit.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory moved from the development of
jet assisted takeoff (JATO) equipment for aircraft to other projects
involving rocket and jet propulsion technology. Emphasis was
changed to the development of reliable liquid and solid fuel propel-
lants, guidance systems, tracking devices, and telemetry.
In conjunction with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, JPL
had a major responsibility for this country's first satellite, Explorer
spacecraft. From this background JPL has developed to its present
role of responsibility for such major NASA projects as Surveyor,
Ranger, and Mariner. JPL's special capabilities are also being applied
to solve specific problems of the Department of Defense.
Certain capabilities of the Signal Corps laboratory at Fort Mon-
mouth, that were brought into the Goddard Space Flight Center in
1959, had carried out one of the four upper atmosphere sounding
rocket programs in the United States through the 1950's. They
designed and developed Vanguard II, a cloud cover experiment, and
the first meteorological satellite, which was launched in 1959.
This group, in NASA, formed the nucleus of the organization that
managed TIROS, Nimbus, and the atmosphere Explorers, a total of 14
successful satellites.
This group of men became one of the strongest groups of meteoro-
logical and atmospheric scientists in the world, in particular pioneer-
ing the use of infrared technique to measure the earth's atmosphere
and surface and in studying the structure of the atmosphere.
PAGENO="0097"
93
At the Marshall Space Flight Center, the test stand that had origi-
nally been built for testing the Jupiter and Redstone rockets, the
Redstone placed our first satellite into orbit, was used later for the
static testing of the first stage of the Saturn I rocket having a thrust
of one and a half million pounds.
What was done, existing capabilities were brought into NASA
built on a nucleus of the basic engineering and scientific skills that
were available. These people could move into areas of work. They are
just as qualified to move into other new areas.
I might mention here also that skills of people have also been
adjusted.
For example, a year ago we set up at the Manned Spacecraft
Center, which is responsible for the development of Apollo Com-
mand and Service Modules and the Lunar Module, a space science
directorate which looks forward to the long-term application of the
Apollo hardware, and to the scientific analysis and research that is
to be clone with the experiments carried in that Apollo hardware. My
prepared statement discusses this further.
Some facilities have also been closed down and are no longer used
except for the space that they make available for shops, small labora-
tories, and offices. New facilities have been built to take on the new
activities that are required by our programs. The engine and stage
test facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center and the Mississippi Test
Facility, the space propulsion facility being completed at the Lewis
Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, the Space Environmental
Simulation Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston,
the space simulation facilities at the Goddard Space Flight Center
that permit development of complex unmanned spacecraft, are all new
installations required by our programs, but made available through
the scientific and engineering capabilities of our people working in
close association with the capabilities of industry, university, and other
Government agencies.
Recognizing that in the Saturn-Apollo system, we will have de-
veloped a strong capability for investigating and exploring space, we
are now looking ahead to the increasing emphasis that will be re-
quired in applying this capability to meeting important scientific
needs and to the continued advancement of technology. While the
Manned Spacecraft Center is still busy with the research and develop-
ment required to assure that the Apollo spacecraft systems will operate
successfully in orbital and lunar mission flights, we are emphasizing
the scientific disciplines required to draw full benefit from these flights.
During 1967 we established at the Manned Spacecraft Center a space
science directorate which we believe must grow to emphasize the sci-
entific content of our activities.
Also, at the Manned Spacecraft Center we are nearing completion
of a Lunar Receiving Laboratory that will have all of the equipment
necessary to analyze the samples that are returned from the moon by
our astronauts and to do other scientific research related to the
moon.
We are also, as was just announced by the President on March 1,
1968, establishing a Lunar Science Institute near the Manned Space-
craft Center to provide an opportunity for university scientists to
come into close association with the work carried out by the Manned
93-20i-----6S------7
PAGENO="0098"
94
Spacecraft Center so that that work and the data obtained can be
made available to these scientists throughout the country that are in-
terested in and concerned with these matters. Therefore, while the de-
velopment activities are proceeding, we are also phasing over into a
stronger science emphasis.
At the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Saturn vehicle develop-
ment work, for which Marshall has been responsible, is now nearing
completion. The 14 successive successful flights of the Saturn TB and
the first successful flight of the Saturn V conducted last November,
indicate the competence of the NASA organization at the Marshall
Space Flight Center and of the industrial contractors with whom
Marshall has worked in the development of this vehicle. Although
continued testing will be required at the Mississippi Test Facility in
order to test out those vehicles that are produced to be flown in later
missions, the advanced design, research and development work is de-
creasing on these vehicles. We have, therefore, assigned to the Mar-
shall Space Flight Center responsibility for development of the ATM,
the Astronomy Telescope Mount, that will be used in conjunction
with manned flights to be conducted in the 1970's using much of
the Saturn-Apollo capability. This astronomy work is quite differ-
ent from the kind of vehicle development work with which Marshall
has been associated in the past but, here again, it is the basic com-
petence of the people assigned that permits them to move from one
activity to another and still make significant contributions. Obviously,
some change in the discipline skill mix at Marshall will be required
as they phase over into these other activities, but this change is still
built on the foundation of the basic scientific, engineering and man-
agement competence of that organization.
The Ames Research Center, at which hypersonic aerodynamic re-
search led to the definition of the shapes required to permit ICBM
weapons to reenter the atmosphere and also led to the basic theory and
design information for the reentry conditions of space vehicles has
moved into the field of biosciences as an essential ingredient of
NASA's program. They are defining experiments, developing instru-
ments, and working on evaluation of biologic chemistry as part of
their activities aimed at the study of exobiology, extraterrestrial
life. Again, on the base of an overall scientific and engineering com-
petence, it is possible to modify work assignments and to expand read-
ily into new areas of science and technology.
The main point I want to emphasize by these numerous examples
is that the skill and training and competence of our people permits
them to make significant contributions in the changing needs of aero-
nautics and space work and can do the same in work on other national
programs and needs. Physics is physics no matter what organization
it sits in; chemistry, mathematics, biology, these are basic sciences
that do not vary depending on the organization in which these dis-
ciplines are practiced even though the specific application and em-
phasis may be different.
The engineering talents required to advance our technology of bat-
teries, fuel cells, nuclear power sources, aircraft engines, rocket propul-
sion, materials development ~tnd fabrication, electronics systems anal-
ysis and design, test and development methods are also directly ap-
plicable to the propulsion, power, structural analysis, guidance and
PAGENO="0099"
95
control, design, and development associated with other environments
than air and space travel, with travel under the seas, on their surface,
and on the ground.
We have found repeatedly that a significant proportion of the tech-
nological advances we have generated in meeting our own program
needs, turn out to have a current or potential application to the activ-
ities of some other Federal agency. We have tried to capitalize on this
R. & D. fact of life by m'akin~ real efforts to make this technology
known to other Federal agencies and to industry and the academic
community as well. We are are working to disseminate all of our
technology to all segments of the economy. However, we feel that
it is easier for the people who understand the teelmology to infer its
possible use for other purposes, than it is for managers in other pro-
grams to search the entire range of technology to find things that
may be of use.
In many cases NASA, therefore, has taken the initiative in ap-
proaching other agencies where we have felt that some facet of our
emerging technology might be of value to them. In other cases, agen-
cies have approached us about making use of some NASA capability.
From these kinds of contacts, we have over the years developed a num-
ber of different types of working relationships which can be tailored
to meet many kinds of national needs. I would like briefly to illustrate
some of these relationships for this subcommittee.
Perhaps our most important relationships with another agency are
the long standing associations we have maintained with the Depart-
ment of Defense in which NASA and its predecessor, the NACA,
conducted research on military aircrafts of all kinds, We have con-
ducted research ranging from preliminary design to operational trou-
ble shooting on virtually every `significant military aircraft developed
in this country since the 1920's.
In addition to work on and with military aircraft, NASA has exer-
cised an important role in civil aviation. In some cases military de-
partments have come to us with specific problems of design, structures,
materials, or operating problems. In other instances our research has
produced a technological advance which we recognize can be applied
to a military plane, DOD has furnished NASA with aircraft for test
and evaluation programs and we do the research. NASA benefits in this
relationship because we learn about the latest aircraft development
and extrapolate that knowledge into more advanced research. NACA
and NASA research results have been applied in almost every aircraft
that is flying.
In these areas NASA has worked with DOD on the F-ill, the C5A,
various vertical and short takeoff landing aircraft, et cetera. The de-
velopment of high-performance gyros for space flight has been applied
in navigation platforms for aircraft such as the C141 and the C5A.
Some of the most important gas turbine engine research results and
design concepts and solutions for operating problems on gas turbine
engines grew out of the test and analysis work done at the Lewis Re-
search Center in the late 1940's through the 1950's. As an example,
the real understanding of compressor and turbine operation in such
engines over the range of speeds and altitudes and over the range of
engine acceleration `and with disturbance of inlet air conditions came
from that testing. Interestingly enough, in research on SST problems
PAGENO="0100"
96
at Lewis, it has been necessary to go back to that work and to extend it
to new regimes of flight. Fortunately the capability still exists in the
people who did that original work and are still available to carry it
out now.
In our manned space flight programs, NASA has made extensive
use of DOD research facilities such as those at the Arnold Engineering
Development Center at Tullahoma, Tenn., and the Department of the
Navy Man Rated Centrifuge at Johnstown, Pa.
The NASA approach to making full utilization of existing national
capabilities is further illustrated by the relationships which have
evolved with the U.S. Geological Survey. The need for expertise in
the geology disciplines was recognized early in the space program and
assumed critical importance with the approval of the Apollo program
early in 1961. The NASA choice in fulfilling this requirement was
to call upon the geological competence already developed by the
USGS. The utilization of USGS expertise in direct support of the
space program has been evidenced in several forms.
For example, the USGS has detailed outstanding scientists to work
directly with NASA during the formative stages of the Apollo pro-
gram development. The USGS has also detailed specialists to assist
in the planning and formulation of an earth resources program. In
other instances, USGS scientists have been principal investigators on
NASA missions such as Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter. Fi-
nally, the USGS is contributing to the planning for detailed explora-
tion of the moon through creation of a Center of Astrogeology located
at Flagstaff, Ariz., which works in close association with the NASA
Manned Spacecraft Center at Houston, Tex.
Obviously, as part of NASA's role in aeronautics and space, we
are also in a position to serve the needs of the Department of Trans-
portation through the technology produced. For example, we are
currently funding research in cooperation with the Department of
Defense and the Department of Transportation involving the feasi-
bility of a form of grooved aircraft runway which could improve air-
craft tire traction under adverse weather conditions. Work in the
aircraft landing loads facility at Langley Research Center several
years ago, aimed `at investigating the performance of aircraft tires
on wet or slippery surfa'ces, produced technical data that proved of
value to the study of autom~bile tires in `wet road conditions as well.
This led to experiments with grooved runways at our Wallops Station
and resulted in an awareness of the hydropl'aning problem of auto-
mobile tires on wet roads. These experiments combined with data
from other countries and other research efforts h'ave led to grooving
the sections of this country's highway's and have clearly `demonstrated
the reduction in aocidents that result. This work was brought to the
attention of the Department of the Army `and `the Bureau of Pu'blic
Roads and through these agencies to the tire and automobile industries
as `well.
Another example of work done in support of the missions of other
agencies is the effort getting underway with the National Institutes
of Health in computerized image processing. During the `conduct of
the Ranger, Surveyor, and Mariner projects and based on `advanced
lunar and planetary video image or picture data. As a result, contrast
and `detail were brought `out far more clearly than was the case
through the normal video system. It w'as found that essentially the
PAGENO="0101"
97
same technique could be used to enhance medical X-rays and NIT-I is
flow ar~anging to sponsor work at JPL aimed at the medical applica-
tion of this space related technique.
Obviously, support of the supersonic transport work is directly a
part of NASA's overall responsibility for aeronautics and space. Over
200 NASA scientists and engineers work with the Federal Aviation
Agency in the evaluation of the proposals that were submitted to that
Agency for the development of the supersonic transport. In addition,
it was the `basic calculations conducted by NASA that indicated that
aircraft configurations could be defined to provide a financially sound
transportation system. Technological development and technological
advancements are still required to make such a system fully effective
and NASA as well as the FAA contractors are working to provide
this technology and NASA is also working to advance technology
beyond that required for the SST.
Supersonic transport models have been tested in NASA windtun-
nels, engine research is underway on all of the components that would
be involved in supersonic aircraft engines, noise and sonic boom
studies are underway, materials work related to the high and low
temperatures that will be experienced in supersonic aircraft is under-
way. All of this obviously fits within NASA's overall responsibility.
Support is, therefore, readily provided to the FAA in these areas.
It should be emphasized that NASA is, in general, not a user agency.
We are a research and development agency. The research and develop-
ment work that has led to the early communications and weather satel-
lites has resulted in operational systems under Comsat, the DOD, and
the Department of Commerce. These organizations fund for the
operational systems while NASA funds for the initial development
work to prove out the principles involved sufficiently well that economic
and other factors can be judged by t.he user to determine the desir-
ability of an operational system.
In .a similar way we are now conducting early phases of work to
determine the technological capabilities of earth resources satellites.
If the technology can be developed to provide effective surveys of agri-
culture output, crops, water, and other resources, timber, et cetera,
through use of space systems, then agencies such as the Department of
Interior and the Department of Agriculture could determine the suit-
ability of such techniques for operational systems and they would
fund for the operational systems and use their output.
In general, NASA's policy is to apply its capabilities, manpower,
facilities, equipment, to the support of work requested by other agen-
cies that are within its overall area of responsibility without requiring
reimbursement by the other agency. Only those out-of-pocket costs
associated with the specific equipment that must be procured or the
special add-on costs beyond those that are directly a part of NASA's
operating capability are provided by the other agency. This is similar
to the case I described earlier where the Department of Defense pro-
vided NASA with aircraft or engine components while NASA applied
its capabilities to the conduct of the work without reimbursement.
Obviously, our budget and program plans must anticipate such work.
With recent reductions in our budget, particularly in our adminis-
trative operations budget, we are now hard pressed to carry out those
programs for which we have a primary responsibility. We, therefore,
PAGENO="0102"
98
have less ability to respond to requests for assistance from other agen-
cies than we had previously. It is the administrative operations appro-
priation that provides the funds necessary to support the technical and
management competence in our laboratories and headquarters opera-
tions. In addition, these administrative operations funds provide for
the operation of our unique facilities and equipment that we have estab-
lished in our Government laboratories.
In those cases where industrial groups are interested in using cer-
tain of our facilities and capabilities, we would make such oppor-
tunities available if the work fits properly within our overall program
and capabilities and if the resulting information is to be made generally
available. Under these conditions, we would fund for the normal
operating costs involved, but would require that the industry provide
the special equipment and special out-of-pocket costs over and `above
those that are required to maintain our operating capability. In certain
cases where industry has requested special tests in our facilities for
their information and use, they have appropriately reimbursed the
Government for normal costs incurred.
As we see it, our laboratories are a national resource available to
assist other agencies as well as we can, while still carrying out the re-
sponsibilities with which we `are charged. We `believe that it is our
responsibility to retain that capability as an effective, advancing, com-
petent, `highly motivated resource. We believe we must fund for it. We
do not believe that it is appropriate to charge other agencies for
operating costs incurred as we apply that resource to support these
other agencies. We do not believe that a stable operating capability
could be retained in our laboratories if we required reimbursement for
every task performed for another agency and became a job shop opera-
tion. We believe the country's scientific and technological strength
would suffer in this case.
In summary, there are several points I would like to reiterate:
1. NASA is a research and development agency depending primarily
on its laboratories for the technical competence to permit it to effec-
tively carry oi~t the aeronautical and space programs with which it
is charged.
2. NASA's laboratories are a national resource that ha~s applied its
skills to ever-changing problems and to ever-changing goals and has,
therefore, retained and attracted competent, highly trained, highly
motivated scientists, engineers, and management people. This com-
petence can be applied in other program areas.
3. NASA is continuing to adjust its laboratory discipline and skill
distribution and its research emphasis in recognition of the changing
character of its programs.
4. Within its overall areas of responsibility and competence and
within the limits of its resources available for carrying out its own
programs, NASA is supporting other program needs and is prepared
to provide more of that support if its resources, its current workload,
and its program requirements permit.
5. NASA does not believe that laboratories established and devel-
ope.d over long periods and with great difficulty and at great expense
should be converted to job shop operations, but should rather be' re-
tained and supported and adju~ted to permit these laboratories to take
on new missions and new assignments as the need for such work
develops.
PAGENO="0103"
99
In addition, there are several broader conclusions that we have
reached from our experience.
First .-Our experience in the creation of flew laboratories has made
it clear that this is an extremely difficult and complex process, and
one that cannot be entered into lightly. The basic requirements for
success appear to be a strong and clear purpose for the laboratory,
significant future beyond the immediate set of problems which inspired
the need, and challenging missions and objectives which serve to at-
tract and hold the competent people who constitute the real capability
of any institution. Even under these circumstances, constant manage-
ment reinforcement of resources of the laboratory will be needed to
assure the formation of the "critical mass" which makes a laboratory
self-sustaining and productive.
Secomd.-Agency and laboratory management cannot assume that
the existence of effectiveness assures its maintenance. The creation of
new and useful contributions to technology by a laboratory can be
lost very quickly if the laboratory is incapable of continuously renew-
ing its objectives in a way which meets real national needs. Labora-
tories must be free enough and flexible enough to take advantage of
research "targets of opportunity" as they present themselves. New
missions are important in that they serve as the challenge around
which a laboratory can organize its efforts.
Third.-It has become increasingly apparent that new technology
almost inevitably has significant application outside of the environ-
ment in which it was created, and the creator of technology has a
real responsibility to make the results of his work known to others
who might benefit from it. In NASA, we feel that this cannot be a
passive responsibility, and we have actively sought to initiate con-
tacts with many agencies. Not all agencies are able to have laboratory
capability of their own, nor is it necessary that they should have. One
of the key factors in the ultimate effective utilization of the Federal
laboratory capability is that agencies acquire at least enough technical
competence to recognize their own needs for research and develop-
ment su~pport and to establish contact with the existing laboratory
capabilities which can be used to solve these kinds of problems.
Foyrth.-NASA has found that a laboratory capability and a real
need for laboratory support can almost always be brought together.
This has proved to be true in ways ranging from informal consulta-
tion to interchange of people all the way up to the joint conduct of
major R. & D. programs. The solution to many of the problems which
this subcommittee has identified in its past hearings, such as more
and better information about Government-wide research capability,
better budgeting and accounting practices, better interagency co-
ordination, could speed up and improve the process, but the agencies
involved must take the initiative in their own behalf.
That completes what I had prepared, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you, Mr. Finger.
Mr. Mosher.
Mr. Mosunii. Not at this point.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Brown?
Mr. BROWN. While you have been talking, I have been running
through my mind a method of conceptualizing the role of the labora-
tories. I would just ask your comment on this because I have not really
PAGENO="0104"
100
explored it much in my own mind. It seems to me that abstracting
from what the laboratories are doing and almost removing it from
any relationship to the space program or to any other specific program,
what we have is a competence in various ways, you might say. We
have a competence in the field of sensing and communicating informa-
tion, a competence in the field of the transporting matter, and a com-
petence in the way of providing life support systems for organisms.
1~\Te are talking here about the fundamental concern of human beings
for sensing and for obtaining information in the widest possible
variety of ways.
For example, the orbiting astronomical laboratory is merely a
sensing device and the development you are doing on laser communica-
tion is just another way of communicating information. The develop-
ment of space capsules are means of transporting humans and pro-
viding life support systems for them. These are essentially the prob-
lems that face mankind, and if the laboratories are looked upon in
this way, I would think it could be the most versatile of instruments
for fulfilling the wide variety of tasks.
Is there within your management operation some far out think-
ers who conceptualize and think in this way and have a feedback go-
ing on all the time in terms of missions, of process, so that this can
can organized and managed in a reasonable way?
We are really talking about how many dollars are we going to al-
locate here. The thing that bothers me about the whole space pro-
gram is that it was conceptualized really as a sort of challenge, an
adventure, and not in terms of the fundamental needs of human be-
ings-except insofar as challenge and adventure is one of those
fundamental needs. My thinking has been going in this general di-
rection for some time now, and I wonder if you have any comments
along that line?
Mr. FINGER. Yes, sir. One of the main points, I think, we have tried
to emphasize in the space program is tha.t what develops out of it is
the advancement in the broad areas of science and technology that
then can be applied outside of the specific programs with which we
are involved. At various times we made the point that it was really
the development of a total capability that was significant in the lunar
mission; not that particular mission as such, although a great deal
will be learned. But more is learned, during the process of getting
to the moon in new technology and in the sciences.
In the unmanned space program there is a similar kind of sci-
entific and technological development that results.
We have also tried to emphasize that this scientific and technologi-
cal information would have broad applicability. The application of
space technology in communications and meteorological satellites are
part of the already proven benefits.
The work going on in NASA is aimed primarily at the specific
responsibilities we have. Although at the same time we have recog-
nized these broader implications by trying to make this scientific and
technological information known to the broadest range of people pos-
sibleY. Therefore, we haven't let this happen in a haphazard way.
We have tried to force this dissemination and transfer of informa-
tion. I don't mean only through the technological utilization program
as such, but through the agency's scientific and technical information
PAGENO="0105"
101
data banks that provide for storage and broad dissemination of the
information obtained. Through the project activities in universities
and industries we believe that the process of having that work done
in those institutions they then can apply the technology to other ac-
tivities that they have, in all areas.
NASA's prime responsibility is for space and aeronautics. Our
major efforts have been in planning that program in a way that gets
the scientific information that we need for those programs, but also
tries to advance technology as much as possible to have the greatest
benefit across the wide spectrum of disciplines involved in NASA's
programs.
I have tried to indicate, and I think you really did it better than I
did, that these basic capabilities that we built up are capabilities that
can be moved to any scientific and technological undertaking. The fact
that it is now applied to aeronautics and space doesn't mean it must
always be there.
We have tried to define where this technology is transferable to
other activities. That sometimes is difficult to do because we are still
in the middle of accumulating much data and we will be for some-
time, but we do see some of these applications.
Mr. BROWN. This long-range planning is the thing that interests me
because I see some signs. They may not be important, but there are
signs of allocating resources and planning the direction in which we
are going. This may be a reaction to, say, the large-scale application
of resources to space per se or to some projects like the supersonic
transport which is coming in for a lot of criticism.
Insofar as NASA or the laboratories are identified exclusively as ad-
junct to major products with which the body politic becomes disen-
chanted, the laboratories will suffer and NASA will suffer. Hence,
there needs to be fundamental research and development in its broad-
est possible light and this is one thing I think perhaps we have failed
to do. Again and again people ask us to justify the space program. It
is hard to explain to them that this is a part of the fundamental de-
velopment of the human mind and its progress into new areas. They
say what are we getting out of it today on earth. The laboratories have
tremendous potential in this area conceptualized in a fashion that ef-
fects the broad range of human needs rather thau something that peo-
ple may not quite see the value of today. For example, this moon labo-
ratory. I am big on the moon laboratory, but I would rather concep-
tualize it in a way that would make it more understandable to more
people.
Mr. FINGER. I should mention a planning activity that is getting
underway. in NASA that is trying to define those programs that would
offer the greatest benefits generally that might be conducted or that
would logicafly be conducted in the future. We ~tre bringing our cen-
ters, the laboratories, and Center Directors and center personnel into
that planning process in a way t.hat the Center Directors sit on the
senior group a.nd the laboratory personnel take `direct participation
in the work.
In some of those discussions, for example, we went through this same
kmd of a problem. How do you indicate very clearly what the scientific
and technological output of these. programs are?
PAGENO="0106"
102
As an example, I think one important feature of the orbital experi-
ments that have been run with man and that might be run by follow-on
orbital laboratories is not so much to find out what man can do, hut
to learn more about man himself.
Mr. BROWN. The development of satellites may do more for the re-
mote sensing and communication fields than anything that has ever
happened. We already have ComSat, a spinoff from our space activi-
ties. We have the potential to revolutionize our knowledge about
weather, resources, and communicating information through broadcast
satellites which ultimately may provide direct access to every home
with unlimited information. This aspect of the space program is some-
thing most people do not understand unless you point it out to them
in very specific terms. Ultimately it may be as important, or more im-
portant, than anything else we are doing. Yet abstractly what we are
doing is sensing and communicating. That is why I am talking in
terms of abstracts and the capacity of the laboratories to work in the
broadest possible conceptual framework.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Rumsfeld.
Mr. IRIJMSFELD. On page 12, you made the statement that "we feel it
is easier for the people who understand the technology to infer its
possible use for other purposes, than it is for the managers in other
programs to search the entire range of technology to find things that
may be of use."
What do you mean by "easier"? Easier for whom?
Mr. FINGER. What I really mean is that-incidentally, there are
some differences of opinion on this point.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Indeed there are.
Mr. FINGER. We are really trying to work it both ways. What I am
saying here is that if a problem is defined, it is easier for those people
who have worked on the technology to determine what elements of
their technology could be used to solve that problem.
Mr. RtJMSFELD. The problems aren't defined in most cases.
Mr. FINGER. We are trying to work it both ways. This is why we
set up these biomedical application teams to work with university
medical schools, with hospitals, to have those institutions, the prac-
ticing institutions, define the problems that they face in carrying out
their work. This is what we are also doing with the law enforcement
people. We then go through our technology using these team ap-
proaches to try to search the technology for direct applicability to
defining solutions of those problems.
At the same time through our Dissemination Centers and other
technological utilization approaches, we are also trying to assure the
broadest possible dissemination of the technology we have or that
we develop so that anyone can look through that technology. We are
trying to present it in a way that they can see it and know that it
exists. We are trying to approach it both ways.
Mr. *l~'E1~~. Is it a fair analogy to state that, based on the as-
sumption that people in this country like to read books and since it
would not be feasible to send every person in the country a list of
every book in every library, you want to develop a situation where
NASA can serve as the librarian, searching its index file to see what
information might be available on any given problem, for anyone who
might make an inquiry?
PAGENO="0107"
103
Mr. FINGER. rfliat is correct. But we are also trying the other ap-
proach too. We just think you have to work very hard at this business
of making the greatest use of scientific and technological developments
and information.
Mr. RUMSFELD. So it is going to take an education process to get
people to pose the problems?
Mr. FINGER. That is correct. It took Mr. Rumsfeld some education
even to get the people with whom we work in industry, universities,
and in our own laboratories, even within Government, to define the
technology they were developing. A man who has to solve a particular
problem of fasteners goes ahead and solves it for his application and
doesn't realize he has developed a piece of technology in the process.
We are getting better reporting from the pepole who work in our
program. But you also have to define the problems that may be
solvable by technology or scientific information that is developed.
Mr. R.TJMSFELD. It would seem that the Bureau of the Budget could
play a rather significant role if it would require an indication, regard-
less of what Government agency is making the request for funds to
undertake certain activities, that the agency has gone to an indexing
system and talked to the people. Do they do that now?
Mr. FINGER. There are several approaches for doing this. Our ap-
proach is to a large extent experimental. We are trying to find ways of
doing this. The Commerce Department has activities set up for this
through the State Technological Services groups. We have got these
Disseminating Centers that work with them, but many of these are
Department of `Commerce activities and activities of other agencies.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Maybe it would be helpful to `the record to give ex-
amples where NASA has taken the initiative.
Mr. FINGER. Fine.
(The information requested is as follows:)
Listed below are some examples of where NASA has taken the initiative to
transfer technology to other Government `agencies:
1. Recent work of the Ames Research Center in the field of ablation mate-
rials for protection of satellites during reentry has produced a family of
polymer composites that demonstrate fire suppressant and insulation prop-
erties that appear to be useful in a variety of military applications. This
material appeared of sufficient importance to warrant bringing it to the
special attention of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering by
letter.
2. The results of research on the causes and prevention of aircraft tire
bydroplaning were made available to the Bureau of Public Roads for use
in bringing about a reduction in the number of accidents `due to automobile
tire hydroplaning.
3. The techniques of enhancing lunar photographs by means of computer
analyses was found by JPL to be of value in the enhancement of X-ray
photographs. This was brought to the attention of the National Institutes
of Health which now plans to continue this JPL effort with NIH fund
support.
On occasion a whole body of technology has been transferred to other Govern-
ment agencies to enable them to better utilize systems developed by NASA.
Examples of such transfer include:
1. To the Environmental Science Services Administration, technology
pertinent to their use of meteorological satellites.
2. To the Air Force, technology pertaining to the Gemini reentry vehicle, in
connection with the use of that vehicle, as the basic crew transfer means in
the Air Force MOL Program.
~3. To COMSAT, technology pertaining to communication satellites.
Within the regular framework of the Technology Utilization program new
knowledge from the NASA R&D programs is being selected and organized by
PAGENO="0108"
104
means of computerized techniques to match some of the needs and special prob-
lems of the following agencies: Department of Transportation; Office of Atmos-
pheric Water Resources, Bureau of Reclamation; Social and Rehabilitation Serv-
ice, HEW; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; and the
Office of Law Enforcement Assistance. Specific examples are:
1. The Office of Atmospheric Water Resources of the Bureau of Reclama-
tion is using NASA provided aerospace technology on a continuing basis
in four of its university based weather modification studies.
2. The Social and Rehabilitation Service, HEW, is currently utilizing
aerospace generated `technological information in the field of vocational re-
habilitation to help develop better prosthetic devices and to improve training
aids and techniques.
3. Following the Ohio River bridge tragedy in late 1907, NASA met with
representatives of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of
Transportation to explore the possibility of applying technology derived from
the aerospace and nuclear energy programs to problems of inspecting bridges
for safety. From the NASA information bank have come several areas of
technology which are potentially applicable to bridge inspection problems.
In addition a great deal of technology has been transferred by various con-
tinuing arrangements. Such arrangements usually have been established on the
basis of mutual recognition by NASA and the other Government agencies of a
need for positive efforts to facilitate the flow and exchange of information.
Frequently this is accomplished by means of interagency committees or working
groups. Another example is the dissemination of thousands of NASA scientific
and technical publications to other agencies, their contractors, and grantees.
Mr. RUMSFELD. On page 17 you get to this question of funding, and
I am sure we will have an opportunity to discuss this in greater detail.
However it would seem to me that you can't anticipate it. You can
simply guess and try to keep a reasonable level of competence.
Mr. FINGER. Well, some of this work is .of such a magnitude that
you really can't fit it within the budget without a preliminary plan.
Also, it is of such a magnitude that it requires that kind of planning
on the part of the other agency as well so that there is an advance
notice on `it.
The kinds of things that come up within a year, within budget
periods, are usually smaller initial efforts aimed at some research ac-
tivity or the procurement of a piece of equipment that is needed to
carry out a research activity that has been going at a fairly low level
and some flexibility has to be provided for that.
Our Administrative Operations or in-house operating fund has
come down along with the program reductions and, therefore, there is
less flexibility to do this.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Just for the sake of discussion here, let's say that
that is a good idea and argue it this way: That this country has a
Federal Government; a Federal Government has certain revenues, and
it makes determinations as to how revenues are going to be expended.
Priorities are established to do that. It seems to me that it would be
much easier for both the Congress and the executive branch to make
intelligent judgments with respect to priorities if, in fact, the user
agency of Government were required to and did plug into its set of
priorities, first to the Budget Bureau and then to Congress, the specific
requests that are being made.
I think that there is some merit to that argument. I think further
that not only is there some merit, but it would seem there is some merit
to the point that Mr. Brown raised that we just have to be a little
realistic about what things are going to be funded. There are going
to be things of a higher priority. To the extent that things can't be
credited with a higher priority, these things which cannot be corn-
PAGENO="0109"
105
municated in such a way that they plausibly fit into that higher
priority, will find, I would think, that the funds or funding through
the Bureau of the Budget, through Congress, and ultimately through
the taxpayers of this country, will be at a minimum.
Mr. FINGER. That is the way it is done. The Bureau of the Budget
does get the various proposals of the various agencies and these in-
clude the user requests where the user justifies his need for his system.
Mr. BIIMSFELD. Yes; but the thrust of your statement from page ir
is against that. It seems to me that you say you don't want to be a job
shop. And yet how else can priorities be established unless one option
is weighed against another option and a decision made that one option
has a higher priority and one has a lower priority?
Mr. FINGER. I was making that point in support of the position that
we have taken that when we do work in support of another agency
using our existing capabilities, we should be prepared to fund it.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Are you saying that because that is the position
you have taken?
Mr. FINGER. When you build a national resource in a laboratory
with the capability that exists in it, you can't have that capability
fluctuate by demands from other agencies if you are to retain that
capability as an effective resource.
Mr. RUMSFELD. To the extent that a capability is being used to ful-
fill an effort that has a high priority and is being ftinded through a
different departn'ient, wouldn't it be proper to identify the funding
and allocate a normal portion of the cost to it? You are arguing
against it.
Mr. FINGER. No; if the capability that is in existence is applied to
that other required effort, but we need to retain that capability, we
should add to the operating costs the add-on costs-
Mr. BUMSFELD. Why do you draw the line there? I am not saying
if it weren't used, it should still go on. Then, it would be allocated to
NASA.
Mr. FINGER. There are real problems with how those kinds of funds
would be transferred back into the responsible agency to support the
existing capability.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Wouldn't it be proper to assume that if there is no
use for that capability over a period of years in one agency, it should
be transferred to a different agency?
Mr. FINGER. I am saying if you have that capability, you ought to
evaluate its worth and rather than allowing fluctuations in support
levels, there is someone responsible for retaining that capability in
existence and applying it against the programs and responsibilities
that are undertaken by the Government. We are suggest.ing that it is
an essential requirement to keep that capability in existence and some-
one-some agency-should be charged with that responsibility.
Obviously, if there is no need for it, that is going show in the pro-
gram activities that are presented to the Bureau of the Budget, to the
Congress, and in the priorities established. In that process, it will be
determined if there is no need for the capability and-
Mr. RTJMSFELD. It won't show. What will show is that there is a
level of capability through which things are being done. What won't
show is that the technology that is being developed as a result of those
PAGENO="0110"
106
activities during a given year simply wasn't needed or wasn't scheduled
for or wasn't desired. That won't show as clearly.
Mr. FINGER. I am going into too much detail in my consideration of
it, but it seems to me it would be very difficult to present the integrated
picture of what that organization is doing in support of the laboratory
people associated with it. Some people would be charged to one agency
and others to another and I do not believe you would get a budget that
would show the total context of what that organization is supposed to
do, and what its total workload is.
Mr. RUMSFELD. I won't pursue this because I suppose it is more
properly a subject for people who deal in that area.
Mr. FINGER. It is an active subject of discussion.
Mr. RIJ3ISFELD. I will say this as a member of the Government Oper-
ations Committee. We just yesterday had a discussion about the many
Government reports that are put out. Should the public pay for them
or should the people who want them, pay for them? It seems to me
having to pay for something is a very good way to impose a discipline.
If people want them, they will purchase them. If the demand is that
great, people will be willing to pay 25 cents for this little pub-
lication that is being reprinted. I am just afraid that NASA might be
wandering out of its area of expertise in recommending these very
fixed conclusions as to how the funding should take place.
Mr. FINGER. Without meaning to get into that subject that you dis-
cussed in a broad sense, we found that when we do put a charge on
some of these technology utilization reports, the demand actually
goes up.
Mr. Rm~ISFELD. You bet your life.
I don't have any other questions.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Finger, just one further point on this, however.
Mr. Rumsfeld mentioned a point which I think to be particularly
important.
You had a lot of agencies looking to NASA to do work when it
had the money and they did not. You now have a period of severe
budget limitations and you can no longer do that. I would come to
the conclusion then that the work was not important in the first place,
and that it was just being done by chance and there was no particular
plan to it.. What we would like to know is how, in fact, do you manage
these things so that you are doing things you ought to do and not
doing it just because money is available?
Mr. FINGER. The point I really was trying to make is that if work is
requested, NASA has. taken it on within its broad areas of responsi-
bility; in such areas as the aerodynamic research or in communications
activity, weather research, where we are charged with a research
and development responsibility in a broad sense.
That is still our primary responsibility. If someone else came into
NASA to ask to use a Part of the capability that was in existence for
work that was not at all within NASA's areas of responsibility, then
I think that would have to be weighed in terms of priorities with the
ongoing activities that NASA had. NASA would have to weigh them.
They would certainly also be reviewed in the Bureau of the Budget in
the process of their budget review activity. They would be reviewed
in Congress as the Congress acted on total resource allocations to these
installations.
PAGENO="0111"
107
Mr. DADDARIO. But you weigh these priorities with having some-
thing to do with the money manpower and facilities to do it. Is that
criteria enough to make such judgments because obviously when the
funds are not there, the ability to do this work is restricted. You can
accept less than you had the year before. Therefore, things are not
being done that you could have done, and it becomes a question as
to whether this is important or not. If it is important, it ought not to
be judged in this way.
Mr. FINGER. The way our authorizations work, we get authorization
by program area. These are adjusted in the process of budget review
through the executive branch and through the Congress so that we
get an authorization against a program line item. That tells us, in ef-
fect, what the maximum amount is that can be spent in that line item.
Any increase requires that we first notify the Authorization Commit-
tees. If a. program area were not cut at all, that would clearly indicate
the intent of the Congress to keep tha.t area going along. Our general
attitude would be to try to conform with that intent.
Mr. RITMSFELD. Then NASA would reprogram it into another area?
Mr. FINGER. I was trying to avoid that.
No; I think the important thing is that if other areas were cut, we
woiil.d not have the flexibility to reprogram into those, and we could not
reprogram in those cases without coming back to the Congress and
notifying Congress of that intent. The issue comes up before the Con-
gress to judge so the program is reviewed.
Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you, Mr. Finger, we appreciate the benefit of
your statement and some of the questions we have been able to ask.We
will have other questions for the record.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO HAROLD B. FINGER BY THE SUBCOM-
MITTEB ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT
Question No. 1. Do all of the directors of NASA's inhouse laboratories have
discretionary funds?
(a) What is the average amount as a percentage of the laboratory's budget?
(b) If all of the directors do not have such funds, what criteria are there to
determine who gets it and who does not?
(c) What criteria are used to evaluate the work performed with such funds?
(d) Dr. Pickering stated that he did not have discretionary funds. If you
agree that such funds improve a laboratory's capabilities, should not contractor
operated laboratories also have such funds?
(e) Was the work on computerized image processing for medical w-rays funded
initially by NAyA?
Response. NASA has not made use of the approach to discretional funding as
described by Dr. Pickering and others during the hearings of the Daddario
Committee, i.e., entirely discretionary without any stated purpose for the funds
at all. We have always recognized, however, the importance of allowing our
laboratory directors to have flexibility and discretion in the selection of specific
tasks to be researched, and in the adjustment of tasks selected, and have devel-
oped a research program management system which permits this flexibility. This
system provides for definition of the overall technical scope of the research pro-
gram at three di~erent progessively refined levels, i.e., program, subprogram, and
task area. A NASA Center Director is authorized to initiate a research work
unit at any time if he has available resources and the unit falls generally within
the technical definition of the task area involved. In addition, at any time during
the fiscal year, a NASA Center Director is authorized to reprogram funds from
one task area to another within the same subprogram if more promising tech-
nology areas are identified. This overall management system assures sound overall
balance in the agency's research program and provides sufficient discretion to
PAGENO="0112"
108
Center Directors to initiate work and change emphasis within a broad subprogram
at any time during the year.
In answer to part e. of this question, the development of techniques for en-
hancing distorted photographic images through the use of computers was under-
taken by NASA to provide technology necessary for such spacecraft as Surveyor,
Lunar Orbiter, and some Mariners. Once these techniques were proved success-
ful, their possible applicability to biomedical problems was pointed out by NASA's
Office of Technology Utilization. The NASA Office of Advanced Research and
Technology (OART) supported preliminary investigat.ions of these applications
and, when it became apparent that these computer techniques did indeed have
biomedical applications, NASA queried the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
as to their interest in supporting further research along these lines. NIH has in-
dicated a strong interest in pursuing this line of applied research at the Jet Pro-
pulsion Laboratory and has approved a grant to Cal Tech for this purpose.
Question No. 2. In your testimony you cited a number of instances where NASA
is doing work for other agencies; however, you do not discuss what work other
agencies are doing for NASA. Please describe the eatent of this latter effort and
the amount of money normally involved annually.
(a) How is NASA kept aware of the work being performed in laboratories of
other agencies?
(b) What criteria are there to determine if NASA should perform work in-
house, contract to industry or universities, or have the work performed by another
government agency?
Response. Virtually every agency in the Federal Government provides some
support to NASA in some form. The following is a list of the agencies which were
reimbursed for some form of support in 1968:
Agency for International Development
Atomic Energy Commission
Civil Service Commission
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Department of the Interior
Department of Labor
Department of State
Department of Transportation (FAA)
Government Printing Office
General Services Administration
Library of Congress
National Academy of Sciences
National Science Foundation
Post Office Department
Smithsonian Institution
Veterans' Administration
The total reimbursement to these agencies in 1967 was $312.7 million, and in
1968 this total is expected to decline to $281 million. Approximately 81% of this
sum is to the Department of Defense.
The support provided covers a broad range of activities from research to
custodial and related services. In the Space Applications Program, for example,
support is received from DOD, Department of Commerce, Department of In-
terior, AEC, and the Department of Agriculture, for work in supporting research
and technology, NIMBUS, geodetic satellites and meteorological soundings. Much
of the DOD support to NASA over several years has been operational support
for the manned space flight program. In the Apollo program for instance, DOD
provides, through its various services, spacecraft technical support and contract
administration; launch vehicle technical support, propellants, and contract ad-
ministration; technical and administrative support at the Eastern Test Range;
engine development testing; range operations, aircraft services; and manned
space flight recovery operations. The Corps of Engineers has been instrumental in
carrying out the bulk of NASA's major facility construction needs since the
earliest days of the agency.
NASA also obtains support from DOD and other agencies on smaller research
and development activities on a non-reimbursable basis. These activities are
usually arranged informally between NASA laboratory directors and their coun-
terparts in other research establishments, on the basis that the requested assist-
ance is consistent with the existing research program of the helping organization.
PAGENO="0113"
109
NASA keeps informed of the research work being performed in other agencies
through n variety of interagency groups designed to provide forums for the dis-
cussion of and the exchange of data on research efforts. These include efforts of
the Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board and its subsidiary panels,
the Office of Science and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Fed-
eral Council on Science and Technology and specific interagency groups working
on such problems as oceanography and weather. In addition it uses the ability
of the individual scientist and engineer to keep himself currently informed about
advances or work under way in his discipline through personal contact, pro-
fessional meetings, scientific and technical information systems, scientific jour-
nals, and other professional contacts and activities. In addition, NASA maintains
a highly effective scientific and technical information program to provide current
tecimical information to its own staff, and also to make the results of NASA's
own technical programs rapidly available to scientists and engineers in industry
and the universities.
The question of what criteria are used by NASA to determine whether NASA
should perform work inhouse, by contract, by universities, or by another
government agency really depends on a set of complex management factors
which must be appraised on a case-by-case basis. There is no set of criteria which
are followed in every instance. There are, however, several general policies
which NASA follows as a basis for decision-making:
1. NASA's statutory charter, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958,
requires us to make "the most effective utilization of the scientific resources of
the United States." In implementing this policy, NASA has placed reliance on
universities as the principal source of scientific capability in the space program.
2. NASA has conformed to applicable policies of the Executive Branch, im-
portant among which is the Bureau of the Budget's Circular A-76, which
provides guidelines "in furtherance of the Government's general policy of relying
on the private enterprise system to supply its needs." NASA does rely on industry
for the performance of the great bulk of its development, fabrication, and
operational support of hardware systems.
3. NASA will maintain strong inhouse Civil Service technical competence in
order to define our technical goals and objectives and control our technical
programs. We will also maintain strong management and administrative coin-
petence in order to protect the government's interests, and properly control the
expenditure of government funds.
Beyond these basic policies, each decision as to whether to perform work
inhouse, by contract, by universities, or by another government agency must be
based on a thorough evaluation of all management considerations such as the
following:
1. Where the best capability is.
2. Whether that capability is really available.
3. The relative cost of each alternative.
4. Urgency, or the need to have a result by a certain time.
5. Whether capability is complete or must be built up.
6. Need to preserve inhouse capability.
7. Workload balancing.
8. Government laws, regulations, and policies.
9. Need to apply NASA management and technical capability to the major
mission requirements.
Question No. 3.-In performing work for industry, you say that NASA charges
for "normal" costs of the work. How does this compare with the full-cost recovery
policy of the Atomic Energy Commission? What effect would a full-cost recovery
policy have, in your opinion, upon private use of NASA facilities?
Response-When the accounting practices underlying the NASA and ABC
policies for charging industry for use of agency facilities are examined, we find
that they are essentially the same. NASA develops a schedule of user charges
for each of its facilities where industry use is desired. This user charge includes
the normal cost of doing each specific activity. Both NASA and AEC follow the
policy of requiring users to bear any special costs-such as the cost of special
equipment peculiar to the user's work-which are necessary.
Question No. 4.-In your testimony you stated that in the broad range of
science and technology, there should be no "end" to a laboratory's mission or
purpose; that the best laboratories of all kinds repeatedly demonstrated the
ability to go through continuous renewal of objectives in order to stay alive and
93-201-GS----S
PAGENO="0114"
110
vital. How do you define the "best" laboratories, how do you determine this
quality? To what extent would you preserve the less than best laboratories?
Response.-The problem of evaluating the capability and performance of re-
search organizations is a difficult one and perhaps one which can be answered
only subjectively, since it is difficult to quantify or "score" such a complex and
sophisticated organization as a research laboratory or development center. We
believe that the NASA experience confirms what appears to be a widely held
view among research administrators, that the basic determinant of strength or
weakness is a very fundamental issue of the value and importance of the purposes
of the organization, the validity of its objectives to recognize national or social
needs and the capability to satisfy these purposes, objectives and needs. It would
seem very hard for a research organization to succeed if its basic purposes and
motivations seemed unimportant; on the other band, the research organization
which has an important and significant role to fulfill has a very good start in
the critical process of building and holding a research competence.
We believe that the buildup of NASA in the years immediately following its
formation has many illustrative examples as cases in point. Many of these were
cited during the testimony before the Subcommittee on Science, Research and
Development of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. But it can be
reiterated that the strong sense of national purpose and the challenge of the new
opportunities for space research and development played an incalculable role in
attracting a high quality of personnel within our new laboratories and in provid-
ing the motivation to reorient capable people into new technical areas. The con-
tinuing challenge of the program, plus the spirit of purpose and sense of accom-
plisliment. has resulted in the retention of these talented and highly motivated
people to an extraordinary degree. Our research and development centers, as in-
stitutions, have thus achieved a high order of effectiveness through the feeling of
all of their people that important things were being accomplished and valid na-
tional purposes were being served.
As for the preservation of laboratories which are "less-than-best," just as a
business executive, faced with declining sales, looks first for ways to improve
efficiency and produce products which will be better received, so also the first
reaction of the research administrator is usually to re-examine the research ob-
jectives and productivity of a laboratory which is faltering, or which is nearing
the completion of its initial goals. In each case, the central fact is that the crea-
tion of a business or a laboratory is very difficult, time-consuming and expensive,
and a manager must think long and hard before he makes any decision to termi-
nate what has been created or to create an entirely new installation. In the case
of a research and development organization, there are almost always many re-
search areas, not receiving adequate attention, toward which a lab can be directed.
Under the circumstances. the abolishment of a laboratory would probably be un-
dertaken only when, in the judgment of management (and probably an external
appraisal as well), the following conditions exist:
1. The initial purpose of the lab has been served, and there is no reasonable
extension or continuation of it.
2. There is little likelihood that a reasonably pertinent new role for the labora-
tory can be found.
3. The abolishment of the laboratory would not leave any important gap in
the national capability for performing necessary research or development work.
Finally, if the re-development of a declining lab were attempted and failed,
it should probably not be continued. In many cases, consolidation of the most
effective parts of a lab which is being abolished with some other research institu-
tion is an effective compromise which may save the best of the remaining per-
sonnel.
Question No. 5.-You testified that NASA laboratories do not have to deteriorate
and decline. that they have the flexibility to take on new roles and missions, to
shift primary emphasis, to retrench. Please illustrate this eoiecpt with refei-cnee
to NASA policies and procedures that affect a NASA laboratory director's discre-
tionary authority to use funds for new research, to reassign personnel, to change
the total personnel strength of his laboratory.
Response-The testimony given before the Subcommittee on Science, Research
and Development of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics gave
many examples where NASA organizations have demonstrated the flexibility to
take on new roles and missions, shift primary emphasis, or retrench. The answer
to question #1, above, discusses the discretion which can be exercised by labora-
tory directors in the selection and funding of research activity. Several other
PAGENO="0115"
111
Points of long standing NASA/NACA policy can also be cited to illustrate the
substantial freedom and independence of the NASA field installations:
1. It should be emphasized that NASA is a research and development agency.
Because this is true, the NASA Headquarters has just as strong an interest as its
field installations in the development of the strongest possible R&D capability and
the preservation of the flexibility to take advantage of new research opportu-
nities and serve the most significant national goals which are within its capabil-
ities. Thus, the goals of the Headquarters and the laboratories are in consonance.
2. Center directors have flexibility and significant authority to control the
assignment of their people.
3. Center directors have the responsibility as well as authority to ask for more
people if they need them.
4. Center directors have authority and responsibility to initiate requests for
new or additional facilities and research equipment necessary to carry out their
work.
The realities of the budget process frequently mean that a laboratory di-
rector does not always get w-hat he asks for, and there may be fiscal or policy
reasons which cause agency management or the Executive Branch to turn
down resource requests. But the basic policies of center director discretion
and control over his own work force and research facilities are well understood
and have played an important part in maintaining flexibility. NASA has a
unique capability to manage large scale R&D programs of many kinds and to
sustain a research program over a broad range of technology. This capability
is in our laboratory structure and innovative ideas and concepts for research
usually generate in these labs and are initiated by them.
Qn.cstion No. 6. Several agencies have set up procedures to appraise the
performance of contractors that do research and development for them, or that
manage agency laboratories. What procedures does NASA nse, and what con-
sideration has been given to applying the standards and procedures of these
appraisal processes to NASA operated laboratories? To what ewtemt would this
be desirable?
Response. NASA recognizes that the appraisal of the effectiveness of its re-
search and development activities is an important part of management, and
t.his applies whether these activities are inhouse or contracted. We have de-
veloped systems for R&D contractor performance evaluation tied to the basic
requirements of contract management and administration, and also tied to our
incentive fee patterns. Indeed, the NASA inhouse technical competence pro-
vides the capability to make such evaluations. In addition, many of our R&D
contractors are those who design, fabricate and operate hardware for NASA
rather than those who do research, and their performance can be judged rather
precisely in terms of cost, performance, ability to meet schedules, and the
success of the mission. These same criteria are also used to judge inhouse
NASA performance in those laboratories which are flight mission oriented and
are charge~l with the management of flight hardware.
In the special case of the Cal Tech/JPL contract which is for research and
development, NASA regularly evaluates technical and administrative perform-
ance using an evaluation board composed of representatives designated by the
Administrator.
Evaluations are performed semiannually and are based upon criteria es-
tablished by the Board. In addition, there are two other regularly scheduled
meetings each year in order to dllscusss trends, questions or performance factors
which could become agenda items at subsequent formal evaluation meetings.
Since NASA Centers undergo continuous technical, functional and manage-
ment review the extrapolation of the Cal Tech/JPL appraisal is not con-
templated. For NASA's inhouse Centers, the most effective appraisal system
has been demonstrated to be reliance on continued close and regular technical
and professional Headquarters/Center communications and association, plus
regular reviews and appraisals by functional staff offices.
Question No. 7. The DOD witness proposed the elimination of manpower
controls on cross-agency work in order to achieve flecoibility similar to that
available to the ABC contract laboratories. What is your opinion of this proposal?
Response. While the idea of relief from manpower limitations for cross-
agency work has some attraction, we feel that the necessary flexibility for
undertaking work between agencies should be possible within present budget
approval techniques. Where relatively small manpower commitments would be
required of a performing agency in doing work in its general area of responsi-
bility for another agency, it should be possible to absorb these requirements
PAGENO="0116"
112
within the total existing capability. The existence of such cross-agency work
would, of course, help buttress the manpower budget of the performing agency.
In instances where a major manpower commitment would have to be under-
taken by the performing agency, the magnitude of the intended research pro-
gram would probably be such that the requesting and performing agencies
should, in any event, present their intentions to the BOB and include provision
for necessary money, manpower, and equipment requirements in the budget
of the performing agency where it would be jointly defended. We believe that
it would be sufficient to rely on BOB willingness to accept these forms of cross-
agency arrangements and work with agencies to assure that appropriate re-
sources can be made available.
Questions No. 8 and 10. No. 8: The concept of utilization implies that sooner
or later decisions will have to be made to allocate and schedule enistivg labora-
tory capability among competing agency needs. Is there at present any place
in the Ewecutive Branch short of the President where priorities can be as-
signed to Federal missions for the guidance of agency heads and laboratory
directors in the event of competing requirements for the same facility?
No. 10: Based on your ewperience, what advantages and disadvantages would
you see in an office of Government laboratory management located at the level
of or within the Office of Science and Technology? Such an office would be
analogous to the present office of the Assistant Director (Laboratory Manage-
inent), in the Department of Defense's Office of Defense Research and
Engineering.
Response. There is not, at this time, any office in the Executive Branch
where priorities are assigned to Federal research missions, and in fact, it
would be difficult to establish research priorities separate from the process
of establishing national goals, objectives and priorities themselves. This process
is accomplished now by the President working through the Bureau of the
Budget and the entire framework of relationships between the Congress, the
Administration, and the agencies directly. The question of whether there should
be an office of Government Laboratory Management can probably be answered
only if the functions of such an office could be defined to show how it should
fit into this existing framework, and how it would relate to the large number
of agencies having line management responsibility over Federal laboratories.
NASA would support specific means of assuring more effective inter-agency
coordination and cooperation in R&D activities and cross-servicing between
agencies.
Question No. 9. A sharp line is drawn between those Government laboratories
that are directly operated and those that are contractor operated. In terms of
your ewperieivce, what are the principal characteristics of each mode of operation
and the differences between them that are significant to utilization of Government
laboratories?
Response. NASA's only major experience using a contractor to operate a
research and development laboratory is the Cal Tech/JPL experience. Our experi-
ence clearly demonstrates that the contractor approach can be made to work
in the NASA context, and, in the last analysis, our management of the Iet
Propulsion Laboratory has been quite comparable to our management of inhouse
labs.
Question No. 11. What authority do your laboratory directors have to deal
directly with other agencies that may wish to engage their research and develop-
ment services?
Response. NASA laboratory directors are authorized arid encouraged to deal
directly with any other government agency which may desire to engage their
research and development services. They may not, however, expend NASA re-
search and development fuiids, nor accept reimbursement from other agencies
to pay for these services. All NASA research and development funds are author-
ized for specific NASA projects only in accordance with Project Approval Docu-
nients approved by the Administrator. Authority to accept reimbursements for
work performed by NASA for other agencies is also controlled by NASA Head-
quarters. When the effort proposed by another agency is of sufficient magnitude
or of the nature to require more than a simple exchange of funds between agen-
cies, an interagency agreement or memorandum of understanding requiring the
approval of top NASA management is required.
Question No. 12. In what ways are the directors of your large, multi-program
laboratories kept informed of the scientific and technological content of new or
changed government functions, such as those of the Department of Transporta-
lion or the Department of Housing and Urban Development? TV/tat incentives
PAGENO="0117"
113
a-re there for your laboratory directors to give thought to such matters in addi-
tion to their primary responsibilities to your programs?
Response. NASA laboratory directors and other senior NASA officials are able
to obtain information about the scientific conten:t and research requirements
of other Federal agencies through such normal devices as national professional
meetings, trade journals, scientific and technical information systems, and direct
contact between agencies, particularly in Washington. NASA has recently ex-
panded the role of its Office of DOD Affairs into DOD and Interagency Affairs
specifically to expand and improve our contacts with other agencies, and the
quality of our knowledge about their research activities and needs. We believe,
however, that much could be done to improve this kind of information exchange,
and NASA is working toward, and will support specific measures to facilitate
such improvements.
Question No. 13. The Committee understands there have been discussions be-
tween NASA and the International Association of Chiefs of Police about appli-
cation of NASA technology to specific police needs. Please provide details about
these discunsions, particularly concerning the outcome. How is the NASA-supplied
information expected to be used? By whom?
Response. In late 1967, at the request of the International Association of Chiefs
of Police (IACP), members of NASA's Office of Technology Utilization briefed
IACP representatives on the NASA effort to encourage additional uses of knowl-
edge gained in the space programs and in particular to aid in movement of this
knowledge across disciplinary boundaries.
The briefing included a description of the work of NASA-sponsored Biomedical
Application Teams in seeking answers i-n aerospace technology to the problems
currently impeding medical progress. These teams, serving as a link between
aerospace laboratories and medical research groups, help the medical researchers
define their problems in functional terms, then seek suggested answers from
experts among NASA scientists and engineers and those of its contractors. The
teams also make searches of the NASA stockpile of scientific and technical
literature by using computers to match terms describing the medical problems
against terms describing documents in the NASA collection of some 350,000
technical reports.
IACP followed up the briefing by asking NASA to make pilot searches on two
problems specified by IACP:
a. Development of extended range personal radio communications, so that
police officers, whether in car or on foot, could be contacted individually or as
a group, could have three-way voice capability (i.e., station to officer, officer
to station, and officer to officer), and could direct original messages to discrete
addresses.
b. Development of lightweight thermal clothing to eliminate the need for
heavy cumbersome clothing.
The results of these searches were provided to IACP in February, 1968, and
the Office of Technology Utilization is currently awaiting IACP comments on
1)0th the literature searches and the reports.
Question No. 14. To what extent has NASA reviewed the Science and Tech-
nology task force report of the President's Crime Commission to see what NASA
capabilities might contribute to the specific prospective applications of science
and technology set out in that report?
a. Two areas identified by the Commission as having the greatest immediate
impact on police operations are communications and systems analysis-areas
presumably in which NASA has great competence. This being the ca-se, how is,
or how could, NASA make its capabilities available?
Response. The Office of Technology Utilization does not attempt to develop or
select unilaterally the specific technology needed to solve the problems of poten-
tial users of aerospace technology. It cannot do this alone. This would presume a
knowledge of the problems in depth, detail, and specificity not possessed by NASA.
Rather, the Office of Technology Utilization strives to establish a working inter-
face w-hich will facilitate the acquisition of the technology by the user. The user
is helped to describe his problem in language used in aerospace technical litera-
ture. Choice and definition of the problems for which solutions are desired can
best be determined by the potential user just as he can best judge the relevance
of suggested solutions- resulting from searches of the aerospace literature and
personal interface with aerospace scientists and engineers.
NASA can best make its capabilities available by working with and through
the agencies or institutions having primary or direct responsibility for crime
prevention or control.
PAGENO="0118"
114
Question No. 15. What other work is NASA's Office of Technology Utilization
funding which is related to natio'nai problems such as crime?
a. How does NASA assure that it is not dupiicattng work sponsored by the
Department of Justice or a similar agency?
b. What is the rationale behind such grants or contracts-what does NASA
eupect to achieve?
e. Do you believe that NAkS1A could make such grants or contracts if it were
not specifically authorized through its technology utilization program to accelerate
the spin-off of the space prograni?
Response. Section 102 (c) (4) of the Space Act directs that NASA "shall con-
duct long range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the oppor-
tunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space
activities for peaceful and scientific purposes." We are anxious to increase and
extend efforts to transfer, where applicable, space developed technology to the
solution of social problems, but only working with or through other agencies.
For example, arrangements have been made for the Midwest Research Institute,
one of the NASA-sponsored regional dissemination centers, to provide data to the
Office of Atmospheric Water Resources of the Bureau of Reclamation which might
assist in the solution of problems in the area of w-eather modification. We are
also cooperating in various ways with, among others, the Atomic Energy Corn-
mission, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare, and the Department of Agriculture. Working in this manner, there
should be no duplication with other agencies.
There are no NASA grants or contracts which relate specifically to crime as
such. The work done for IACP was done under existing contracts designed to
bring about broad dissemination of new technology. NASA also supported a
grant to the American Association for the Advancement of Science for studies
on how a large program like the space program affects the economy. One of the
published works resulting from this grant was a book called "Social Indicators"
which did contain a discussion of the Uniform Crime Reports compiled by the
FBI, citing them as an example of the need for improved and comprehensive
information reporting systems.
NASA recognizes that useful products of research and technology historically
have gained application outside of the place of origin. This would be expected to
happen in time even if NASA had no technology utilization program. We feel that
this process should be aided and expedited, and that aerospace technology can
be brought to bear on many pressing social problems, for the benefit of all man-
kind. We believe that this historical tendency for specific inventions and develop.
ments to adapt themselves to society's needs has been recognized at several points
in the Space Act as well as in annual Authorization Acts. Specific authorization
for technology utilizatiqn does make possible grants or contracts designed to
broaden and accelerate the dissemination of our technology.
Mr. DADDARIO. We will flow hear from Dr. Pickering and get the
point of view of a laboratory director.
Dr. Pickering.
Dr. PICKERING. Mr. Chairman, I should like to read to you a state-
ment.
(Dr. Pickering's biography follows:)
DR. WILLIAM H. PICKERING
William H. Pickering has been director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of
the California Institute of Technology since 1954. As such, he has been respon-
sible for the programs which resulted in Explorer I, the first U.S. artificial
satellite, Pioneer IV, the first succesful U.S. cislunar space probe, the Mariner
flights to Venus in 1962 and 19~l7 and to Mars in 1964-05, the Ranger lunar
photographic missions in 1964-415 and the Surveyor lunar landings of 1966-67.
Dr. Pickering was born in Wellington, New Zealand, but immigrated to Cali-
fornia as a young man to attend the California Institute of Technology. There
he obtained both bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering and a
Ph. D. in physics, became a member of the faculty, and worked under Nobel
Laureate Robert A. Millikan in a world-wide program of high-altitude cosmic-
ray research. During World War II, he conducted applied research in electronics
at Cal Tech, MIT, and other laboratories. In July 1944, he organized the elec-
tronics effort at JPL to support guided-missile research and development. He
PAGENO="0119"
115
became project manager for Corporal, the first operational missile developed by
JPL.
As JPL's director, Dr. Pickering was involved in U.S. Army proposals tor
Earth-satellite launchings, and in 1957-58 for the development and operation
of the early Explorer satellites and Pioneer space probes. Following these proj-
ects, he lead JPL into the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration
as a major contractor responsible for unmanned lunar and planetary flight
projects and the supporting technology.
He has been professor of electrical engineering at Cal Tech since 1946; he
was the first president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
in 1963, and president of the International Astronautical Federation in 1965-66.
He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of
Engineering, and the Royal Society of New Zealand, among others.
He is an advisor to the University of California, the University of Washington,
and the University of Connecticut. He has been a member of the Army Scientific
Advisory Panel and was a charter member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory
Board. He has published a number of articles and technical papers in the field
in which he is active, and has received NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, the
Army's Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the British Interplanetary
Society's Special Award, the Columbus Gold Medal of Italy, the James Wyld
Memorial of the American Rocket Society, the Robert H. Goddard Memorial
Trophy of the National Space Club, the Galabert Award of France and Italy's
Order of Merit, among others.
He is married to the former Muriel Bowler; they have two children, William
Balfour and Anne Elizabeth (Mrs. Wayne Mezitt).
STATEMENT OF DR. WILLIAM H. PICKERING, DIRECTOR, JET
PROPULSION LABORATORY, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECH-
NOLOGY
Your interest in the optimum utilization of Federal laboratories is
particularly gratifying and reassuring to those of us who have been
involved in Government-sponsored research and development activ-
ities. I am honored and pleased to be invited to testify before your
committee today.
My remarks, Mr. Chairman, are made with reference to my experi-
ence as director of a mission-oriented laboratory sponsored by the
Government but operated under contract to a university, and one
which has worked for a number of agencies and experienced significant
changes in primary objectives during the past 30 years.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was the first Government-sponsored
rocket research group in the TJnited States, originating on the campus
at California Institute of Technology in 1939 as an outgrowth of the
activities of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory. Headed by Dr.
Theodore von Karman, JPL performed research and development on
rocket propulsion devices for aircraft until 1940, when the Army
Air Corps assumed sponsorship.
I might comment in passing that at that time the interest in the
work was such that it grew beyond the scope of the university and the
Aerojet Corp. was formed as a byproduct of our activities.
By 1941 the first successful jet-assisted aircraft takeoff units were
developed, followed by pioneering liquid and solid propellant rocket
systems and the basic concepts underlying modern telemetry systems.
1n 1944 JPL began a long association with the Army Ordnance Corps,
during which it developed the first of the modern guided missile
weapons systems, and, in the late 1950's, the first inertially guided,
solid propellant missile system.
PAGENO="0120"
116
The national crisis following the first sputnik brought a significant
shift in the Laboratory's interests, emphasis, and motivations. In 1958
JPL assisted the Army in developing and launching Explorer I. In
December of that year, by Executive order of the President, sponsor-
ship of JPL was assumed by the newly formed National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.
During the past decade, the primary mission of the Laboratory
has been to support NASA research and development associated with
tmmanned lunar and planetary missions.
Thus, in 30 years JPL has evolved into a seasoned, mission-oriented
laboratory, based on experience in the technologies of guided missiles
weaponry and deep space exploration.
It may be relevant here to recall the esseiitial capability which a
mission-oriented laboratory such as JPL affords. This capability is
the common attack, by a number of diverse and often conflicting tech-
nical disciplines, upon a common problem or mission. The motivation
for this process, and for the engineers and scientists who carry it out,
is the mission itself. While the laboratory must be competent in the
various disciplines, its special skill is the ability, through a matrix of
talents or "systems engineering," to produce an integrated device or
system, based on these disciplines, which will accomplish its mission.
The development of such a team is a slow process and, once accom-
plished, it is a most important fa.ctor in the continuing success of
a mission-oriented teclmical laboratory.
To turn now to the issue before the committee today, namely, how
best to use our existing Federal laboratories, let me begin with the
question of redirecting a laboratory when its assigned mission may
have been completed or is of lower priority.
JPL has experienced one significant redirection in its history. This
occurred in 1958, when sponsorship was transferred from the U.S.
Army to NASA, and our mission changed accordingly from weapons
systems development, to deep space research. This redirection was
orderly and valuable, I believe, to NASA and the Nation. There were a
number of factors that made the transition successful.
With the creation of NASA, an explicit decision was made, at the
necessary levels within the Government, that the services JPL could
perform for NASA would be of more value to the Nation than its work
for the Army. There also existed within JPL an enthusiasm for and
adequate understanding of the new mission, its technical demands,
and the functions the Laboratory could carry out in meeting these
demands. This understanding derived largely from work in the space
field JPL had performed under Army sponsorship, as, for example,
the effort in the Explorer project.
The actual transition to NASA required about 18 months. The new
mission required expansion in personnel, enlargement of facilities, and
significant alteration of the technical discipline mix of the professional
staff. An interdisciplinary development and maturing of systems
engineering capability was accompanied by the addition of space
sciences as a divisional function.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Pickering, if you had civil service employees
working for you, taking into consideration rules, regulations, and
what not, could you have performed this transfer at all or would it
have been made more difficult?
PAGENO="0121"
117
Dr. PICKERING. Mr. Chairman, as you know, about a year later the
Marshall Center was transferred into NASA and this was an example
of a civil service laboratory being transferred from the Army to
NASA, and I believe the transition was made in a reasonable fashion.
The mission in the case of Marshall remained somewhat closer to
their original mission than in our case where we had to reorient from
weapons to deep space research.
Mr. DADDARIO. You would not see it as restrictive?
Dr. PICKERING. No.
The factors present in the transfer of JPL to NASA sponsorship
are those necessary to any successful redirection of a mission-oriented
laboratory. There must be a sponsoring agency having the requisite
charter and funding. There must be a decision mechanism which can
assess the national priorities of new versus old missions, and which
has authority to make the decisions for redirection. There must be an
appropriate match between the new mission and the existing capabili-
ties of the laboratory. And there must be an understanding within the
laboratory of the new mission.
The last factor, the understanding of the new mission, is needed
not only for assessment of the match between capability and mission,
but also for the formulation of plans and programs, and the motivation
of the staff toward involvement in the new mission. Some elements of
the laboratory must become immersed in and identified with a mission
in order to have an appreciation in depth of its implications.
Mr. DADDARIO. Here you se/em to be touching on a laboratory which
is changing the direction of its activities, getting involved with new
missions, but having had over a period of time an ability to develop
experience in this, and it can redirect its activities.
Dr. PICKERING. Yes. I am thinking of the mission-oriented labora-
tory as distinct from the research laboratory. A research laboratory
which is accustomed to performing research in a wide spectrum of
activities can gradually evolve that basic research program to other
ends.
But in the case of the mission-oriented laboratory, you have a team
capable of carrying out a mission in which a large segment of the
laboratory is integrated into that team. The question is how does that
team get reoriented toward a new mission? For that there must be a
real understanding of the mission and a real motivation of tile people.
This will come about after some elements of the laboratory have had
experience and an ability to perform work in the new mission.
Mr. DADDARIO. During the course of our seminars, Dr. Teller and Dr.
Weinberg and others have constantly referred to the fact that we do
not have the greatest applied research capability in this country. We
do extremely well in the basic research area, but we do not do as well
as they think we can in the applied area.
What you are saying here is that you do have this kind of a capa-
bility and that you can, in fact, accomplish varying types of national
goals and objectives.
Dr. PICKERING. Yes, sir. I believe we do have the applied capability
in this country. I am a little bit surprised that Dr. Weinberg or Dr.
Teller would criticize this because it seems to me in this country over
the past couple of decades we have demonstrated some remarkable
achievements in the area of applied science.
PAGENO="0122"
118
Mr. IDADDARIO. They were not criticizing. They were saying we are
not using our capabilities in this regard as efficiently as we could.
Many of the problems of this day and age come upon us more rapidly
now than ever before, and we must quickly develop the capability to
meet them.
Pollution is an area where knowledge must be applied more rapidly
before the situation becomes more dangerous than it presently 1S: This
is what the discussion was about and I do not want to infer that it was
a matter of criticism, but rather it concerned better use of our resources.
Dr. PICKERING. I think this is a matter of priorities. What have these
resources been used for, these applied science laboratories? Have they
been used for missions which have been regarded as the most urgent
priority by the Congress?
Now, if the assessment of priorities places other problems first then
I believe the mission-oriented teams can be reoriented toward new
priorities even though the new priorities involve shills outside the
purely physical sciences.
Mr. DADDARIO. Would you add to `that, taking the situation as you
see it, that we ought to be developing this competence in a broader
way?
I)r. PICKERING. Yes, sir. I have some more to say about t.his later on
in my testimony.
Mr. DADDARIO. All right.
Dr. PICKERING. Having touched on the complete redirection of a
laboratory to a new mission, let me turn to a partial redirection, in-
cluding such questions as the use by one Government agency of ca-
pabilities of a laboratory funded by another agency, and the utiliza-
tion of a mission-oriented laboratory in seeking solutions to social
problems.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a long history in moderate-sized
funding from agencies other than the principal sponsor. For example,
for many years, the wind tunnels at JPL were partially funded by
the three branches of the military services. At present, the Laboratory
is carrying out tasks for the Department of Defense, and we hope also
to perform work for the National Institutes of Health. Our experience
here strongly suggests that where all of the involved agencies concur,
implementation is feasible.
Whether the redirection be complete and permanent, or partial and
temporary, preliminary technical work of "seed" effort in the new mis-
sion is required. Accordingly, seed work on a modest scale in areas out-
side of the primary laboratory mission is a justifiable investment. In
JPL's experience, Explorer was such a seed project, enabling the
Laboratory to make an orderly transition to the new NASA mission.
A new mission may be stimulated by a high-level policy decision
from above, or a new technical idea from below; in either case, dis-
cretionary funds for such activities are required. In fact, some dis-
cretionary funds within the primary mission are generally needed to
realize the fullest potential of a mission-oriented laboratory. The ap-
l~Ticat1on of such resources should be within broad policy limits estab-
lished by mutual agreement with the sponsoring agency, but should
otherwise reflect the independent thought and judgment of the labora-
tory management and staff. At present, JPL has no such discretionary
funds and all tasks are specified by contract.
PAGENO="0123"
119
Mr. DADDARIO. What percentage of those funds are you talking
about?
Dr. PICKERING. In the 5- to 10-percent area of discretionary funds.
Mr. DADDARIO. What would this do in your opinion to the quality
of your Laboratory?
Dr. PICKERING. It would improve the quality because Laboratory
morale is related to the enthusiasm and support which people have
for the work they are doing. It must be work they believe in.
In general, of course, the people at the Laboratory would not be
there unless they believed in the total mission of the Laboratory. With
reference to the research areas represented by seed effort, when peo-
ple at the Laboratory who have good ideas which they would like
to work on, in areas which are not directly supported under the con-
tract, but which nevertheless in the judgment of the Laboratory Direc-
tor would be appropriate areas to work in, an opportunity to do so
would obviously help the morale of all the professional people at the
Laboratory.
Mr. DADDARIO. It would help the morale and increase the quality
of your Laboratory. It would allow you to do some of the seed work
that could lead to directions you are not even aware of now. If you
were to take 5 or 10 percent of your funds for discretionary work,
wouldn't you with the remaining 90 percent, because of the increased
quality of the work and the morale in the Laboratory, actually do better
work with less funding?
Dr. PICKERING. I believe it would, but obviously this is just a matter
of speculation. It would be difficult to prove.
Mr. DADDARIO. I understand it would be difficult to prove, but we
have had laboratory directors here before and from whom would we
get a better judgment than from you people who are involved in it?
You seem to be unanimous in this regard.
Dr. PICKERING. I think it is an important factor.
Mr. RUMSFELD. How much is 5 percent?
Dr. PICKERING. $5 million. Excuse me, let me make it clear. I am
t~alking about 5 percent of the total administrative operations type of
funding for the Laboratory, and may I just interject that our Labora-
tory being operated under contract is not AO funded, it is funded
through t.he H. & ID. funds, but a fraction of about 70 percent of our
funds goes out to contract.
Mr. IRIJM5FELD. What is the dollar figure you are talking about?
Dr. PICKERING. $5 million.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Your work is on specific contract?
Dr. PICKERING. Yes. At present we have a contract on which our
work is provided by tasks.
Mr. RtThISFELD. It is all with the Federal Government?
Dr. PICKERING. All with NASA.
Mr. IRIThISFELD. I know of institutes that do 98 percent of their busi-
ness with the Federal Goverument, 95 at the minimum; between
2 and 5 percent with private sector; and use the profits in their private
contracts as discretionary funds.
- Dr. PICKERING. Well-
Mr. RIThISFELD. I am not suggesting it is necessarily applicable here,
but this is a procedure that I know is being used.
PAGENO="0124"
120
Dr. PICKERING. In *our case the physical plant, the facilities, are
owned by the Federal Government. We operate the laboratories for
the Federal Government.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Right. I just raise this as an example of a way that
some people are getting discretionary funds. If discretionary funds
can be allocated, there is no reason why an arrangement like this
couldn't be. I am saying it is another way that it is being done,
not the best way nor the way it should be done.
Your answer is not an answer because we have Govermnent-owned
property, as the gentleman sitting behind you can tell you, in private
commercial operations all across this country, so the very fact that
that is the rule now does not necessarily mean that it must be the
rule forever.
Mr. DADDARIO. All right.
Dr. PICKERING. The question has been raised as to how a mission-
oriented laboratory can be responsive to such national problems as
transportation, housing, or crime. We tend to presume that prob-
lems which have been caused or aggravated by technology can be
solved by technology. In fact, the solutions involve political, social, and
economic considerations, and new technical devices may be a minor
contribution to the total solution.
A concerted attack on the problems can best to made by a team
of specialists including skills ranging from the physical to the be-
havorial sciences to economics and law. Such teams must operate
under the disciplines developed by the systems analysts in the mis-
sion-oriented laboratories, and can be readily built around the exist-
ing groups. Some elements of these skills already exist in laboratories
concerned with total mission responsibilities, because mission opera-
tions require human operators; thus human skills, motivations, and
limitations must be incorporated into mission design. Therefore, it
is quite feasible to convert existing Laboratory capabilities in response
to these national problems. In fact, many engineers and scientists are
deeply concerned with such social problems, and I am sure that in
most laboratories, it would be easy to find high motivated individuals
willing to explore these areas.
Recently, at JPL, we held informal discussions with senior mem-
bers of the Los Angeles Police Department concerning the technical
problems they face. It Is clear that the Laboratory has the skills to
develop some of the needed solutions.
The interdisciplinary attack, in which the system analysis is accom-
plished by social and political scientists as well as engineers and physi-
cal scientists, is an attractive and promising concept, although largely
untried. Cal Tech has been moving in this direction, seeking to close
the gap between the physical and social sciences by expanding and re-
orienting its curriculums.
Finally, we have the question of whether to create new laboratories
for new missions, or whether to assign new missions to existing labora-
tories. I believe that the assignment of a new mission to an existing
laboratory can be profitable. An established laboratory processing staff,
management, and facilities can, if competent and suitably matched to
the new task, move more rapidly into the new mission.
On the other hand, such a reassignment should be made only when
there is assurance that the quality and character of the laboratory
justify the new mission. Since the Federal Government does have a
PAGENO="0125"
121
large structure of multidisciplinary laboratories, we should seek to use
them in the best national interests.
The present laboratories can be reoriented, if necessary, to match
new needs. Broadening the interdisciplinary base and changing the
professional mix of talents is an entirely reasonable and practical pro-
cedure in view of the ever-growing demands on the national resources.
But to do so effectively, a prope.r effort must be made to assess the capa-
bilities of the existing laboratories and to evaluate the new problems
to determine what contributions they might make. Such an `assess-
ment can be made only if adequate seed money or discretionary re-
sources are made available before a laboratory's primary mission has
been completed. Some such procedure is necessary if we are to achieve
optimum utilization of the existing Federal laboratory system.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Pickering, you point out, as has been done by
others, that technology cannot be relied on to overcome all of the
problems that have been caused or aggravated by technology, and
that you `bring in the political, economic, and social considerations.
You then speak about the utilization of present laboratories, and
the fact that there are some extremely competent national laboratories.
You then get to the point where they must be evaluated. We have
touched on this with others, and how to evaluate them is a pretty diffi-
cult problem.
What do you think about it? How do we go about this rating
process?
Dr. PICKERING. Mr. Chairman, again I think that discretionary or
seed effort in new areas may `be the key. In other words, if you invite
a laboratory to develop its capabilities in certain other areas to a
limited extent, I think it will be quickly evident as to whether or not
that laboratory `will come up with useful new ideas.
For example, if you asked JPL to build submarines I couldn't tell
you that we could build good submarines.
On the other hand, if you told me that you wanted JPL to build
submarines and asked for a study effort over the next 6 months to
determine what we could do, after a 6-month study an assessment
of the JPL capability `could be made against the total national com-
petence for building submarines. This could then lead to a useful eval-
uati'on as to whether, in fact, JPL could help.
Mr. DADDARIO. That is sensible, but it still doesn't eliminate the need
to have some kind of an evaluation process at this stage of the game.
I do not think that every laboratory would deserve this discretionary
authority. If we were to establish a policy that a certain number who
we knew had the ability and `t'he competence and would use this dis-
cretionary authority to raise their quality even higher, `could `have the
funds, then the rating requirements would still `be necessary.
Dr. PICKERING. Yes. I think that there is a certain element in the
internal development of the laboratory itself to `be `considered. If I
may reflect on our own experience in the transfer from Army to
NASA, a year or two before the transition it was becoming evident to
us at the laboratory that the mission `we were performing for the
Army was becoming a less valuable match to our canabilities.
1n~ other words, we had accomplished `certain things for the Army.
But in looking to the future it was not at all `obvious where we were
PAGENO="0126"
122
going next. At that point the people at the Laboratory on their own
initiative began looking for areas which were a better match to our
talents. In fact, the support which JPL gave to the Army, as the Army
began to develop interest in the Explorer effort, evolved naturally and
was partly initiated by the laboratory itself because of the realization
that some sort of a change in mission was necessary.
I think that holds true `in other laboratories. In other words, if a
laboratory is a dynamic laboratory and if it sees its mission coming to
an end or changing priorities, the laboratory itself will initiate some
moves to explore new areas.
Mr. DADDARIO. Oak Ridge is now spending about 13 percent of its
overall funds in areas beyond its original mission, especially in the
area's of desalting and civil defense. As they work into both of these
areas they find themselves capable of increasing their development in
many of our social and economic problems, and they find that these
become important involvements from the standpoint of finance.
Obviously, this would be the case in many areas, and we do need to
bring some direction to it. I would think that the use of existing lab-
oratories should be at the heart of it. Yet we would have to `come to a
determination about which laboratories have this quality.
Dr. PICKERING. Mr. Chairman, you do pose a difficult problem. I
understand from Dr. Weinberg that the AEC agreed some 5 or 6 years
ago that Oak Ridge should explore some new areas. I think that should
be the position of a sponsoring agency. The sponsoring agency, would
have to recogiiize the changing mission and the potential of the lab-
oratory in new areas.
To do this on a total Federal basis, I feel, would be very difficult. It
would imply a total Federal catalog of laboratory capabilities which
I am sure does not now exist. I am not sure it could ever exist because
it would involve too much comparison of apples and oranges.
Mr. DADDARIO. Would you have much difficulty in privately coming
to an assessment about these things?
Dr. PICKERING. We laboratory directors have opinions about our
quality and the quality of some of our competitors.
Mr. DADDARIO. You don't have to go any further than that.
Mr. Rumsfeld.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Just to clarify something. As I recall, the chairman
indicated that he felt discretionary funds should not be available to
all such laboratories, but some should be selected out.
Mr. DADDARIO. That is correct.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Is it correct that you agree with that?
Dr. PICKERING. I note in my testimony that the reassigmnent in
new missions is only when there is an assurance that the character and
quality of a laboratory justify the new mission.
Let me point out that in order to go into a new mission the first
step is to provide discretionary funds and encouragement to explore.
Mr. RuMs~m~n. Are you endorsing discretionary funds only for that
purpose?
Dr. PICKERING. No, sir.
Mr. RUMSEELD. Let's refer to it apart from transition.
Dr. PICKERING. Then I will endorse discretionary funds in ~eneral
I believe in a mission-oriented laboratory that the primary mission-
Mr. RUMSFELD. Do you agree or disagree with Mr. Daddario?
PAGENO="0127"
123
Dr. PICKERING. I disagree with him.
Mr. R.tTMSFELD. I was under the impression you agreed with him
earlier, and I didn't see how you could agree.
Mr. DADDARIO. Let me add one provision here. If there happens to
be, and I would expect that there is a laboratory hidden away here or
there which ought to be put out of existence, would you give them
5 or 10 percent discretionary authority at this stage of the game?
I am considering all laboratories.
Mr. RtTMSFELD. As I recall, I have the floor. I would say that neither
Dr. Pickering, nor I is suggesting that. If it should be out of business
it should be out of business, but if it is in business the odds are it should
be in business. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. You
are talking about morale and the need for general competence. ~
discretionary funds have any merit then `they have merit for those in-
stitutions which are in business if they should be in business.
Isn't this right?
Dr. PICKERING. I would suggest the following. If discretionary
funds are provided for a laboratory, the sponsoring agency will not
stand up and allow the laboratory to do whatever it wants to.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Then we shouldn't call them discretionary funds.
Dr. PICKERING. They are discretionary to the extent that the labora-
tory makes the initial decision, but after the laboratory has used
these funds, it will be asked what it did with them and some sort of
report will be expected.
I suggest that the way in which a laboratory uses its discretionary
funds will be a good indication of whether or not the laboratory
should continue in existence. I think if you gave discretionary funds
to a laboratory which was in effect a dying laboratory, it would be
pretty clear after a year or so that that, in fact, was the case.
Mr. RTJMSFELD. This is one of the difficult problems the Bureau of
the Budget has in evaluating such things.
Dr. PICKERING. If the laboratory is dying because of the quality of
the staff, even with discretionary funds it will not produce anything
very useful.
On the other hand, if it is dying because it has been under some sort
of control and has been directed into areas which the staff hasn't been
able to follow, by providing discretionary funds the laboratory may
quickly revive.
Mr. DADDARTO. We are examining the situation as it pertains to all
national laboratories. During the course of these discussions Dr. br-
Dig spoke of the difficulty in really phasing out a laboratory which
for a number or multitude of reasons could be made necessary.
I don't know that we could or should in an overall way say you
should eliminate a laboratory because of such and such a reason or
we should take this discretionary authority and apply it to all. We
ought to separate them.
On the other hand, if this discretionary authority is as important
as it would appear to be, then we ought to take a look at the labora-
tories, and to prove that it can work, pick those of the highest quality.
I do not think it would be the toughest job in the world. If you reach
the point where you could prove this out, you could expand or restrict
this particular authority. All we are doing is exploring this and
theorizing in a sense, because nobody at this stage of the game on this
PAGENO="0128"
124
committee could come to such a recommendation with the facts now in.
Would you find it difficult to accept the proposition, at least in the
cases of those laboratories which are of the highest quality and
considering we could come to a way to make some evaluation, that
those directors ought to have such authority?
Dr. PICKERING. I believe they should.
Mr. DADDARIO. Dr. Pickering, I wish to thank you for your testi-
mony, and we appreciate your coining here to appear before us. We
are especially fortunate because your laboratory has had the flexibility
to meet new challenges over the course of time and is a case study
for us. It shows that flexibility is not an impossibility. You, as well
as other laboratory directors, point again to the constant need of the
society to bring together the physical and social problems and to use
tile men who are scientifically and technically trained to accomplish
these objectives. Your testimony is extremely heartening to us.
Dr. PICKERING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO DR. WILLIAM H. PICKERING BY THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, & DEVELOPMENT
1. One of the factors you mention necessary to any successful redirection of
a mission-oriented laboratory is "a decision mechanism which can assess the
national priorities of new versus old missions, and which has authority to mah~e
the decisions for redirection."
(a) Who do you see in the Executive Branch as having this authority other
than the President?
To the best of my knowledge, only the President possesses the authority to
transfer a laboratory from one agency to another. Of course, mutual agree-
ment by agency heads can effect such a transfer, as apparently occurred in
1953 when the National Bureau of Standards transferred laboratories to the
Army and Navy; however, such agreements do not appear to be common. Also,
of course, the assignments of individual laboratories are frequently changed,
although within the overall mission of the agency.
(b) Do you have any suggestions as to how the present structure of govern-
ment could be improved to provide this mechanism?
The Office of Science and Technology, together with the President as decision-
maker, would seem to provide the framework for this mechanism. Apparently,
OST has not been active in reviewing laboratory missions, and perhaps they
could be encouraged to become more active in this area.
Another alternative is a Federal Department of Science and Technology.
In my opinion, such a Department may, at some future time, become desirable.
2. ~5ince JPL does not have discretionary funds, how does it ea~plore new ideas
or areas in which it may have a competence?
Discretionary funds are needed for the exploration of new areas, as well as for
realization of the fullest potential within the primary mission of the laboratory.
The absence of discretionary funds at JPL makes the exploration of new ideas
and areas difficult and fragmentary. However, some exploration occurs within
our primary mission, in which NASA establishes various research and study
tasks pertaining to new programs and devices. Also, we are requested by NASA
to be alert for and to document instances in which space-developed technology
may be utilized in other fields.
(a) As the space program matures, please describe what efforts JPL has
undertaken or plans to undertake to make use of its existing competence.
As you know, our primary mission is the unmanned exploration of the planets,
and this venture has just begun. The maturation to which you refer is not
imminent, either scientifically or technologically. The exploration of the planets
would only be abandoned for lack of Congressional support and funding.
However, in view of existing national needs, our planning office is studying
the feasibility of our performing work in new areas. In certain selected fields
in which our competence has been demonstrated, we plan to make proposals on
a modest scale through NASA for undertaking new work.
3. Please describe the results of JPL's discussions with the Los Angeles Police
Department.
PAGENO="0129"
125
These discussions have yielded a greater mutual understanding of the coii-
siderable potential inherent in modern technology for solving some of the ur-
gent problems in law enforcement. Our people have identified existing needs
which our advanced technology can satisfy; for example, in areas of command
and control, data processing, gas chromatography, and mass spectroscopy. How-
ever, funds presently available to the LAPD for work in these areas are ex-
ceedingly limited.
4. While the present Laboratories Committee of the Federal Conncil for
Science and Technology is concerned with Government laboratories as such, with
the ewception of Dr. Astin its members are not working laboratory directors.
TV/tat advantages and disadvantages do you see for establishing a small council
of Fcdcral laboratory directors that would represent the views of both directly
and contractor operated Federal laboratories at the Eccecutive Office level?
I am personally in favor of the establishment of a council of Federal laboratory
directors. Such a council would have the advantage of rapid identification of
the major common problems facing these laboratories, as we'll as the prompt
evaluation of the practicality and consequences of proposed actions.
The principal problem with this council, as with almost every advisory corn-
mittee, is in organizing the group with the requisite authority and reporting level
such that it can be effective. Also, since these laboratories are rather diverse in
character, it may be difficult to assemble a group which is large enough to
represent a suitable cross section of laboratories, and yet not so large as to be
unwieldy.
5. A sharp line frequently is drawn between those Government laboratories
that are dircctly operated and those are are contractor operated. In terms of
your cwperience, what are the principal characteristics of each mode of operation
and the differences between them that are significant to utilization of Government
laboratories.
In niy view, the intrinsic difference between laboratories operated by the
Government and those operated for the Government under contract, centers
around motivation, flexibility in staffing, and the effects of Government regula-
tions on the technical development process.
Many of the university operated Government laboratories were started during
World War II, in order to accomplish missions requiring the application of
technology that did not exist within the Government. The close association of
these laboratories with the academic community has contributed to their ability
to attract and maintain outstanding staffs.
Contract operation of these laboratories has allowed a degree of freedom and
quick reaction that has not been possible within Government laboratories func-
tioning wholly under Federal regulation. It has been my observation that mission-
oriented, contract-operated laboratories have generally `been better able to ac-
commodate to changes in mission assignment, especially with regard to staffing
and redeployment.
The constraints placed by the Government on the operation of Civil Service
laboratories have undoubtedly affected their ability to compete for highly skilled
technical manpower. The lack of these constraints, and the close association
with universities, have placed the non-profit laboratories in a `better competitive
position. This has been covered rather well by the Bell Report.
G. What authority do you have to deal directly with other agencies that may
wish to engage JPL's research and development services?
While we do carry out discussions of an information-exchange type with other
agencies, we are not able to negotiate with them for tasks. The facilities at JPL
are owned by the Federal government and administered under a contract between
NASA and Caltech; thus, NASA must approve any use of these facilities for other
agencies.
I appreciate the opportunity to further amplify my remarks to your Committee
and I hope you will not hesitate to call on me at any time for further information.
Mr. DADDARIO. We are running a little late, but I would appreciate
it if we might be able to hear as much of Mr. Hughes' testimony as
we possibly can, and I regret keeping you here until this hour. I hope
we might be able to hear you and not have to bring you back.
Mr. HUGHEs. I would be very pleased to have my statement in the
record and simply refer to two or three points in rather cryptic fash-
93-201-68-----9
PAGENO="0130"
126
ion that reflect a position and then be available for your questioning.
I think it might be more useful from the committee's standpoint.
(Mr. Hughes' biography follows:)
PHILLIP S. HUGHES
Phillip S. Hughes took office as Deputy Director of the Bureau of the Budget
on March 10, 1966. Prior to his present appointment he was Assistant Director for
Legislative Reference of the Bureau of the Budget for 8 years, from June 1958.
In that capacity, he reviewed legislative proposals sponsored by the Administra-
tion and advised the Budget Director and the President on legislative matters.
Earlier he served as Deputy Chief of the Office of Legislative Reference for 21/2
years.
Mr. Hughes has been a career civil servant with the Bureau since 1949. At the
time be joined the Bureau's staff he was a Budget Examiner for veterans pro-
grams. In 1953, he became an Assistant Division Chief.
Mr. Hughes was born in Chicago in 1917. In 1930 his family moved to the State
of Washington, and in 1938 he received a B.A. degree from the University of
Washington. He entered Federal service as an Analyst with the War Manpower
Commission in the early days of World War II.
Subsequent to military service in the Navy, he joined the staff of the Veterans
Administration. Three years later in 1949, he joined the staff of the Bureau of
the Budget.
Mr. Hughes was honored with an Exceptional Service Award by the Bureau
in 1965, and the Career Service Award by the National Civil Service League in
1962.
He is married to the former Jean Evans and they have 3 daughters and one
son. They reside in Chevy Chase, Md.
STATEMENT 0]? PHILLIP S. HUGHES, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, BUREAU
OP THE BUDGET
As I indicated we are here to discuss some of the key issues that you
have identified related to the effective utilization of laboratories. I
think quite obviously we share the committee's concern that the GOv-
ernment's research and development facilities are managed efficiently
and effectively just as we have the same concern with the use of all Gov-
ernment resources. We recognize and agree that this requires at least
some degree of flexibility in terms of the using of existing capabilities
to meet the research needs of other agencies.
Feasibility is a problem here and I think this is something that we
should talk about.
I refer in my statement to the Bell report, which I am sure you are
thoroughly familiar with. Unless there is some point that you wish to
pursue there, or perhaps we could come back to it, I would suggest that
we move on perhaps to about page 4 of the statement.
We are in essential agreement with the general concepts of the Bell
report, and I don~t think it is necessary to reiterate them.
Mr. IDADDARIO. No.
Mr. HUGHES. You have posed `a number of questions which bear on
`two major aspects of Federal laboratory management: First, keeping
the laboratory responsive to new needs and opportunities which
strongly relates to the quality of the laboratory, and the second, the
utilization of existing laboratory resources to meet such pressing
national problems as transportation, pollution, housing, and crime.
With respect to the upgrading of laboratories these problems ob-
viously are the prime responsibilities of the agencies.
We do, however, feel that basically the management of the agency
must consider the future of its laboratories in terms of their capacity
PAGENO="0131"
127
to serve the research needs of the agency itself; that is, `of the funding
agency.
One `suggestion `advanced for keeping a laboratory responsive to new
opportunities is to provide the laboratory director with some discre-
tionary funds to undertake new projects of his own choosing. This
Bell report recommendation has been implemented to some degree by
the agencies. We fully agree that some d'iscr~tionary funds are needed
if a laboratory is to respond promptly to new opportunities within the
area of its research competence.
The question is now of maximizing the use of labs to avoid need-
less duplication. There is no doubt that lab services should be avail-
able across agency lines but basically again we believe that the labora-
tories must support the mission of the agency which provides the
major funds. Thus the sponsoring agency has first call on the services
of its laboratories and sets the priorities of their efforts. The avail-
ability of any particular laboratory to serve the needs of any other
Government agency depends largely upon the workload imposed by
its own.
Whether or not the work of Federal laboratories should deliberately
be redirected to meet the needs of other agencies is a difficult question.
There should be no hard and fast rules on this because there is no
simple answer. Conceptually and technically speaking, we know of no
formal barriers preventing one Government agency drawing on the
capabilities existing in a laboratory funded by another agency. How-
ever, a number of considerations or factors are relevant; current and
anticipated workload in support of the parent agency's mission; the
compatibility of existing laboratory skills for work on other agency
problems; the amount of retraining of staff which is necessary;
whether or not new leadership can be obtained expeditiously from the
private sector or other Government laboratories; and the requirement
for additional equipment and facility modification.
And, of course, Federal statutes, regulations, and procedures must
be sufficiently flexible to make redirection of an existing laboratory a
truly practical alternative to the establishment of a new Federal
laboratory.
The Economy Act of 1932 provided the authority for agencies to
place orders with other agencies for materials, supplies, equipment,
work or services they can provide if funds are available and if this is
in the interest of the Government. However, a major limitation on the
use of this authority for any large-scale redirection of a laboratory's
efforts is the Comptroller General's ruling that the performing agency
should be in a position to supply what is necessary without adding
new plant and equipment. The full implications of this interpreta-
tion must be examined case by case to determine the extent to which
laboratories are prevented from doing work for other agencies.
Mr. RUMSFELD. On page 4, at the very top, you make the statement
that laboratory's services should be available to other than the parent
agency to the extent practical.
Mr. HUGHES. Yes.
Mr. RUMSFELD. I take it there that by "other" you mean other gov-
ernmental agencies?
Mr. HUGHES. Yes.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Purely within the Federal Government?
PAGENO="0132"
128
Mr. HUGHES. Yes. The answer is "Yes" with regard to the statement.
I had not thought particularly in terms of the utilization of the Gov-
ernment's research `and laboratory facilities `by extragovernmental
organizations. I don't regard that as either unfeasible or undesirable,
however.
Mr. DADDARIO. `Such as the National Bureau of Standards does?
Mr. HUGHES. That is right.
Mr. RUMSFELD. And the Government Printing Office?
Mr. HUGHES. This is a little different area.
Mr. RUMSFELD. I certainly applaud the Bureau's encouraging the
use of personnel and resources and facilities but it seems to me that
I have a little trouble with your statement in `the middle of page 4
where you say:
With respect to upgrading the quality of Federal laboratories, the Bureau of
the Budget feels that such matters are the prime responsibility of the agencies
having jurisdiction over them.
I don't know what you mean `by "quality" so I don't know that I
disagree, but to some extent that might sound a little contradictory to
some of the things that have `been said here this morning if we agree
they should `be used within government at lea'st within government
as broadly as possible, then it would seem to me an office like the Office
of Science and Technology would be in a very significant position here
to depend on what quality means to see that these Federal laboratories
have the competence or quality or are in fact used by the `broadest
number of governmental activities and agencies *and if simply the
agency that has jurisdiction over it determines the quality or compe-
tence or capability, then in fact that would be considerably narrower,
one would think.
Mr. HUGHES. Yes, that is correct. Clearly, we have our share of
resnonsibility in terms of financing, of the recommendations and
actions we take which affect the allocation of funds and personnel,
of choices which are made among programs for the allocation of
resources, and so on. We are inevitably involved in that.
The management of the facility, however, must be, and the exper-
tise, the technical expertise, must come primarily from the agency
itself. I say this with due respect to Mr. Westrate and other people in
the Bureau who give close attention to Federal laboratories and other
research and development facilities, our job is a management job
basically.
Mr. RUMSFELD. This is not true of the Office of Science and Tech-
nology.
Mr. HUGHES. It is less true, but I think you ought to ask Dr. Hornig.
The Bureau's statement makes it clear we would and do work as
closely as we can with the Office of Science and Technology, but I
think Dr. Hornig would agree that Dr. Pickering, for instance, has
the firmest understanding about *the capacities and the qualities of
his laboratory rather than Dr. Hornig or the Bureau of the Budget.
Truly, the financial choices that we make affect laboratory opera-
tions, but within those general constraints and within that general
management framework the laboratory director, agency head, and
his advisers must operate. Our techniques here-
Mr. RUMSEELD. Not must; are. If there is a broader government good
to be served and it is determined by this committee and recommended
PAGENO="0133"
129
to the administration or acted into law that a final filter had to be ap-
plied to this to see that government generally had a certain level of
competence, this then would filter down like everything else does.
Mr. HUGHES. I think that is right. But at least in the present state
of art, and I characterize it as an art rather than a science, the best
techniques which we have evolved for allocating funds in areas where
choices are very difficult, where the management problems are very
difficult, are techniques which involve the forcing of choices upon the
people who manage the programs. Dr. Pickering referred to this and
so did Mr. Finger. We are interested in Harry Finger's selection of
R. & D. efforts within his particular sphere of responsibility. Certainly
through our own expertise and whatever help we could obtain from
Dr. Hornig and his staff, we would try to compare NASA's projects
and NASA's laboratories with AEC and National Science Founda-
tion activities.
Mr. RUMSFELD. Let's terminate the answer and go on to something
else. I don't think we are on the same wavelength.
If you make a decision that water fountains were necessary in Gov-
ernment installations, then you would allow water fountains through
the Bureau. You would let people have water fountains.
Have you ever approached this question of discretionary authority
for these laboratories on this basis in the light that Dr. Pickering has
suggested; that is, that it is a possible and necessary cost of doing
business to see that a laboratory has funds for general competence,
morale, or all of these reasons he lists, all of which would not be appli-
cable if you did not apply them to all laboratories?
Mr. HUGHES. We have not taken the initiative with respect to dis-
cretionary funds as far as I know.
Mr. WESTRATE. The Bell report which was proposed essentially
under the leadership of the Bureau of the Budget dealt with this
problem. In that respect, the Bureau did take the initiative. As far as
we are concerned that is still a very valid conclusion.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Hughes, we are at the point where we most
likely will have to have you come back.
The Bell report states that "it would seem, based on the results of
this review, that it would be possible and desirable to make more use
of existing governmental facilities and avoid the collection of dupli-
cate facilities. This is not as easy a problem as it might seem. It is
ordinarily necessary for a laboratory, if it is to provide strong and
and competent facilities, to have a major mission and major source
of funding."
It goes on to say this will limit the extent it is possible to make
facilities available to other agencies but that "it is clearly possible to
do this and a continuing scrutiny is necessary."
What we would like to know, and we can't possibly go into it at the
moment, does the BOB feel the same way as it did when this report
was published in 1962? What has been done about it? Who performs
this continuing scrutiny?
How does it fit into these que~tions we have been asking about
facility ratings and this type of thing?
We may be able to handle this by submitting a series of questions,
but if we are not, we would like to try to work out an arrangement to
have you come back.
Mr. HUGHES. As you wish, Mr. Chairman.
PAGENO="0134"
130
PREPARED STATEMENT OF PHILLIP S. HUGHES, DEPUTY DIRECTOR,
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
We are here at your request to discuss some of the key issues you have iden-
tified which are related to effective utilization of Federal laboratories.
The Bureau of the Budget shares your concern that the Government's `research
and development facilities be managed efficiently and effectively just as we want
the most effective use of all Government sources. Efficient and effective utilization
in'cludes use of a laboratory's capabilities to `meet the research needs of an agency
other than its own when this is feasible.
Federal laboratories are one element of the Federal Government's broad in-
volvement in research and development. In dealing with this and other issues
in research and development the Bureau of the Budget `obtains `assistance and
advice from the Office of Science an'd Technology.
Normally, the Bureau of the Budget depends upon the agencies to set policies
for their research and development facilities and to take those steps needed to
insure competent management. However, When major management issues do
arise or when problems affecting laboratories cut across agency lines we, `in
cooperati'on with the Office. `of Science and Technology, can take the initiative to
deal with them. Also during the `past few years we have found it most advan-
tageous to participate in the work of the ~ommittoe on Federal Laboratories `of
the Federal `Council for Science and Technology.
The Bureau's own most recent comprehensive assessment of Federal labora-
tories occurred in connection with our study of the broader question of Govern-
ment contracting for research and development, which was prepared with the
participation of OST, DOD, NASA, AEC, NSF, and the Civil Service Commission.
We presented our findings in 1962 under the `title "Report to `the President on
Government `Contracting for Resea'rch and Development." `This study is popularly
known as th'e Bell Report. Some of the questions you have raised `about Federal
laboratories were also considered in that `report. Therefore, I would like to men-
ti'on several of the Bell Report's conclusions about Federal laboratories which
I believe bear directly upon the issues being examined in `these hearings. These
conclusions are:
Choices among the various means for conducting research `and develop-
men't work should be made on the basis of rel'ative efficiency and effectiveness
in accomplishing the desired work with `due regard `to the need to maintain
and enlarge the long-term strength of the Nati'on's scientific resources, both
public `and private.
A strong base of `technical knowledge sh'ould be continually maintained
within the Government service and available for advice to top management.
Federal laboratories provide a useful source for such knowledge as well as
a source of `technical management for `the agencies.
Because `the Government laboratory has a close and `continuing relation-
ship to its agency, it can provide maximum responsiveness to the needs of the
agency and a maximum sense of sharing the agency mission.
Government agencies should maintain a strong internal competence in
research `and development. By doing so, the agencies will be able to make
the difficult and extraordinarily important program decisions which rest on
scientifi'c and technical judgments.
Finally, it appears possible and desirable to make more use of existing
governmental facilities and avoid creating duplicate facilities. However,
there are certain problems which limit the extent to which it is possible to
to make the facilities of one agency available for the work of other agencies.
Mr. Chairman, the Bureau of the Budget believes that these statements are
still valid and that they form essential guidelines for the effective use of Federal
laboratories. Basically they assert that Federal agencies greatly benefit from
having their own laboratories to work on mission-related problems, but that
duplication of facilities should be avoided, and that a laboratory's services
should *be available to other than the parent agency to the extent practical.
Further, new laboratories should not be created without the most careful con-
siclerati'on of `alternatives; the basic consideration is getting the job done effec-
tively and efficiently.
You have posed a number of question's which bear on two major aspects of
Federal laboratory management: (1) keeping a laboratory responsive to new
needs and opportunities which strongly rela'tes to t'he quality of the laboratory,
PAGENO="0135"
131
and (2) the utilization of existing laboratory resources to meet such pressing
national prdblems as transportation, pollution, housing and crime.
With respect to upgrading the quality of Federal laboratories, the Bureau of
the Budget feels that such matters are the prime respon:sihility of the agencies
having jurisdiction over them. The mission of the agency prescribes its research
needs. When particular research needs have been met, a laboratory should be
appraised with respect to its capacity to undertake new research efforts. Good
management dictates that constant attention be given to a laboratory's effective-
ness and adaptability or capacity for redirection. The Bureau has no ready solu-
tions to the problem of redirection. We do feel, however, that basically, agency
management must consider the future of its laboratories in terms of their capac-
ity to serve the research needs of the funding agency.
One suggestion advanced for keeping a laboratory responsive to new oppor-
tunities is to provide the laboratory director with some discretionary funds to
undertake new projects of his own choosing. This Bell Report recommendation
has been implemented to some degree by the agencies. We fully agree that some
discretionary funds are needed if n laboratory is to respond promptly to new
opportunities within the area of its research competence.
Earlier I indicated that the Bureau of the Budget concurs in the Bell Report
conclusion that maximum use be made of existing research and development
facilities to avoid needless duplication. While there is no doubt that laboratory
services should be available across agency lines, Federal laboratories must sup-
port the mission of the agency which provides the major source of its funds.
Thus, the sponsoring agency has first call on the services of its laboratories and
sets the priorities of their efforts. The availability of any particular laboratory
to serve the needs of any other Government agency depends largely upon the
workload imposed by its own.
Whether or not the work of Federal laboratories should deliberately be redi-
rected to meet the needs of other agencies is a difficult question. There should
be no hard and fast rules on this because there is no simple answer. Concep-
tually and technically speaking, we know of no formal barriers preventing one
Government agency drawing on the capabilities existing in a laboratory funded
by another agency. However, a number of considerations or factors are relevant:
current and anticipated workload in support of the parent agency's mission; the
compatibility of existing laboratory skills for work on other agency problems;
the amount of retraining of staff which is necessary; whether or not new leader-
ship can be obtained expeditiously from the private sector or other Government
laboratories; and the requirement for additional equipment and facility modifica-
tion.
And of course Federal statutes, regulations, and procedures must be sufficiently
flexible to make redirection of an existing laboratory a truly practical alterna-
tive to the establishment of a new Federal laboratory.
The Economy Act of 1932 provided the authority for agencies to place orders
with other agencies for materials, supplies, equipment, work or services they can
provide if funds are available and if this is in the interest of the Government-
However, a major limitation on the use of this authority for any large-scale
redirection of a laboratory's efforts is the Comptroller General's ruling that the
performing agency should be in a position to supply what is necessary without
adding new plant and equipment. The full implications of this interpretation
must be examined case by case to determine the extent to which laboratories
are prevented from doing work for other agencies.
Present funding arrangements do not inhibit agencies performing work for
each other. A transfer of funds for services rendered is all that is required.
Where problems exist, they relate to Government laws and procedures for
dealing w-ith such matters as personnel, new construction and use of facilities
as I mentioned earlier.
This Subcommittee has expressed concern about the capacity of mission
oriented laboratories to respond to certain national problems-transportation,
housing and crime. In short, the essential issue is the timely adaptability on
existing Federal laboratories to do research in `these areas.
The Bureau's basic position is that of the Bell Report. If there is a pool of
talent in a Federal laboratory and it is available to work on such problems, the
pertinent agencies should work out the necessary arrangements, subject to the
basic interest and mission of the agency having jurisdiction over the laboratory.
By itself, this arrangement may not produce a large-scale assault on the
national problem. In the absence of tight arrangements, the Department of Trans-
PAGENO="0136"
132
portation, Housing and Urban Development, arid Justice, could find their
priorities slipping if a servicing laboratory must divert its resources to work on
new tasks assigned by its own agency.
Under the philosophy of the Bell Report the case can be made for the Depart-
ments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Justice develop-
ing their own in-house research capability, As mission-oriented agencies, they now
have similar research and development needs to their sister agencies. A decision
to do this, however, must depend upon the most careful analysis of the range
of alternatives. This analysis might lead to meeting the research needs of these
agencies through any combination of their own laboratories, the laboratories of
other agencies, and contractural relationships with universities and industry. If
the agency can satisfy its research requirements without establishing one or more
of its own laboratories, it should obviously do so.
With respect to the establishment of contractual arrangements, Bureau of the
Budget Circular A-76 provides guidance to the agencies on the question of Gov-
ernment entry into commercial or industrial activity to provide a product or
service obtainable from a private source. The essential purpose of the Circular is
to further the Government's general policy of relying on the private enterprise
system to supply its needs. Technically speaking, the Circular excepts nothing.
Thus, research and development facilities come within its general purview-,
although other statements of policy such as the Bell Report affect decisions
regarding research and development facilities. Obviously, however, and this is
particularly true in the research and development area, program requirements
and management considerations are the most compelling determinants.
Thus, the Circular clearly recognizes that there are circumstances under w-hich
the Government should provide a commercial or industrial product or service for
its own use and provides the guidance for this determination. This is par-
ticularly true in the case of "new starts." Instructions are given for making cost
comparisons of alternatives. Should an agency have authority to establish an in-
house activity it must complete the cost comparison analysis prior to submitting
its budget requests to the Bureau of the Budget. Thus, the budget process is a
further check on the decision for a "new start."
Finally, I would like to say a few words regarding the establishment of per-
sonnel ceilings for laboratories. These determinations are made by the agencies,
not by the Bureau of the Budget. With the assistance of the agencies, the Bu-
reau does establish personnel ceilings for agencies as a whole. These are end of
the year ceilings. Two figures are set-one for full-time employees, and one for
total employees. The figures are based on an appraisal of current agency pro-
grams as compared with the previous year. The agency submits its request to the
Bureau; this is examined in much the same manner as budgetary proposals.
Once the overall agency figures are determined, the agency makes its final per-
sonnel allocations for all its units, including its laboratories. With respect to
the flexible use of personnel in laboratories or other agency activities, Bureau
policy as set forth in Circular A-64 encourages interagency sharing of per-
sonnel resources. Thus, agencies can arrange for personnel transfers where this
is mutually advantageous.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO PHILLIP S. HUGHES BY THE SUBCOM-
MITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Qvestion. 1. Please describe the type of "assistance and advice" which the
Bvreau receives from O~ST. Does it consist primarily of technical advice or does
it inclvde advice as to priorities, fvnding and duplication?
Answer. Contacts between the BOB and OST are extensive and occur at all
staff levels. The Bureau's budget examiners frequently obtain substantive advice
regarding agency scientific and technical programs. Sometimes such advice is
strictly technical. At other times OST provides views on funding levels, priori-
ties and on questions of balance in interagency programs. Occasionally OST
staff participates in the preparation of special Bureau studies such as the Report
to the President on Contracting for Research and Development (Bell Report) and
The Administration of Government Supported Research at Universities. The
Bureau continually seeks advice on R&D policy and budget issues from Dr.
Hornig and his OST associates.
Bureau involvement in OST activities also provides a valuable input for per-
formance of the Bureau'.s own functions. To illustrate, the Bureau has an.
observer on the Federal Council for Science and Technology and all FCST
PAGENO="0137"
133
committees. Thus, the Bureau is directly involved in discussions of the full
array of R&D issues considered by the Council and its subunits, a number of
which deal with interagency programs. The POST recommendations are con-
sidered by the Bureau as well as by OST and the agencies, and the data col-
lected by FCST study groups are a valuable addition to the information the
Bureau requires in formulating its judgments.
Question 2. In your prepared statement you say that "new laboratories should
not be created without the most careful consideration of alternatives." What
do you consider are the alternatives, and what criteria are there to guide an
agency in making a proper choice? How does, or should BOB oversee this
determination?
Answer. In our judgment there are two principal alternatives for accomplish-
ing the Government's R&D work. Either existing or new in-house facilities must
be used or arrangements must be made to perform the needed R&D by contract
or grant with industrial, educational, State or local governmental and not-for-
profit organizations. In considering the first alternative an agency should deter-
mine the feasibility of using the facilities of another agency before seriously
considering creating a new one of its own.
Precise criteria for choosing among alternatives are at best difficult to develop,
but there are a number of guidelines which an agency can consider in making its
choices. For example, BOB Circular A-49 requires each agency to establish
criteria for the use of management and operating contracts and suggests guide-
lines for such criteria. The Bell Report of 1962 discussed the natural advantages
of direct Federal operations and the various patterns of contracting now in use
and included the following general guideline for choosing among alternatives
which we believe is still valid:
". . . Not all arrangements, however, are equally suitable for all purposes and
under all circumstances, and discriminating choices must be made among them
by the Government agencies having research and development responsibilities.
These choices should be based primarily on two considerations:
"(1) Getting the job done effectively and efficiently, with due regard to
the long4erm strength of the Nation's scientific and technical resources; and
"(2) Avoiding assignments of work which would create inherent conflicts
of interest."
A number of specific factors must be examined by an agency in considering
alternatives for satisfying its R&D needs. They include:
a. The requirement for and nature of the R&D effort to be undertaken in sup-
port of the agency's mission and programs.
b. The importance of maintaining or acquiring technical competence within
the agency to do both an effective job of managing R&D programs and being a
sophisticated buyer of the products and services the agency requires.
c. The availability of outside resources to perform the work, e.g., established
university laboratories, Federal contract research centers, industrial labora-
tories, and other Government laboratories.
d. Comparative costs.
With respect to the factor of cost, BOB Circular A-76 provides guidance for
agencies to decide among alternatives on the basis of cost comparisons. How-
ever, as was pointed out in Bureau testimony, program requirements and man-
agement considerations are the most compelling determinants for choosing
alternatives in the research and development area.
In general, BOB reviews proposals for major new laboratories in the context
of agencies' overall budget proposals-the programs proposed by the agencies,
the means they propose to accomplish the programs and the resource implica-
tions (dollars, manpower, facilities). The Bureau obtains from the agency the
information needed to identify alternative courses of action and relative priority
for program funding. There is no specific procedure which singles out laboratories
for special treatment from other programs and facilities. Depending upon the
situation however, the Bureau may ask an agency to complete a special study to
identify alternatives to a laboratory proposal and provide other pertinent infor-
mation.
Question 3. In your prepared statement you state: "We fully agree that some
discretionary funds are needed if a lqboratory is to respond promptly to new
opportunities within the area of its research competence."
a. Generally speaking, what amount do you recommend as a percentage of the
laboratory's budget?
PAGENO="0138"
134
b. f~l~ould discretionary funds be available to both Government operated and
contractor operated laboratories? If not, what is your reasoning for drawing a
distinction?
e. As a general policy, should discretionary funds be made available to all
laboratories or only those which have demonstrated quality work (a reward for
competence)?
d. Do you believe that discretionary funds should be used only in furtherance
of an agency's mission or could some of the funds be used as seed money to ew-
plore how technology developed by a laboratory conld be applied to other national
problems, perhaps outside the jurisdiction of the sponsoring agency?
Answer. The referenced statement from the Bureau's testimony was intended
to express a principle of sound laboratory management. Rigid programming of
laboratory funds would deny flexibility to the laboratory in responding to targets
of research opportunity. Desired flexibility can be achieved by giving the labora-
tory director reasonable latitude in reprogramming and by setting aside a quan-
tity of discretionary funds for projects of his choosing. The amount of desired
flexibility and method `for achieving it would, of course, depend upon `the nature
and mission of the laboratory.
The `Bureau does not recommend a specific percentage of a laboratory's budget
to be set aside in the form of discretionary funds. `Essentially thi's would be an
operational decision to `be more appropriately made by the laboratory director
and agency officials reviewing his program proposals. The percentage of the
budget designated in the form of discretionary funds would depend on a num-
ber of factors-size, competence, nature, mission and programs of the laboratory;
degree of flexibility desired; and previous experience in the use of such funds
based upon careful evaluation.
The agencies now have authority to reprogram funds for laboratory operations.
In general, we feel there is considerable latitude available. Control of funding
at the program or laboratory level is designed to give reasonable flexibility to
follow promising avenues of research, particularly when some funds are not tied
to specific projects.
Contractor operated laboratories also have reasonable flexibility in using funds.
For example, AEC laboratory directors have considerable control over the use
of funds within their programs, subject to after-the-fact review. Also, discre-
tionary funds in the form of allowances for independent research and develop-
ment or set-asides for undirected research already exist in DOD contracts with
industrial laboratories. These funds are utilized in a similar manner to the
funds which companies set aside for their own research efforts for product im-
provement. Further, some Federal `Con'tract Research Centers are given consid-
erable latitude in initiating their own research efforts under terms of the con-
tract. Still `other FCRC's rely for such purposes on use of their fees. The purposes
of discretionary funds in a Government laboratory are basically the same as such
funds `used by .a contractor. These funds can be justified for `both.
As a basic policy, we believe that discretionary funds should be available to
those laboratories of sufficient size and with missions, programs and quality of
management which give promise of effective use of such funds. Quality of their
use (determined by agency evaluation) should be a major factor in deciding the
amount for subsequent years, but laboratories should be given the continuing
opportunity to acquire and demonstrate their competence. Thus, a reward and
penalty `system would be (and is now) used.
In general, we believe that discretionary funds in the laboratory should be
used in furtherance of `the parent agency's mission. This does not preclude ex-
ploring new `technologies which might also be applicable to the solution of a
national problem falling primarily within another agency's jurisdiction. With
such discretionary funds, the laboratory could pursue `the new technology to the
point where the other agency could evaluate it for sponsorship in terms of its
own programs and priorities.
Question. 4. In your statement you state: "Under the philosophy of the Bell
Report the case can be made for the Departments of Transportation, Housing
and Urban Development and Justice developing their own in-house research
capability." You also state: "If the agency can satisfy its research requirements
without establishing one or more of its own laboratories, it should obviously
do so."
a. Assuming each of these agencies proposed its own research laboratory,
what steps or studies, if any, would the Bureau require the agency to take be-
fore approving the request?
PAGENO="0139"
135
b. If a disagreement arose between the agency and the Bureau concerning the
need for the laboratory, how would the matter be resolved-or who would make
the final decision?
Answer. The basis for the Bureau's first statement is our continued belief
t'hat some in-house research capability is essential to the efficient and effective
performance of the missions of most agencies. We feel that an agency should
have the capability within its own staff to identify research needs, to relate
research findings to the solution of problems within its mission and to insure
that it will be a wise purchaser of Rand D.
A number of the comments we made in response to question 2 above are ap-
propriate here also. The budget process is the principal vehicle the Bureau uses
to consider new programs, facilities, manpower, etc. It should be recognized
that agencies consider alternatives such as (1) having research work per-
formed by others, and (2) using available Federal land or facilities-if a new
laboratory must be established. If an agency's budget and program justification
did not include information from the agency's study of alternatives, it would
likely be reqested. If it appeared that an agency had not considered appropriate
alternatives, the Bureau might ask that a study be done. We have no standard
set of steps or studies for such situations. The content of a study would be
determined by the particular situation involved and the specifications would
be worked out with the agency. The study would, of course, be directed toward
identifying alternative ways of getting necessary work accomplished and the
related impact upon effectiveness, efficiency and cost.
The Bureau's procedures allow for full discussion of disagreements with the
agencies on budget issues. The final decision on including funds for a laboratory
(or any other item) in the President's budget is, of course, made by the
President.
Question. 5. The Bell Report stated that a "continuing scrutiny" was needed
to make sure that the facilities which the Government has are used to their
fullest ertent. Whose responsibility is it to provide this continuing scrutiny?
What has BOB done in this area?
Answer. Utilization of laboratories must be evaluated by the agencies in the
context of their mission needs and available funds. The extensive program in
DOD under the guidance of the Office of Laboratory Management in DDR&E
and its service counterparts illustrates agency efforts in this area. Closing and
disposing of some excess laboratory facilities has occurred. For example, when
the Connecticut Aircraft Nuclear Engineering Laboratory became excess to
ADO's needs, the facility was promptly closed.
Bureau of the Budget reviews occur as a normal part of the budget process.
The Bureau likewise has an observer on the FCST's Federal Laboratory Com-
mittee which deals with a number of general management issues.
Question. 6. As an indication of the eatent of cross-agency work, please sup-
ply information showing the amount of funds transferred between Government
agencies in FY .1967 for the conduct of research and development, such information
should include the transferring agency, the receiving agency, the amount of funds
transferred, and the project or purpose for which the funds were transferred.
a. What instructions or directives has BOB issued or plan to issue on the
cross-agency use of Federal laboratories?
Answer. The Bureau and most agencies do not maintain data banks on cross-
agency reimbursable efforts, but some basic information is available in the agen-
cies. The attached tabulations * prepared at BOB's request provide a sizable
number of examples of cross-agency efforts, general purpose and size of the
dollar involvements.
The Bureau's principal pronouncements which have implications for cross-
agency use of Federal laboratories include the Bell Report, BOB Circular A-TO
and instructions to the agencies on implementation of the planning. programming
and budgeting system (PPBS). The Bureau contemplates issuing no further di-
rectives on cross-agency use of laboratories at this time.
Question. 7. Since the Bell Report was published in 196~, what significant
actions have been taken by the Bureau and the agencies to carry out the recom-
niendations? What recommendations remain in need of action?
Answer. In summary, the following significant actions have `been taken to
implement the Bell Report recommendations. It should be noted `that a number
of these actions are continuing, so in some respect, they are unfinished items of
business.
*The tabulations referred to may be found in the committee files.
PAGENO="0140"
136
a. The Federal pay reform legislation enacted in 1962 and subsequent legis-
lation has considerably improved the Government's competitive position in
attracting top flight personnel into public service.
b. A number of agencies, e.g., DOD, AEC, Post Office, HEW, have strengthened
their internal management arrangements for research and development partic-
ularly by giving key officials agency-wide responsibilities for such activities.
c. Agencies reported to the Bureau they have used the guidelines stated in the
Bell Report regarding the inherent advantages of various R&D performers when
selecting organizations to perform agency tasks.
d. Conflict of interest questions discussed in the report have been dealt with
by conflict of interest legislation, Presidential memoranda and agency regulations
with appropriate enforcement measures.
e. The Bell Report urged the improvement of Government specifications for
R&D tasks through better feasibility studies and other means. The principal agen-
cies involved, DOD, AEC and NASA, have taken a number of steps to obtain
needed improvements. For example, DOD developed its concept of a "Program
Definition Phase" with ABC and NASA following a similar pattern. All agencies
report increasing the use of their own laboratory capabilities in developing
improved specifications.
f. Most agencies, particularly DOD and NASA have taken steps `to improve
their R&D contracting through promoting greater competition for contracts
and emphasizing the use of fixed price and incentive contracts in an effort
to overcome some of the deficiencies of cost-plus-fixed-fee contracting cited in
the Bell Report.
g. There has been major activity in the agencies in the complex area of im-
proved contract administration. The principal agencies, DOD, AEC and NASA,
have revamped their procedures covering the full spectrum .of administration-
contractor source selection, project control and monitoring, reporting systems
arid contractor performance evaluation. The agencies also have refined the
PERT system as an aid in planning and controlling the three major variables
in large systems development programs-time, cost, and technical performance.
h. Extensive w-ork has been undertaken throughout the Government to im-
prove Federal relations with universities. OST has taken leadership in this
area iii collaboration with the Bureau of the Budget, NSF and HEW. In par-
ticular, the w-ork of the Federal Council's Committee on Academic Science and
Engineering should be noted. Recently, the requirement for time and effort
reporting for university professorial staff and other working on Government
sponsored research has been eliminated. In 1966 the Bureau of the Budget issued
its own report on "The Administration of Government Supported Research at
Universities" in an effort to bring improvements to the complex area of agency
aclininistration which so vitally affects university programs.
i. The steps which agencies have and are taking to upgrade in-house labora-
tories are well known to the Committee. Testimony offered by DOD, NASA and
other representatives have provided the specific details. The recommendations
of the Bell Report dealing with the basic problems of Federal laboratories gave
additional stimulus to efforts which were already underway, particularly in
DOD which has the bulk of the Government's own research capabilities.
j. The Bell Report also proposed improvements in the `technical information
exchange system. Leadership in developing these improvements has come from
OST with the extensive efforts of the Committee on Scientific and Technical
Information (COSATI) of the Federal Council for Science and Technology.
COSATI has a sizeable agenda of problems on which it is now working with
broad participation of agency personnel.
Further implementation of the Bell Report recommendations continues. One
additional area in which BOB has been involved is the complex problem of con-
tractor compensation. Some reliance has been placed on incentive contracting to
insure reasonableness of compensation. In addition, efforts are underway to
improve agency policies and procedures, to secure personnel competent to review-
compensation and to provide more reliable data on prevailing rates of com-
pensation.
Question 8. As the lead agency in the development of principles for Federal
organization and management, what is the Bureau's view on organizational loca-
tion of Federal laboratory directors in relation to the agency head? How can the
nvmher of administrative layers that eaist in some agencies between the labora-
tory director and the agency head b~ reconciled with the directo'r'u need for
flcaibiiity, discretions and quick response in the direction of his laboratory?
PAGENO="0141"
137
Answer. There is no one proper reporting level within agencies for all labora-
tory directors, nor is it possible to state what precise specified flexibility or dis-
cretion all laboratory directors should be allowed. The organizational location
of an agency's laboratory directors in relation to the agency head must neces-
sarily depend upon the size and complexity of the agency's missions and pro-
grams and the laboratory's role in their accomplishment. As a management
principle, the Bureau favors as few administrative layers as are consistent with
adequate management controL
The principal research agencies, DOD, AEC, and NASA, have realistically
faced up to the problem~ of multiple administrative layering. DOD has created
its Office of Laboratory Management with its three service counterparts to serve
as focal points for the review of agency-wide laboratory problems and require-
ments. The contract laboratories of AEC now report to the AEO General Man-
ager and NASA laboratories report to an associate administrator. In Com-
merce, the Director of the National Bureau of Standards reports to an assistant
secretary, and in NSF the Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Re-
search reports to the director of a major program division. The actions taken
thus far to reduce the adverse effects of layering are considered steps in the
right direction.
Question 9. Dr. Weinberg, Director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
pointed out that the redeployment of Federal laboratories can run into diffi-
culty if there is no fiscal flywheel to smooth out fluctuations or delays in funding.
Speaking of e~vperience with NASA, 1w said:
"However, with non-ARC funds we have much. less fleaiibility. If because of a
red-tape error, funds from NASA are delayed three weeks we are in serious
difficulty if we do not close out the NASA-supported work-even though three
weeks later it is to be resumed. Obviously some financial flywheel must be pro-
vided. I would think an overhead charge assessed against all research at the
laboratory and designated as the laboratory director's overhead account could be
used as a fiscal flywheel to smooth out fluctuations
What is your view on the need for such a fiscal flywheel for laboratory direc-
tors? What would be necessary to put one into effect?
Answer. There are two aspects to the problem Dr. Weinberg describes-flexi-
bility of operations for in-house laboratories and smoothness of operations for
contractor laboratories when both have multiple sources of funding. In the case of
the in-house laboratory, the Bureau believes that the requirement for a fiscal
flywheel is minimal. The bulk of in-house laboratory operations for any one
agency is usually financed by the parent agency which is responsible for ade-
quately supporting these operations. In the case where an in-house laboratory
depends upon several program managers whose allocation decisions regarding
available resources are based more on programmatic requirements than institu-
tional support, the laboratory conceivably may encounter some difficulty in main-
taining a constant or fully predictable level of funding. Discretionary funds
and reprogramming authority can mimimize the effects of fluctuations which
might occur under such circumstances. This likewise dictates that program and
budget reviews should include an appropriate institutional review to assure that
decisions regarding laboratory support are made in the context of the laboratory's
agency-wide relationship. Work performed for other agencies is normally done
on a cost reimbursable basis with few problems encountered on transferring
funds.
Contractor laboratories may have some difficulty in maintaining orderly opera-
tions, if they perform work for a number of sponsors. Unanticipated funding de-
lays could cause management problems if contingency resources are not available.
It is our understanding that management fees have been used in emergency situa-
tions. The Bureau believes that many of the benefits of a "fiscal flywheel" for
contractor laboratories can be achieved by the sponsoring agency insuring that
the laboratory contract incorporate sufficient administrative flexibility and per-
mit the director to program his funds to cover such emergencies.
Question 10. Section 8 of Ea,ecutive Order 10521 directed agency heads to en-
courage and facilitate the sharing with other Federal agencies of major equip-
ment and facilities. It also directed that a Federal agency should procure ~major
equipment or facilities only after taking suitable steps to ascertain that the need
cannot be met adequately from existing inventories of its own or other agencies.
To what extent were these provisions superseded by Executive Order 10807 which
established the Federal Council? To what extent does Section 8 still apply?
PAGENO="0142"
138
Answer. The provisions of section 8 (a) and (b) of Executive Order 1O~21
continue to apply. Only Section 8(c) which specifically applied to the Interde-
partmental Committee on Scientific Research and Development was superseded
by Executive Order 10807 inasmuch as the ICSRD ceased to exist upon creation
of the Federal Council.
Question 11. Based on your ecoperienee, what advantages and disadvantages
would yow see in an office of Government laboratory management located at the
level of or within the Office of Science and Technology? Such an office would be
analagous to the present Office of the Assistant Director (Laboratory Manage-
nient), in the Department of Defense's Office of Defense Research and Engineer-
ing.
Answer. The basic premise for suggesting that multi-agency problems and
programs including Government-wide utilization of resources be dealt with in
the Executive Office of the President (by BOB, OST or a new agency) is that the
Executive Office has a broader perspective for considering such matters. This
premise may be generally valid, but practical considerations dictate a careful
selection of the multi-agency matters in whteh the Executive Office becomes
deeply involved. At present the Bureau feels it would be undesirable to establish
an office of Government laboratory management in OST or elsewhere in the
Executive Office.
There are several reasons for the Bureau's position:
a. That Government laboratory resources are sufficiently more important than
various other resources to be given special treatment in the Executive Office
has not yet been convincingly demonstrated.
b. The role that an office of Government laboratory management would play
vis-a-vis the operating agencies is not at all clear.
c. It is very doubtful that such an office could be more effective in improving
the utilization of laboratories (taking into account agency needs and funding)
than could the agencies themselves.
d. If placed in OST, such an office would put OST in an operating role which is
inappropriate for a staff agency for the President. Laboratory management and
operations should be left to the agencies.
e. The proposed office could become another level of decision-making which
could inhibit agencies from taking timely action.
As stated elsewhere, OST and BOB are now involved in a number of activities
dealing with Government laboratory resources. Dr. Hornig has described for the
Committee the efforts of the Federal Council's Committee on Federal Labora-
tories and other studies undertaken by OST. Perhaps the OST and BOB machinery
can be strengtened to deal with interagency laboratory `problems, but in our judg-
ment such strengthening can be achieved without creating a special office to
deal exclusively with in-house laboratory problems.
Question 12. What inventory information about research and development has
been collected as specified in part r of Circular A-76?
a. To what ea~tent is part 5-d a blanket eaemption for research and development
that is available from the laboratories of another department or agency?
b. Have tbe review provisions of part 7-c caused any in-house research and
development to be transferred to an outside performer?
Answer. As stated in the Bureau's testimony, Circular A-TO technically does
not exempt any Government commercial or industrial activity, i.e., an activity
which is operated and managed by an executive agency and which provides for
the Government's own use a product or service that is obtainable from a private
source. We also pointed out, however, that decisions to conduct research and de-
velopment or have the work performed by private facilities are usually based on
factors other than those set forth in Circular A-TO and Circular A-49. These fac-
tors include considerations identified in the Bell Report and such basic issues as
the need to maintain and enlarge the long-term strength of the Nation's scien-
tific resources, both public and private.
Information included in the inventories required by section 7 of Circular A-TO
generally relates to R&D testing laboratories where the service rendered is
commercial or industrial in character.
Section 5-d of the Circular permits a Government commercial or industrial
activity when the product is obtainable from another Federal agency. To the
extent the suitable existing Government R&D facilities and capabilities are
available it is expected, in the interest or economy, that such facilities will be
used.
PAGENO="0143"
139
The Bureau has no information that reviews which are conducted under the
provisions of section 7-c have resulted in the transfer of R&D from in-house to
private performers. As previously stated, we believe such determinations would
generally be made on the basis of considerations extending beyond the policies
specified in Circular A-76 for acquiring commercial or industrial products and
services for Government use.
Question 13. From the standpoint of effective agency management and full use
of Government laboratories, what information about Federal laboratories should
be collected and by whom?
Answer. A good data base to provide adequate management information about
Federal laboratories should interrelate the program structure, technical content,
appropriations, budget activities, and accounting data so that essential informa-
tion can be summarized on either a programmatic or institutional basis and inte-
grated into the agency managerial system.
Information about laboratories, whether in-house or contractural, should be
collected by the sponsoring agency and should be available there for internal
program/budget reviews as well as cross-agency reviews by BOB and OST. In
general, agencies already have systems in effect for collecting basic management
data on their laboratories. We do not feel that the collection and centralization
of this data in BOB or OST on a regular basis would be very useful. However,
a good data base maintained by the agencies can be very helpful when a particular
problem has been identified for study by the Bureau or some other appropriate
group.
The question of centrally collecting general purpose or inventory-type data
has been raised on a number of occasions. At this point we are skeptical that
the benefits of collecting such centralized informatioa will match the cost of
collecting it, maintaining it, and keeping it current. Unless reasonable use will
be made of the information, it will not be worth the effort.
Under instruction of the Federal Council for Science and Technology, the
Committee on Federal Laboratories is developing a plan for an inventory. Cur-
rent agency information systems are being examined to determine the specific
information which should be included. The effort will be experimental so that
its potential value can be evaluated before proceeding with a full-scale effort.
Question 14. The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy published in its hearings
on the AEC's anthorizing legislation for FY 1968 an exchange of letters with
the Burean concerning Mr. Holifleld's thoughts on the use of existing ABC
laboratories for environmental pollution researdh (Part II, pp. 1285-7). He
expressed his concern that:
we may lose irretrievable lead-time in establishing new organizations and
facilities, which will result in wasteful duplication and fail to achieve the desired
results. We can and must make optimum use of the qualified people and facilities
currently available to us."
Answer. The Bureau's reply of January 6, 1967 mentioied plans to make a
detailed exploration of the possibilities identified in Mr. Holifield's letter as
soon as the then current problems of budget preparation were out of the way.
Since then, what has the Bureau of the Budget done to furnish policy guidance
to the AEC and other agencies with environinenital pollution responsibilities
about possible use of the AEC's existing research and development capabilities?
What is the feasibility of the approach proposed by Mr. Holifield?
Details about the Atomic Energy Commission's efforts to undertake work for
other agencies in the area of environmental pollution have already been described
to you by AEC Commissioner Tape in his testimony on April 3, 1968, and in his
letter to you of June 17, 1968.
Following our January 6, 1967 response to Congressman Holifield, the Bureau
explored with the AEC the possibility of conducting particular programs of
pollution R&D in the AEC laboratories. Since then, the Bureau has continued
to monitor the activities and progress of the AEC on this matter, and w-e have
informally advised and encouraged several of the agencies with environmental
pollution responsibilities to use the AEC facilities whenever appropriate. The
Bureau's efforts have occurred during our normal program and budget review
activities. The Bureau has issued no formalized directive or guidance. There are
at least two reasons for this. First, AEC laboratories are already rather heavily
loaded with R&D projects in atomic energy and the opportunity for establish-
ing non-nuclear pollution R&D programs in the laboratories has been limited.
Second, we feel that AEC has vigorously pursued the course of action which
Congressman Holifield recommended and that progress to date has been quite
good.
PAGENO="0144"
140
The Bureau belleves that there is continuing merit in Congressman Holifield's
recommendation and we plan to continue watching AEO progress and encourag-
ing other agencies to make approprIate use of AEC laboratories.
Question 15. In your statement you said that Circular A-64 encourages inter-
agency shaving of personnel resources. However, you did not discuss the magni-
tude of the administrative effort required to effect a transfer of personnel ceiling
between agencies. In speaking of requests for adjustments, the Cwcular states:
"In the agency's request for adjustment, it is not sufficient merely to ~ust'ify
the need for additional employment in a particular bureau or unit. The just~flca-
tion should in4icate clearly why the increase cannot be absorbed through an
internal adjustment in the agency's ceiling distribution, or why the need cannot
be postponed to the ne~vt fiscal yeav."
To what ertent do you think this requirement may bias Federal program ad-
ministrators away frctn~ directly operated Federal laboratories and toward
either contractor operated laboratories which have no personnel ceiling, or
toward in4ependent performers?
Answer. As of July 1, 1968, all Bureau of the Budget manpower ceilings have
been superseded. This action was taken because of the mandatory manpower
controls and reductions imposed by Title II of Public Law 90-364. Our comments
are therefore addressed to the situation existing prior to July 1, 1968.
The section of Circular A-64 which you quoted clearly deals with the type of
agency justification required for an increase in employment ceiling as opposed to
a transfer of ceiling between agencies for the purpose of sharing personnel re-
sources. At any rate, personnel ceilings are one of several management techniques
designed to control resources in situations that might not otherwise be subject
to effective constraints. PT1. 90-364 pointedly reminds the Executive Branch of
this fact.
Prior to the enactment of P.L. 90-364, control of personnel ceilings probably
has not been as significant a restraint as some have contended. In general, we
believe that there has been sufficient latitude in the system to allow the agencies
the flexibility they have needed.
We doubt that the administrative effort required to accomplish a transfer of
ceiling between agencies has in itself interjected any bias in determining whether
or not to use directly operated Federal laboratories. Transfers of personnel ceil-
ings between agencies have occurred for a variety of purposes. The administrative
effort does not appear to have interposed any significant difficulty or dictated a
decision to contract the w-ork. However, to the extent that agencies have been
unwilling to consider shifting personnel spaces from lower priority activities, or
to develop an acceptable personnel justification based on workload, there may
have been some decisions to contract the work rather than perform it in-house.
Question 16. How does or can the Planning, Programming and Budgeting (PPB)
system assist in assuring the goal of full and effective use of Federal laboratories?
Does the system address itself specifically to this question? If not, should the
system be modified to do so, and in what way?
Answer. The PPB system is designed to identify alternative courses of action
and the benefits associated with each, to determine criteria for key program-
matic and budgetary decisions, and to make the information available to persons
with the final responsibility for selecting alternatives. Use of the system is ex-
pected to make incremental improvements in the management of Federal
programs.
The PPB system does not, by itself, assure the full and effective use of Federal
laboratories. Since laboratories are considered a category of resources related to
specific purposes or programs, PPB does not specifically address the question of
most effective utilization of laboratories. Normally, PPB is not addressed to this
level of detail. When significant questions on `the choice and use of resources
involve laboratories, `those questions can be and are dealt with within the PPB
system. In short, the means of accomplishing objectives-selection among alter-
native combinations of inputs-are considered in some of the supporting analyses
in the program memoranda. The program memorandum is not only concerned
with u-hat is to be undertaken, but also `the most cost-effective means for achiev-
ing it.
The Bureau believes that PPB will contribute to better utilization of Federal
facilities, including laboratories, because as program goals are clarified, attention
must be given to the means for achieving these goals. Utilization of laboratories
should be examined in this context. Thus, we see no need to provide for special
treatment of laboratories in the PPB system. We know of no key problem which
is concerned solely with the utilization of one or more Federal laboratories.
Rather, their utilization must continue to be considered in the broader context
of achieving agency programs.
PAGENO="0145"
141
Question 17. How many new laboratories are in the planning stages for the
ne~it fIve years? Of these, how many are in the newer agencies or resulting from
new national programs? TVhat dollar investment? How many Federal laboratories
are scheduled for phase-out or closure during this same time period? How many
are scheduled for transfer from one agency to another?
Answer. A survey of the principal agencies revealed the following with respect
to the questions posed, exclusive of cost estimates:
a. The Department of Transportation is considering the need for two facili-
ties-a Highway Safety Bureau research facility to carry out DOT responsibili-
ties under the Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and a high speed
ground transportation test center which may be needed for evaluation and full
scale testing of new systems or components being developed.
b. The Department of Commerce is considering the need for several building
research facilities and a corrosion research laboratory.
c. With respect to the Department of Health Education and Welfare:
(1) The following major facilities are in the planning stages for the period
1969-1973:
NICHD Research Facility
Mental Health Child Research Center
Neurology-Child Health Facility, Puerto Rico.
Environmeiatal Health Sciences Center, Research Triangle, N.C.
Neurology-Allergy Virus Facility
National Acarine Reference Center, Hamilton, Montana
Dental Health Center Addition, San Francisco
NIH Animal Center, Phase II
NIH Animal Center, Phase III
(2) Within the Health Services and Mental Health Administration there are
14 new laboratories in the planning stage, 4 involving newer agencies or new
national programs. There are two laboratories scheduled for phase-out.
(3) There are two new Food and Drug Administration laboratories in the
planning stages for the next five years, neither of which is in a new-er agency
or results from new national programs.
d. The Department of Defense is planning the consolidation of 10 Army medi-
cal laboratories into three major medical centers. The possibility of other DOD
consolidations is being studied but no definitive information regarding these is yet
available.
Several agencies report they are now considering the question of establishing,
consolidating and phasing-out laboratories, but any discussion of future plans
(including cost estimates) at this time would be most premature.
Question. 18. Can yoi~ ecoplain in some detail why there are manpower ceilings
in addition to funding ceilings for Federal agencies? Where did the initial re-
qnirement stem from and what has been the history of this control?
Answer. As stated in our response to question 15 above, we regard personnel
ceilings as one of several important management techniques designed to control
resources. The amount of funds available to an agency does not necessarily control
the number of people employed. To illustrate, in the absence of some manpower
controls, agencies could direct program funds to payrolls or delay recruiting
until late in the year and thus increase the number of employees the Congress and
the President actually provided for. This delayed recruitment could result in
agency requests for funds to annualize this increased number of employees in the
succeeding year. Thus, manpower ceiling serve as a tool supplementing funds
control for more effective and economic use of resources.
With the expansion of Federal programs over the past few years, the Congress
frequently has expressed anxiety about the number of Federal employees. One
expression of this concern has been the monthly publication of employment
statistics by the Committee on the Reduction of Non-Essential Expenditures.
The clear implication drawn from congressional expressions is that the executive
branch should firmly hold employment levels.
The Department of Defense has maintained its own system of employment
ceilings for a number of years. In 1903, the President imposed personnel ceilings
upon all executive branch agencies. Those ceilings, however, have not been rigid
or arbitrary, and employment has been permitted to rise as needed to perform
the tasks authorized by the Congress-from 2,490,000 in 19~3 to an estimated
2,932,000 in 19~8.
Question 19. How are manpower ceilings generally administered? By the BOB?
By the agencies?
Answer. Again our comments are addressed to the situation existing prior
to July 1, 1908.
93-201-G8--------io
PAGENO="0146"
142
With the assistance of the agencies, the Bureau establishes manpower ceilings
for agencies as a whole. During the budget process, after a thorough-going re-
view of planned work programs, a ceiling on the total number of employees and
a ceiling on the number of full-time employees in permanen~t positions, for the
end of the fiscal year, are established for each agency as a whole. Such ceilings
are an extension of the program level decisions reflected in the President's budget.
Since the ceilings are established for the agency as a whole, agency heads are
permitted complete discretion in administering the allocation of positions among
the units of the agency.
The employee ceilings which the Bureau imposes are mutable. Agencies have
rquested and been grani~ed increases because of changes in work assignment
and for other mitigating circumstances, However, since the ceilings are given
for the agency as a whole, the agency must demonstrate that an overall increase
is required for the agency, i.e., that decreases in offsetting work, program cut-
backs or deferrals, effects of congressional action on the budget, etc., have been
taken into account.
The one exception to the two ceiling system is the Department of Defense. For
example, the Bureau established only one ceiling for the Department for FY
1968-a ceiling of 1,248,000 on total employment (this represents about 43 percent
of the current Federal civilian workforce). Thus, the Department of Defense
has more flexibility in administering ceiling controls than any other Federal
agency, if it cares to exercise it. So long as the Department stays within this
total ceiling, the Bureau of the Budget does not prescri;be at what level or to
what extent the Department chooses to distribute its ceiling controls.
Question 20. TVitliin Government we tend to force everything into one pre-
scriheci pattern whether it fits well or not. Do you believe that Federal labora-
tories operate most efficiently under the same current system of controls over
manpower. dollars and facility acquisition as for other types of organization?
Is it possible or desirable to tailor a system of controls for creative organizations
that might differ significantly from the "standard" control system? TV/tat woald
be the advantages? The disadvantages? Cite ecramples.
Answer. The opening sentence of your question emphasizes the rigidity inherent
in a large, complex, highly-structured, legally~based system of public adminis-
tration which characterizes the Federal Government without also alluding to the
fiexibilities which must exist if the system is to be viable. The public adminis-
trator's objective must he to find fiexibilities in applying general rules and to
establish special rules or procedures which meet the requirements of public
accountability.
Certain general rules exist w-ithin which the entire Federal Government must
function. A number of these are established in law. Others reflect procedures
required by the Congress and the executive branch in accomplishing programs
and in maintaining control and accountability. Manpower limitations are a case
in point. Public Law 90-364 directs the Federal Government to return to em-
ployment levels of June 30, 1966. No exception has been granted to research and
develonment organizations. However, there is room for flexibility in the anplica-
tion of this control-which organizations to reduce to a greater or lesser degree.
Nevertheless, within the context of implementing the law, a distribution of the
ceiling will have to be made, and some form of control will have to `be maintained
to assure that it is met.
Experience makes it very clear that research management is a specialized
area-that some procedures applicable to law and order, procurement, and
logistics activities inhibit the effectiveness of a laboratory with its requirement
for a creative environment. The Bureau believes it is both desirable and possible
through prudent agency administration to tailor the system of controls to the
mission and programs of the laboratory within the overall ground rules within
which Federal agencies must operate.
The basic ingredients for effective research management have been stated
many times by thoughtful students and experienced managers. Invariably these
are listed as the need for well-defined objectives, choice of important w-ork to
do, high level participation of scientific Staff in laboratory management, maxi-
mum flexibility in administration, reasonable autonomy within defined ohjec-
tives, and insuring that the management of a research activity has the fullest
possible command of the resources required to accomplish its tasks.
Question 21. The DOD witness proposed the elimination, of manpower controls
on cross-agency work similar to the AVG contract laboratories. TV/tat is your
reaction to this proposal? If you agree, what action do you propose to take? If
you do not agree, what is the basis for your position?
PAGENO="0147"
143
Answer. For the present, Public Law 90-364 removes the possibility of elimi-
nating manpower controls on cross-agency work. Elimination of these controls
even in the absence of the law- would, of course, circumvent the budget process
whereby a work level is agreed upon and resources are provided to meet the work
level. The Bureau's views on manpower ceilings as one element in overall man-
agement controls were stated in response to question 18. However, some additional
comments are in order.
The Bureau recognizes that a manpower ceiling might be seized upon as an
excuse to contract out work, but we do not believe our ceilings prior to enact-
ment of Public Law 90-364 have been so restrictive as necessarily to operate
against cross-agency utilization of in-house laboratories and facilities. Obviously,
any superimposed management control diminishes the laboratory director's lati-
tude over his operations. But again, our objective has been to preserve maximum
flexibility w-ithiii present manpower allocation policies, principally through
agency internal reallocation, through transfer of ceilings between agencies, or
by increasing an agency's ceiling.
The DOD representative proposes a utopian solution for accommodating the
increased demands upon any particular laboratory to perform cross-agency serv-
ices w-hen funds are available. Our immediate problem is that relaxation of
manpower ceilings would probably lead to higher Federal employment at a time
when the mood of the Congress dictates a curtailment.
Question 22. Some people believe that man power ceilings for laboratories actu-
ally promote waste and inefficiency. They cite industrial practices as an enam pie
ivl,crc such a technique is seldom used. If manpower ceilings are an effective man-
agement tool. why is it not used for control of contractors? Do you have any plans
to apply such controls for contractors,
Answ-er. The circumstances under which a contractor operates are not the same
as for a subordinate unit of a Government agency. The contractor is responsible
for managing his own enterprise. The Government laboratory operates within the
general rules and procedures w-hich have been discussed in considerable detail
above. It is not a, self-contained, autonomous unit; it must be fully responsive to'
the mission and needs of the agency. Within that context, the laboratory's admin-
istrative system must be as flexible as' possible so that the laboratory can function
to its fullest capacity. We may have to' move more and more toward the industrial
approach to attain this objective, but iii the process we will not be any less mind-
ful of the elements of cost. When the Government decides to contract for research
and development work, contractor costs must be carefully assessed in the selection
process. The potential contractor's manpower cost estimates must be carefully
evaluated along with all other elements o'f cost. A. sharp rise in employment over
w-hat was anticipated at the time of negotiation would certainly be questioned,
particularly if a net increase in the contract would result. Nevertheless, internal
management decision's must remain wi'th the contractor since he is responsible
for performance in accordance with terms of the contract. It should be noted `that
some agencies do use manpower ceilings with contracto'r organizations. For exam-
ple, NASA has done so for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and AEC has used man-
power ceilings with some of its contractors in the weapons and naval reactors
programs.
Question 23. It has been argued that there is a lot of unused flewibility and
ertennive authority ewisting within the present manpower control system and
therefore it is unnecessary to remove current manpower controls. TVouid you
enumerate what these flewibilities and authorities are and cite ewamples of how
they can be applied at the laboratory level so as to counteract on offset the prob-
lenis imposed by the inflewibilities of manpower ceilings.
Answer. Prior to' enactment of Public Law 90-364, the principal flexibili'ties
were negotiation for a higher overall agency ceiling to accommodate additional
w-ork-load, agency internal reallocation of manpower spaces, and interagency
transfer of manpower ceiling in the case of cross-agency work. Recognizing that
there is now reduced flexibility, agency management at all echelons must be will-
ing to utilize what is le'ft to the fullest. For the laboratory director, this means
that agency top management should give him as much latitude as possible, within
present constraints, to' manage his manpower resources.
Mr. DADDARIO. This committee will adjourn until Tuesday next at
10 o'clock in this same place.
(Whereupon, at 12 :25 p.m., the committee was adjourned to recon-
vene at 10 a.m., Tuesday, April 2, 1968.)
PAGENO="0148"
PAGENO="0149"
UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL LAB ORATORIES
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1968
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT.
JVa$hington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a.m., in room
2325, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Emilio Q. Daddario
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. DADDARIO. This meeting will come to order.
Today we begin our second week of hearings on the utilization of
Federal laboratories.
During our hearings last week, the subcommittee heard from the
Office of Science and Technology, the Bureau of the Budget, NASA,
and from the directors of both Government-operated and contractor-
operated laboratories. The hearings revealed that many of the prob-
]ems identified by the Bell Report in 1962-problems of agency coordi-
nation, discretionary funds, personnel, and giving laboratory directors
a voice in policy decisions-are still with us today. Although some
progress has been made, there does not appear yet to have developed an
overall coherent Government policy for the use of Federal laboratories.
Our first witnesses this morning are Dr. Donald M. MacArthur,
Deputy Director for Research and Technology, Department of De-
fense, accompanied by Edward M. Glass, Assistant Director (Labora-
tory Management).
The Defense Department is the Government's largest supporter of
research and development, `and in fiscal year 1969 expects to spend $8.4
billion for this purpose. This amount is twice that which will be spent
by NASA, the next largest Federal user, and more than nine times the
entire Federal R. & D. budget at the conclusion of World War II.
The separate demands of the Army, Navy, and Air Force for re-
search and development, `and the changing scientific `and technological
nature of these requirements over the course of years have necessitated
that the Defense Department `take some unusual `and innovative steps
to manage its complex laboratory establishment, `and we expect to hear
some of these action~ this morning.
Our second witnesses today `are Dr. Leon Jacobs, Deputy Assistnii~t
Secretary for Science, Department of Health, Education, `and Welfare,
accompanied by Dr. G. Burroughs Mider, Director of Laboratories
and Clinics, National Institutes of Health.
HEW is `actively engaged on the frontiers `of public health and
safety. During the subcommittee's recent hearings on environmental
quality, we had `an opportunity to examine `in some `detail the research
being sponsored by the National Center for Air Pollution Control, and
(145)
PAGENO="0150"
146
the work being done by the Public Health Service is well known and
is to be commended.
Under the provisions of the House passed radiation control bill
(H.R. 10790), the Public Health Service will take on additional respon-
sibilities for research relating to the effects of radiation upon man.
Since the Atomic Energy Oommission and the Department of Defense
have supported a substantial amount of this research in the past, it will
be important to see how the existing competence of these agencies can
be utilized in developing the Department's new program.
We are pleased to have you gentlemen here, and we will proceed with
Dr. MacArthur and Mr. Glass.
(The biographies of Dr. MacArthur and Mr. Glass follow:)
DL DONALD M. MACARTHUR
Dr. Donald M. MacArthur was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1931. He re-
ceived a B.Sc. (Honors) degree from St. Andrews University, Scotland, in
1954 and a Ph. D. in X-ray Crystallography from Edin~urgh University, in 1957.
Afterwards Dr. MacArthur taught for a year at the University of Connecticut.
In 1958 he joined 1\Ielpar, a subsidiary of Westinghouse Air Brake. When he
left he was Manager of the Chemistry and Life Sciences Research Center. In
this position he was responsible for the management and direction of a large
number of defense and space programs representing a broad spectrum of dis-
ciplines from instrumentation engineering to biology. These programs repre-
sented applied research in the physical and life sciences, in addition to develop-
ment programs in space instrumentation, life support equipment, chemical and
biological detection and warning equipment, and the development of large scale
atmospheric diffusion experiments.
In February 1966 he accepted a position as Deputy Director (Chemistry and
Materials), Defense Research and Engineering. In July 1966 he was designated
Deputy Director (Research and Technology), Defense Research and Engineer-
ing in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
As Deputy Director (Research and Technology) he is responsible for man-
agement of the DoD investment in research and technology relevant to military
needs. The programs which he directs cover such diverse fields as rocket and
missile propulsion, materials technology, medical and life sciences, social and
behavioral sciences, environmental sciences, and chemical technology. He also
oversees the 134 DoD RDT&E in-house activities which represent a fixed in-
vestment of $17.5 billion with an annual cash flow of $3.4 billion. Primary
effort is devoted to policies, and innovating improved management systems to
insure that they are organized most effectively to meet current and future
military needs. Dr. MacArthur is a member of interagency committees and
represents Dr. Foster on the Federal Council for Science and Technology. He
w'as a member of the President's task force on the "Technology Gap."
EDWARD M. GLASS
Edward M. Glass was porn at Providence, Rhode Island in 1917. A graduate
of Rhode Island State University, he did work towards a Masters Degree at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The major portion of his professional career was
spent in the Air Force Materials Laboratory at Wright Field, assuming the
position of Technical Director in 1958. His professional field of interest began
with research and development in fuels and lubricants, subsequently broaden-
ing to the entire field of aerospace materials. In 1962 he was appointed a Spe-
cial Assistant for Laboratories to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force
(Research and Development). His current position is the Assistant Director
(La~boratory Management), ODDR&E, and is concerned with the policy and
means of improving the in-house laboratories of the Department of Defense.
He has been active in a number of professional activities including the Amer-
ican Society of Lubrication Engineers, the Society of Aerospace Materials and
Process Engineers, the gociety of Automotive Engineers and the Materials
Advisory Board, National Academy of Sciences. He is also a member of the
PAGENO="0151"
147
New York Academy of Science and Vice President of the Aerospace Chapter of
the Research Society of America (RESA).
Dr. MACARTHUR. Thank you very nmch, Mr. Chairman. I would first
like to introduce Mr. Ed Glass who is the Assistant Director for Labo-
ratory Management in the Office of the Director of Defense Research
and Engineering.
I would also like to add that I will be deviating in some places from
my prepared statement.
STATEMENT OF DR. DONALD M. MacARTHUR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR,
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF
DEFENSE RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING, DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE, ACCOMPANIED BY EDWARD M. GLASS, ASSISTANT DIREC-
TOR, LABORATORY MANAGEMENT
Dr. MACARTHUR. Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, your
hearings on the effective use of Federal laboratories are both timely
and pertinent to the interests of the Department of Defense. It is an
important question with which we have been concerned for some time.
Today I would like to review for you some of the experiences of the
Department of Defense and some of the lessons we think we have
learned with respect to the questions which you are addressing.
CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFENSE LABORATORIES
As you know, the Department of Defense has an annual R.D.T. & E.
budget of about $8 billion. We employ about 60 percent of the civil
service engineers and 35 percent of the civil service scientists in the
Federal service. Thus, I believe that our experience in the management
of R. & D. activities will be of some value in your discussions and
deliberations.
We have 79 laboratories. In addition, there are 43 test and evaluation
activities which are concerned with the evaluation of developed equip-
ment. The fiscal year 1967 R.D.T. & E. obligations for these labora-
tories were $1.9 billion, of which $0.9 billion, 47.4 percent, was for
actual in-house work as opposed to contract work. These laboratories
employ about 72,000 people, of which 25,000 are scientists and engi-
neers. Our investment in physical plant and equipment is about $2.2
billion based upon acquisition costs.
As you can see, this is quite an investment and we are quite anxious
to see that it is managed judiciously and effectively and utilized in an
optimum manner. This was a major reason for establishing our Office
of Laboratory Management in 1965 which I will discuss later. In some
respects, we have addressed many of the same questions-but on a
smaller scale-which are before this committee, in order to assure that
the capability of all of our laboratories are available for the highest
priority needs of the three military departments and the six defense
agencies.
I am not sure that we can examine laboratories in a meaningful
way unless we place them in proper perspective, with respect to the
other four types of performers we depend upon in DOD to accomplish
our mission. Our laboratories represent about 12 percent of our obliga-
tions-industrial firms, 68 percent; colleges and universities, 12 per-
PAGENO="0152"
148
cent; nonprofit organizations, 5 percent; and Federal contract research
centers, 3 percent. Each of these organizational types has a relatively
unique, although not mutually exclusive, role to play in satisfying
DOD requirements.
We have often asked ourselves the question, Why do we need in-
house laboratories? Among the evident reasons underlying their need
are-
1. The maintenance of national competence during peacetime,
as well as times of conflict, in those areas of technology peculiar
to military needs.
2. The necessity for maintaining a continuity of effort, free
from commercial pressures and directed toward the conception
and evolution of advanced weapon systems.
3. The need for competent in-house skills that can direct, moni-
tor, and assess the performance of DOD contractors.
4. The requirement of having available to the military services
a fast-reaction capability to solve critical, immediate problems
that arise in connection with existing operational weapon systems,
or when unexpected combat situations are encountered such as
that currently existing in Southeast Asia.
DOD ACTIONS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LABORATORIES
Many of the others who have testified before t'his subcommittee have
highlighted many of the administrative problems of Federal labora-
tories. We have had our share of them also.
During the past 2 years we have had a concerted effort underway
to improve the effectiveness of our in-house laboratories. The problems
of our laboratories as we saw them when we started this effort can
be stated rather simply:
1. Many laboratories have not been as heavily involved as they
should be in the overall weapon planning process and in urgent mili-
tary problems.
2. In many cases the laboratory structure was too fragmented to
take on meaningful programs in an integrated way.
3. They did not possess the administrative flexibility to respond
rapidly to changing needs, the changing state of technology, and
changing nature of new tasks.
What are the rudiments of our strategy for dealing with these ques-
tions? We have attacked these problems, quite successfully I might
add, by-
(a) Assigning important military missions and weapon plan-
ning responsibilities to major laboratories.
(b) We are taking some steps and planning orders to restruc-
ture fragmented organizations into more cohesive structures and
centers with more meaningful missions.
(c) We have identified a number of administrative problems
which inhibit the effectiveness of defense laboratories and have
worked hard to develop solutions for them.
With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert for
the record, as tab A* some detailed information on the steps we have
taken or which are underway.
Mr. DADDARIO. You may, of course, Doctor.
*Tab A appears starting on p. l7ic
PAGENO="0153"
149
Dr. MACARTHUR. We are very encouraged over the progress we
have made on a number of longstanding problems. This task has to
be a continuing process of appraisal and action as there really is no
finite solution. We hope to continue our rate of improvement and to
be able to adjust to our changing patterns and needs. Otherwise we
will retrogress.
A great deal of our energy is involved in the management of defense
activities in support of our three military departments and the defense
agencies. There is a continual ebb and flow of new goals and require-
ments similar to that for the total Federal establishment. We have
been involved for some time with the same basic questions with which
you are concerned. Are we using the laboratory capacity we have
without regard to service loyalties? What patterns of growth should
we permit or foster? How much should we perform in-house? On
contract? How should the laboratories be structured? What should
their relationships be within their parent service? To other services or
defense agencies? I know that we have been able `to develop many use-
ful answers to these types of questions, but I will be the first to admit
`that we don't `have all of the answers.
Within `the DOD we have many examples `of a laboratory perform-
ing functions for other services. Here are but a few of a great many
examples. The Army's Natick Laboratory has the R. & D. responsibili-
ties for food development for the Navy and Air Force. The Army's
Harry Diamond Laboratory is providing `the fuzing and arming for
the Navy~s Poseidon missile. The Air Force's Materials Laboratory
has provided the thermal coatings for the Navy's Transit Satellite.
The Army's Frankford Arsenal develops for the Air Force actuating
devices for such applications as ejection seats.
Some of these `arrangements are traditional, some `are based upon a
search by the `customer for competence and still others are motivated
by the policy levels within the services. We, within O.D.D.R. & E.,
also play an important role in this respect. MTe manage the Defense
R.D.T. & E. program which determines to a great degree the financial
support of laboratories. Financial control provides important lever-
age in plac'ing corporate policies into effect. We are also in the main-
stream of decisionmaking with respect to capital investments, such
as military construction. Facilities are the lifeblood of expanding
laboratories and control over `them determines `a laboratory's destiny.'
Through authority such as this, we can influence the nature of our
laboratory system, the characteristics of individual laboratories and
centers and the interaction of `these organizations with other defense
organizations.
Last year we closed three laboratories and consolidated four others.
These actions are part of a continual appraisal of our laboratory sys-
tem in terms of the changing pattern of defense needs. Alth'ough we
have moved out aggressively in trying to fashion a viable laboratory
system, there are some negative aspects also which have caused us some
concern and difficulties. For example, several of our attempts to con-
solidate fragmented activities required movement of people to differ-
ent geographical locations. We have learned `that many people develop
deep roots and will not move with their functions. As a result, the
DOD has lost some important expertise. In one case not a single
professional moved when his laboratory component was moved. On
PAGENO="0154"
150
the average about 50 to 60 percent of the professionals prefer to re-
main in their current locale. We try to take personnel factors such
as this into account in our decisionmaking regarding consolidations.
Mr. DADDARIO. Could you provide for the record the names of the
three laboratories that were closed, the way in which the others were
consolidated, and a little bit of background material?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I certainly would be glad to do that.
(The information requested is as follows:)
LABORATOin~ CoNsoLIDATIoNs AND CLOSURES
We have taken the following actions over the past several years to consolidate
or eliminate RDT&E activities. In the Army we have approved a long-range
plan of all the medical facilities whereby there will be a reduction from 14
to 6. This plan calls for the establishment of three primary centers, an Eastern
Medical Center, a Central Medical Center and a Western Medical Center.
Consolidation will begin in FY 1970. We have already closed the Army Medical
Unit in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Other changes in Army activities include relocation of an explosives group
from the Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center at Ft. Belvoir,
Virginia, to Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, New Jersey; relocation of a Materials
Handling function from Natiek Laboratories, Massachusetts, to the Mobility
Equipment R&D Center; and approval for consolidation of Deseret-Dügway
into the Deseret Test Center in Utah.
There have been extensive consolidations within the Navy. For example, six
centers have been established through consolidation of all or parts of a number
of Navy laboratories. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center with headquarters
in San Diego, California, was created from elements of the Naval Electronics
Laboratory (San Diego) and the former Naval Ordnance Test Station (Pasa-
dena). The Naval Weapons Center located at China Lake, California, was
created from the combination of the Naval Ordnance Test Station (China Lake)
and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, Corona. The Naval Ships Research and
Development Center located at Carderock, Maryland, is composed of The David
Taylor Model Basin at Carderock, the Marine Engineering Laboratory, Annap-
olis, Maryland, and the Mine Defense Laboratory. They were combined to form
the Naval Ships R&D Center (Carderock, Maryland). The Naval Air Develop-
ment Center (Johnsville, Pennsylvania) is composed of the already established
elements at Johnsville, Pennsylvania, plus combinations with the Aerospace
Crew Equipment Lab, the Aeronautical Structures Lab, and the Aeronautical
Materials Lab of the Naval Air Engineering Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory of the Naval Engineering Center,
Philadelphia. has been combined into the newly established Naval Air Propul-
sion Test Center in Trenton, New Jersey.
Two activities have been deactivated in the Navy: (1) the Naval Air Mine
Defense Development Unit, Panama City, Florida; and (2) the Naval Supply
R&D Laboratory, Bayonne, New Jersey.
Two activities in the Air Force have been closed out. One is the Arctic
Aeromedical Laboratory, Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, and the other is the Research
and Technology Division of AFSC. Elements of the Research and Technology
Division were consolidated in AFSC Headquarters, eliminating one organiza-
tional echelon.
An additional significant action was the consolidation of several Air Force
test activities with elements of the Navy, Army and NASA into national ranges,
the Eastern Test Range in Florida, the Western Test Range in California and
the White Sands 1~Iissile R.ange in New Mexico.
Mr. DADDARIO. Would you also discuss what was the general overall
approach to this? What criteria did you establish? What were the
standards you established as you looked over these laboratories and
made a determination as to which ones ought to be closed and which
ones ought to be consolidated?
PAGENO="0155"
151
Dr. MACARTHUR. Well, when we evaluate the quality of a laboratory
there are many criteria we use. The three services, the Air Force,
the Army, and the Navy have advisory groups which periodically
review the programs of the laboratories and come up with recom-
mendations in terms of whether they are above standards, below
standard, fine, mediocre, whatever they might be.
We also look at whether they have meaningful missions.
Secondly, within the Department of Defense at the D.D.R. & F.
level when I come from, we look at programs from a programmatic
standpoint, from a technical standpoint, and at that point we look
at the contributions the laboratories are making to that program.
Thirdly, as you no doubt know, some of our laboratories are involved
at only one end of the R. & D. spectrum, research and technology.
Other laboratories are involved throughout the whole R. & D. spectrum
through engineering development and test and evaluation.
Now, one of the criteria we use when a laboratory is involved at the
research and technology end of the spectrum is how much of their
output over the last few years has been incorporated in some of our
systems development programs.
In a laboratory that is involved in engineering development, we look
at the effectiveness of the systems or hardware they have developed
or managed, and, lastly, we look at the individual laboratory direc-
tor's independent research program and look at how he has managed
his funds, what he has done, where he has invested them, but the real
test is how much business he got based on those investments he has
made.
It really comes down in the end to a number of criteria, but an
overriding criteria is mission. Does it have a sense of purpose? Does it
have high-quality people, and are they performing well?
Mr. DADDARIO. This is an evaluation process that goes on contin-
uously?
Dr. MACARTHUR. It is a continuing evaluation process.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you find that it works more efficiently in making
determinations during time of budget restriction?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I certainly think so. I think it can be made to
work every effectively. Naturally, other parameters are superimposed
upon these conclusions we come to because many of these laboratories
perform vital functions in their community, and when we take the
next step in trying to phase out activities we run into some roadblocks
in terms of the community, and the objections they raise.
Mr. DADDARIO. The reason I ask about that is a natural one because
when agency funds are short you do then begin to look for places to
cut. However, shouldn't we do this at all times and wouldn't we then
find ourselves with the laboratories always in a better condition and
the quality would remain more constant?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes. We have to have a program of continual ap-
praisal and at the same time we have to remember that in the DOD
the amount of money we spend in our in-house laboratories, is only 12
percent of the 8 billion I mentioned.
Mr. DADDARTO. That is still a bit of money.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes, it is $900 million. But coming back to your
point, I do believe it is a program of continual appraisal and reevalua-
tion and as the defense needs change, we have to look at the mission of
PAGENO="0156"
152
the laboratories; are they involved in urgent military problems, and
if they are not, we try to either get them involved or if they are not
willing to get involved, we do something about it.
Mr. DADDARIO. You talk about judgment by peers. Who are they
and how do you get them together?
Dr. MACARTHUR. There are three-let me address each service. In
the Air iForce we have a board of advisers which is a panel of the scien-
tific advisory board and they are from the outside. They involve indi-
viduals from the industrial world, individuals from the universities,
and from nonprofit organizations.
In the Navy we have the technical evaluation board which is a
part of the Naval Research Advisory Council.
Again, all members of this advisory board or technical evaluation
group are from outside the Department of Defense.
The Army is different in that they have a group which is composed
solely of all in-house individuals and they perform an appraisal every
3 years. We call it the triannual survey group.
These are the advisory boards I referred to.
Mr. DADDARIO. How are the laboratory directors involved in the
evaluation, if at all?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Well, these advisory boards, they do more than
read papers. They actually visit the labs. They talk to the laboratory
directors and the key people at the laboratories to see what they are
involved in, what they are doing, what their mission is, what they have
contributed in the last year, and what they intend to work on in the
following years, and why.
One of the biggest problems we have been having in the past years
was that some of these laboratories weren't involved in important ques-
tions. That is one of the things we have been stressing, that they have
to get more involved in important military problems.
I painted a rather black picture of the problems we found with the
laboratories and one might say, well, gee whiz, if they are that bad, we
should do away with them all. How have these problems come about?
Well, over the last 10 years, the DOD budget has multiplied by a fac-
tor of two to three as we have gotten much more involved in complex
military systems.
Now, it is very difficult for a laboratory to manage an Atlas or a
Polaris missile system. It is just too big a job with the r~esult that what
has happened is we have set up special project offices and system pro-
gram offices in the services that manage these big programs.
Now, what result has this had over a period of time? It resulted in
the labs just getting out of the mainstream of important problems
because the systems offices were going ahead and depending solely on
the contractors and they came to the laboratories only when they had
a quick-fix problem and they were in trouble or when they wanted
them to do long-term research.
Now, we, over the last few years, have tried to reverse this trend by
getting laboratories involved not only in the long-term problems and
the quick-fix prob] ems, but also in the short- to medium-term problems.
There is one other aspect that I would like to mention and that is
we have, in 1966, created the position of Director of Laboratories.
Each service now has a Director of Laboratories and the individual in
this position is responsible for appraising labs on a continuing basis
PAGENO="0157"
153
and, in fact, these advisory boards work directly with him. They don't
actually work with us, but they work with the Director of Laboratories
for each service.
Mr. DADDARIO. The ways in which you govern these activities are
important. You talk about it being 12 percent, but that is about
equal to the entire research development budget of the Department
of Defense in 1946. So we are really talking about a tremendous growth
area., and the importance of the way in which we manage these be-
comes more than obvious.
Dr. MACARTHUR. You are absolutely right in that, sir, and that is
why we feel it has to be a. program of continual reappraisal and spe-
cial attention has to be continually paid to the labs to make sure they
are viable and potent organizations.
Mr. DADDARIO. You mention your laboratory directors for each of
the laboratories, do you discuss this morning the use of discretionary
funds?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. Let's keep going then.
Dr. MACARTHUR. I don't actually-
Mr. DADDARIO. Can we discuss that?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes.
Mr. DADDARIO. `What is your attitude about this, and how does it
work?
Dr. MAcARTHUR. Well, we started the program of discretionary
funds in 1962. I think it is a very important part of our laboratory
program. As a rule of thumb we have approximately 3 percent of our
total laboratory money in discretionary funds. In general, it differs
from service to service.
For example, in the Navy it is between 5 and 8 percent. In the Army
it is about 3 to 5 percent, and in the Air Force it is a little less.
In a way it depends on the flexibility the lab directors have to do
work. In many ways the Air Force laboratory directors have more
flexibility in financial affairs than the other service laboratories direc-
tors, and that is because of the way they are funded. Therefore, the
discretionary funds that go to the Air Force is less than the other two
services.
Mr. DADDARIO. You mean the Air Force would allow each of its lab-
oratory directors to have exactly the same amount of discretionary
funds, or do you establish a sliding scale mechanism where yo~ allow
some to have more authority than others?
Dr. MACARTHUR. They use a sliding scale. It is dependent on quality
of the laboratory and what they have done the year before. `We pro-
vide these discretionary funds, but we don't require any approval be-
forehand as to what they `are going to do with them, but we have an
after-the-fact appraisal at the end of each year. These funds are dis-
tributed by the Assistant Secretary for R. & D. in each service and de-
pending on what the labs have done with them the year before and
what the productivity has been, that determines to a great degree what
they are going to get in the following year.
Mr. DADDARTO. You started off on a quality judgment when you
initiated the program and then you used basically `a reward system?
Dr. MAcARTHUR. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. How good were you? Did it work out pretty well the
way you expected?
PAGENO="0158"
154
Dr. MACARTHUR. We had to adjust as we went along and we do think
it has worked very well. I think there are many things that have come
out of discretionary funds. Many examples which because the labora-
tory director had funds that he could use right on the spot when the
individual had an idea rather than going through the complicated,
tortuous budget process. When a scientist or engineer had an idea that
was good and the director funded it, gave him the resources, then we
have many examples of things that have come out of the program.
Mr. DADDARTO. Could you provide examples of some of those pro-
grams?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I would be glad to.
Mr. DADDARIO. Why don't you give us one that you think would be
an outstanding one for the record?
Dr. MACARTHUR. An outstanding one has been mentioned before.
That was the Sidewinder missile at NOTS. That is an outstanding
example of an `individual where if he had followed the rules, I doubt
if we would have arrived where we are now, but he was able to some-
how get some money and put it in to demonstrate the basic idea which
he thought would be very successful, and it was.
Another example was the early work on the Walleye which has seen
some real success in Southeast Asia.
These are two examples. I would be glad to furnish you others for
the record. We evaluate all these projects at the end of the year.
(The information requested is as follows:)
IN-HOUSE INDEPENDENT RESEARCH FUNDS (Il-IIR)
The IHIR funds were established as line items in the FY 62 DoD budget
as a result of a Secretary of Defense decision on October 14, 1961, as follows:
"Depending upon the mission and nature of `the work of the particular lab-
oratory, a fraction of the annual laboratory budget shall be set aside for work
judged by the laboratory director to be of promise or importance without need
of prior approval or review at higher levels. The results of this work shall be
reviewed by the Assistant Secretaries for Research and Development of the
Military Departments."
`~\Thi1e this concept was new for the Army and Air Force, it had been in effect
within the Navy for over a decade prior to this time.
Listed below are a number of examples of IHIR efforts which have resulted
in useful products or applications. In. addi'tion, we have included a comprehensive
list of completed IHIR efforts to provide the Subcommittee a better insight into
the scope and flavor of this program.
ARMY EXAMPLES
~Severe shock
The Waiter Reed Army Institute for Research conducted basic studies to find
improved methods of treatment of patients in severe refractory shock. It was
found that enormous amounts of fluids could be given to patients, when the exact
amount is known; and that vasodilators given after adequacy volume addition
are not only safe but dramatically effective. At Walter Reed General Hospital
during a specified period, the mortality of shock cases with usual treatment was
about 700. The mortality, during the same period, with treatment derived from
this study, was 120.
Laser transm'ttter
The U.S. Army Electrical Components Laboratory designed and constructed
a laser transmitter, consisting of an arrary of seven injection laser diodes,
with a peak power o'utput of 150 watts. The transmitter, when combined with
an eight-inch telescope and photomultiplier tube, was tested as a range finder
and exhibited a useful range of 500 meters.
PAGENO="0159"
155
Large air samples
The U.S. Army Biological Laboratories and the U.S. Army Walter Reed Insti-
tute for Research jointly demonstrated the feasibility of using a Large Volume
Air Sampler (LVAS) to recover small numbers of bacteria and viruses from
large air samples. Meningococcal meningitis and respiratory diseases of `adeno-
viral origin, in military recruits in barracks and hospitals were studied.
Supercharged engines
The U.S. Army Mobility Equipment R&D Laboratory conducted studies to
determine if greater power and altitude capacity could be obtai!led from 10 and
20 HP military standard engines by utilizing the turbo supercharger principle.
This work led to the proposal that a turbocharged "10 HP" engine (20 HP out-
put) be used on the CHAPARRAL missile system in an application where the
standard 10 HP military engine would not produce the required specific output
(HP/PT3).
Stratospheric tides
The U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory investigated Stratospheric
Tides on a Seasonal Basis. Analysis of rocket soundings verified the existence
of a significant year-round diurnal oscillation. A qualitative description was
made of the phase and amplitude of the oscillation during the summer season.
Certain recommendations were postuated on how the tide affects meteorological
rocket network climatological data. The discovery of atmospheric tides in the
stratosphere has led to new concepts of the atmospheric electrification pro-
cess and the origin of large-scale electrical fields in the atmosphere. These
findings will have an impact on the photochemistry of the upper atmosphere and
the structure of the ionosphere with attendant effects on the propagation of
electromagnetic energy.
Microwave food preparation systems
The U.S. Army Natick Laboratories, in 1965, initiated a study to determine the
feasibility of developing an ultra rapid, lightweight food preparation system
which would utilize microwaves, thermoelectric units, ultrasonic fuel vaporizers
and multipurpose plastic packages which could also function as heating and
serving vessels. A two-year study proved the feasibility and overall potential
advantages to the military of microwave cooking in the field. As a direct result
of this work a development project, in the regular budget, was initiated for
the design and construction of a field kitchen and bakery units.
Test drug transfer
The U.S. Army Medical R&D Laboratory designed and fabricated an accessory
kit for the standard hypodermic jet injection devices to permit a quantitative
transfer of test drug into the skin intradermally for such tests as T.B., histo-
plasmin, etc.
Electro-mechanical hand models
The U.S. Army Medical Biomechanical Laboratory designed and fabricated six
electro-mechanical models of the hand with automatic proportional control of
grasp. One hand has been fitted to an amputee. The other five hands have been
submitted to New York University and the Veterans Administration. All are now
undergoing clinical testing.
Ozone concentration
The U.S. Army Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory, in 1966, provided to the
scientific community the first in situ measurements of the change in ozone con-
centration in the atmosphere during a total solar eclipse. The increase in ozone
by 100% during total eclipse was abrupt; a sudden decrease in concentration was
noted as the sonde emerged from the shadow; and in less than 20 seconds, the
ozone had reached its equilibrium value.
NAVY EXAMPLES
New high-temperature ewpiosives
Navy chemists at Naval Ordnance Laboratory (White Oak) have synthesized
more than a dozen new and potentially useful explosives that are heat resistant.
Several of these have already seen use in military weapons and space vehicles~
and several others are being considered for similar applications. Success in this
area is due primarily to extensive fundamental studies of the relationship of
PAGENO="0160"
156
molecular structure and content to explosive properties conducted under the
Independent Research Program. It is now possible to predict a priori many of the
properties of an explosive before it is synthesized. This has led to the synthesis of
high-energy materials capable of withstanding temperatures much higher than
was previously considered possible. The first two explosives to stem from this
program are capable of withstanding temperatures above 500 degrees F. Both
have been used in explosive cutting devices in the Gemini space capsule and are
contained in the mild detonating fuses and flexible, linear, shaped charges used
to separate the crew module from the F-ill aircraft in emergency situations. It
is now reported that these systems are capable of lasting the lifetime of the air-
craft eliminating the frequent maintenance and replacements required when
explosives of lesser temperature capabilities are used. It is estimated that use
of these explosives will save the Government nearly $90,000,000 during the life
span of the aircraft now on order. Three more, promising, high-temperature
explosives have been developed. The first two are able to withstand temperatures
35 to 40 degrees higher. These are currently being screened for applications by the
military, NASA, and AEC.
Biomolccular variations induced by stress
Observations at the Navy Air Development Center (Johnsville) on animals
exposed to different lethal stresses such as ionizing radiation and high accelera-
tion stress have shown chemical changes in the blood. After these observations on
animals, the experiments were extended to humans. Volunteers were subjected to
accelerations of from 3 to 41/2 G, sufficiently long to produce grayout or blackout.
All the men exposed to this stress showed a significant increase of the phos-
phatidyl glycerol level in the blood plasma. Correlations of the control levels of
phosphatidyl glycerol with anxiety about the acceleration procedure directed
attention to the effects of emotional factors on the chemical changes induced in
the blood. As an example of extreme emotional stress, blood samples from schizo-
phrenic patients hospitalized for a long time at a psychiatric institute were
analyzed and also showed high concentrations of phosphatidyl glycerol accom-
panied by changes in the levels of other phospholipids that distinguished the
stress in schizophrenia from the physical stress of acceleration. Extension of the
study to volunteers who had been deprived of sleep for 36 hours confirmed the
previous findings relative to phosphatidyl glycerol and again revealed changes
that differentiated this fatigue stress from the others. After these results were
made public, the experimental approach was included in a joint Navy, NASA, and
Air Force study of combat pilots. Data were taken on Navy carrier pilots flying
high-risk, active combat missions during a 22-day line period, near the end of a
7-month deployment. These studies were repeated again when the pilots were
returned to the United States to non-combat duty. The concentration levels of
phosphatidyl glycerol and other phospholipids again made possible the statistical
separation of the combat stressed pilots from normal individuals and from the
other stressed populations. After the pilots returned to the United States, the
phospholipid levels began to return toward normal, but the reversal was not as
complete as was found in acceleration or sleep deprivation. The data obtained
with humans coupled with the information found in the tissues of stressed
animals suggest that some center of the brain can interpret certain sensory inputs
as threats to survival and reacts by mobilizing biochemical factors at a molecular
level to meet the threat. Techniques are now being developed so that analyses for
these plasma components can be made in the field. It is expected `that the onset of
combat fatigue in fighting men may then be anticipated by these procedures.
Cartography by computer
The time will come when most maps will be printed with the aid of a computer
and a cathode-ray printer. Based upon work at the Naval Weapons Laboratory,
it will be possible to print in a few seconds a map which now requires days to
trace by land. Essential to mapping by cathode-ray printer is a collection of data
which contains the geographic coordinates of points on coast lines and bound-
aries. There is available at a Navy Laboratory a collection which includes 10,000
points for the United States itself and 8,000 points for the world as a whole. The
points were selected to portray the salient features of coast lines and boundaries
without exceeding prescribed limitations on accuracy. Once the latitude and longi~
tudes of the points bad been recorded on magnetic tape, it became possible to
construct maps by connecting the points in any automatic plotter which is under
the control of a digital computer. Any desired mapping transformation may be
used in the conversion of geographic coordinates to map cordinates. The data
PAGENO="0161"
157
have many applications and have been acquired by a number of agencies. The
data are basic to maps in earth sciences where distributions of economic value or
population density are presented against a geographic background. They are
useful in the preparation of updating of highway and weather maps. In a signifi-
cant military application, the data are used by defense commands to display the
position and motion of potential targets in relation to coast lines. Such displays
constitute an important part of any decision to take countermeasures. In one
interesting application the data are used at the Houston Space Craft Control
Center to show astronauts jus't how the coast lines on the earth will appear to
them when they are in orbit. Soon there will be a need for maps to show how the
crators of the moon will appear to astronauts!
The data have applications in the Navy in connection with the optimization of
the allocation and scheduling of shipping. Currently under consideration is an
application to maps which show the paths of the shadows of eclipses of the sun.
Another application is in the development of new methods for mapping the earth.
Effects of water on bearing fatigue
*The presence of water in hydraulic fluids and in lubricating oils has a dele-
terious effect on naval machinery. ~nteraction of the water with stressed metal
surfaces accelerates failure of bearings and gears. The presence of 0.01 percent
dissolved water in the lubricant has caused reductions of 27 to 78 percent in
surface fatigue life depending on the applied stress. Independent Research at
the Annapolis Division of the Naval Ships R&D Center has led to a possible
mechanism for this remarkable phenomenon. It is as follows: Microcracks in
the surface of the ball act as capillaries. Waiter in the lubricant at a concentra-
tion that permits capillary condensation forms a water-rich phase in the cracks.
Aqueous corrosion in the cracks and dynamic stress on the surface then combine
to cause the reduced fatigue life. With this undeilatanding of the phenomenon,
research has been initiated to find means, to minimize such effects.
Delivery of airborne weapons
In the past the designer of weapons to be launched from aircraft assumed a
specific dive angle, speed, etc. Wind~tunnel tests were made for the assumed
conditions to verify the design. However, these tests were not extended to deter-
mine the limits at which a given weapon could no longer be safely launched by
a given aircraft. Both in experimental flight tests and in combat missions under
conditions different from those assumed by the weapon desiigner, improper sepa-
ration of weapon and aircraft caused damage `to or loss of the aircraft or failure
in delivery of the weapon. The Navy laboratories were called upon to correct
each case as it occurred. At the same time, however, they recognized the neces-
sity for better design data and for an ability to predict the limits of safe delivery
for various combinations of aircraft and weapon's. To enhance prediction capa-
bility, all experimental data available have `been collected in a data hank, and
computer orograms have been developed for the launch of conventional weapons.
In addition to the problems of separation, the current method's of shaping,
carrying, and delivering weapons increase the drag of the system significantly
and reduce aircraft performance. Accordingly, the feasibility of using unconven-
tional shapes which can be carried on the aircraft in a low-drag configuration
was explored at the Naval Ships R&D Center (Oarderock). Analytical studies
and wind-tunnel tests at subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds confirmed
that weapons which are rectangular solids can be `carried at a drag level which
is a small fraction of that of pres'ent weapons. Static and dynamic wind tunnel
tests also established the technical feasibility of aerodynamic stabilization of
rectangular solid shapes. With these demonstrations of feasibility and of the
potential of these studies to solve many of the problems of stores separation,
these develorments have been transferred from TED funding to support by the
Naval Air Systems Command.
AIR FORCE EXAMPLES
La.Qer night photo reconnaissance
The potential applications of the laser technology are many and varied. The
Laboratory Director's Fund permitted the Air Force Avionics Laboratory to
finance an in-house effort in 19~3 to explore the use of lasers as an illuminant
for night photography. The narrow beam capability of coherent light can achieve
10 times more illumination per unit area than any other source with the same
input power. Moreover it could be essentially a covert means of reconnaissance.
93-201 0-68----11
PAGENO="0162"
158
The ruby laser beam is in the red end of the visible spectrum but the extremely
short time duration-a millisecond-and the narrow beam makes it invisible to
all except those looking directly either at the target or the source. The use of a
neodymium doped glass rod can be fully covert since its burst is in the invisible
part of the spectrum.
Experiments were conducted with a portable 2 joule ruby laser with associated
mirrors, filters, and optics. A variety of subjects ranging from 250 foot slant
range to 5000 foot slant range were recorded on 70 mm film using a conventional
camera. Weather conditions varied from clear nights with a light ground haze
to rain showers with fog and snow showers. Films were evaluated for optimum
sensitivity, contrast, and resolution to the 6943-angstrom wavelength energy.
Very successful, high resolution, photographs were obtained. Data regarding
the optimum film types for use with laser beams have been developed as well
as the film processing details. Means of using optics to improve the photographic
quality without excessively destroying the narrow characteristics of the laser
have been evolved.
Radio frequeneif (RF) probe
During an in-house investigation of various means, electrical and mechanical,
of detecting intermittent faults in equipment, Air Force Aeropropulsion Labora-
tory engineers noted that, characteristically, all faulty electronic equipment
produced a 24K0 nose signal.
Using Laboratory Director's funds, a portable, self-contained probe capable
of pinpointing this signal was developed and subsequently field tested by the
using commands. The field testing has been extremely successful, and procure-
ment data for the. RF-204/u Detector, Radio Frequency Interference, was for-
warded to the Air Force Logistics Command.
Quick fi~r appUed to F-100 1FF radar antenna problem
A quick-fix to a critical Air Force problem in Vietnam was researched and
successfully developed in-house by the Air Force Materials Laboraory. 1FF radar
antennae on the F-100 were failing after about six hours of aircraft operation
from acoustical vibration generated by the plane's own cannon fire. Air Force
Materials Laboratory scientists simulated the service failure in the laboratory,
and developed a small, low cost, easily attachable prototype viscoelastic damper
as a quick-fix. Field evaluation of the damper in Vietnam showed a twelve-fold
increase in the life of the radar antennae. A sufficient number of dampers manu-
factured in-house by Air Force Materials Laboratory personnel were shipped to
completely fit the F-100 fleet in Vietnam.
Nitroso terpolymer
The deterioration of .elastomeric seals, hose and fluid container linings in
contact with nitrogen tetroxide (a high performance oxidizer used in liquid
rocket propulsion systems) has posed a difficult problem for which a solution
has been sought for several years with little previous success. The Air Force
Materials Laboratory effort has resulted in a major materials breakthrough
in the development of an elastomeric material resistant jy~ nitrogen tetroxide.
This newly developed material .is a nitroso terpolymer (nitroso rubber). In
evaluation tests this material has remained intact after total immersion testing
in liquid nitrogen tetroxide for 1~ years at 165°F, and is expected to be good
indefinitely at 100°F. Under these test conditions, the best commercially available
material (a butyl rubber) lasts only 1 hour at 165°F and 7 days at 100°F be-
fore it deteriorates. The nitroso terpolymer has passed hardware evaluation
tests and has been qualified for use on the Apollo. Because the nitroso terpolymer
will not burn in air of oxygen, this material also has other potential uses such
as fireproof protective clothing. or, since the nitroso *terpoiymer can also be
made in liquid form, as a sprayed-on fireproof coating for spacecraft interiors.
F~apersonic turbojet engine study
The Air Force Aeropropulsion Laboratory has completed a study effort on
a new turbine engine concept-a supersonic combustion non lift type turbojet
engine.
The study results showed the following: (a) Ratio of engine thrust to in-
stalled engine weight (F~/Wt) of 10.2-nearly three times present installations,
(b) Installed engine length reduced by about 60% and (c) Installed engine
weights reduced by 50%. A further accomplishment of considerable merit is the
combination of all rotating compressor and turbine stages in one wheel.
PAGENO="0163"
159
Advanced air launched missile propulsion study
This Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (AFRPL) study evaluated
the performance of advanced solid, liquid and air-augmented propulsion systems
against well defined missile survivability criteria in order to allow a clear
impartial comparison. The most striking result was the great increase in low
level, high mach number capability which might be attained with air augmented
systems. The detailed design studies performed revealed definite areas within
the materials, propellants, thrust chamber assembly, pressurization and ex-
pulsion technologies which possessed (the most significant growth potential. The
ultimate worth of this study can be measured in the positive manner in which
it has aided the AFPRL in pointing defense contractors toward the major sig-
nificant problems in the air launched propulsion field and the fact that propul-
sion requirements from this study have been used directly in defining and im-
plementing present AFRPL exploratory development contracts in the air aug-
mented rocket and prepackaged liquid, solid and hybrid rocket areas.
Oceygen concentrator
Tn 1964 the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory undertook an effort to
fabricate `and `test an oxygen concentrator module which produces pure oxygen
using air `taken from the ambient atmosphere. This system combined with a
carbon-dioxide `and water vapor removal unit and recirculation system could
replace the high pressure gas storage system presently employed in Air Force
Aircraft.
The feasibility of the oxygen concentrator concept has been demonstrated to
the poin't where it is currently undergoing engineering development.
Bandwidth enpansion by redundant transmissions
Under this effort, undertaken by the Rome Air Development Center, an ex-
perimental spread spectrum anti-jam communications system, using frequency
redundancy, was designed; and the breadboard was completed and tested. A
theoretical evaluation ~of `the system was compared to the experimental results.
The main object of this experimentation was to determine whether or not sig-
nificant loss would occur through implementation of the Bandwidth Expansion
by Redundant Transmissions (BERT) technique.
This effort has provided a significant technique for improvement of stored
reference, spread spectrum systems, and has reduced the theory to practice. The
technique now is available for incorporation into prototype equipments where
system constraints would indicate a benefit `by utilization of this bandwidth
expansion system.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you have any estimate th'at you could provide
~for `the record `as to how `you believe time `and money ha's been saved
a result of this? Do you make any estimate of that?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I would like to think about that a little further.
Mr. DADDARTO. If it would be `a difficult thing to do, is your overall
judgment that it has saved considerable time?
Dr. MACARTHUR. That is right. We have `i'de'a's `and products that
have come out that normally wouldn't h'ave come out or if they did
it would be at least 2 years `later.
There is another thing `that we shouldn't `overlook and that is that
it lS a very useful tool to attract scientific talent. If `a scientist knows,
that if he has an idea `and that he can go to `work on it `tomorrow rather
than waiting for 18 months wh~1e it goes `throu~h the many echelons
of review and approval of the Department of Defense, the Bureau of
the Budget and Congress is a very important factor in attracting him.
A lot of our scientists like to feel that if they have a good idea they can
get to work on it right away.
Mr. DADDARTO. During the course of these hearings it has been the
judgment of all `of the witnesses th'at it adds immeasurably to the
quality of these laboratories. Whatever the percentage is, this discre-
tionary authority allows the whole laboratory to operate more effi-
PAGENO="0164"
160
ciently and the laboratory makes better use of the total funds spent.
You could agree with that?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I would certainly agree with that. It comes down
in the end to `the laboratory leadership. It comes down to the laboratory
director himself because he has to make the final judgment on these
programs as they are presented ito him by his staff. Where we have a
good laboratory director, the program has been very successful. In
oases where you don't have `a good l'aiboratory director, it won't be as
successful because he is probably supporting ideas that aren't very
good. Through after-the-fact evaluation; `the one who does well, should
get more money next year.
Mr. DADDARIO. Have you come to any judgment over the course of
time as to the percentage necessary? You are under some constraint
there to spread out beyond these figures apparently because `of your
problems with the Gongress. Do you `think the amount is `about right,
or do you think you should have more or less?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I don't `think we should have less. Whether we
should have more, I really don't know. I think it `should be in the ball-
park of somewhere between 3 `to 6 percent. I don't think it should be
20 or 25 percent. Looking `at `industrial `analogs which we `h'ave looked
at there is even `a very wide variation there, `but, in general, it varies
between 3 `and 10 percent for the big corporations.
Mr. DADDARIO. As you view the entire laboratory establishment in
other agencies, would you `support `as a matter of policy that this should
be `a prevailing situation? Would you say that laboratory directors
should have such discretionary `authority, taking into consideration
that some criteria mechanism to judge the quality of the work must be
established?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I certainly would wi'th one caveat, provided they
have the same problem's that we `have in terms of the bu'dget process and
the m'any echelons of review `and `approval.
Mr. DADDARIO. Yes, taking that into consideration.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes, I certainly would.
Mr. DADDARIO. How about echelons of review? What i's your view on
that?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Well, as far as independent research programs are
concerned? ` `
Mr. DADDARIO. Yes, do you have a problem because of these layers
of review which inhibi't your activities?
Dr. MACARTHUR. We certainly have a prob1'em in management of
our labs because of many echelons of review because what generally
happens is that the laboratory di'rector is given a lot of responsibility
many `times, but doesn't have the authority to go with it because `as you
go down the echelons of revierw there is `a little `t'aken `away `here and a
little bit t'aken `away there. Thi's is one of the `administrative prob'ems
I pointed out that we have. We try to delegate as much responsibility
t'o the laboratory `director as we can `and `at the same time `appropriate
authority to go with it. If `he h'as authority wh'en things go wrong we
know where to place the b'ame. Right now it is very difficult to place
the `b1ame because many times it pervades the whole process.
Mr. DADDARIO. Keith Glennan, who is now president of the Asso-
ciated Universities, has said the Federal laboratories should compete
PAGENO="0165"
161
for some part of its funds as a way to develop this quality. Do you have
any judgment on that?
Mr. Glass can pitch in here anytime he wants.
Dr. MACARTHUR. We certainly agree on that point. Nothing beats
competition. Within our laboratory structure we cover the entire spec-
trum from no competition for funds to almost totally competitive.
There are thOse which really do not have to compete for customers to
keen the laboratory going to those which have become "job shops" for
their customers, with few, if any, longer range programs. The optimum
is somewhere between these two extremes.
Mr. GLASS. We believe that a laboratory should have to compete for
at least 25 percent of its funds in order to stay healthy. In the Navy,
many Jaboratories have to compete for 80 to 90 percent of their funds
from various sponsors. This is considered to be too high a percentage
and we now have a program underway to provide most of their research
and exploratory levelopment funds on a less competitive basis. On the
other hand, within the Air Force, we have a system of "block funding"
of laboratories. The Air Force laboratories are not dependent at all
upon customers for their support. We feel that if we can inject a
greater element of competition here, it will probably create a healthier
situation.
Mr. DADDARIO. Again, considering the objective being to upgrade
the quality of laboratories and keep them there, this kind of makes
up for the difference.
Mr. GLASS. It couples these laboratories more closely with their
customers; the customer has a feeling of responsibility for them, a
feeling of using them more effectively also when they have to pay for
that service.
Mr. DADDARIO. Could you give us an example of why you believe
that to be the case?
Mr. GLASS. The case of, let's take Dr. McLean's laboratory where
a great deal of his money comes from the Navy Systems Command
and he can work very closely with a Navy systems command be-
cause he is, in essence, their major performer. They will bring him
into the planning stages, the discussion stages on new systems early
in the game and thereby give the laboratory more direction as to what
they should do and give the sponsoring agency a better interface
with the laboratory during these initial stages. It also gives a labora-
tory an effective way of injecting new ideas into a new program.
I think that when a laboratory works for a customer such as a
systems command in the Navy or a special project office in the Air
Force, they have a tendency to work more effectively and much closer
together toward a common goal.
Mr. DADDARIO. Are you in agreement with Dr. MacArthur regarding
this discretionary authority?
Mr. GLASS. Absolutely.
Mr. DADDARIO. I think we had better move along.
SUPPORT ON NON-DEFENSE AGENCIES
Dr. MACARTHUR. The performance of work on a reimbursable basis
has been rather significant within the DOD both among the services,
as I indicated earlier, and particularly with the AEC and NASA.
PAGENO="0166"
162
We interact continually with other Government agencies both on a
reimbursable and a nonreimbursable basis.
For example, the AEC program includes $849 million for military
applications to support our nuclear weapons and naval reactors pro-
grams, which represents 35.1 percent of their total budget. AEC
laboratories are involved in many of our conventional weapon pro-
grams in such fields as explosives research and aspects of personnel
armor development. We have had many Defense personnel actively
working in AEC facilities and there are many interactions between
the Special Weapons Center and the Weapons Laboratory of the Air
Force with the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and Sandia Corp.,
which are located nearby.
We are closely allied with NASA in many aspects of their space
and aircraft programs and use each other's ta1ent and unique facilities
quite freely. Our national ranges have NASA as a principal customer.
They use our unique facilities at Tullahoma and we support a great
deal of research in aerodynamics, structures, and propulsion at NASA
centers, which is directly utilized by DOD. A number of our systems
and subsystems have been adopted by NASA in connection with their
launch vehicles and they have developed a number of critical com-
ponents for our MOL program. We performed services in fiscal year
1967 for NASA estimated at $400 million.
I would like to submit for the record as tab B* a few examples of
programs carried out by our laboratories for agencies other than
NASA and AEC.
How do agencies get together on programs? Like most areas of
government activity it depends on aggressive individuals who know
their problem and where to go for help. Our job is to let other agencies
know what capabilities we have. As an example we publish an annual
report which summarizes information on each of our in-house R.D.T.
& E. activities.~' These are distributed through the Federal Council
on Science and Technology, DDC and the Commerce Clearing House
to other agencies. Also each of the services has developed a "technical
facility capability file." These assist the people with a problem in
locating technical expertise, suitable facilities, and major equipment
within DOD. I would venture to say that any individual looking for
special capabilities in DOD could locate them with a minimum of two
or three telephone calls.
I recognize the committee is interested in national policies for use
of Federal laboratories. We feel that we have a permissive environ-
ment with respect to the reimbursable use of other agencies' labora-
tories, and vice versa. We have just reviewed the pertinent laws,
Executive orders, and other statements of policies and procedures
which we believe represent our guidelines in the full and effective
use of Federal laboratories. I would like to insert this review into the
record as tab C**.
The existing laws and executive instruments are quite permissive
and encourage the full utilization of existing facilities and Federal
laboratories. The so-called Economy Act of 1932 appears to be key-
stone legislation in this respect. Executive Order 10521 is also quite
pertinent to the efficient use of Federal equipment and facilities. In
addition, there exists frequently general authorization for coopera-
*Tab B a~peairs starting on p. 172.
**Tab C appears starting on p. 173.
PAGENO="0167"
163
tion between a snecific agency and all other agencies. Such is the case
with NASA, AEC, FAA, and the National Bureau of Standards.
There appear to be some constraints, however, resulting from a
decision of the Comptroller General in 1954 concerning the addition
of new plant and equipment to accommodate interagency services.
While I don't believe tj-iis has affected us seriously, it could be some-
what of a deterrent. This question should be examined further.
Mr. DADDARIO. Why do you think it would be a deterrent?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I believe it could be a deterrent if this finding by
the Comptroller General is literally interpreted where we are one
agency and a laboratory from another agency could do some of our
work but that work requires special equipment and special facilities.
This interpretation says that you can't do that. As an example, if I am
going to NASA asking one of their labs to do a special job for me
because they have special expertise in terms of personnel to do the
job or the task, but they have to acquire special equipment or special
facilities to do it, I believe the interpretation that the Comptroller
General put on it inhibits this.
Mr. DADDARIO. You support, as you seem to indicate here, the idea
that there should be as much flexibility as possible between the agencies
and when you find either personnel or facilities which may be suitable
for you to perform some of your mission objectives, that you ought
to take advantage of what exists?
Dr. MACARTHUR. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. Your theory is that we have a ruling which, if
strictly interpreted, even though promulgated in the first instance to
save money, and in the final analysis will not?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes; but I don't think it has affected us seriously.
Mr. DADDARIO. Continue, please.
INTERAGENCY TRANSFER OF LABORATORIES AND PROGRAMS
Dr. MACARTHUR. We have probably had as much or more experi-
ence than most agencies in the interagency transfer of laboratories
and programs. I can recall two cases which are quite well known and
from which we can gain some insight. A historical case in point is the
transfer of fuze R. & D. from the National Bureau of Standards
(NBS) to the Department of Defense in 1953.
During and after the end of World War II, NBS performed the
R. & D. on proximity fuzes under the sponsorship of the military
departments. NBS initiated action to have their ordnance division
transferred due to the increasing magnitude of ordnance work being
performed by the NBS, coupled with the apprehension that "the con-
current growth in applied engineering work might detract from the
Bureau's main function in the broad areas of standards and standardi-
zation." These were considered compelling reasons for transferring
the activity to the Department of Defense. This resulted in the cre-
ation of the Army's Harry Diamond Laboratory.
Thus, we must always be concerned with the balance of agency
assignments and outside assignment in a given laboratory because the
focus of a laboratory cannot be blurred if it is to remain a viable and
productive organization.
PAGENO="0168"
164
On the other hand, there are also instances where a laboratory could
be transferred from one agency to another when the laboratory mis-
sion is no longer considered vital or when a new agency requires a
rapid capability to satisfy a new national goal. A case in point is the
space program.
The Space Act was signed into law on July 29, 1958, and thus
NASA was created. The DOD transferred Project Vanguard from
ONR to NASA on October 1, 1958, and the Jet Propulsion Labora-
tory, on December 3, 1958. On October 21, 1959, President Eisenhower
approved a plan submitted by Secretary of Defense McElroy and
T. Keith Glennan, Administrator of NASA, to have part of the Army
Ballistic Missile Agency transferred to NASA.
These two examples certainly represent two of a number of options
available to us in assuring the full utilization of laboratories. Some
consideration should also be given to a different way of handling the
phasing down or closure of a Federal laboratory. When a laboratory
has lost its purpose or the priority of its work has diminished or
disappeared, we should offer to transfer it to another agency or at
least consider assigning to it other agency work if it has retained the
required level of quality. I know that some people would have reser-
vations about such a step. Their approach would be to close it down
because once the laboratory has lost its purpose, it generally loses its
best people first. Something can be said on both sides. There is really
no magic formula. I believe one must examine this question on a case-
by-case basis.
TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY
I also believe that we have a moral, if not a legal responsibility, to
assure to the degree possible the transfer of defense-developed tech-
nology to other agencies and to new programs.
Of course, one of the best technology transfer agents we have is
people. Although there are a number of major technology transfer
programs within the Government, one of the simplest approaches is to
motivate the mobility of people. In fact, I can cite a number of cases
to illustrate my point.
Dr. E. M. Reilley, the Assistant Director for Research in my office,
left us recently to become the Director of Research and Development
of the Post Office Department. He brings to that position all of his
background in solid state and nuclear `physics, computer technology,
electronics and R.. & D. management which he developed both at Fort
Monmouth and in O'SD. What is almost as important is that he knows
the on-going programs of the DOD and knows the laboratories and
the people who can provide knowledge and inputs to important Post
Office Department R. & D. problems.
In a similar vein, Mr. T. F. Rogers, the former Deputy Director of
Electronics and Information Systems in OSD has taken the position
of Director of Research and Planning in HIJD. `His experience at the
Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory, Lincoln Laboratory and
in OSD will proivde HJJD the benefit of a great deal of available
technology and methodology which will be directly applicable to the
technical solution of urban development problems.
PAGENO="0169"
165
I also know of many other cases of transfers of people at the labora-~
tory level from Defense to other agencies in which they have assisted
in the exploitation of Defense-developed technology.
Such situations are not limited solely to Government personnel.
Contractors of the DOD, industry, nonprofits and universities are
excellent sources of expertise and performance for new agencies and
new programs also.
A number of our Federal contract research centers are being used by
civilian agencies to help define some of their problems. Many aero-
space companies are actively planning or performing programs utiliz-
ing their defense systems and technology background for HEW,
HUD, DOT, OEO, et cetera. Others are working in the field of ocean-
ography in support of Commerce and Interior needs, applying tech-
nology and know-how derived from Defense-supported program.
Such technology transfer mechanisms far transcend technology
transfer through information centers. As was mentioned last year in
DOD testimony before the Subcommittee on Science and Technology
of the Senate's Select Committee on Small Business, there is a high
degree of mobility from Defense connected industry to nondefense
organizations. Our estimate is that this approaches 10,000 scientists
and engineers each year. I believe that newer agencies can, with the
proper motivation and judicious actions, take full advantage of these
natura.l dynamics in the technical work force and even influence them
more in the direction of their more urgent needs.
Mr. DADDAImI0. You mention people of high competence who move
from one department to another and between Government and indus-
try and how the knowledge that they have developed can be directly
applicable. It appears that when these men work in the Defense De-
partment laboratories the development of weapons systems is the im-
portant thing, but that they develop a knowledge which, in fact, can
be helpful in solving some of our social and economic problems even
though this is not fundamentally the Defense Department's business.
What do you do about taking advantage of this knowledge that is
developed, the social and economic uses to which it can be put, and
how to properly utilize it and not let it wander simply because its
birth is not given in an agency which can support it?
I do get concerned about this because I think the Department of
Defense has developed an ability to apply knowledge quicker and
to apply technology which could be directed to the solution of many
of our other problems.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Let me answer that question this way.
First of all, let me deal with the work done under Department of
Defense sponsorship outside the Department of Defense by the private
sector which is 68 percent in private industry. I don't think there is
any problem there. When we are talking about defense technology
developed by industry which is applicable to the problems that other
agencies have in terms of attaining their national goals because the
private sector is very competitive, the situation takes care of itself.
These nondefense agencies, once they define their problems, the de-
fense industries who have the necessary expertise will exploit it to
solve the problems. Industry will move quickly because it means more
contracts and money for them.
PAGENO="0170"
166
Mr. DADDARTO. You are not saying that the marketplace is going to
determine those things necessary to solve our prohi ems?
Dr. MACARThUR. I would say a great deal of them.
Mr. DADDARIO. Yes, I understand that, but the fact. remains that
we still have environmental pollution prob'ems and in many instances
the technology is available if properly applied to solve these problems.
Therefore, the market cannot be relied upon in this particular instance.
I do believe there is tremendous commercial advantage, which has
not evolved as yet, but the problem can run away from us unless we
develop techniques to take care of it.
Dr. MACARTHUR. One of the problems is that each agency defines
its problem very specifically-what they are looking for. I happen
to have come from the defense industry before I came to DOD 2 years
ago and what I could see with some of the non-DOD agencies, was
that many times they didn't define their problems precisely enough.
When the private sector comes in, and they don't have a well-defined
problem staring them in the face, then they are not going to invest.
It becomes necessary to come up with the answers to the problem. But
understand once you have a well-defined problem, you will find that
the marketplace will take care of it if the resources are available to
put in the R. & D. necessary to solve it. It is a two-way street, to define
the problem clearly and to let the private sector know what the prob-
lem is and then industry will attack it.
Mr. DADDARIO. You can more clearly define the problem, and my
question gets back to that particular point. Where do you allow this
to grow rather than depress it?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I was coming to that point a little later on in that I
belive in the long run every agency has to have an in-house R. & D.
capability. You just have to have it, if you are going to be most effec-
tive, you have to do some of the R. & D. yourself. You cannot solely
rely on the~ private sector or other Government agencies.
Mr. DADDARTO. Mr. Glass, do you want to say something?
Mr. GLASS. I was agreeing with Dr. MacArthur. You need both. You
need a very, very strong in-house group in order to help define your
problems. I think that is part of the strength we have in the Depart-
ment of Defense, the ability to define it both in technical and other
terms. Once you do that and work with the industry, acting as sort
of the leaders and the coaches of the private sector, you can solve these
problems very rapidly together. I think you were right in pointing
out the importance of a strong in-house capability in order to capital-
1ZB on the private sector.
Mr. DADDARIO. With the flexibility and the authority to do these
things?
Mr. `GLASS. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you define within that authority the necessity for
discretionary funds and the requirement to compete for funds and
this type of thing?
Mr. GLASS. That is right. All of these factors are a part of it.
Dr. MACARTHUR. When you define technological requirements, it
is not just sufficient to say we want som9thing. In air pollution, for
example, you want to define what compound you want to monitor,
in what concentrations and what response time and, what kind of
PAGENO="0171"
167
gadget. That is defining the problem. It is not good enough to say that
I want something to monitor air pollution.
Mr. DADDARIO. I nnderstand that, but you are talking to a layman
in this area. We can judge how you are doing after we take a look at
it, and in this particular area our judgment must be that our labora-
tories, private and public, are not doing as well as they might.
Dr. MACARTHUR. I was coming to a statement which was not in the
prepared text.
Mr. DADDARIO. Good.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Let me address myself for the moment to the prob-
lem of personnel ceilings.
PERSONNEL CEILINGS-A MAJOR DETERRENT
Probably the most serious deterrent to interagency work in R. & D.
is the current system of personnel ceilings. Personnel ceilings limit the
flexibility available to Federal laboratories. I believe that the elimina-
tion of manpower ceilings for cross-agency work would motivate a
much greater ut.ility of existing laboratory capabilities and would be
a major step forward in achieving the objectives of this subcommittee.
I would only establish financial controls but at the same time would
insist upon a. meaningful after-the-fact appraisal. I also believe that
others are opposed to this concept because they feel that growth would
be excessive and the laboratory would lose its focus toward their prime
mission. But I believe that growth would be minimal.
Mr. DADDARIO. You are talking again about a reward mechanism.
You would be-
Dr. MACARTHUR. I would remove the manpower ceilings for work
that is done internally in an in-house lab for another agency.
Mr. DADDARIO. I see.
Mr. MOSHER. Refresh my memory on the source of these ceilings.
`What ist;he history of these ceilings?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I would like Mr. Glass to address himself to that
question.
Mr. GLASS. Each agency has `a manpower ceililig. I believe they
emanate from the Bureau of the Budget. There is a total manpower
ceiling established for the Department of Defense. Each echelon of
rn'aniagemerut has to `allocate a certain number of spaces or billets for
each organizational entity within the Department of Defense. They
cannot exceed their ceiling without going to the top, either to obtain
readjustmeuts within the Defense Department or ask to request the
Bureau of the Budget for additional manpower spaces. If a piece of
work comes to the laboratory from the D'epaTt.meilit of Transportation
and additiona.I manpower is required the lab cannot immediately take
iton unless `he drops some of his defense-related work or obtained addi-
t;ional ceiling. He must go up through his thain of command to get
the additional manpower. It is `similur to the procedure used for funds.
Mr. MOSHER. Dr. MacArthur is objecting to the rigidity of this?
Dr. MACARTHUR. I am saying if you have `a laboratory fully oc-
cupied performing its `own mission `and everybody is `busy and if they
have technological expertise that can be utilized by another `agency
when that. `agency c9mes and asks for work to be done, the manpower
restrictions that are presently `applied should not be `applied in such
PAGENO="0172"
168
cases. A lot of people are against this because they feel that the system
would mushroom out of control. I don't personally believe this. I think
Oak Ridge is an `example where `agencies other than the AEC have
asked Oak Ridge to help them with `some of their problems. I don't
think Oak Ridge has grown out of control.
Another example is System Development Corporation. which used
to `be a nonprofit organization for the Department of Defense, and a
few years ago broke away from the Department of Defense at which
time 100 percent of their work was for the Department of Defense.
Years later over 90 percent of their work is still done for the Depart-
ment of Defense `and they are in the private sector.
Mr. MOSTIER. What sanction has `Congress given to these manpower
ceilings? Have we insisted `on this or have we gone along with this
implicitly?
Mr. GLASS. I think the feeling of the Congress is there must be man-
power controls within the Federal Government. A's long as the execu-
tive branch maintains controls `such `as the'se, there `is no need for specific
congressional `action-I think that if there were n'o controls exerted by
the executive `branch that Congress possibly would insti't~te such
controls.
Mr. DADDARIO. Recognizing that this is a problem, and th'at the Con-
gress does l'ook `at it this way, would you support the idea that rather
than to have this as an overall policy that certa~n of them be given
this `authority?
Mr. GLASS. I think that would be a very good approach.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes. I think the best ones should be given such
authority.
Mr. DADDARTO. You two gentlemen are quite candid about this.
Everybody else seemsito shy away from it. You both give the indica-
tion that this would not be too much of a job.
Mr. GLASS. I think we have to do it.
Mr. DADDARIO. It might not be pleasant.
Dr. MACARTHUR. We have been wrestling with it for sometime.
Mr. DADDARIO. You are saying we must develop the proper tech-
niques through which quality judgments can be made and give labora-
tory directors the opportunity to compete for funds, and give some
of them funding limits as you have proposed rather than personnel
ceilings.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes. This is the attack we followed last year in
the Department of Defense where we have laboratories which are
clearly qualitywise above others. We give them a certain degree of
flexibility. We don't give to every laboratory this. This comes back
to incentives and awards. The ones who don't get it say, look, we
better shape up,~and I think it is a very good system.
Mr. DADDARIO. There is no doubt that it would have that effect.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes.
Mr. BROWN. Isn't the process we are talking about similar to, for
example, the evaluation `of universities. The universities which have
the quality and the capacity `are the ones `that get `the research grants
contracts, `and it is not impossible to evaluate where this capacity
for excellence exists.
Now, at the same time we are seeking to stimulate the development
of what we call centers of excellence to improve the quality of our
PAGENO="0173"
169
educational institutions. A laboratory is not too distinct or too differ-
ent from this, and if it is desirable to do, I am sure that the quality
of a laboratory can be changed by a conscious decision to change it
by the infusion of new leadership or new talent.
Dr. MACARTHUR. We certainly agree to that. I think one of our
biggest problems in trying to get new and strong leadership in DOD
laboratories for personnel. In Government organizations, it seems
to me that the primary objective is to protect the individual's right
and the secondary objectives is to the productivity of the organization.
In the Wivate sector, it is the reverse. The primary objective is the
productivity of the organization, and the secondary consideration is
protection of the individual's rights.
Now, under the civil service, system it is very difficult to get rid of
marginal people, they have to be incompetent before you can "fire"
them, and it is very ~difficult to prove that people are incompetent.
We are after `a system where we can get rid of marginal people. In
striving for this to achieve a higher degree of excellence, this is a
very difficult job where the individual's right is protected.
Mr. DADDARIO. In one way or another this is a problem that exists
everywhere, in industry as well. Many industries have some people
who admittedly are incompetent and they keep `them on forever.
Dr. MACARTHUR. But they don't have to.
Mr. DADDARIO. They don't have to, but they do.
Dr. MACARTHUR. I was talking about marginal people. Incompe-
tence we can get rid of, but with fair or marginal people, it is very
difficult to do anything.
And it is the same thing in a university once you have tenure, but
in the industrial sector it is a little~ easier if you want to get rid of
somebody. You can get rid of them pretty easily if the desire is there.
Mr. BROWN. This point you `make is one of the main reasons where
a competitive system is better. If it is a profit reward you have to
get rid of those things which inhibit the profit ability.
Dr. MACARTHUR. I should add that where we have a strong labora-
tory director, anybody who is asked to leave `or look for andther job,
in 90 percent of the cases they will. In 10 percent of the cases, they
won't. They will say, "prove it," and `then you go through various
appeal mechanisms, and to get rid of one individual might take 20
percent of your energy for 1 whole year. What you do then is you
develop-
Mr. DADDARIO. You insulate.
Dr. MACARTHUR. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. Proceed.
GUIDELINES FOR INTERAGENCY SUPPORT
Dr. MAC,A RTHTJR. I believe, in the long run, if you (as an agency)
need an R. & D. capability, to be most effective you have to do some
of it yourself-you cannot solely rely on other Government agencies.
My reasons are:
(1) You need people who have your interests and priorities.
(2) You need people whom you can directly control.
(3) You need people who are working in, just not watching, the
technology in areas you need.
PAGENO="0174"
170
(4) You need people who can couple R. & D. results to your mission.
When a new agency begins to attack a major national problem, and
begins to build the necessary R. & D. capability, it is probably neces-
sary for it. to depend primarily on other agencies and private contrac-
tors for a few years.
But I cannot overemphasize t.he fact that we must exercise consider-
able care in assigning nonagency missions to existing labs. In our re-
view of our own DOD labs, we found generally that. those which tried
"to cover the waterfront" were much less productive and of lower qual-
ity than those which were focused toward a well-defined meaningful
agency problem. A key objective for our new w-eapon centers is a spe-
cifically defined, challenging mission. The question of balance for any
single laboratory must be a decision shared by both the laboratory
director and his management agency. I really don't think we should
atte.mnt to ~ef ~n arbitrary firnire or a range. Each laboratory director
must examine his own local situation to determine the level of effort
he can perform for other agencies using local criteria to make this
decision.
In general fOr busy productive laboratories with clear-cut missions,
I would~ say the following principle applies to interagency lab sup-
port.: The, greater the match between the actual technical work that
needs to be performed and the performer's ongoing programs, the more
the laboratory can assimilate. Dr. McLean's example of his work for
the Bureau of Fisheries on sonar signatures for schools of fish illus-
trates this point. For such cases, laboratories might be able to absorb
15 to 20 percent.
In specialized test facilities, like computer centers or wind tunnels,
the percentage could be much higher depending on the capacity of the
facility. On the other hand, we must recognize that each agency will
have some labs that are highly specialized; for these, as much as a
10-percent diversification might be unwise or even impossible.
In summary, I believe that if the motivation and need are there,
people will know or find the capabilities and unique facilities and
competence in Federal laboratories. We certainly encourage others to
use any of our available capability. The cross-servicing of major pro-
grams should be thought out very carefully in advance, however, so
that the primary mission of a laboratory is not so diluted that per-
formance for either their parent agency or its customer, or both, is not
degraded. Modifications to our system for accounting for manpower
and manpower ceilings are in need of critical review if we are to make
optimum use of our in-house capacity.
There are a number of advantages in using existing Federal labora-
tories instead of establishing new ones: (1) avoidance of unnecessary
duplication; (~) overall reduction in costs; and (3) the ready avail-
ability of expertise. There are a number of disadvantages also: (1)
dilution of laboratory mission; (2) the lack of close coupling between
the performing laboratory and the customer agency; and (3) the
resultant lack of R. & D. continuity and experience in the new agency
or program. The tradeoff among considerations such as these must be
weighed carefully in determining the most appropriate course of action
to be taken.
PAGENO="0175"
1'Tl
THE OFFICE OF LABORATORY MANAGEMENT
The progress we have made in. the improvement in the effectiveness
of our in-house laboratories stems from four factors. A continual
interest of the three Directors of Defense Research and Engineering
(York, Brown, and Foster) in the health of laboratories; the sustained
recognition of the importance of laboratories by the Secretary of De-
fense over the last several years; the support of the past two Directors
of the Office of Science and Technology; and finally, the establishment
of an Office of Laboratory Management within t.he Office of the Direc-
tor of Defense Research and Engineering.
Within the services, the establishment of the positions of Director
of Laboratories (DOL) has been an important step in improving the
quality of our laboratories and in bringing the laboratories into much
closer interface with the policy levels.
I woujd like to insert in the record as tab D* a brief reiiew of the
origins, present functions, and some past accomplishments of the
Office of Laboratory Management. Mr. E. M. Glass, the Assistant
Director for Laboratory Management, who is with me, will be pleased
to answer any questions the subcommittee is interested in asking him
concerning his functions and activities.
The Office of Laboratory Management is the organizational arm
of D.D.R. & E. with respect to in-house laboratories. Its primary pur-
pose is to assist the Director of Defense Research and Engineering
in the planning and the execution of a positive program which assures
that the Defense laboratories of the future play key roles in shaping,
carrying out, and administering the complex R.D.T. & E. programs
upon which our defense posture depends so heavily. This office is the
focal point of the DOD laboratories and has been heavily involved in
most of the issues I have discussed today.
Thank you.
TAB A: DOD ACTIONS To IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DEFENSE LABORATORIES
We have established new weapon centers with clear and broad responsibilities
over a number of. military problems and functional areas. These centers arid
major laboratories have been given important assignments in threat analy~is
and development of requirements; planning for future weapons; assessment of
vulnerability of proposed major systems; and important roles in the research
and development cyéle. Thus the in-house laboratories are beginning to emerge
not only as an R&D performer, but an important source of technical judgments
and advice to the top level planners and decision makers. Here are several
examples:
UNDERSEAS WARFARE CENTER
Created from NOTS (Pasadena) and elements of the Naval Electronics Labo-
ratory, NOTS (China Lake) and an ASW Analysis Group at NOL (White Oak).
This Center will be responsible for the over-all ASW systems analyses, hard-
ware development for surface s~stems, system integration of air, surface arid
sub-surface systems and fleet engineering support. Because of the importance
of this area. we are providing for three centers devoted to ASW and associated
weaponry. The Naval Air Development Center (Johnsville) has been given re-
sponsibility for hardware developmen.t of airborne ASW systems. We intend to
combine organizationally the Naval Underwater Weapons Research and Regi-
neering Station, Newport, Rhode Island, with the Naval Underwater Sound
Laboratory, New London, Connecticut, forming a new center for the development
of sub-surface systems. In this fashion, the major ASW systems and hardware
responsibilities will be focueed in three principal Navy centers.
*Tab D arppears starting on p. 174.
PAGENO="0176"
172
SHIPS R&D CENTER
The David Taylor Model Basin Marine Engineering Laboratory and the Mine
Defense Laboratory have been combined organizationally to create a ships'
R&D center. It is responsible for advanced ships concepts, high speed ships, deep
ocean vehiéles from research to project formulation.
A number of fragmented activities involved in siniilar technologies have been
combined into more viable arrangements. For example, an Army Materials and
Mechanics Research Center is being created from elements of eight RD'T&E
activities. The Secretary has approved a long-range program to consolidate ten
of the Army's medical laboratories into three major medical centers.
There are, always difficult administrative problems in any large organization.
We believed, however, that we had more than our fair share of them. I ha~ve
always felt that if we could provide the management of our Defense labora-
tories with the same degree of flexibility as is possible in the high technology
organizations in the private sector, we could achieve an immediate and sub-
stanitial improvement in effectiveness and output. With this model as our goal,
we have identified a number of administrative problems and have worked hard
to develop solutions for them. A large number of the problems have either been
solved or we have implemented a time-phased solution `for them. We have also
made a major dent in the unsolved ones. The problems run the entire spectrum
from recruitment, career development and training, personnel mobility, com-
pensation, to dealing with the marginal employee. We have had a great deal of
excellent assistance from the Civil Service Commission in coming to grips with
these problems.
In addition, we have been concerned with such non-personnel problems as
facility modification, support services, procurement, supply and laboratory mai,n-
tenance. For example, gr:eater authority ha's been given to Laboratory Directors
in the reprogramming of funds and personnel to adjust to changing work situa-
tions. Techniques have been developed to foster greater mobility of people among
technical organizations to bring the best talent to the problems as they arise.
Career development programs have been tailored to meet the specific needs of
scientists and engineers.
TAB B: SOME EXAMPLES OF INTER-AGENcY COOPERATION
Army
NIH and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research jointly staff in Panama
the Middle American Research Activity and carry on joint programs in indige-
nous diseases. The Postal Department uniforms are designed by Natick together
with the research work in `the textiles used in these uniforms. The Army has
joint programs with the Department of Agriculture on insecticides and also
joint programs between Oivil Defense and Agriculture in fires and control of
fires. There are also programs between AEC, Commerce and DoD in the area of
irradication of food. There are many, many civil work programs conducted by
the Army Corps of Engineers for other agencies.
Navy
A number of surveys are conducted at Point Barrow by the Navy for other
agencies. This is part of an Office of Naval Research (ONR) program:
Agency Project
U.S. Geological Survey. Gravity Studies.
National Science Foundation. Snow Studies.
U.S. Geological Survey. Oil Shale.
National Institute of Health. Arctic Biology.
Federal Aviation Agency. Flight Service.
Interior Department. Polar Bear Survey.
National Institute of Health. Marine Biological Chemistry.
Department of Agriculture. Diseases of the Caribou.
Public Health Service. Zoonotic Diseases.
Bureau of Standards. Ionospheric Studies.
Coast and Geodetic Survey. Geodetic Management Surveys.
Other examples of inter-agency cooperation are listed below:
National Health Institute-Pays ONR to operate the Tissue Culture at
Naval Biological Lab at Okiand, Calif.
Interior contributes to an Oceanographic Project of the Navy.
PAGENO="0177"
173
Other types of fund transfers:
Recently ONR transferred money to Geological Survey for specialized
project-Trace Analysis in Water.
National Bureau of Standards-transfer of funds to NBS for various
research projects for ONR.
David Taylor Model Basin-Navy work for Maritime Administration,
Coast Guard, private sector, etc., on reimbursable basis.
In the shipbuilding business, private industry and Coast Guard-exchange
of computer aided ship design.
Air Force
Work performed for FAA-The Air Force Materials Laboratory performed
a huge effort in support of the Super-Sonic Transport (SST), amounting to
$3.2 million. The work included such efforts as the following:
Screening test program for evaluation of stress corrosion susceptibility
of alloys under consideration for skin materials.
Laminating Resins.
High temperature hydraulic fluids.
High temperature seal and sealant materials.
Screening tests and evaluation of lubricants for propulsion and secondary
power systems.
Performance of jet engine fuel's.
Fatigue behavior of materials.
The Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory redesigned the nose cone of the
total inflight simulator (TIFS) vehicle in support of the SST program.
The Air Force Aeropropulsion Laboratory-Carried out an engine component
development program in support of the SST.
Defined a suitable jet fuel specification for the SST.
Defined a jet lubricant for the SST.
Investigated crash fire prevention techniques for the SST, including develop-
ment of a high temperature extinguishing agent.
The Air Force Weapons Laboratory performed work to determine dose, dose
rate and depth, dose patterns of high altitude radiation and its hazard to pilots
and passengers.
The Aeromedical Research Laboratory performed studies to determine injury
patterns arising from the use of different types of restraint harnesses.
Work performed for the Food and Drug Administration-The Aeromedical Re-
search Laboratory performed studies to evaluate the biological and pathological
effects of drugs.
Work performed for the Department of Transportation.-The Aeromedical Re-
search Laboratory performed work on an anthropometric definition of vehicle
safety in which the relationship of size and design of passenger compartments
affects safety at impact.
Work performed for the National Bureau of ~tandards.-The Aeromedical Re-
search Laboratory performed dynamic testing of seat belts.
Work performed for the National ~eienee Foundation (NSF) .-The Air Force
Cambridge Research Laboratories participated in a cooperative program spon-
sored by the NSF in Project Hailswath. The program was concerned with hail-
storm modification.
The Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL), participated in a
cooperative program for the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile,
AFCRL funded the 16-inch and 60-inch telescopes and the NSF funded the domes.
TAB C: NATIONAL POLICIES FOR THE Usn or FEDEBAL LABORATORIES
Much of the legislation which established the function of Department of De-
fense and the Military Departments contains language which either permits or
fosters the use of services of other agencies.
The general authority authorizing agencies to perform work for another
agency is the so-called Economy Act which states "any executive department
if it is determined by the head of such executive department . . . may place
orders with any other such departments . . . for materials, supplies, equipment,
work, or services of any kind that such requisitioned federal agency may be in a
position to supply or equipped to render and shall promptly pay . . . the esti-
mated or actual cost thereof as determined by such department . . as may be
requisitioned." (31 U.S.C. 686(a)). In addition. 41 U.S.C. 23 provides "all orders
or contracts for work or material or for the manufacture of material pertaining
93-201 O-68-----12
PAGENO="0178"
174
to approved projects heretofore or hereafter placed with government-owned es-
tablishments shall be considered as obligations in the same manner as provided
for similar orders or contracts with commercial manufacturers or private
contractors."
Frequently, there exists general authorization for cooperation between a spe-
cific agency and all other agencies. For example, NASA by statute may use the
services, equipment, personnel and facilities of federal agencies with or without
reimbursement and on the similar basis cooperate with agencies in the use of
services, equipment and facilities. Each federal agency is also directed to cooper-
ate fully with NASA. (42 U.S.C. 2473(6)) AEC may utilize services and person-
nel of another agency (42 U.S.C. 2201(f)) and the FAA has similar authority
with respect to facilities, equipment and personnel of civilian and military agen-
cies. (49 U.S.C. 1343). The National Bureau of Standards is also directed to
cooperate with other government agencies in the establishment of standard
practices incorporated in codes and specifications. As may be seen, there is both
general and specific authority for interdepartmental cooperation to conduct
research.
As far as executive statements of policy pertaining to the utilization of federal
facilities, Executive Order 10521, as amended, dated March 17, 1954 is perhaps
the most basic statement concerning the efficient use of federal equipment and
facilities:
"Sec. 8. To facilitate the efficient use of scientific research equipment and fa-
cilities held by Federal agencies:
"(a) the head of each such agency engaged in scientific research shall, to
the extent practicable, encourage and facilitate the sharing with other Fed-
eral agencies of major equipment and facilities; and
"(b) a Federal agency shall procure new major equipment or facilities for
scientific research purposes only after taking suitable steps to ascertain that
the need cannot be met adequately from existing inventories or facilities of
its own or of other agencies; and
"(c) the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and De-
velopment shall take necessary steps to ensure that each Federal agency
engaged directly in scientific research is kept informed of selected major
equipment and facilities which could serve the needs of more than one agency.
Each Federal agency possessing such equipment and facilities shall main-
tain appropriate records to assist other agencies in arranging for their joint
use or exchange."
In addition, Executive Order 10807, as amended, dated March 13, 1959 creates
the Federal Council for Science and Technology which provides as a function of
the council the consideration of problems and development in the fields of science
and technology including "to achieve more effective utilization of scientific and
technological resources and facilities of federal agencies, including the elimina-
tion of unnecessary duplication."
Finally, the report to the President on Government Contracting for Research
and Development dated April 30, 1962 (The Bell Report) also provides a basic
statement concerning the role of federal laboratories in the conduct of research
and development. The Bell Report has been our most authoritative source of
guidance since 1963.
TAB D: THE ODDR&E 0n3'ICE OF LABORATORY MANAGEMENT
The Office of Laboratory Management was formally established in September
of 1965. The functions it assumed at the time of its estnblishment were performed
prior to that time on an ad hoc or special arrangement basis.
Although concern for the quality and productivity of Defense laboratories goes
back many years, great impetus was given to this question in 1961 when the DoD
began taking a hard look at its in-house capability.
When Mr. McNamara became Secretary of Defense in 1961, he asked 120 ques-
tions to provide the basis for the future posture of the Department of Defense.
Question 97 was: "Advise me ways in which to improve the operations of the in-
house laboratories." To answer this question and to develop solutions to prob-
lems that might arise, a task force was set up with the title of "Task 97."
Task 97 visited many laboratories, talked to many people, and turned in a
report which was endorsed by Mr. MeNamara by his memorandum of 14 October
1961. In this memorandum~, he reiterated the importance of in-house laboratories
to furthering the Department of Defense's mission and proposed a number of
PAGENO="0179"
175
positive actions to be taken by the Military Departments to upgrade their in-house
capabilities. Out of this came-
1. A sensible approach. to taking full and complete advantage of the
PL-313 provisions and a more rational approach to compensation rates under
this authority.
2. The establishment of a Laboratory Director's Fund for work judged
by the laboratory director to be of promise or importance, with only after-the-
fact review by higher authority.
3. The pinpointing or responsibilities with the Assistant Secretaries (R&D)
of the Military Departments for the health and environment of the in-house
laboratories.
However, other actions recommended were not implemented as readily. These
included: (1) that Department of Defense (DoD) in-house laboratories would
be used as a primary means of carrying our Defense Department programs; (2)
delegating greater decision-making authority to the laboratory directors; (3)
solving the many administrative difficulties that prevented laboratories from
being as effective as they should be; and (4) establishing clear lines of technical
management and responsibility for each in-house laboratory.
Just as Task 97 was completing its report, the Bureau of the Budget began or-
ganizing an interdepartmental task force to study the problems of government
contracting for R&D. This activity, which must be familiar to most of you, be-
came the first broad Executive Branch Policy on R&D activities in the history
of this country.
This "Bell report," 1 superimposed upon the Department of Defense findings,
placed even greater emphasis on taking constructive actions in many areas. In
fact, the Bell Report specifically cited this task force's activities as an appropri-
ate procedure to follow.
On 30 March 1963, the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, recon-
stituted "Task 97" as the "Task 97 Action Group," in recognition of the fact
that strengthening the in-house laboratories "is not only a matter of study but
one of action." Its concept of operations was to establish a core of permanent
members, generally six, with the responsibility for its continuing operation.
These members were from ODDR&E staff and from the Office of the Assistant
Secretaries (R&D) of the Military Departments. Additional members, problem-
area specialists, were to be added, depending upon the problem being examined.
Also every level of management was represented in all visits to laboratories so
that, as a problem was raised, we could follow the problem up the chain of com-
mand on the spot and either obtain an immediate solution or find a basis for pin-
pointing an individual for action. It also provided a rare opportunity to communi-
cate the rationale behind many decisions to the people directly affected-the
laboratory personnel.
The "Task 97 Action Group" dealt witI~ many administrative problems
affecting the creative climate of laboratories. Listed below are several examples
of the actions which resu~Ited from the activities of the Group:
Important input, based upon specific examples, was provided to the Civil Serv-
ice Commission, and thus had direct influence upon many features of the Salary
Reform Act of 1962 and subsequent legislation.
Some relief was obtained for laboratories in securing foreign periodicals and
scientific equipment vis-a-vis the gold-flow problem.
Security review of scientific papers was delegated to the laboratory level.
New policies relating to air-conditioning equipment or laboratories, treating
them the same as any other type of technical equipment, were established.
There were more favorable interpretations `of the Government Employees
Training Act, 7 July 1958, particularly in the restrictions on the 1-year-in-10 rule.
The need for some relief in the rigid manpower ceilings to enhance training
and career development was dramatized. This is now represented by central pools
of manpower spaces and dollars to support technical training without hamper-
ing laboratory operations.
Block funding or "core funding' of Air Force laboratories in Research and
Exploratory Development.
1 Bureau of the Budget (David E. Bell, Direc.tor)~ Report to the President on Government
Contracting for Research and Development, 30 April 1962.
PAGENO="0180"
176
special assistant for laboratories
During 1964 it became increasingly apparent that the Task Force approach to
handling "The Laboratory Problem" had about run its course. A consensus was
developing to the effect that the in-house laboratories lacked meaningful prob-
lems, management stability and prominence, and recognition, and they also
failed to impact at the highest policy levels. While administrative improvements
were valuable and should be pursued diligently, they were not considered, in
themselves, sufficient to make laboratories effective tools of the organizations
they served.
A position of "Special Assistant for Laboratories" was created in the Office of
the Deputy Director, Research and Technology to assist in planning the future
of the DoD laboratories and to develop policies concerning their operations. The
functions for this position were stated in the form of a series of questions:
1. On what scientific and technical efforts should the Department of Defense
put it greatest effort? Its least?
2. What laboratories are to be expanded or upgraded for the foreseeable
futu,re?
3. Are any to be phased out or discontinued?
4. What new laboratories should be created? Or what missions of existing
laboratories should be changed significantly?
5. How should the laboratories be organized?
6. How should laboratories interact with other RDT&E performance and the
decision-making process?
7. What administrative reforms are needed for laboratories?
It is the answers to questions such as these which make it possible to set
priorities, to plan laboratories' expansion and construction on an orderly basis
and to relate them to programs, money, people, workloads and facilities.
As a result of the initial studies recommending new organizational concepts
for Defense laboratories, Dr. Brown, then the Director of Defense Research
and Engineering, currently the Secretary of the Air Force, formally established
the Office of Laboratory Management in 1965.
Organizational relations~tips of Defense laboratories
I think that we must first establish the relationship between DDR&E and the
in-house laboratories before we can discuss functions of the Office of Laboratory
Management in a meaningful way. Almost without exception, the in-house
laboratories are organizationally integrated into the Service structures, some at
high levels, such as the Naval Research Laboratory, others at relatively low levels
like the Army's Night Vision Laboratory at Fort Monmouth. None of these
laboratories have a direct line relationship with DDR&E. Their financial support
is derived from the programs approved by DDR&E but the operation of these
laboratories is under the control of the Military Departments. Each of the
Military Departments has a Director of~ Laboratories, or equivalent, who is
directly responsible for the quality and productivity of his Service's laboratories.
Each Director of Laboratories has ready access to his Assistant Secretary (R&D)
who sets the over-all RDT&E and laboratory policy for his Service.
Because of the important of Service laboratories in carrying out the Defense
RDT&E mission and related activities, DDR&E plays a vital role in establishing
the policies and objectives for these organizations. These are placed into effect
by the Assistant Secretaries (R&D) and the Directors of Laboratories. They also
utilize the laboratories as a source of expertise and advice in the decision making
process.
DDR&E is directly involved in many activities affecting the RDT&E of two or
more Services, however. Also, his duties include the "directing, controlling, assign-
ing, and reassigning research and engineering activities that the Secretary
considers needs centralized management". The area of laboratory management
has been designated by the Secretary as requiring DDR&E's attention and
concern.
Functiong
The Office of Laboratory Management is the organizational arm of DDR&E
with respect to in-house laboratories. Our primary purpose is to assist DDR&E in
the planning and the execution of a positive program which assures that the
Defense Laboratories of the future play key roles in shaping, carrying out, and
administering the complex RDT&E programs upon which our Defense posture
depends so heavily. An important aspect of this is to see that laboratories are
intimately involved in the mainstream of urgent Defense needs, providing the
PAGENO="0181"
177
solutions to vital problems and offering technical judgments highly relevant to
the needs of top level planners and decision-makers.
While these words may at first sound much too general to have much meaning,
they truly represent the goals and the "job description" for the office. It interacts
on a continual basis with the Service Directors of Laboratories and with the
Offices of the Assistant Secretaries (R&D). It is considered the "Washington
Representative" of the in-house laboratories and it tries to represent their posi-
tions and points of view at the corporate level. It is a "champion" for laboratories
within the DoD.
The sc'ope of activity varies from minutia to major problems directly affecting
the productivity of technical organizations. During `the earlier phase of its de-
velopment it concentrated on the development of a quantitative data base for
laboratories which would give DDR&E insight into current and planned opera-
tions of these organizations and to provide a sounder basis for action. Working
with our Army counterparts, it assisted in the development and approval of an
Army 10-year plan for its laboratories. Its activities in refining the "weapon
center concept" helped the Navy develop and place into operation an organiza-
tional plan, which we expect will pay many important dividends in the future of
the Navy. Its close working relationship with the Air Force has resulted in a
number of innovations which have strengthened the Air Force's in-house capabil-
ity. Much of its effort is motivational and indirect. An important role is acting as
the "conscience" of the R&D community of the DoD, the pre-testers of new ideas
and innovations about laboratories.
It is the focal point for special studies aimed at improving the productivity,
environment and utilization of laboratories. As a result of its recommendations,
a number of laboratories has been phased out, consolidated or rejuvenated. It
has been the interface with the Civil Service Commission in attempting to set
the required personnel climate for technical organizations. It has played an im-
portant part in helping to define the role of laboratories in transition of labora-
tory-developed systems and equipment from development to production. These are
but a few examples of the kinds of activities in which it is involved.
We should not leave the impression that the Office of Laboratory Management
is the sole source of improvements in our in-house laboratory system, as this is
far from the truth. It takes many people and organizations to achieve the goals
established for improving the DoD laboratories. Its principal job is to provide
the required degree of leadership and "coaching" which will assure that we are
going in the right direction and at the proper pace.
Progress in the solution of laboratory problems has been gratifying during the
past two years. Solutions to problems once thought to be unattainable are on
the horizon, or well in band. We seem to have gained a great deal of momentum
particularly in the past six months which w-ill have tremendous impact upon our
Defense capabilities in the years ahead. It is the job of the Office of Laboratory
Management to see that our progress continues.
Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you, Dr. MacArthur. It is a very excellent
statement and your discussion about it has been extremely helpful.
Mr. Brown?
Mr. BROWN. How do you distinguish, if you do distinguish, between
these two ambiguous terms of basic research and applied research as
far as the laboratories are concerned?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Sure. Well, basic research, we define it as that
research that is carried out to develop new knowledge.
Applied research is research that is carried out to solve a problem.
Now, though we don't think that research should be carried on for
research's sake in the Department of Defense, we do support basic re~
search that is relevant to our needs. That is, we support basic research
t.hat develops new knowledge in areas of prime interest to us and so
rec,earch can be both basic and relevant.
Mr. BROWN. Basic and relevant to a mission?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Or a tecimological problem, because in many mis-
sion areas we ha:ve technological problems and the only way we caii
solve them is by having more basic knowledge in that particular area
PAGENO="0182"
178
before you know how to go about solving it. In developing that know]-
edge is basic research and it is relevant because it is directed toward
getting more information that will help us in solving this te.chnologi~al
problem that we have.
Mr. BROWN. Have you figured any way of estimating relative levels
of effortS or dollars in these two areas? Do you make an effort. to do so
for budgetary or planning purposes or anything of that sort?
Dr. MACARTHUR. A quantitative measure of how much you should
spend in basic research is very difficult, even in the private sector.
Let's take the private sector. Private industry which has a good
measure of success, a profit-and-loss statement, has been struggling
with this problem for many years, and you will find that they haven't
come up with a magic formula as to how much they should put in re-
search. It is strictly intuitive and to a certain extent based on what
they can afford to put in from their profit margin for that year. The
way we go about it is we look at each area and get an idea of what
the problems are, what the opportunities are and how much we feel
is necessary to capitalize on what. we have. I must say it is a qualitative
judgment of how much should ba spent in basic research.
Mr. BROWN. This would vary from laboratory to laboratory also,
I presume?
Dr. MACARTHUR. Yes, indeed. Some of our laboratories like NRL
do a great deal of basic research, other laboratories do very little basic
research. It depends on the mission of the laboratory, it depends on
how much they are doing with universities.
Mr. BROWN. When you brought up this question of 3 to 6 percent
discretionary funds, the thought occurred to me as to whether this
could or is used on basic research or whether it is all directed at some
developmental type of problem.
Dr. MACARTHUR. Well, let me answer that question this way. Al-
t.hough the money that we give in discretionary funds comes out of
our research budget category we also give the lab director the
freedom to spend it on basic, applied, or tecirnological problems. We
don't attach any strings to it because in certain cases some of the most
successful work-because you can see a product. at the end of the
work-comes out of the applied work.
On the other hand, some very good scientific work has been done
with this type of money. It is up to the individual lab director how he
will utilize it. This determination, and its success determines how much
he gets the following year.
Mr. GLASS. I would say about 30 percent of the dollars are at the very
fundamental end of the spectrum, about 70 percent. of these discre-
tionary funds are used in the more applied area..
Mr. BROWN. The examples you gave., and t.his is probably good judg-
ment in the situation since you are presenting it to Members of the
Congress, the examples dealt. with hardware results.
Dr. MACARTHUR. That is right, more componentry than funda-
mental work.
Mr. BROWN. But there are, I suspect, many examples of basic re-
search which is difficult to evaluate, and I presume you have the re-
sponsibility to evaluate the excellence of new knowledge?
Dr. MACARTHUR. The quality of the work.
PAGENO="0183"
179
Mr. BROWN. Yes; as well as the hardware results which might
develop.
Dr. MACARTHUR. That is very true. Hardware innovations that
come out of basic research usually come 5 to 10 years later so you have
got to wait for a period of time to see what the result of that work is.
At the time the work is done, you just have to go on the quality of the
work, and its relevance, in general, to DOD's needs.
Mr. BROWN. So you consider this factor when you are making your
continuing evaluation process? It seems to me it would be rather diffi-
cult to look at a man engaged in some fundamental research at the end
of a year and say, well, you have not produced any results. Basic re-
search does not conform to that kind of a pattern.
Dr. MACARTHUR. That is right.
On the other hand, any lab director who comes in and says I spent
all my discretionary funds on basic research and don't expect any
answer for 7 or 8 years; we would not look very kindly on that.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Mosher.
Mr. MOSHER. No questions.
Mr. DADDARIO. We have a series of questions which I will ask you to
answer for the record, if I may.
Dr. MACARTHUR. I will be very happy to, sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. We would like to hear our next witness. We already
have extended the time beyond which we had intended, but we appre-
ciate your testimony and the comments of Mr. Glass. We will be in
touch with you so we can fill out these questions for the record.
Dr. MACARTHUR. We will be very happy to. Thank you.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO DR. DONALD M. MAcARTHUR BY THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Question 1. In your testimony you indicate that one reason why industry has
not become more involved with national problems such as crime or pollution is
that government agencies have not defined the problems precisely enough. What
do you propose to remedy this problem? How would you define problems with
a large social faet~r involved so that industry could participate?
Answer. All mission-oriented agencies should have a supporting R&D pro-
grain to improve their capability, to perform their missions more effectively and
to define their specific needs. There is a general misconception that supply and
demand, and the profit motive, will always lead industry to orient their efforts
toward developments that will improve the agencies' operational capability.
There are too many important situations where ths type of motivation just did
not produce the desired results. In fact, legislative or executive action (or the
anticipation thereof) by state and federal governments in areas such as pollu-
tion and health compelled industry to take the required action.
If industry is to be expected to invest its own resources, the specific technical
goals to achieve the broad needs of governmental agencies have to be clearly
delineated. These technical goals should include criteria anti specifications for
the developed products that will meet the agencies' needs. In the absence of
specific technical goals and performance specifications, there is less incentive
for industry to invest their own resources because of the high risks involv&j.
Industry might, for example, be faced with a situation where they have invested
substantial R&D funds to develop a product they think an agency needs, but if the
agency has not defined its technical needs, product-development is clearly a high-
risk venture. Government agencies do not need to guarantee production except
in unique situations. In fact, such guarantees might inhibit long-range innova-
tion and short-range competition. But the government must provide both
direction and incentive `for private participation.
Clearly, the next question `is how to define the technical goals applicable to the
complex social problems facing the country today. A "systems approach" can
help to define our "operational" needs and the technologies to meet those needs.
DoD and NASA have sucessfully developed systems techniques over the years
PAGENO="0184"
180
with the help of industry and Federal Contract Research Centers like RAND.
Depending on the problem, these analyses require the application of many
disciplines, including economics, sociology, physics, chemistry, and the engineer-
ing fields, But once these analyses are "complete"-alternatives considered, needs
defined, and government departments committed to pursue these needs-industry
would have a clear goal, an end point towards which its privately financed
research and development efforts might be directed.
There are at least two general approaches to defining problems "with a large
social factor involved". First, the government systems study teams should
include social and behavioral scientists, consider alternative incentives for
industrial participation, recognize policy constraiiits within the government
by frequent interaction with senior officials, and, most important, should follow-
up initial studies with research/evaluation so that the social-technological issues
are continuously re-evaluated. Just as we have not yet exploited our industrial-
technological capabilities for solving national domestic problems, we do not yet
understand fully the limitations on "technological fixes" in many social situations.
So social scientists should be involved in a continuing R&D effort.
Second, larger industrial firms having plants throughout the country could
be encouraged to work directly with local and state governments to "define a
problem" in a way that makes it meaningful locally and solvable by the industrial
groups available and affected. After such a decentralized analysis, the Federal
Government could provide incentives in the `form of tax exemptions on "seed
money" for pilot work by `industry, and then could consider the degree to which
the "local solution's" could be applied nationally. `Thus, the "large social factor"
would `be `introduced and evaluated locally, with industry directly, and without
some of the policy constra'ints found at the Federal level.
Question No. 2. The Department of Defense has a well established system to
rate the performance of its contractors that supply research and development.
Would you' please explain what this system is and how it works? To w'hat e~-
tent does, or should, the Department use this system `in appraising the work of
`its own laboratories? What other approach do you take?
Answer. The Contractor Performance Evalua,tion (CPE) progrttm (D~d
Directive 5126.38) is a system designed to provide an orderly and uniform
techn'ique of determining and recording the effectiveness of contractors in
meeting their contractual commitments principally for hardware development
and pI~oduction contracts. The program provides a long-term incentive to con-
tractors by creating within the Government a "memory" of their performance
and means for considering this record in future actions relating to source se-
lections and negotiations.
CPE reports are prepared by system/project managers for certain defense
contracts. (Sec Tab A to this question for sample format.) The first report covers
the period from the date of contract award to no later than one year after the
award date. Subsequent reports are prepared at intervals of six months and
upon completion or termination of the effort. These reports are submitted to
the Services' Contractor Performance Evaluation Groups. The reports are re-
~riewed to assure that meaningful time, cost and technical performance data
have been clearly and objectively reported. The contractor also reviews the
report and makes comments as he desires. The report is then returned to the
CPE Group who makes a final review and resolves any mistakes of fact. The
CPE Group may also make any independent field investigations that are con-
s'idered necessary. The report is then sent to the Defense Documentation Oenter
for storage and issue of performance evaluation reports for Source Selection
Boards, etc.
For those contracts where the end product is new technology or new scien-
tific findings, CPE can be utilized, if the Military Departments consider it de-
sirable. However, a le:~s formal evaluation of such contracts is generally nfl-
lized. This is usually in the form of a subjective appraisal by the project monitor.
The CPE System appears to be most suitable for evaluating specific programs
for which there are meaningful performance standards and mileposts'. I might
add that similar criteria are utilized to evaluate the h1ardware development
laboratories, although in a different form. In other words, the CPE System
is designed to evaluate performance on a specific well-defined project or pro-
gram. Its purpose is not to evaluate over-all organizational effectiveness.
Much o'f the work of Defense laboratories is in the areas of long-range re-
search and technology. Thus, a system such as CPE would not be generally ap-
phcable. One advantage we see in the establishment of nlilitary problem ori-
ented weapon centers is that the utility of their output can be measured fairly
PAGENO="0185"
181
directly almost on a real-time basis. Practically everyone knows and can
measure the tremendous productivity of a NOTS, China Lake. Its output goes
directly into the military inventory. On the other hand, the output or product
of a research laboratory is much more difficult to assess. Many years may pass
before the utilization of new science or technology can be measured meaning-
fully.
The principal method used for Defense laboratories is peer rating or evalu-
at'ion. either by in-house people, those on the outside, or combinations of both.
This is only part of the story, however. Program evaluation in terms of need,
priority, technical content,, and similar factors probably have a greater bear-
ing upon the appraisal of laboratories than direct institutional evaluation.
Through program evaluation, one usually makes decisions on resource allocation
w-hich ultimately determine the future of that laboratory responsible for the
program execution.
TAB A-QUESTION No. 2-SAMPLE CPE FORMAT USED FOR TRAINING EVALUATION
EVALUATION OF THE EDEN MISSILE CONTRACT
The following forms constitute a possible solution to your classroom project.
Schedule and technical performance parameters most indicative of total con-
tractual performance were selected. Normally, these criteria would have been
listed on the evaluation plan.
FORM 1441-Contract Brief
This form identifies the contract being evaluated and describes in broad terms
the ki'nd of development or production being purchased, the technological and
stat'e-of4he~art problems involved, and the respective responsibilities of the con-
tractor and the Government for furnishing major systems and equipment. On the
reverse of this form is space for extended comments. No continuation sheet for the
Contract Brief is permitted.
FORM 1446-1-Technical Performance
This is used to list the items selected for technical evaluation. The original
contract commitment, adjusted by modifications and pending changes, but ex-
c1u'd~ing performance losses fo'r which `the contractor is responsible, is displayed
so as to `show the "net" contractual performance requirements. Actual per-
formance is then stated, and the variance between requirement and `accomplish-
ment is computed.
Known reasons for significant variances should be briefly recorded on the
reverse of the form, as w-ell as other entries that require collateral explanation.
If the significaace of the parameters selected is not self-evident, it should be
briefly explained there. Report no more than 30 technical parameters (15 `are
usually enough).
FORM 1446-2-~ched'iile Performance
This form i~s used to list the items selected for schedule evaluation. The original
commitment, adjusted through contract modifications and other changes for
which the contractor is not responsible, is compared with the actual delivery or
completion date, and the resulting variance l5 `recorded.
Schedule goals are expressed as the number of months (Computed `by dividing
the number of days by 30) required to deliver an item or complete an event and
a're computed from the starting date to the date of actual accomplishment.
Residual variances are t'heii expressed as `the number of months late or early.
These figures should be rounded to t'he nearest month unless such a variation is
critical to the project.
Known reasons for variance should be explained on the reverse of the form, as
well as other entries that require collateral explanation. If the significance of the
parameters selected is not `self-evident, `it should be briefly described there. Report
no more than 30 schedule items :or milestone events (15 are usually sufficient).
Form 1446-3-Cost Performance
This form is used for recording the cost performance of a contractor at the
time of evaluation.
Since cost data are recorded in the aggregate, specific entries niay require
collateral explanation or enlargement to insure an objective evaluation. For
example, when performance, schedule and cost incentives in fixed-price-incentive
PAGENO="0186"
182
or cost-plus-incentive-fee contracts, as well as value engineering provisions, con-
stitute part of the contract price, these elements should be appropriately rec-
ognized on the reverse of the form. Also, reasons for significant variations
between "net" contractual commitments and "actual" price data should be
discussed.
Form L~46-4-NarratiVe
The major portion of the CPE report is devoted to the recording of factual
data on the contractor's performance. In the Narrative, the opinion of the
systemjprojec!t manager is invited, since the information requested can only be
obtained in this manner. Here also, the system/project manager may briefly
explain data presented on other forms. His comments must not conflict with
any data reported on DD Forms 1446-i, -2 or -3. No continUatiOn sheets may
be used to extend the Narrative.
SUFI~IYOFEV~
NAME OF CONTRACTOR EDEN MiSSILE COMPAN'L CONTRACT NUMBER _Th~S142_
Project Name DEIMOS MISSiLE _________ Period 1 May 65 - 10 Oct 67
EVENT
NUMBER
(1)
DESCRIPTION OF EVENT
(2)
AMOUNT OF
ChANGE
~ 3)
CATEGORY
OF
RESPONSIBILITY
(4)
OF
~IIANGE
:i~i
REFERENCE
DOCUMENTS
(6)
1 Gross Mtr ~`t Target-
Increase 150 lbs Gov. FIRM Mod. 8
2 Case OD - Increase 2.5 cm Gov. FIRM Mod. 8
3 20th FIgt Test Mtr OD
Test Base - Extension 2 months Gov. FIRM Mod. 9
4 Oper Explosive Class
Program Plan-ExtensIon 6 months Gov. endIng Mod. 10
5 Cost Increase-Schedule $2.0 M Contractor FIRM Mod. 11
6 Cost I ncrease-Mtr Wt $1.2 M Contractor FIRM Mod. 12
7 Cost increase - Design $2.2 M Gov. FIRM Mod. 13
8 Cost Increase - Design $0.56 M Gov. `ending Mod. 14
PAGENO="0187"
183
CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE
*
61~i0~'°0
Eden Missile Company
~Detroit. Michigan
REPORT CONTROL SYMBOL
2. :ATE(Ftoot-To)
C~T0~FCER
DOPERATIONAL SYSTEM REV
Mr. George Richards DP000UCTION
~ Missile t~OYcTERMN*L
Qffice. Kansas Cit W's~.s~tiri C0R~ENTLTRC0ED It. 005000. co
jjMay65
i~2?~t~oE
15 Feb 68 15Feb68 Dec 67~
AND ROTSE tS.MA~oR ENDITED
CJ
~
Deimos Missile
654-321 First Stage Motor
IS. SRIEP DESCRIPtION (POsit I.. ID poopo... t.ohItUtCgy Ott'Dio.tt):
* Completion date estimated from the present rate of progress
~ Estimated final price (including incentive fees) subject to final audit
(it .dditioot.t .pso. is ,.qoit.d, oootMo. iso.:... id.)
SAME (Tip.) SIGNATURE TITLE DATE
DD~. 1446
PAGENO="0188"
184
CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REPORT
TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE
DD-I &L(SA)699
Eden Missile Company 72- S142
1May65- 10 Oct67
TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE INDICATOR
CO
MM?TMENT
PERFORMANCE
L
Total Impulse (Minimum) lb se
c 1,500,000
1,500,000
1,500,00(1
Total Impulse (Target) lb se
c 1,600,000
1,600,000
1,600,000
1,700, DC
100,000
Total Impulse (Maximum) lb se
c 1,700,000
1,700,000
1,700,000
2
Average Thrust (Mean) lb
38,000
38,000
38,030
44,000
6,000
3
Delivered Specific Impulse ~
e 103
100
100
100
0
4
System Mass Fraction --
0.7000
0.7000
0.7000
0.7090
0.0090
5
Gross Motor Weight (Minimum) lb
4,600
4,600
4,600
Gross Motor Weight (Target) lb
4,900
5,050
5,050
5,000
50
Gross Motor Weight (Maximum) lb
5,200
5,200
5,200
6
Propellant Weight (Mean) lb
4,803
4,800
4,800
4,800
0
7
Case Outside Diameter c
m 63.5
66.0
66.0
66.0
0
8
Dosign Acceleration (Minimum) q
8
8
8
Design Acceleration (Target) g
10
10
10
10
0
Design Acceleration (Maximum) c~
12
12
12
DD ~ 1446-1
PAGENO="0189"
185
CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION REPORT
SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE
REHORrcORrORLsYD~]
DD-l &L(SA)699
Eden Missile Company
72- S142
1 May 65- 10 Oct 67
~~-3.--~ -6-
LINE ITEM TO BE DELIVERED
.
COIMITMENT (ORR. ~
PERFORMANCE
~RIABRBB
~
MEIA*L
~~:::;`~`
(E*I.-EAL~~
1 Program Plan Submitted
5
5
5
8
3 ~
60 ~
2. FInal Flight Readiness Motor Model
-
Specification Submitted
7
7
7
10
3 ~
43 ~
-
3 R&D FlIght Test Motor Model Final
Specification Submitted
10
10
10
13
3
30
-
4 First Flight Test
13
13
13
16
3 `~~R
23 ~
5 Ship Inert Ground Test Motor #4
22
22
22
23
1 ~
5 ~R
6 20th Figt. Test Mtr. OD Test Base
23
25
25
24
4 ~
7 Approve operational transportation
- and handling Program Plan
23
23
23
23
0
0
B Ship Inert Ground Test Motor ~5
25
25
25
24
1 ~
4 ~
9 Approve Operational E~loslves
Classification Program Plan
21
21
27
27
0
0 -
10 Tactical Design Completed
29
29
29
NOT ME~
II Compiet3 Qualification Test
31
31
31
29
2 ~
DDLt~~t 1446-2
PAGENO="0190"
186
CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE COST PERFORMANCE I&LR~W1~
EVALUATION REPORT
Eden Missile Company 72 - S142 1 May 65-10 Oct 67
PART A- PERIODIC EVALUATION- OVERRUN/UNDERRUN STATUS
TARGET PRICE
TOTAL
TARGET
PRICE
VARIANCE
(C~t:&~O~s R~spURsibItity)
AMOUNT
IOVERRUNI
UNDERRUN
IOVERRUNI
UNDERRUN
(9ViVioO~.,)
RI INAL
---__________
COSSRACTI.IULLV
- PENAING
S
S
S
S
S
PART B - PERIODIC EVALU
ATION - COST OF WORK
WORK PERFORMED TO GATE
TOTALS AT COMPLETION
VALUE
ACTUAL COST
(OVERRUN)
PLANNED
LATEST REVISED
S
S
S
S
S
S
PART C - TERMINAL EVALUATION
- OVERRUN/UNDERRUN STATUS
TARGET PRICE
ACTUAL
VARI
ANCE
URIUINAL
J~ AS ADJUSTED
AMOUNT
IDVERRU NI
(~f;-~,U
UUNSNACVI.IALLR
PENUINU
39.2
REIJUAPS
s 41.9
Rjjillcn
42.5
J)illion
45.7
Million
$ (3.2)
Million
(7.6)
DD~, 1446-3
PAGENO="0191"
187
COST PERFORMANCE (C~nti,,~d) i~~~iar 0~.~Tciroct 671 ~
BLOCK A
Target cost 36.0
Target fee 3.24
39.24
use
BLOCK C
Entry for BLOCK B
Plus agreed to fee
bearing CCNS
including fee
use
BLOCK E
Overrun for Weight
Overrun for Schedule
PARAMETER
Cost
Delivery
Performance
Performance
Performance
FEE BREAKDOWN
TARGET FEE
$648, 000
972, 000
648,000
648,000
324,000
$3, 240,000
39.24
.456
2.2
41. 896
~rr~
42.456
1.2
2.0
45.656
use 4~r
ACTUAL FEE
$488, 000
1,188,000
688,000
1,008,000
324,000
$3, 696, 000
125, 000
$3,821,000
BLOCK B
Entry in BLOCK A
Plus adctt'l incentive fee
Plus negot. fee bearing CCNS
including fee
BLOCK D
Entry for BLOCK C
Overrun for Weight
Overrun for Schedule
use
4L896
.560
42.456
42.~
1.2
2.0
3.2
BLOCK F
Entry for BLOCK E
3.2
Entry for BLOCK C 42. 456
Multiply by 100 to get 7.6%
Total Impulse
Acceleration
(fee bearing Mods) additional fee
TOTAL FEE
PAGENO="0192"
188 V
co~TUT~I~E~ NARRATPIE ~Of~9*~
Eden Misslle_~p~ny 72 - S142 1 May 65-10 Oct 67
I. TO PROVIDE A SUMMARY VIEW GIVE YOUR OPINION ON THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
CONTRACT' IF NOT Ill 5101 CII ASCAIS (`.~., 10(5, .T.h.dCI,, t.*hok~I p.lfoooooIs, ,oqoisod obllg.tIoo.) SIAN IT DEPARTED'
5101515' IllS WEAII POINTS' (OS ?,IICW,.SOO Id bs .oppoS~d by I.oI~oI doS..)
No. The Contractor incurred a $1.2 Million overrun due to an extensive
redesign program which netted the Contractor $40,000 additional fee over
target. Prior to this, the Contractor requested an increase in the target
gross motor weIght which was negotiated after presentation of what the
Government considered valid arguments for the change. The Contractor
incurred a $2.0 Million overrun due to concentrating his overtime on
bettering schedule which he did by 60 days. This netted the Contractor
$216,000 additional fee above target. While bettering the target schedule
on qualification tests, the Contractor Vslipped a significant number of other
important milestones. As of this writing, the Contractor has not submitted
the tactical design documents which were due 5 October 1967.
Strong Points: The Contractor was able to meet or better contractual
requirements in the technicalarea.
Weak Points: The Contractor apparently could not meet schedule without
incurring cost beyond target. He did not meet his cost
target although he earned $200,000 over minimum fee on
cost. The management status reports were in general
ineffective in controlling the program and informing the
Government of potential problems.
No corrective actions by the Contractor were observed during this period.
The Contractor has met his obligations under the `required Clauses".
The contract contains a Value Engineering Incentive clause. No VECP's
have been submitted or approved. Government costs have not been
reduced as a result of the Contractor's V. E. efforts. V
(If .ddilIo..I SPOC. I( 55q01?.d ICS1ICIIO CS 0~ 05500( Id.)
DD~.1446-4
PAGENO="0193"
189
Question No. 3. On the matter of independent funds for Government labora~-
tory directors, we note that the Armed Services Procurement Regulations in
Section 15, part ~O5, provides for reimbursement of a contractor's independent
research and development effort as a charge to Government-paid overhead. How
does this approach compare with DoD's system for providing an allowance for
independent research funds to selected DoD laboratory directors? Does the over-
all percentage differ?
Answer. Independent research and development (IR&D) by definition is "that
research and development which is not sponsored by a contract, grant or other
arrangement". It corresponds closely to the research and development that all
companies must conduct in order to improve their product lines and thereby
remain competitive. Accordingly, it has been regarded as a necessary cost of
doing business. At least four dis;tinct benefits are derived from IR&D:
1. IR&D is used to develop and demonstrate complete prototypes of techni-
cally advanced hardware before a formally recognized military requirement
exists.
2. IR&D is used to develop the requisite technology for a known forthcoming
military requirement.
3. IR&D is used to upgrade the capabilities of important weapon systems.
4. Technology often precedes military requirements; but as a result of broad
advances in technology from IR&D, new capabilities become possible and often
give birth to military requirements.
IR&D is considered as an overhead cost to Government contracts which is
recoverable by the contractor to `the extent that is reasonable. Much of the
funds spent by industry in this fashion is above `the amount considered reason-
able as an overhead charge. The difference is paid out of company profits. There
is no fixed percentage which is allowed for this purpose. It varies from year to
year and from company to company.
`The purpose and expectations of the in-house laboratory director funds are
very similar to the IR&D concept. In both cases, the intent is to keep technical
organizations at the forefront of technology so that the best technically con-
ceived system.s and weapons will be achievable in a timely manner. Both are
predicated on maintaining a high degree of independence and freedom of action
at the performing level.
Question No. 4. The Subcommittee is aware that many observers of Federal
laboratories call for measures to upgrade the quality of their personnel by
training, particularly by sending scientists and engineers off to school for mid-
career study. Dr. McLean. spoke in support of this concept. On the other hand,
we have heard that in some laboratories if a director sends a man off for train-
ing, the manpower people withdraw the man's position because he is no longer
at the laboratory bench or at the drawing board.
What eaperienee have you had with this problem in the administration of
DoD's laboratories?
Answer. The educational program of a laboratory must compete with all other
functions for its resources. During times of budget reductions and manpower
retrenchment, the education and training activities of laboratories are also
affected by `the over-all environment. By and large, the Defense laboratories
have strong programs in work-related educational programs and in continuing
education for mid-career study under the Government Employees Training Act.
A recent, (March, 1068) survey by the Committee on Federal Laboratories,
~ `Council for Science `&`Technology, indicated a high degree of participa-
tion in advanced technical education by DoD laboratories. In certain cases the
universities' are brought to the site of the laboratories such as at Huntsville,
Alabama for the Army Missile Command and NASA, at China Lake, Califo~rnia,
for `the Naval Weapons Center and at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, for six
Air Force laboratories and other technical groups. This provides a broader
technical scope at a much lower cost basis.
Unquestionably there have been isolated cases where a manpower space has
been withdrawn while an individual has been off for training because of man-
power reductions in the organization. However, this is believed, to. be the
exception rather than the rule in the Department of Defense.
We have also run into the problem where the pressure of the laboratory pro-
gram is such that a Laboratory Director is reluctant to send his better, produc-
tive people off for educational purposes. To ease this problem somewhat, the
Deputy Secretary of Defense established a `Pool of Spaces and Funds for Long-
Term Civilian Training" (in excess of 120 days). This pool, which is still in
effect, covers the manpower spaces and funds (tuition, salary and related ex-
93-201 O-68-----13
PAGENO="0194"
190
penses) programmed by each of the Military Departments, Defense agencies and
OSD. While individuals are at school. the laboratories can and have employed
temporary replacements for these individuals. This program gives a laboratory
more incentive to release his higher quality people with less impact upon his
current program.
Question No. 5. We understand that the Air Force $ystems Command has set
up a criteria by which they judge the use that Laboratory Director makes of
independent research funds. What are these criteria? How (10 they operate?
What have been the results? In particular, do Air Force Laboratory Directors
feel they are being second-guessed by 5011i('(JflC at h('(tdquai-teI's in the use of
these funds? Are there comparable criteria for Navy and Army laboratory direc-
tors? If so, what are they?
Answer. There is no control by the Air Force Systems Command oil the use
which a laboratory director may nmake of independent research funds other thami
those dictated by Public Law, ASPR's and Air Force Regulations. The individual
laboratory directors, just prior to presenting their work for review to the
Assistant Secretary (R&D), do gather and discuss their programs among them-
seleves and with the AFSC Director of Laboratories, but not for the purpose
of control or for comparison with a set of criteria. To my knowledge there are
no criteria used in the Army or Navy. Each situation is judged on individual
merit.
Question No. 6. The yubeominittee understands that the Nary Department
makes use of departmental councils of laboratory directors. Could you tell us
about the purpose of such laboratory director councils within the Defense Depart-
ments, how they operate, and of what value they have been?
Answer. The Navy does have an informal group known as the Navy Laboratory
Directors Council, which was revitalized in March, 1967. Membership is restricted
to the Commander/Commanding Officer and the Technical Director/Chief Scien-
tist at the individual field RDT&E activities. There are three subgroups encom-
passing the Northeast, Southern, and Western areas of the continental LT.S. and
those activities which lie in those geographical areas. The purpose is to provide
a mechanism and an organization w-hereby the Director of Navy Laboratories
(DNL) and the RDT&E activities of the Navy can mutually serve to advance the
Navy's R&D posture by providing an informal organizational base which will:
a. Support DNL communication link with the activities on subject matter
requiring mutually considered positions. (This is not to be considered as an
intermediate echelon for normal communications.)
b. Rapidly disseminate information on non-routine non-recurring events which
are of concern to all Navy laboratories, wherein further discussion and clarifica-
tions by activities are required.
c. Provide laboratory management an idea exchimge mechanism for formu-
lating or recommeudirg poPoies cr'cerried w-ith laboratory operations.
d. Provide as required by DNL background information for assessment of total
laboratory programs.
e. Provide an informal communication link amongst the directors of the
laboratories.
These area groups are each headed by a member laboratory in that area, on
a rotational basis, and meet at the discretion of the membership whenever perti-
nent matters arise which are of importance to the technical and scientific com-
munity. These matters are usually management oriented. As a case in point,
effective use has been made in the use of the area council representatives during
the formulation of an on-going Career Development Plan for Scientists and
Engineers. These personnel represented the total Navy scientific and engineer-
ing professional community in their areas and thus were enabled to directly assist
and critique the basic elements of the "career plan" during its formulation
process. This functioning of the area council representatives greatly reduced
the time span required to obtain a feeling of the probable reaction of the research
community to the intent and purposes of the "plan".
In a similar vein, the Navy also has a large Antisubmarine Warfare R&D
Planning Group whose membership is derived from the major in-house and con-
tract laboratories engaged heavily in Undersea Warfare work. This was estab-
lished April 6, 1966. The group provides an important means of interchange of
technical information. More importantly, this group has provided a basis for
the genesis and conduct of interlaboratory projects which would be difficult
to handle through normal administrative channels.
Question No. `7. While the present Laboratories Committee of the Federal
Council for Science and Technology is concerned with Government laboratories
PAGENO="0195"
191
as such, with the ea~ception of Dr. Astin, its members are not working laboratory
directors. What advantages and disadvantages wolAld you anticipate for a small
council of Federal laboratory directors that would represent their views at the
Ecoecutive Office level for both directly and contractor-operated Federal labora-
tories?
Answer. With respect to the establishment of a small council of laboratory
directors, I believe that there are a number of positive advantages which could
result from such an arrangement. The Federal laboratory directors could be
broadened by exposure to problems on a national scale. Further, their ideas and
inputs could add greater breadth and insight for the activities of the Committee.
The representation of contractor-operated laboratories in the Committee is a
moot question. There are those who believe that this would not be appropriate.
Their motivation, needs, administrative arrangements, problems and relation-
ships with their contracting agencies are considered quite different from Federal
laboratories. This lack of commonality of specific needs and interest, together
with the different framework for contract laboratories, makes their involvement
in the Committee's activities of questionable value.
On the other hand, there are those who feel that an arrangement such as this
might offer many benefits. Both types of organizations could learn from one
another. Contract laboratories may have solutions to management problems which
seriously concern Federal laboratories, and vice versa. I believe that the Com-
mittee on Laboratories should test this suggestion out and determine its utility
even if it were only in a limited area.
Question No. 8. In what ways are the directors of yoi~r large, multipurpose
laboratories kept informed of the scientific and technological content of new or
changed Government functions, such as those of the Department of Transporta-
tion or the Department of Housing and Urban Development?
(a) What incen.tiives are there for your laboratory directors to give thought
to such matters in addition to their primary responsibilities to your program?
(b) Are DoD laboratory directors authorized to fund research relevant to
national problems which may be outside the strict mission objectives of DoD?
Answer. I should begin by pointing out that there are few problems in other
agencies which do not have Defense relevance. We have strong interests in
health, housing, education, training, weather forecasting, oceanography, stand-
ardization, criminal investigation, etc., to name a few. We have had a three-year
program in gun detection and are involved in riot control measures. With the
exception of relatively few areas (e.g., air and water pollution), our broad
interests are similar to those in most other agencies. We differ only in specifics.
As a natural consequence of these common interests, laboratories keep in-
formed of new and emerging national programs. In addition, there is much high
level collaboration with other agencies with resultant specific assignments to
intlividual laboratories. For example, we participate in the Inter-Agency Corn-
mittee on Atmospheric Sciences (ICAS) which involves collaborative efforts in
oceanography, meteorology and such specific activities as clear air turbulence.
We have participated and have close communication with HUD on an experi-
mental housing program. As I mentioned in my testimony, the DoD laboratories
work closely with NASA, AEC and DOT in areas of aircraft, space vehicles,
nuclear programs, and transportation.
Another motivating factor is that our laboratories must keep up-to-date with
science and technology which evolve from other agencies' programs also because
of their potential use in furthering DoD's mission. Thus a great deal of the
responsibility for keeping up with such programs rests with the individual
laboratories.
The technical directors of these laboratories/centers are expected to maintain
close contact with all new Federal and/or commercial work and developments
which are related to their mission areas or may impact on their ability to accom-
plish their assigned missions, and in most cases do.
There are relatively few incentives for our laboratory directors to stimulate
work in non-DoD relevant areas, nor in our opinion should there be. Most labora-
tories/centers are under heavy pressure by program sponsors to devote all
their resources to the execution of agreed programs within the over-all mission
of the activity. This pressure is reinforced by the common requirement to use
appropriated funds for their intended purpose.
While DoD laboratory directors cannot divert mission funds to support pro-
grams outside of the DoD mission, the independent research funds provided to
laboratories may be used for this purpose. However, the after-the-fact review on
the utilization of these funds for such purposes would soon discourage it.
PAGENO="0196"
192
DoD laboratory directors can and do take on specific projects for other Gov-
ernment agencies on a fund reimburseable basis. In general, the decision to do so
rests with the laboratory director, and is shared with his management agency.
However, the major constraint here is personnel ceiling. If significant additional
manpower is required, it must generally be obtained through the performing
agency rather than the agency with the problem. It is for this reason I recom-
mend that consideration be given to the elimination of manpower ceilings for
cross-agency work.
Let me re-emphasize again that we must be careful in assigning non-agency
missions to existing laboratories. We m:ust not so dilute their performance that
they lose the very focus which made them a quality laboratory.
Question No. 9. Based on your experience, what advantages and disadvantages
would you see in an office of Government laboratory management located at
the level of or withi~n the Office of Science an4 Technology? Such an office would
be analagous to the present Office of the Assistant Director (Laboratory Man-
agement), in the Department of Defense's Office of Defense Research and
Engineering.
Answer. In terms of improving the ability of the DoD to accomplish its
mission, I can see no advantage in the establishment of such an office in OST.
In fact, it would add an additional echelon and would certainly retard our
ability to take decisive action in a timely fashion. As far as I can determine,
there has been no problem in obtaining the support of other agencies for the
priority needs of the DoD. In certain areas the OST has been directly involved
in assisting us to achieve our objectives either through studies by PSAC or the
FCST. We will and have assisted new agencies in the performance of R&D
to support their mission, at least during the early, formative years. The direct
assistance of OST is seldom needed since the agencies involved can work out
mutually acceptable arrangements with a minimum of difficulty.
There may be one function which OST could perform or for which it could
provide leadership. When a new agency is established, a new, important pro-
gram emerges, or an existing program takes on added importance or priority,
OST could appraise their RDT&E needs in terms of existing capability and
assist the new program or agency in obtaining the required assistance.
I must emphasize, however, that the day-to-day management and the decision-
making process must remain with the agency heads who are really the only
ones who can assure the proper balance, purpose and priorities of his laboratory
structure in relation to the needs of his total mission.
Question No. 10. It has been said that within Government we tend to force
everything into one prescribed pattern whether it fits well or not. Do you believe
that Federal laboratories operate most efficiently under the same current sys-
tem of controls over manpower, dollars and facility acquisitions as for other
types of organiaztions? Do you believe it is possible or desirable to tailor a sys-
tem of controls for creative organization which might differ significantly from
the "standard" control system? What would be the advantages? The disadvan-
tages? Cite examples.
Answer. The evidence is overwhelming that the standard patterns of Gov-
ernment operation are unhealthy for laboratories. We must find a way to create
a management climate for the Federal laboratories equal to the most progressive,
high technology industrial organizations. Virtually every study that has been
made of the in-house laboratory system has been critical, in varying degrees, of
the management of manpower, facilities, funding and personnel resources.
Responsibility over these resources are fragmented among many staff agencies,
whose concerns and interests are much broader than merely RDT&E.
Within the Government, RDT&E activities are bound too often by practices
designed for logistical and operational activities-in contrast to the more gen-
erally recognized practices of industrial organizations, which are tailored spe-
cifically for the creative, laboratory-type organization.
In spite of these constraints, however, we find many successful laboratories
which have found a way around the rigidity in the system or have been some-
how protected from these patterns. We have also made a great deal of progress
within the Federal Personnel System. Many special provisions have been pro-
vided to give flexibiltiy with respect to personnel administration. Part of the
problem is that a great deal of the flexibility available just isn't being used.
Within DoD we have initiated a concerted effort to see that these flexibilities
are available to and utilized by the laboratory directors. Comparable increased
flexibihties in other resource areas are also needed.
PAGENO="0197"
193
Part of the problem in Government is size, coupled with the check and balance
system under which we operate. As a former manager of industrial R&D, I was
given certain fiuiaiicial and technical objectives to achieve each year, a budget
within which I had to operate, and a great deal of authority to carry out techni-
cal operations. If I did not meet the objectives, the penalty was spelled out, or
at least understood-fired or shelved. The incentives for achieving or exceeding
them were also well understood.
I was part of a larger organization and therefore had to interact with force
and situations outside my own domain. We had a check-and-balance system like
the Government's, but I believe we had more emphasis on the "balances" and
less on the "checks". I had ready access to the policy level, which is more possi-
ble in a smaller organization, and I could always have my day in court. This
doesn't mean that I didn't lose a few appeals, but the opportunity to appeal was
there. Probably one of my greatest management fiexibilities was that I could
niake the hire and fire decisiOns and had the authority to deploy my technical re-
sources rapidly to meet new situations.
I believe that with the application of many of these same principles to the
creative RDT&E functions within Government, we would soon see evidence of in-
creased efficiency and effectiveness. The advantages could be in terms of more
rapid decision-ma~-ing and lower costs of operations through reduction in super-
vi~ory levels, unnecessary reporting, and administrative overhead. A major dis-
advantage could be the weakening of the organizational ties between a labo-
ratory and its parent agency. Shifting the balance too far toward complete self-
determination could tend to isolate a laboratory from the mainstream activities
of its parent. However, I am positive that a proper and balanced relationship
(Olild be achieved.
Question. No. Ii. ~OJiie people believe that manpower ceilings for laboratories
act itally promote waste and ~1n.effi.eiency, and they cite industrial practices as an
(`rain pie where such a technique is seldom used. Do you believe that manpower
(eihngs are or are not an effective management tool? TVhy?
Answer. It is difficult to examine a single control in the context of the question
asked. The problem generally is the multiplicity of many overlapping controls
which seriously impede the optimum allocation of resources. I believe that too
little attention has beeii paid to the combined impact of niany individual resource
controls upon the effectiveness of an organization. As an example, we recently
made a theoretical study° of the impact on operational effectiveness of three
overlapping controls which were in effect at the time
1. Control of lmigh~grade positions.
2. Control over average salary.
3. Control over manpower ceilings.
In our study, we used indifference curves and maximizing principles of eco-
miomw ammalysis to demonstrate how management control over these three factors
l)reVellt the line manager from optimizing his organization's effectiveness. For
the sake of sinmplicity and clarity, we restricted the analysis to a two-din~en-
sional framework, although it can easily be extended to as many dimensions as
desired, depending upon the miumber of inputs.
The detamls of the analysis are given in a tab to this question. As may be seen,
~`articularly in Figures and S of the Tab A, the general effects of these simul-
tmnieous contraints is to reduce the ability of a local line manager to achieve
oumtinimn effectiveness and l)roductivity. Further, an important point to remem-
ber is that appl'cation of such simultaneous controls cannot increase effectiveness
but can only reduce it.
Manpow'er controls are really an indirect attempt to control dollars. I would
prefer to attack the principal problem directly, rather than indirectly.
*Nfcolai, F. A., Management Analysis Note MAM 65-2, ODDR & E, October 1, 1965.
PAGENO="0198"
194
THEORETICAL ANAI~YSIS OF IMPACT
ON OPERATIONAL EFFECTWENESS BY CONTROL OF
HIGH GRADES, AVERAGE SALARY ANI) MANPOWER SPACES
Suppose that the professional personnel of an organization (~. g., a laboratory)
can be divided into two subsets, the GS-13s and below (GS-13--) and the GS-14s and
above (GS-14+). Let A represent the number of GS-13s- and B, the number of
GS-14sũ. Further, let u~ assume that the productIvity of a typIcal employee within
each grade range can be measured and that overall productivity varies according to
the mix of A and B. On this basis, the following diagram (Figure 1) may be con-
structed:
Figure 1
U2 ~ ~ 4
~
A2 A3 A
The curves labeled 1, 2, 3 and 4 correspond to isoproductivity curves. Thus,
line 1 represents the combinations of A and B that yield an equal level of produc-
tivity; line 2 represents a higher level of productivity than line 1, and so on. With
an input mix of A2, B2, for instance, productivity is E(A2, B2). If A2 is held con-
stant and the number of GS-14s+ is raised to B3, then productivity increases; that is,
E(A2, B~) >E(A~, B2). Similarly, E(A3, B2) >E(A2, B2).
PAGENO="0199"
195
Several other important points about the diagram should be noted: The lowest
level of productivity, represented by curve 1, is asymptotic to Bi~i~, which repre-
sents the minimum of GS-14s+ that must be hired to reach any positive level of
productivity. Moreover, all the curves have a flat, negative slope throughout: The
negative slope indicates that both A and B have positive productivity, i. e., there is
no negative productivity. The curve's flatness indicates that, in any possible input
mix, the GS-14s+ are always more productive than the GS-13s-; that is~, assuming
that we seek to maintain the same level of productivity, if B is decreased by 1, we
must increase A by more than 1.
Also, the isoproductivity curves are convex to the origin:
~ ~ for A~O, B~O).
This property depends upon the assumption of diminishing marginal productivity.
For example, refer to Figure 2: At point E on curve 1, a decreaseABE in the num-
ber of GS-14s+ requires an increase AAE in the number of GS-13s- in order that
total productivity remain constant.
Figure 2
A
However, at point F, where the relative number of GS-14s+ is smaller, the same
decrease in the number of GS-14s+ (ABF = ABE) requires a larger increase in the
number of GS-13s- (AAF>'L\AE) to keep the total productivity constant. This con-
dition does not appear unreasonable, for the GS-14sũ may perform some tasks
more efficiently than the GS-13s--. If the curves were concave to the origin, this
would be equivalent to making an assumption of increasing marginal productivity;
i. e., as the GS-14s+ become relatively fewer, it will take fewer and fewer GS-13s-
to replace the same number of GS-14sũ.
* * Maximizing Productivity, Given a Budget Constraint
Suppose the isoproductivity curves are represented as in Figures 1 and 2.
Let ~A = salary (cost) paid a G3-13--; let PB = salary (cost) paid a GS-14+; and let
Q the total budget available for salaries. Then, ~A . A ũ ~ B ~ Q. Now,
superimpose this linear budget constraint on the productivity contour surface, as
in Figure 3.
PAGENO="0200"
196
p!1
-A+P .DQ;~-~1-
D d.~
A
Given Q, we now maximize our productivity by hiring A = Aop, B = B0~, since at
this point the budget line reaches-and is tangent to-the highest isoproductivity
curve. This method vitally depends on the convex nature of the isoproductivity
carves.
Effect of Limitation on Number of GS-14s+(B)
Let us state the constraint imposed by a limitation on the number of GS-14s+
in tIN following manner:
thus,
= maximum allowable number of GS-14s+;
BŦ=B.
Figure 3
A0~
Figure 4
A0~
Wnen B = B1>B~p, the constraint is irrelevant, because, given Q = Qo, the opti-
mum mix is A0~, ~p, with effectiveness (productivity) equal to E(Aop, Bop).
PAGENO="0201"
197
When B B~ < Bop, and given Q = Q~, the highest productivity is at point
(A2, 132). Yet the costs of the two mixes are the same-both fall on the line
Pp,.A~P~.B=QQ. V
C(A2, ~2) C(A0~, E~~) = Q. V V
but V
V E(A2, B2) 0, and
(S-PB) E(AS1, Bsi).
Tkius when the average-salary constraint is not iri~elevant,
tiveness in terms of productivity per dollar of cost.
- Effect of Control over Total Spaces
The statement of this constraint is A + B = N.
B _____
it always reduces effec-
A+t3fl0 A
Once again, when N = N0 the constraint is irrelevant, and when N = Ni it re-
duces effectiveness.
PAGENO="0203"
199
* . . General }~esult
From the preceding examples it becomes apparent that the general effect of
these types of control is to diminish the decision space available to the local line
manager and thus to make it less probable that he will be able to achieve an optimum
level of operation in regard to cost-effectiveness. (See Figure 8.)
0
OB'A', the original decision space, is defined by the single budget constraint. The
shaded area represents the reduccd decision space after the three constraints have
been drawn. As shown here, the budget constraint has become irrelevant-which
may not always be the case.
The addition of one or more constraints may or may not reduce the cost-
effectiveness of the operation by a large amount. The important point to remember,
however, is that such constraints or controls cannot increase effectiveness but can
only reduce it. Moreover, it is most unlikely that, by some mystical process, the
simultaneous imposition of these controls would force the local manager to make a
decision that would have been optimum without them.
The major point is that these three controls, which represent indirect attempts
to control dollars rather than other resources such as manpower, can only reduce
operating effectiveness; they can in no way increase it.
Figure 8
PA. Aũ PB .
A' A
PAGENO="0204"
2. General Method
200
1. Methodology and Outline
The indifference curves and maximizing principles of economic analysis are
used here to demonstrate how management controls over high grades, average
salary and manpower spaces prevent the line manager who is limited to a certain
dollar budget from optimizing his organization's effectiveness. For the sake of
simplicity and clarity, the analysis is restricted to a two~dimensional framework,
although it can easily be extended to as many dimensions as desired, depending on
the number of inputs.
First, the. general method of optimizing the allocation of resources is dis-
cussed, and then the impact of each control is separately analyzed.
Suppose that the professional personnel of an organization Ce. g., a laboratory)
can be divided into two subsets, the GS-13s and below (GS-13-) and the GS-14s and
above (GS-14+). Let A represent the number of GS-13s- and B, the number of
GS-14s+. Further, let us assume that the productivity of a typical employee within
each grade range can be measured and that overall productivity varies according to
the mix of A and B. On this basis, the following diagram (Figure 1) may be con-
structed:
B Figure I
BMI
A2 A3
The curves labeled 1, 2, 3 and 4 correspond to isoproductivity curves. Thus,
line 1 represents the combinations of A and B that yield an equal level of produc-
tivity; line 2 represents a higher level of productivity than line 1, and so on. With
an input mix of A2, B2, for instance, productivity is E(A2, B2). If A2 is held con-
stant and the number of GS-14s+ is raised to B3, then productivity increases; that is,
E(A2,B3)~E(A2, B2). Similarly, E(A3, B2)~E(A2, B2).
PAGENO="0205"
201
Several other important points about the diagram should be noted: The lowest
level of productivity, represented by curve 1, is asymptotic to Bmin, which repre-
sents the minimum of GS-14s+ that must be hired to reach any positive level of
productivity. Moreover, all the curves have a flat, negative slope throughout. The
negative slope indicates that both A and B have positive productivity, i. e., there is
no negative productivity. The curve's flatness, indicates that, in any possible input
mix, the GS-14sũ are always more productive than the GS-13s-; that is,, assuming
that we seek to maintain the same level of productivity,, if B is decreased by 1, we
must increase A by more than 1.
Also, the isoproductivity curves are convex to the origin:
(-~-<~, -~-~`o for A~O, B?O).
This property depends upon the assumption of diminishing marginal productivity.
For example, refer to Figure 2: At point E on curve 1, a decrease ~BE in the num-
ber of GS-14s+ requires an increase ~AE in the number of GS-13s- in order that
total productivity remain constant.
Figure 2
B
However, at point F, where the relative number of GS-14s+ is smaller, the same
decrease in the number of GS-14sũ (~BF = ABE) requires a larger increase in the
number of GS-13s-- (AAF>~.AAE) to keep the total productivity constant. This con-
dition does not appear unreasonable, for the GS-14s+ may perform some tasks
more efficiently than the GS-13s-. If the curves were concave to the origin, this
would be equivalent to making an assumption of increasing marginal productivity;
i. e., as the GS-14s+ become relatively fewer, it will take fewer and fewer GS-13s -
to replace the same number of GS-14s+.
3. Maximizing Productivity, Given a Budget Constraint
Suppose the isoproductivity curves are represented as in Figures 1 and 2.
Let ~A = salary (cost) paid a GS-13-; let PB = salary (cost) paid a GS-14+; and let
Q = the total budget available for salaries. Then, ~A . A + ~B. B ~ Q. Now,
superimpose this linear budget constraint on the productivity contour surface, as
in Figure 3.
PAGENO="0206"
202
Figure 3
Given Q, we now maximize our productivity, by hiring A = A0~, B = Bop, since at
this point the budget line reaches-and is tangent to-the highest isoproductivity
curve. This method vitally depends on the convex nature of the isoproductivity
curves.
3. 1 Effect of Limitation on Number of GS-14s+(B)
Let us state the constraint imposed by a limitation on the number of G3-14sũ
in the following manner:
= maximum allowable number of GS-14s+;
thus,
B Ŧ= B.
B~Q0
A0~ A
Figure 4
When B = ~1>Bop, the constraint is irrelevant, because, given Q = ~ the opti-
mum mix is A0~, Bop, with effectiveness (productivity) equal to E(Aop, Bop).
PAGENO="0207"
203
When B = B2 < Bop, and given Q = Q~,, the highest productivity is at point
(A2, B2). Yet the costs of the two mixes are the same-both fall on the line
PA . A + ~B. B = Q~.
C(A2, B2) = C(Aop, Bop) =
but
E(A2, B2) 0, and
(S-PB) E(ASi, BS1).
Thus when the average-salary constraint is not irrelevant, it always reduces effec-
tiveness in terms of productivity per dollar of cost.
3.3 Effect of Control over Total Spaces
The statement of this constraint is A + B = N.
A+BN0 A
Once again, when N = N0 the constraint is irrelevant, and when N = N1 It re-
duces effectiveness. -
SO~PA
Slope
~B ~
51-PA
Slope=-
rB_Si
the constraint is irrelevant.
c><>< ><
Hydrology
Transportation
><
Waste disposal
><
Power generation
and distribution
><><)<
Environmental pol-
lution and control
><>(>(><><
Laboratory and
test facilities
Urban planning
><><~ >~ ><~ ><><~ ><~ ~< Urban administration
and intergovern-
mental relations
>(~ )<)<)(
Urban renewaland
community facilities
~~i >~><: >~` >~:
Public safety
><><><~
Earthquakes,
floods, etc.
>< ><>< )<><>c)<
Social and behavioral
sciences directed to
urban problems
-4
2
-4
C,,
2
0)
2
C)
C,,
2
-4
2
C,,
C)
=
2
0
-u
2
-4
C,
-4
-4
-v
C,)
0
2
-4
-4
PAGENO="0290"
286
ATTACHMENT 3
FEDERAL CouNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING,
Washington, DXL, October 11, 1967.
Dr. JOHN S. FOSTER, Jr.,
Director of Defense Research and Engineering,
Washington, DXI.
DEAR JOHNNY: The establishment by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development of an Office of Urban Technology and Research provides a much
needed focal point for the planning and coordination of urban-related research
and development undertaken by the Federal Govrenment.
I have asked the Director of that Office, Mr. Thomas F. Rogers, to take the lead
in identifying research programs throughout the Federal Government which bear
upon the following five HUD PPBS categories:
Housing
Land use and community environment
Public facilities and services
Assistance to local government in administration
Management of urban programs and resources
His objective is to ensure that the HUD research program is sensibly related
to other programs of common interest and to a-void unnecessary duplication. Of
course, your understanding of HUD research plans should make possible refine-
ments of program plans within your own and other agencies.
Mr. Rogers will communicate with you directly, provide you with a copy of
the HUD FY `69 research and development program-budget document, and dis-
cuss specific areas of common interest. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly
appreciated.
Sincerely,
DONALD F. HORNIG, Uhairnuin.
IDENTICAL LETTERS SENT TO THE FOLLOWING FCST MEMBERS, INFORMATION COPY
TO THOMAS F. RoGERs, HUD
Dr. John S. Foster, Jr., Director of Defense Research & Engineering 3E1~X~6 The
Pentagon, Wash., D.C., 20301 STOP 103
Dr. Leland J. Haworth, Director, National Science Foundation, Wash., D.C.
20550 STOP 19
Dr. John F. Kincaid, Asst. Secy for Science & Techno4ogy, Department of Com-
merce, Wash., D.C. 20230 STOP 206
Dr. Philip R. Lee, Asst. Secy for Health & Scientific Affairs, Dept. of Health,
Education, and Welfare, Wash., D.C. 20201 STOP 367
Dr. George L. Mehren, Assistant Secretary, Dept. of Agriculture, Wash., D.C.
20250 STOP 209
Dr. Milner B. Schaefer, Science Adviser to the Secretary, Dept. of the Interior,
Wash., D.C. 20240 STOP 43
Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, Wash., D.C. 20545
STOP 4
Dr. James E. Webb, Administrator, National Aeronautics & Space Administra-
tion, Wash., D.C. 20546 STOP 85
Alan S. Boyd, Department of Transportation
Mr. ROTJSH. The committee stands adjourned until 10 o'clock to-
morrow morthng.
(Whereupon, at 11:55 a.m., the committee was adjourned, to re-
convene at 10 a.m., Thursday, April 4, 1968.)
PAGENO="0291"
UTILIZATION OF FEDERAL LABORATORIES
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 1968
HousE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 a.m., in
room 2325, Ra~bum House Office Building, Hon. Emilio Q. Daddario
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. DADDARIO. This meeting will come to order.
This morning we change the emphasis of our hearings from the
bmad question of the utilization of Federal laboratories to the specific
question of how can technology be applied to a national problem such
as crime.
We are pleased to have as our first witness Dr. Alfred Blumstein, of
the Institute of Defense Analysis. Dr. Blum,stein provided the overall
direction of the Science and Teohnology Task Force report to the
President's Crime Commission, and is perhaps one of the most knowl-
edgeable men in this field.
Our second witness is Mr. Quinn T'amm, executive director of the
International Association of Ohiefs of Police. The association rep-
resents some 7,000 independent police departments in the United
States and Canada, and we look to it this morning for guidance about
`how to best bring about the marriage of tedhnology to police
requirements.
`Our final witness today is Mr. Joseph M. English, director of
Georgetown University's Forensic Sciences Laboratory. Mr. English
has worked with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in applying space- and defense-
developed technology to the needs of law enforcement officials, and
his testimony should add a new dimension to the information already
developed by the subcommittee.
Will you proceed with your testimony, Dr. Blumstein?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I have a prepared statement, and if you care to, I
can read from it. If you would prefer, I could just submit it and
elaborate on some of the major points.
Mr. DADDARIO. We would like to have it included in full in the
record, and then have you handle the presentation any way you see
fit, recognizing that we have to go into session a little early this
morning.
(Dr. Blumstein's biography follows:)
(287)
PAGENO="0292"
288
DR. ALFRED BLUMSTEIN
Alfred Blumstein is a member of the Research Council of the Institute for
Defense Analyses, and is the director of IDA's Office of Urban Research. At
IDA, he directed the work of the Science and Technology Task Force of the
President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. He
had previously been a principal operations analyst with the Cornell Aeronautical
Laboratory. In 1963-64 he was a Visiting Associate Professor of Operations
Research at Cornell University.
Dr. Blumstein is a member of the Board of Directors of MORS, and in 1964-65,
he served as President of the Washington Operations Research Council. He is
now Chairman of the Cost-Effectiveness Section of ORSA.
Dr. Blumstein has conducted and directed operations research studies in the
fields of naval operations, air traffic control, counterinsurgency and criminal
justice.
Dr. Blumstein received the degrees of Bachelor of Engineering Physics from
Cornell University, the MA. in statistics from the University of Buffalo, and
the Ph.D. in operations research from Cornell University.
STATEMENT OF DR. ALFRED BLUMSTEIN, INSTITUTE FOR
DEFENSE ANALYSES
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee,
I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to your delibera-
tions concerning the need for research and development in the control
of crime, and on the possibilities of using the resources of the Federal
laboratories to meet these needs.
Although I speak today only as a private individual and not as a
representative of any organization, my remarks are based on the in-
vestigations I conducted as Director of the Science and Technology
Task Force of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and
Administration of Justice.
It was during that period that I became impressed with both the
urgent needs for a research and development program and the im-
portant contribution it could make in creating a criminal justice sys-
tem that is both more fair and more effective.
In my testimony I would like first to demonstrate the urgent need
for such a research and development program and the potential im-
provements that could result from it. I would then like to indicate
some of the requirements for laboratories that will participate in that
effort.
Need for research and development
Our Task Force on Science and Technology was composed largely
of scientists and engineers experienced in modern technology, much
of it deriving froni work with military weapon systems. We were all
amazed at the primitive level of technology with which the criminal
justice system is forced to do its job.
In general, we were surprised to learn how undercapitalized is the
criminal justice system: A $3,000 investment in a police car supports
a $100,000 annual patrol operation; over 85 percent of most police
budgets are used to pay salaries.
Some policemen are forced to stand idle on a street corner even
though there may be an emergency nearby simply because they have no
portable radios by which headquarters could reach them.
Motorized policemen who leave their radio-equipped cars cannot
call for help if they are attached because they now have no link to
PAGENO="0293"
289
the car's radio. In contrast, many appliance repair companies now
maintain continuous radio contact with their repairmen out in the
field.
The car sent to an emergency is often other than the closest one
because the dispatcher does not now know its correct position and
availability, a capability that can be provided automatically.
In confronting a crime suspect or an unruly citizen, a policeman
is forced to choose between a billy and a pistol-the same choice he
was offered a century ago. Nonlethal weapons with a longer range
than the billy but without a pistol's disabling characteristics are
needed.
Although most of a patrolman's activities center about his vehicle,
most police cars differ only slightly from the car a suburban house-
wife uses for her-grocery shoppi,ng.~ Cars designed specifically for
police use would include convenithit i~adio controls, cathode ray tube
displays, teleprinters, nonlethal weapons, cameras and other evidence
collection kits, audio or video recording equipment, and specially de-
signed rear compartments for the transport of prisoners.
Fingerprints left at the scene of a crime cannot normally be traced
to an unknown suspect, partly because the systems used are little dif-
ferent from those first introduced at the beginning of this century.
New instrumentation techniques, permitting identification by voice,
hair, blood, or clothing, are becoming increasingly effective, Unfor-
tunately, their high cost and technical complexity have prevented most
police departments from using them more widely.
Court records are written and rewritten by hand even though many
small businessmen use central computers to help maintain their
inventories.
More generally, computers can be used throughout the system to
help in providing immediate access to information needed for solution
of specific crimes, for help in making sentencing and correctional de-
cisions regarding the roughly 2 million convicted persons each year,
and for more efficient management of the more than a half million
persons employed by the criminal justice system.
Even more important than all these technological needs and oppor-
tunities, however, is the fundamental need to discover the impact on
crime of the many actions taken to control it. Very little is known to
even a rough approximation about how much any prevention, appre-
hension, and rehabilitation program will reduce crime. And without
such knowledge, how can we intelligently choose among them?
Patrol by marked police cars which demonstrate a visible threat to
a potential criminal is widely accepted as good police practice, being
known as preventive patrol. But it is not clear what kinds of crime
such patrol prevents, and how much of each. Nor is it clear under what
circumstances patrol in marked police vehicles is more effective than
patrol in unmarked vehicles, or whether using police resources in this
way is more effective than assigning these same police officers to de-
tailed followup investigation on specific crimes or to other kinds of
preventive activity.
I don't presume to have answers to such questions. However, neither
do the most vehement advocates of either side. Only thrpugh a care-
fully developed research program will we be able to Identify the
factors that give rise to various kinds of criminal behavior and the
PAGENO="0294"
290
consequences of each of the many kinds of possible actions that might
be taken to control them.
The work of our Science and Technology Task Force identified some
of the basic questions in a form that now makes them amenable to
research.
in some of our early discussions, we wondered about what portion of
our society is ever arrested. By analysis of various data on arrests
and on arrest records we calculated that approximately one-half of
the boys in the TJnited States today will be arrested some time in their
lives for a nontraffic offense. This estimate may not be exactly correct,
and in any event, is not a literal prediction of the future.
Rather, it is a projection based on current trends-changes in the
future could well reverse these trends. Perhaps even more shocking
than the the figures itself, however, is the fact that so fundamental a
question had not been explored previously.
Furthermore, when the answer to so basic a question is surprising to
so many, we can only conclude that much too little is known about what
is going on in the criminal justice system.
Mr. DADDARIO. How can you predict that this 50-percent figure will
hold up if, in fact, you do not know some of the answers to these ques-
tions? How do you reach that particular point, and then say we do not
know what the problems really are? I don't follow that logic.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. First, let me say that it is not a prediction, but a
projection, and I make that distinction.
Mr. DADDARIO. Going up to a certain point you take these-
Dr. BLtTMSTEIN. If we use current arrest rates rather than projecting
their trend-the trend has been increasing-and if we project popula-
tion trends into the future, then we can estimate the chance that a
boy will be arrested at any age.
Mr. DADDARIO. At any rate, the point is that you are arriving at
this figure in a statistical way?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. Then, the other problem is getting to the heart of
the problem; why this is so?
Dr. BLUM5TEIN. That is right. Once the issue becomes one of concern,
then you ask why it is so. And no one knows why. Some of the pos-
sibilities are derived from increasing urbanization, leading to people
having less knowledge of each other, with more frequent resort to a
formal system for the resolution of problems.
Mr. DADDARIO. If we have better answers to our social and economic
problems, and we attack them in the right way, they might have the
effect of turning these statistics of yours downward?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. And if not that, 50 percent could perhaps become a
low figure?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. it is important that we come to some realization of
the nature of these problems.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. We need figures like that to highlight where the
critical issues are. For example, it may be that we are spreading the
criminal sanction t~ thin and so that when you arrest many people,
there maybe less concern about being arrested in the future. One of
the things that prevents me from committing crime is the fact that
PAGENO="0295"
291
I don't want an arrest record, but once I have an arrest record I might
be less concerned about having a second. I don't know, but these are
some of the things that have to be considered.
We also need such analysis techniques to decide where to invest
technological resources so that they can be effectively applied to our
bathe objective or reducing crime. To illustrate this, we collected data
from Los Angeles on the factors that give rise to apprehension of
criminals. We found, as we expected, that rapid police response to a
crime call gave rise to more appr~hensions.
But we were surprised to find that unless the suspect is caught at
the scene of the crime, or is identified by a victim or witness, the
chances of ever catching him may be less than 12 percent. We then
compared alternative technological means for getting to the crime
scene faster: more patrol cars, more telephone clerks `answering citi-
zens' calls, car-locator devices to find `the closest patrol cars, and com-
puter-assisted command and control systems in the command center.
For the conditions of the `hypothetical city we examined, we found that
delay could be reduced most inexpensively by the most expensive
mvestment: computer automation of the command center, and this
needs further development and adaption to particular cities.
This was the best `investment to reduce delay, which is correlated
with apprehension by the police, which by the theory of deterrence
is presumed to reduce crime. Sucih a chain of reasoning `is necessary
to make optimum teidhuological choices, and ail the `links in any such
chain need consideraible strengthening.
Another place such analysis tedhniques can be `beneficial is in the
management of the courts. Through a computer simulation of the
processing of persons arrested for felonies through the District of
Odlunthia court system, we were able to show that the processmg
through the grand jury was the critical bottleneck, and to experiment
with various possible changes in the operation of that court system-
all without disrupting the critical ongoing operations of the court.
These very preliminary steps we `have taken in only a few `areas
have convinced us that there is a significant contribution to come from
a major `research and develo~pment program. And we have not even
touched on such areas `as identifying basic causes of crime, treating
drug addiction, planning a strategic `attack on organized crime enter-
prises, selection and training of criminal justice officials, and many
other areas that properly belong in a research and development pro-
gram. In view of this potentiai,it is surprising that until the Office of
Law Enforcement Assistance was esbaihlished in 1965, the Justice De-
partment was the oniy `Oaibinet Department in the Federal Government
with no research and devct:opment progam.
Need for a Federal role
It may very well be that the application of science and technology to
criminal justice has been retarded so long as a result of the fragmenta-
tion of the criminal justice system. Only a handful of criminal justice
agencies are large enough and rich enough to undertake major re-
search or equipment development projects on `their own. There may
be little incentive for them to do so, since that would probably be an
inefficient investment of resources for any one of them. Although the
results would benefit all, the innovator alone would have to bear the
high cost. Even if the individual agencies independently conducted
PAGENO="0296"
292
their own projects, we would probably see many of them pursuing
identical questions not knowing of the work and results of the others.
Furthermore, there would be little incentive for an individual agency
to disseminate the results of its work to other agencies that might be
able to use them.
This is a typical situation which calls for some centralized stimiņa-
tion and coodin'ation. Ideally, this stiould be done by the Federal (3ov-
ernment, which would coordinate the work throughout the Nation.
The National Crime Commission recommended four mutually sup-
porting `approa&es to an R. & D. program. Their program comprised
the following elements:
(1) Support of an R.D.T. & E. program supporting specific projects
at specific operating agencies, univesities, industry, or any other source
of technical skill.
(2) Establishment of an agency to provide technical assistance
to criminal justice agencies as a county agricultural agent does for the
farmer. The agency or a related one would also establish common equip-
ment standards~ thereby providing some of the advantages of a large
market to this highly fragmented one.
Mr. DADDARIO. Don't you consider that the FBI presently serves
this purpose?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. No, sir; the FBI does not evaluate police radios.
They don't establish standards for police radios. For instance, they
don't serve as that Bureau of Standards kind of function. They do
serve in providing central crime laboratory services. They don't set
standards. They don't publish the equivalent of a Consumer's Report.
Mr. DADDARIO. What is your view as to that? Should they have
been giving this kind .of assistance or do you feel they are doing
what they should do? Since this seems to be something that needs to
be done, and has been reported by the Crime Commission as being a
requirement, why, in fact, haven't law enforcement people whose job
it is to analyze these things, come to this assumption on their own?
Dr. BLDTMSTEIN. Why hasn't the FBI moved?
Mr. DADDARIO. Yes.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I really couldn't say why the FBI hasn't done it.
Mr. DADDARIO. It would appear to me without `analyzing it further
that those of us in conrn-iunities throughout the country who support
the FBI Academy and the training of local police officers do so `because
we believe that these men will have training in techniques that are not
available tothem at home.
Dr. BLUMSThEN. They will have training in the techniques.
Mr. DADDAR1O. But you don't believe that goes far enough?
Dr. BLUMSTFJIN. We are talking about a rather specialized technical
function, establishment of equipment standards and evaluation of
equipment, that a police officer is not normally called upon tie do. It
probably would not `be a worthwhile part of the FBI Academy curri-
culum to spend very much time on issues like that. It is sort of a
service that has to be performed as new equipment conies out and as
needs start to crystallize. It is much more technical than operational,
but it must have an operational input. It is a service like the Bureau of
Standards, like Consumer Reports, like Underwriters.
Mr. DADDARIO. I am not saying that the FBI should do it or should
not do it. I `am just trying to probe the reason why. It would `appear to
PAGENO="0297"
\~
293
me that if these techniques, in fact, could be helpful in solving some of
our problems as far as crime is concerned, that it is deplorable that
they have not been done. This is not a charge, yet you raise the point.
You say it ought not to be done. If it is not done by the people who
have the law enforcement responsibility, who is it that should do it?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. The FBI has the prime authority of enforcing the
Federal law; in many cases, the enforcement of the Federal law in-
volves operating like a local police department.
Mr. D~muuo. We are kind of chasing ourselves around. The fact
is we are under the assumption, notwithstanding what you are saying,
that the FBI can give help. In almost every community of the country
we send men to the academy with the expectation that when they come
back they will be better able to perform their local duties.
Dr. BL1TMSTEIN. That is right.
Mr. DADDARIO. What you are saying is that this does not necesssarily
happen?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. No. I am saying is that doesn't happen in every
respect, and I don't think anyone would expect it to happen in every
respect. The FBI is not universally wise and able and can't perform
all the functions that might be needed to help local law enforcement.
Here is one function that is needed that they have not, in fact, taken
a major role in.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Brown.
Mr. BROWN. Would it be appropriate at this point, because I think
this is a very interesting aspect that you bring up, to ask from the
appropriate source that the FBI curriculum for training be inserted
in the record together with the nature of their crime laboratory facili-
ties. I have a feeling that we do not have too much information about
this, just how broad their operations are, and I think it is relevant
at this point. I have seem many local policemen come back here
to training. I have felt that perhaps the greatest problem was that
these people were not, by their own training and background, capable
of absorbing, for example, concepts of systems analysis or high-level
technology with regard to the local police problems. I am interested to
know if there is any effort made to do this in the school.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Brown, you raise a good point. We will inquire
into that. I frankly have been of the opinion that they have been doing
a good job and that they have, in fact, been providing some of this
kind of technical assistance.
(The following information has been furnished by the FBI:)
PAGENO="0298"
294
FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY CunRIcuLuM
Set forth below is the general curriculum of the twelve weeks' course of train-
ing of the FBI National Academy.
LAW AND INVESTIGATIONS
Criminal law and court procedures
Legal Aspects of.Interrogations and Confessions
Evidence
Federal Civil Rights Statutes
Law of Arrest, Search of the Person, Premises and Vehicles, Legal Aspects
of Stop, Frisk and Detain and seminar on related legal problems
Legal Aspects of Lineups
Legal Aspects of Roadblocks
Medical-Legal Aspects of Homicide Investigations
Police Legislation
Police Liability
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
The Judge's View of Criminal Law
The Law Enforcement Officer and the Courts
The Juvenile Court
Investigations and case preparation
Auto Theft
Bank Robbery
Bombings
Counterfeiting
Investigative Aids and Techniques
Major Case Investigations
Narcotics
Sex Crimes
Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution
POLICE ADMINISTRATION
Management and policy
Crime Analysis-Prevention, Planning, Allocation and Distribution of
Forces
Development and Training of Supervisory Personnel
Disciplinary Problems
Inspections
Management of Auxiliary Police
Mob and Riot Control-Practional Problems, Police Procedures and Dem-
onstration
National Crime Information Center
Police Budgets
Police Management including Administrative Devices and Controls, Selection
and Recruitment, Police Cadets, Police Personnel Management, Evalua-
tion of Personnel, Supervisory and Executive Development, Decision Mak-
ing, Evaluation of Personnel and Practical Problems on Management
Matters
Police Records
Policy and Planning
Supervision of Reports
Uniform Crime Reports
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Social psychology
Caustive and Psychological Factors in Mob and Riot Control
Gaining Support for Law Enforcement
Human Relations in Management
Nation of Islam
Police Ethics
Police Techniques in Handling Juveniles
Psychology in Law Enforcement
The Chief of Police as a Community Leader
Relations Between Press and Law Enforcement
PAGENO="0299"
295
sociology
Communism and Related Movements
Criminology
Espionage
Jurisdiction of Federal Agencies
Organized Crime
Police and Community Relations
Sociology
Social Aspects of Crime
Education
Classroom Orientaticm; Making Notes in Class; Use of Typewriter
Dynamics of Instruction
Evaluating Results of Training
Human Relations in Learning
Operating Police Training Schools
Research Methods
Subsidized Police Training
Physical education
Physical Training Program Including Defensive Tactics, Judo, Operation
of a Physical Training Program
Techniques and Mechanics of Arrest
Vocational education
Firearms Training
Public Speaking-Techniques and Practical Work
Surveillance Photography
Photography in Law Enforcement
SCIENCE
Biology an4 serology
Blood and Body Fluids
Hairs and Fibers
(Jhomi~try
Chemistry in Crime Detection
Ide,vtiftcation techniques
Document Examinations
Identification of Disaster Victims
Fingerprint Identification
Matters Including Latent Fingerprints
T~aboratery techniques and research
Organization of FBI Laboratory
Soils and Minerals
Metals Examinations
Firearms, Toolsmarks, Glass Fractures and Explosives
Shoe Prints and Tire Examination
Physics in Crime Detection and Radiation Hazards
FBI LABORATORY
In the early ~9~Ø~5 very little use was made of science in law enforcement.
Occasionally the FBI called on a scientist to perform a specific examination,
but this left much to be desired since most of these men bad neither the facilities
to do the work nor the training to intelligently present evidence before a court
and jury.
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover realized that most scientific techniques and
their application to the examination of physical evidence were outside the
realm of most law enforcement officers. He was convinced, however, the tech-
nological aid offered by science could become a most valuable parther in the
fight against crime and could make available important evidence in a court
of law when properly interpreted by a highly qualified expert witness.
PAGENO="0300"
296
In the early 1930's Mr. Hoover launched a program to locate scientists whose
l~nowledge and experience might be used to guide a new scientific laboratory.
On August 1, 1932, purchase of the first equipment for research purposes was
approved. One piece of scientific equipment slowly followed another, but this
simple collection was far from being a real laboratory. There followed the
immense task of staffing the new Laboratory and training its personnel.
The FBI Laboratory was officially established on November 24, 1932. Gradually,
scientists were recruited from specialized fields such as geology, metallurgy,
mechanical engineering, mathematics, and other physical and biological scientists.
Today, all Agents and many technicians assigned in the FBI Laboratory have
at least one college degree and some hold Ph. D.'s in chemistry, physics, and
other sciences. In addition, all have received extensive training in the FBI. The
Agents assigned in the Laboratory have attended the same course of training
which is received by all new FBI Agents. They also have served some time in
one of `the FBI's 58 field offices where they obtained investigative experience
before returning to FBI Headquarters to undertake their scientific assignments.
Training is a never-ending process for the personnel assigned to the FBI
Laboratory. They are in constant touch with other specialists in their field,
attend and participate in numerous seminars, and constantly review scientific
publications in their field of interest and responsibility. Many of them are
continuing their formal education on a part-time basis or taking special courses.
The evidence examination work in the FBI Laboratory is highly specialized.
For this reason, the Laboratory is divided into sections and units.
The units of the Document Section deal with examinations of handwriting,
hand printing, typewriting, and forgeries. This Section also makes examinations
of fraudulent checks, paper, inks, printing, obliterated writing, indented writing,
charred paper, shoe prints, tire treads, photographs, and related matters.
The Physics and Chemistry Section is composed of several units which handle
examinations involving chemistry, toxicology, firearms, toolmarks, hairs and
fibers, blood and other body fluids, metallurgy, petrography, number restoration,
glass fractures, spectography, and a wide variety of related matters.
The Radio Engineering Section consists of units which design and develop
new radio communications equipment for use in the field, set up and maintain
a network of radio stations for use in the event of an emergency, and serve in
a consulting capacity in a large number of other matters relating to communi-
cations.
The Cryptanalysis-Translation Section is primarily responsible for examining
cipher messages and translating documents encountered during the course of
Bureau investigations or referred to the FBI by local law enforcement agencies.
In addition to a wide variety of precision scientific equipment, the FBI
Laboratory maintains a number of reference collections which are a valuable
aid to the scientist. One of these, the National Fraudulent Check File, contains
nearly 100,000 specimens of the work of fraudulent check artists. Others include
firearms, ammunition, automotive paints, hairs and fibers, tire treads, water-
marks, typewriter standards, anonymous letters and bank robbery notes.
To insure that the FBI derives the maximum benefits of modern science, FBI
Laboratory personnel are in regular contact with other scientists in Govern-
ment, educational and private industry laboratories to keep abreast of new
techniques and developments which might be applicable to scientific crime
detection. Research in the FBI Laboratory also plays a vital role as FBI Labo-
ratory personnel strive to develop new information and techniques which will
assist the Nation's law enforcement profession maintain law and order. The
knowledge and expertise so gained are disseminated through training lectures,
scienttific papers, and personal appearances.
During its first full year, the fiscal year ending June 30, 1934, the FBI
Laboratory made 963 examinations. The number of examinations increased to
2,337 in the next fiscal year. The general acceptance that law enforcement has
given to the importance of scientific analysis of evidence is illustrated by the
fact that in the fiscal year 1007, some 330,516 examinations were made in the
FBI Laboratory. These examinations often are responsible for the conviction
of law breakers. Of equal, if not greater, importance is the fact that they fre-
quently result in clearing the innocent.
The facilities of the FBI Laboratory are available without charge to all duly
constituted State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies of the United
States and its territorial possessions. In addition to making examinations of
evidence submitted to the Laboratory for examination, the FBI will also
PAGENO="0301"
297
FBI LABORATORY EXAMINATIONS MADE
FOR NON-FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
FISCAL YEAR 1967
furnish the experts necessary to testify in connection with the results of their
examinations in either State or Federal courts, all without cost to the law
enforcement agency.
Accordingly, the question of whether any such agency makes use of science
in its investigations is almost entirely a matter of local option since the facilities
and the service are available merely for the asking.
Dr. BLUMsITIN. Let me continue then with the third component of
this program:
(3) Establishment of operations research groups within operating
criminal justice agencies. These groups would conduct research on the
operating problems of their organizations, and would serve as the
technical link between the technically unsophisticated agencies in
the criminal justice system and the broader technical community.
(4) Creation of a single major research institute to conduct and
actually carry out fundamental research in a continuous and coor-
dinated way necessary to bring about the major reexamination needed
by any system that has remained unchanged for so long.
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you contemplate this as being separate and apart
from any existing capability that we presently have? Do you support
the idea that this should be a brand new research institute?
Dr. BLiJMSTEIN. I think it should be a brand new research institute
but-
Mr. DADDARIO. Under whose guidance?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I think it should be brand new, but it probably
should be created by existing institutions, a multiuniversity consortium
appended to something like the Rockefeller Institute, appended per-
CANAL ZONE
PUERTO RICO 12
HAWAII 337
VIRGIN ISLANDS, U.S.A. 107
TOTAL 73,503
1ji~1
PAGENO="0302"
298
haps to something like the Rand Corp. There are many forms which it
could take, but I think it has to begin to assemble a unique collection of
resources.
Mr. DADDA1U0. Not under the control of the Attorney General's
Office and within the jurisdiction of the Justice Department?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I think it must be outside the Government.
Mr. DADDARIO. How then would it relate itself back to the law
enforcement people?
Dr. BL1mIs~ri~IN. It should be in a major metropolitan center and
operated in close coordination with operating criminal systems. It
should not be serving under any operating system. It must have the
freedom, I think, to really ask the basic questions that the system may
find it uncomfortable to have asked if it is part of the system. The
operating agencies would get their support from their own operations
research groups. I think you need something that is separate and inde-
pendent of these operating agencies.
Mr. .DADDARIO. Why should anybody feel uncomfortable about this
taking into consideration what you have said earlier? When I asked
you a question about No. 2 you said that this really is outside of their
province, and if it is, then they should not be uncomfortable. The
reason I am asking you these questions is to find out whether or not you
are critical about what is being done, and I am not able to elicit that
from you. This would be extremely important if, in fact, you support
this. You say that it should be outside of the present criminal justice
activities, and if someone who is presently doing this work would be
uncomfortable, then it would not be borne out by the questions I asked
you regarding No. 2 would be ~cc4thin that same logical stream of
authority.
Dr. BLTJMSTEIN. I am sorry. First, very little is being done now in
this whole area of research or development.
Item No. 2 refers primarily to equipment to support operating
agencies. I think that should be very responsive to their needs and
very closely linked to the operating problems.
Mr. DADDARIO. How can you create equipment to meet the problems
you indicate exist and need to be met, without having the research
that could lead to the development of the equipment needed?
Dr. BLUMSTFIIN. The basic research I am talking about is not tech-
nological research. I think the equipment needed in operating police
departments is almost all on the shelf somewhere. It is a matter of
choosing from what is available and tying it together in the right way.
Although there are some exceptions to that, basically the equipment
can be made available. It is not that you need basic physical research
to provide new physical knowledge to get new equipment. The research
that is needed is research into the operations of this system, into social
causes of crime, into the impact on crime of the various things done in
the name of controlling it. It is not basic physical research that is the
critical bind. Item No. ~ is directed much more at research into the
criminal justice system, into the process of police resources allocation,
and not specifically the research that will lead to better radios. We
know how to make the radios. It is a matter of coagulating the market,
organizing the demand, and providing the wherewithal to get the
radios introduced.
PAGENO="0303"
299
These four functions are embodied in title III of the President's
Safe Streets and Crime Control Act. The current bill, H.R. 5037,
which passed the House on August 9, 1967, calls for the creation within
the Department of Justice of a National Institute of Law Enforcement
and Criminal Justice. This agency, modeled in part after the National
Institutes of Health, would support both an internal R. & D. program
and external contract or grant activity.
In addition, the bill calls for the creation of regional institutes serv-
ing one or more States and conducting research, development, and
trairnng for the prevention or reduction of crime.
And these regional institutes would have a much closer relationship
to the operating agencies.
Mr. DADDA1UO. You conceive of this being regionally motivated
rather than an itinerant type of task force which could give help where
needed and where required without having to develop within the
Federal structure?
Dr. BLtTMSTEIN. The regional institutes themselves would end up
being itinerant. Even if we had 10 of these, they would have to travel
around and provide technical support to the many departments within
their area of concern.
Mr. DADDARTO. You are not indicating any real rigidity. You are
leaning toward the idea that we ought to take the ways and means
necessary to get help in these areas?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. That is right.
I believe we are now witnessing the first steps by the Federal Gov-
ernment to provide major support to State and local governments to
help them carry out their own crime control functions.
Requirements for new institutioii~
`As these developments occur, we will need many kinds of new insti-
tutions to provide the technical support in our efforts to control crime
and operate the criminal justice system. New institutions could be used
in each of the four points I listed previously. These institutions will
take many forms. I will leave it t'o those who have studied Federal
laboratories more extensively and deeply than I to fit the functions
to individual Federal laboratories where the Federal laboratories
seem aippropriate.
Of these new kinds of institutions, some will necessarily be attached
to operating criminal justice agencies as internal technical or opera-
tions research groups. Others will be in a similar technical relation-
ship, but as independent consultants, perhaps serving one or many
operating agencies. Still others will serve as the National Bureau 0ą
Standards, Underwriters' Laboratories, and Consumers' Union serve
their respective clientele.
Much of the equipment development work would be contracted to
industry or other R. & D. organizations. University research centers
would be expected to develop a growing competence in specific theo-
retical areas of investigation, examining such basic questions as who is
deterred from what behavior by what social controls.
The basic research institute, in order to bring together the required
range of disciplines, and still retain the required mission orientation,
would prthaibly have to be created anew, perhaps appended to a multi-
university consortium or to an existing `research inStitution of very
broad scope.
PAGENO="0304"
300
The critical problems to be addressed by all these kinds of institu-
tions are generally not those of enormous technical complexity. Two
major exceptions to this generalization, where major technological
advances are needed, are the problems of developing automatic finger-
print recognition systems and nonlethal, noninjurious, but effective
police weaponry.
Rather than technical, the problems are more often ones of select-
mg from a menu already rich in technical possibilities. That selection
must take into account the operational needs of operating agencies,
the danger of excessive invasion of privacy, as well as the technical
characteristics of a new system. Then, there are additional problems in
adapting a technical design to an operationally desirable form-human
engmneerin~, but in a very broad sense-and finding the best means of
incorporating the innovations into regular operations.
This last task-of intimate technical adviser-is the kind of role per-
formed by the service laiboratories in the Department of Defense. Any
organization that is to participate in this process for the criminal
justice system must commit itself to a cont:inuing involvement with
the problems of crime control, including intimate interaction with the
operating system. It must use that system as its laboratory, to collect
data, to try out different innovations-always making sure that these
do not violate basic rights of privacy, justice, and due process. After
both the direct and side effects of an innovation are evaluated, the
technical adviser can then identify the next round of innovations,
thereby becoming involved in a continuing process of evolutionary
improvement.
In considering retreading of existing Federal laboratories, many of
which are in remote parts of the country, location may be an import-
ant consideration. The requirement for direct involvement with the
operating system requires that such an organization be close to a
major metropolitan area, just as our oceanographic institutes must be
on the water and our radio and optical astronomy observatories must
be separated from their respective interfering noise sources.
The technical skills of the organization must match those called for
by the problems. Any institution working on crime control must
possess a broad range of technical skills, including computer sciences,
electronics, and the physical sciences. It should be especially strong in
systems analysis and the social sciences.
Mr. DADDARIO. Are you going to give us some advice as to how to
rate the cities?
Dr. BLTJMSTEIN. I suspect that the process of choosing any location
will apply. The resource availability, the opportunity for innovation,
the pull of interests reflected in any decision-
Mr. DADDARIO. Do you think in this case it might work the other
way, that the city might not want to be known as the one where the
crime institute is located?
Dr. BLUMSTIEIN. I know several cities that would love to have
the crime research center located there, cities that are really interested
in innovation.
I might add that the institution should be prepared to add lawyers
and legislators to its staff.
Any such laboratory must get the in~ight that we on the Science
and Technology Task Force were most fortunate to be able to get
PAGENO="0305"
301
from the Crime Commission staff. A separate laboratory will have to
get it into their own staff.
To the extent that a Federal laboratory can meet these requirements,
can establish the close and continuing relationships with the ongoing
operations, and is ready and able to recruit the appropriate range of
professional skills, to that extent it can make a significant contribution
as a Federal laboratory devoted to the problems of crime control.
Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you, Dr. Blumstein.
Mr. Roush.
Mr. ROtTSH. Mr. Chairman, even as a lawyer, I can appreciate the
testimony which has been given here today. I am sorry that we are so
restricted on time because it happens to be one of my favorite subjects,
and it happens to be one of those areas of endeavor that my office has
been connected with. But there are just one or two areas I would like
to explore.
Mr. DADDARIO. May I say this? Recognizing that and understanding
that the House is meeting `an hour earlier tod'ay, please ask `all the
questions you have, and we will proceed on the `basis that we will have
another opportunity to discuss this if necessary. It was never our
intention to do it in 1 hour.
Mr. ROUSH. At this time I will be as brief as I can.
Doctor, I would imagine that there are certain cities in America
which are far ahead of other cities in this matter of using innovations
and using our technical and scientific skills. Could you identify some
of these cities for us?
Dr. BLtTMSTEIN. I would certainly rate Los Angeles high. I would
certainly rate New York high, with its attempt to introduce a major
command and control system. I would certainly rate Chicago with its
sophisticated crime laboratory, and I would certainly rate St. Louis
with its advanced computer system high, and there are many others.
Mr. Rousil. What research is done by the FBI, if anything?
Dr. BLIThISTEIN. I would say that the FBI's research is in the crime
laboratory itself. And even there, there is not very much of what one
would call research. The major part of the FBI's technical activity
in the crime laboratory is the provision of additional services.
The FBI i's supporting the development of a fingerprint recognition
system in its initial phases.
The FBI does do some research, which has been challenged by many
criminologists, on criminal career data, on the course of development
of criminal careers. This research is published in the Uniform Crime
Reports. /
Although I wouldn't call it research, the FBI has taken the techno-
logical lead in developing the National Crime Information Center,
which provides police departments around the country with instant
access to a national file of stolen cars, wanted persons, and a certain
class of stolen property.
Mr. ROUSH. I appreciate the FBI and the work `they are doing,
~but I am wondering if as legislators and as people in Government
and as citizens if we aren't trapped by the thought that the FBI is
doing everything. The feeling that the FBI is the unit in charge of
crime control, detection, and what have you in this country. As a
result of that, I believe we have neglected this area tremendously.
You were very kind, I think, in outlining what the FBI is doing by
93-20i O-68----20
PAGENO="0306"
302
way of research and development. I believe that Congress has given
them every penny that they have requested, and I do not believe they
have asked for enough. I do not believe the FBI is doing enough in
using the modern science and technology in this matter of crime dete~-
tion, prevention, and control.
I do not want to put you on the spot, but isn't it true that the FBI
is very jealous of their prerogatives as the outfit in charge of crime
detection and control in this country?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. Let me make a few comments that you stimulate.
No. 1, I think, and I think most people in the country would agree,
that it would be wrong to expect one Federal agency to do everything
about crime control in the United States because of the concern of
centralization. So I think we should not look to the FBI to do every-
thing. I think we should look to spread some of this around so that
you don't have the concern when with one agency controls all aspects
of the Federal role with regard to law enforcement.
No. 2, I think an agency that is going to be an effective research
and development organization must provide a climate in which it can
attract very good people. I think some of the issues are illustrated
by the problems the Defense Department has had with its service
laboratories and their difficulty in recruiting first-rate people. These
problems led the Defense Department to go outside to set up nonprofit
corporations to create the right working environment in order to at-
tract the kind of people they need. This illustrates that the FBI, being
basically a police organization, is not likely to be able to attract
the best scientific talent that is needed to be applied to this problem.
M~ DADDARIO. Mr. Roush.
Mr ROUSH. Would it apply to the Justice Department, generally?
Dr. BLIThISTEIN. Certainly, but less so. There is always a trade-off
between closeness to the problem and closeness to action on one hand
and separateness, independence, and the danger of ivory tower think-
ing on the other. I think putting the major research effort directly
within an operating police agency probably puts you too close to the
problem. Setting it up in a very sterile situation out in the mountains
somewhere gets you too far from the problem, and the results don't
get implemented into action. So I think the kind of compromise that
was made in putting into the Justice Department is probably as good
as~ a compromise as you could get on this balance of interests. There
are still many people who are concerned about it being in less receptive
an environment than they might like.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Waggonner.
Mr. WAGGONNER. It seems that you have been a little bit contradic-
tory. You have a criticism of the FBI for being a little bit too cen-
tralized, and you yourself have just recommended that this new re-
search institute should be a single institute and should be highly
centralized.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. Are you referring to item No. 4 in the list? That is
a single research institute which might have on the order of 50 to 100
people. It is not a program management operation. It doesn't run
thrngs other than its own research program. You need that research
institute centralized in order to get a critical mass of scientists work-
ing together in a continuous and integrated way on crime problems.
You always have some degree of centralization. The one in the research
PAGENO="0307"
303
institute is far less centralized than anything that I referred to with
regard to the FBI.
Mr. WAGGONNER. If you followed that to the ultimate conclusion over
in the Department of Defense, there should just be one research agenc~y.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. That is why I don't like to follow things to their
ultimate conclusions. I argue very strongly for diversity and for multi-
ple opportunities to do things, but to have 40,000 independent oppor-
tunities to do things and thereby spread the wealth so thialy so that
no one has time or money to do anything is too decentralized.
Mr. WAGGONNER. Havmg two institutes for consideration?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. The issue was the one of getting enough of the right,
good people together. We would like as many as we can support because
the problems are important and complicated enough, but when you
have one that is really a great institution, you have a much better
chance of bringing together the right kinds of numbers of people. That
was the consideration that gave rise to one research institute.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Roush.
Mr. ROUSH. I have followed, this question rather closely as to what
type of institute we need, and I was pleased with your testimony. I
was disappointed with the House action in placing this institute under
the jurisdiction of the Justice Department. I had introduced a bill
proposing that we set up a separate institute patterned somewhat after
the National Science Foundation. I gather this would not be entirely
what you had in mind either? Is that correct?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. That is correct. My personal view on this-
Mr. ROUSH. I might say my reasons were exactly the same reasons
that you have given.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. Let me make a distinction between the research
institute which is item No. 4 on this list from the Crime Commission,
and the National Institute which is a governmental bureaucratic
agency. The research institute is an independent research institute such
as Brookhaven or the Rockefeller Institute or Rand. It is an organiza-
`tion that works at research. The National Institute, which was created
m the bill, is an agency that partly runs its own research program,
but exists primarily to support research around the country.
One could set that up as an independent agency like the NSF. That
way, it would have much more freedom. That kind of enviromnent
might be more conducive to a more independent research program.
`On the other hand, if you are going to set up in the Justice Depart-
ment a subsidy program to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars
to help local law enforcement in planning, to help new programs get
established, to help innovate within the criminal justice system, then
I think you gain more by attaching the research arm to that program.
It should not be too close and not subservient to the grant program.
But by creating them close together, the results of the research can help
in the subsidy program, can provide evaluation of the subsidy pro-
gram, and can provide guidance where the subsidies should `best be al-
located. I would opt for that.
Mr. Rousn. I was not thinking in terms of an arm of the Justice
Department which would be allocating funds, subsidizing local units.
I was thinking in terms of a research. institute.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. For the research institute, I would go even further
than yourself and ask that that not be within the Federal Government
PAGENO="0308"
304
and actually outside the Federal Government, where with some few
exceptions research is much better able to thrive. But I would ask
that it be subsidized by the Federal Government.
Mr. RousH. This is the thought of how we can best bring the poten-
tial of industry into this matter. I think that there is a tremendous
potential here, and I would like to cite my own experience as an ex-
ample. The President's Crime Commission made a recommendation
that we have a uniform telephone number for reporting crime, and I
have since gone one step further and proposed that we have one tele-
phone number for reporting all emergencies. As a result of this en-
deavor, and even more so as a result of the influence of Mr. Loevinger,
of the FCC, A.T. & T. has agreed to make available a single emergency
telephone number, 911, which will cost A.T. & T. over the next few
years in excess of $50 million to install or make the necessary modifi-
cation of equipment. This, of course, includes modifying telephones
so as to permit an immediate reaching of the operator without the use
of a dime.
I wonder if we are directing our endeavor toward not only the com-
munications industry, but other industries such as the computer indus-
try. Is anything being done now, and do you see how we might enhance
this endeavor and let these people work on specific problems?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I think you raise a really basic question that has
not yet been adequately addressed. That is the question of how the
Federal Government can bring together the needs of these diverse
agencies. Even without the Federal Government, how can the needs
of these diverse operating agencies' be represented to industry to give
them an assurance `of a continuing market to warrant their investment
in R. & D. `One of the ways I see this happening, for instance, is
through the equipment standards organization which would rep-
resent police needs. To a degree, IACP has done some of this, but
in a very informal and relatively nonfocused way. Here is a role for
some national agency to work with police departments `and, in effect,
coalesce their div'erse demands into standard designs, standard re-
quirements, which can then be presented to industry.
Another role the Federal Government might undertake could be
to underwrite the initial production run of certain equipment so that
there is a guarantee that the production volume will be large enough
to warrant the R. & D. investment and the tooling-up costs. There
are many other ways in which the Federal Government can coalesce
the demands. It needs far more thinking than it has yet been given.
I think Federal agencies, without running police departments, with~
out exerting excessive influence over them, can `bring the police inter-
ests together, present them to industry, and then provide feedback on
how well the devices `and new systems are performing, so that future
installations can be modified appropriately.
Mr. DADDARI0. Mr. R'oush.
Mr. Rousu. Thank' you.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Waggonner.
Mr. WA000NNER. You seem to be contradicting yourself. You
wound up by saying we need more centralization in answer to Mr.
Roush's statement.
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I think the major theme of my presentation has
been that we need more coagulation, centralization, of the very dis-
PAGENO="0309"
305
parate demands and needs of operating agencies. In no sense do I
say we don't need centralization. I am saying we don't need a single
centralized control over all State and local law enforcement agencies,
and I am sure you would agree with that.
Mr. WAGGONNER. The Crime Commission report had to do with the
establishment of this research institute. You took the position that it
should be independent of the Federal Government. You wound up
your statement on page 11 advocating this with a Federal laboratory.
How do you explain that contradiction?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. First, `at the end of my statement, where I was talk-
ing about Federa{I laboratories, it was not just in the context of the
major research institute that I identified `as item No.4.
Second, some of the Federal laboratories are, in fact, independent
of the Federal Government. Contract agencies like the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory are independent of the Federal Government, but are
nevertheless classed as Federal laboratories. The discussion at the end
of the statement refers to the wide range of `kinds of uses that Federal
laboratories might serve in the criminal justice system rather than just
as the specific research institute.
Mr. WAGGONNER. Would you `agree that somebody will have to make
a personal judgment, about how much cenitiraliza'tion we can stand and
how much decentralization we ought to have?
Dr. BLUM5TEIN. I think there will have to be `a whole sequence `of
judgments and decisions that weigh the virtues of bringing interests
together against the concern `about excessive centralized control and
power. These decisions `are made every day.
Mr. WAGGONNER. This single research institute you talk about which
should have 50 to 100 people; could you tell me a little more detail
about `ho'w you would channel this information into the Federal Gov-
ernment. If the Federal Government is going to pay for the operation
of this institute, It should receive its findings even' though it is inde-
pendent of the Government?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I think it will be outside the Federal Government. I
think the findings will appear as reports. The reports will be dis-
seminated not only to the Federal Government but to `other people
doing independent research outside the research institute. The find-
ings would `be disseminated to operating `agencies so that they could
take advantage of them. There is the basic question of what problems
they study, which I `suspect `is the question that you `are mudh more
directly interested in. The problems that they study must ultimately
be of real interest to the Federal Government `and the kin'd of decisions
that are to `be made both federally `and locally.
Mr. WAGGONNER. How do you propose that the people who partici-
pate in the work of this institute be chosen? Who would choose these
people?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. The choice would have to be made by the manage-
ment of the researcth institute just as staff is hired by any research
institute-~on the basis of their technical proficiency `an'd `ability to
address the problems.
Mr. WAGGONNER. You would agree that part of our problem stems
from bad habits in law enforcement? We get into habits that are
bad, and we do not recognize them until it is too late. What would
you do with these people, give them lifetime contracts or give them
PAGENO="0310"
306
work on short-term contracts? Isn't there the danger that these people
would just become monoliths themselves and would sooner or later
fail to bring forth anything new? You have just a small number of
people and in the end you stand the real risk of having these people
after a while grow stale themselves?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I would certainly hope that the environment as
created and the management is effective so that the institute attracts
good people and provides a continuing healthy environment so that
good people stay and those who are not good are weeded out.
Mr. WAGGONNEfR. How do you determine what is a good man in this
type of law-enforcement work?
Dr. BLUM5I']uN. Based on the quality of the research he does. That
is the problem of managing research. In my own work, among the
people who work with me, I know who is putting out good work and
who isn't. There is amazing agreement on who the good guys are
and who the not so good guys are. That is not a terribly complicated
issue.
Mr. WAGGONNER. But that involves personal judgment?
Dr. BLUMSTETN. Yes; no question.
Mr. WAGGONNER. That is all.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Brown?
Mr. BROWN. Let me ask you this question. The United States is the
wealthiest country in the world and has a standard of living that
goes up 5 percent a year. Obviously we are a very affluent society.
What simple answer would you give to the question of why our crime
rate in almost every category is increasing every year?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. There are no simple answers. Some heroic attempts
at providing still inadequate answers took, I believe, nine volumes of
the Crime Commission report. There are just so many factors involved.
I could start enumerating some of them, but I don't know that it
would help very much.
Mr. BROWN. Do you think it is a matter that will be solve,cl by more
effective law enforcement?
Dr. BLUMSTEIN. I think more effective law enforcement will solve
some of it. I don't think there is any simple solution. There is a whole
range of attacks that need to be used in making it more clear that
those who do violate the law will, in fact, be apprehended. More
effective law enforcement is a part of it, but only a part.
There are much more fundamental issues that we have got to get at.
We have got to recognize that what we define as crime is not some-
thing that is going to be eliminated. In many respects the price we
would have to pay to really eliminate crime is a price that none of us
want. I think we have got to view crime as one aspect of an evolving
social order that must be viewed in perspective of the things we do
and don't want in our lives.
Mr. BROWN. I have no other questions.
Mr. DADDARTO. Dr. Blumstein, thank you ever so much.
Because we are in a little bit of a rush this morning, I hope we might
send to you some additional questions for the record?
Dr. BLUMSTETN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you.
PAGENO="0311"
307
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO DR. ALFRED BLUMSTEIN BY THE SUB-
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Q. 1. In your testimony you eited certaIn police needs and indicated the tech-
nology is now available to meet those needs. What, then, in your opinion, are the
reasons why law enforcement agencies are not using the a'vallable technology?
A. The reasons for the limited introduction of technology into police operations
are multiple and complex. They also differ for different kinds of technology. In-
cluded in the reasonnwould be the following:
1. Equipment budgets are typically separate line items in police budgets, so that
the cost of additional equipment may appear as a large increase in the equipment
budget, even when it would be small compared to the total police budget or com-
pared to an appropriately formulated program or functional budget.
2. Many of the smaller police departments do not know about some of the
technological possibilities available to them.
3. In many cases, equipment developed for other purposes may require some
adaptation to police use; that adaptation may not yet have been done.
4. Many police departments are unable to evaluate among alternative pos-
sibilities, and so, end up choosing none.
Q. la. In your opinion, why hasn't industry filled the void as it would with
normal consumer demands?
A. The market is small and fragmented and so selling that market could lead
to a high sales cost, per unit sold. Also, the police market is an unknown to most
companies and it would require the development of special marketing skills to
address that market. In many cases there are some research and/or development
costs required and industry may be reluctant to make the required investment as
long as the market uncertainty exists.
Q. lb. What can be done about these problems?
A. Create a coordinated national program to provide proper guidance and
incentives to industry to provide the products necessary for the police markets.
Provide the information to help police departments learn of currently or p0-
tentially available products and help them select from among these products
those that best meet their needs. Finally, help them in corporate these innovations
effectively into their operations.
This program would be supported by actions such as the following:
1. Federal support of research and development.
2. National establishment of equipment standard's and unified requirements.
3. Field evaluation and collection of field reports on performance of new equip-
ment and methods.
4. Creation of an information center to disseminate such information to police
departments.
5. Creation of an organization with a staff able to provide technical advice
and assistance to police departments.
6. Federal underwriting of the initial production run of a new item to guarantee
a reasonable market.
7. Creation within the larger police departments of internal technical and
operations research functions. These functions would include liaison with external
groups which could serve as technical advisors. The external groups could be
consulting firms, technical professional societies, or committees of disinterested
citizens or industry scientists and engineers.
8. Adoption of program budgeting by police departments.
Q. 2. What do you consider to be the three most important needs in law enforce-
mont where technology can make the greatest contribution? Why?
A. The magnitude of contribution that would result from any particular tech-
nological innovation would naturally depend strongly upon the size of the de-
partment, the nature of the crime problem it must deal with and the current state
of its technological development. For instance, a department that had a major
part of its force on foot patrol and unequipped with portable radios could prob-
ably benefit most by equipping all its officers immediately with portable radios.
Another department, equipped with current model radios, would benefit less from
a new generation of radios. If forced to generalize across the nation, however, I
would probably rank the technological innovations as follows:
1. The introduction of computers (locally for the larger departments and with a
terminal on-line to a remote computer for the smaller ones) for handling the mass
of information collected in police operations. Most of this information goes unused
because of the difficulty of retrieval `and manipulation. The growing availability
PAGENO="0312"
308
of software for police functions will enable the departments, perhaps through a
police computer users' organization, to make use of the information both for more
effective tracking down of criminals and more efficient use of their resources.
2. Improvement of the police command and control function (housed in the
police communications center) through improved design of these facilities for
more rapid and complete information transfer, more intelligible display of the
current crime or disorder situation, and more rapid and effective dissemination
of control orders to the units on patrol. This improvement could make a sig-
nificant dent in the 20-50% of response time attributable to delay and process-
ing in the communications center. The use of on-line, real time computers could
make a significant contribution here but much could be done, even without intro-
ducing a computer, through better display of information and reorganization of
the functions and facilities.
3. The development of a light-weight low-cost portable police radio so that
every police officer can be in continuous contact with headquarters at all times.
Q. 3. In your testimony you refer to a new research institute which should be
outside of government. What do you consider to be the advantage of having such
an institute outside of government?
A. In order for such an institute to conduct basic examinations into the causes
and nature of crime, and to conduct fundamental re-examination of the criminal
justice system, it must be able to recruit the nation's best scientists and their
investigations must be free of any responsibility or commitment to current
methods of operation. It would be very difficult to recruit these people into the
government.
Q. 3a. How would it be funded and what would it cost?
A. It should be funded by government grant in a manner similar to the fund-
ing of the recently created Urban Institute. It should be started by the Justice
Department, but it should be free to accept additional funding from other sources.
especially foundations. The cost, of course, would depend on the size it reached, but
about five million dollars a year or 100 research staff, should be appropriate after
about a three-year buildup. Funding should be with a sufficiently long lead time,
about three years, to assure continuity of operation. The funding formula might
be 100% for the coming year, two-thirds for the second year and one-third for
the third year..
Q. 3b. How would the institute disseminate its results to local law enforcement
agencies?
A. There are a number of mutually complementary methods by which its
results would reach implementation. These include the following:
1. Primarily through close liaison among the institute's staff, the staff of
regional technical assistance groups, and internal operations research or tech-
nical groups in operating departments.
2. Publication and wide dissemination Of its reports directly to law enforce-
ment agencies.
3. Maintenance of its results in a central information center.
4. Creation of a new criminal justice research journal to which it would
contribute.
5. Distribution of a quarterly publication translating its research results into
operational recommendations.
Q. 3c. Would such an institute still be necessary if the institute as specified in
the Safe Streets Bill is authorized?
A. Yes. The National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
called for in the Safe Streets Bill is a governmental agency whose primary func-
tion is the dissemination of funds for research and development. While such an
agency would be likely to have an internal research component, it could not be
expected to be of the quality nor have the independence required in the research
institute discussed above.
Q. 4. Roughly speaking, what do you estimate it would cost per year to reverse
the increasing crime rate, or at least bring it into harmony with the population
rate? In what broad field would you apportion these funds (training, operations,
research, etc.) and why?
A. This seemingly simple question is the best argument for the need for a
major national research program. We simply do not know what are the effects
on crime of any of the various things we might do to try to control it. Further-
more, we do not even know if any degree of additional expenditures on law
enforcement would reverse the increasing crime rate without addressing some
of the more basic long-term social causes of crime. I wish I could even guess at
an answer, but I am unable to.
PAGENO="0313"
309
Q. 5. In your opinion, what type of assistance could Federal laboratories now
provide to law enforcement agencies or to the Department of Justice?
A. This is so broad a question that any general answer would be almost mean-
ingless. The number of possible contributions is limitless. All of the technical
roles discussed in the Science and Technology Task Force Report, for instance,
could possibly be handled by Federal laboratories, although in many cases, in-
dnstry, universities or other research institutions might be more appropriate.
The important point in my testimony is that a Federal laboratory could either
take on a specific project (just as could any other industrial, university, or non-
profit research organization) or it could establish a special private relationship
with a local, state, regional, or national criminal justice agency or technical
support organization. If it were to do the latter, then it would have to make a
commitment to become intimately familiar with the operating problems and to
hire the appropriate specialists on its technical staff.
Q. 6. To what extent should goverament laboratories test and evaluate equip-
ment and hardware in order to provide law enforcement agencies with perform-
ance information?
A. There should be at least one central laboratory that tests and evaluates
equipment and hardware for law enforcement agencies. This could well be an
existing government laboratory, but it need not necessarily be a government
laboratory.
Q. 6a. What was the basis for Task Force recommendation that an agency such
as the National Bureau of Standards "coordinate the establishment of standards
for equipment to be used by criminal justice agencies and to provide those agen-
cies technical assistance?" Was the Bureau consulted? Would this function be
handled by the institute if the Safe Streets Act is passed?
A. The basis for the recommendation for a standards agency derives from the
considerations mentioned in answer to Question 1. The needs are as follows:
1, To collect the needs of the dispersed police market and aggregate them into
a more cohesive demand, thereby providing better guidance to industry in con-
ducting its development.
2. To provide an opportunity for more sophisticated development of standards
than would be possible by any single police department.
3. To make the standards reflect police needs rather than only a manufacturer's
decision, where that decision may have been dictated more by existing products
or by a related but different market.
4. To provide standards to which all manufacturers would adhere, thereby
permitting interchangeability of modules, ease of modification, more free choice of
suppliers, and larger volumes of identical units (and hence lower unit costs).
The National Bureau of Standards was used only as an illustration of an
agency that could perform this function; no formal request was made of them,
although the possibility was discussed informally with NBS staff members.
Responsibility for creating this standards agency would be a responsibility of
the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice called for in
the Safe Streets Act. I would not expect, however, that the Institute would per-
form this function internally; rather it would probably contract with a govern-
ment or private organization.
Q. 7. To what extent do Federal policies and scientific and technological mat-
ters conflict with law enforcement needs (for example, possible PC/Cl decision on
frequency allocations as between television, police or citizens' communications)?
A. The most significant Federal technical policy area impacting on police is in
the FCC policies with regard to police radio communication problems. These
issues are discussed in detail on Pages 29~-33 and Pages 132-136 of the Science
and Technology Task Force Report. In addition, there is, of course, significant
interaction with much of the research and development performed by the Defense
Department (e.g., non-lethal weapons, command and control) since much of the
technology resulting from Defense could be applied to police problems.
Q. 8. It has been proposed that the directors of Federal laboratories have
fu%ds available to them to pursue research relevant to national problems (such
as crime) up to the point where proposals could then be submitted to the agency
having the primary mission responsibility. What do you see as the advantages
and disadvantages of such a coiwept?
A. From the viewpoint of crime control, there could only be `advantages to this
concept. The Federal laboratories are institutions of considerable technical
competence and I would think that if the scientists in them had the opportunity
to think about and do some research on the problems of crime control, we would
PAGENO="0314"
310
undoubtedly see some significant proposals being generated. I would hope to see
some of them working on problems such as fingerprint recognition, the develop-
ment of safe and effective non-lethal weapons, police car locators, inexpensive
radio scramblers and other technical concepts that may or may not derive directly
from their past technical experience. The only disadvantage that I would see in
such a concept is that this would be a diversion of resources from the needs of the
agencies supporting them. I would hope, however, that this process would result
in serving a greater national good.
Q. 8a~ How would Federal laboratory personnel be aware of the specific needs
of law enforcement agencies?
A. The laboratory personnel would become aware of the needs through the
normal processes of familiarization. They would meet with law enforcement
personnel individually and in groups, they would ride in police cars and observe
and participate in the operations directly. They would also, of course, read the
reports of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration
of Justice.
Q. 9. Insurance companies report research and standard setting in an effort
to lessen the losses due to fire. Why, in your opinion, hasn't this occurred in
the crime field, either with support by insura'ace companies or industrial trade
associations?
A. I believe that insurance companies should provide greater incentives to
people to protect their property. I do not know the exact amount of insurance
payment for stolen property, but it is probably not too large since the total value
of property other than automobiles reported stolen was $227.1 million in 1966, ac-
cording to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Thus, since thb insured losses are
relatively low, the insurance premiums are relatively low. It is probably dif-
ficult for the insurance companies to provide very strong economic incentives
for self protection when the rates are very low. There are, however, reductions
in insurance rates for various kinds and degrees of self protection. Furthermore,
standards are established and administered by Underwriters Laboratories for
various kinds of safes and alarm devices.
Q. 10. To what artent has the Task Force Report on science and Technology
been sent to Federal agencies?
A. The Task Force Report was distributed widely, with over 3000 sent free
across the nation, and another 12,000 purchased from the Government Printing
Office. It has been distributed widely to Federal agencies interested in problems
of law enforcement as well as those engaged in related research.
Q. lOa. Would it be useful to send the Task Force Report to Federal laboratory
directors and request them to match the report's identification of opportunities
for research and development with their capabilities?
A. Yes.
Q. 11. If it were decided to announce a Federal policy calling for positive and
energetic cooperation of Federal laboratory directors with law enforcement orga-
nizations, would it be desirable to concentrate the resulting relations with naP-
tional or reijional organizations of law enforcement qronps. or with individual
agencies? Why? What arc the major national and regional organizations?
A. The relationship of Federal laboratory directors should be with both na-
tional as well as local groups for different purposes. They should relate to
the national groups for identification of requirements which exist across the
nation and for widespread dissemination of their research findings. For simnie
reasons of convenience, however, they should relate closely to the individual
agencies in their immediate area so that they can become more intimately
familiar with the onerating problems and so that they c.n have a field laboratory
for testing under careful supervision and control the results of their investiga-
tions. The principal national professional police organization is the Interna-
tional Association of Chiefs of Police. The executive director, Mr. Quinn Tamm,
would be best able to identify the most useful regional groups.
Q. 12. To what ecotent would it be desirable to establish at one of the Federal
laboratories a clearinghouse to collect, hold, and send out information about
Federal research and devlopment that reasonably relates to problems of law
enforcement and crime control?
A. Such a clearinghouse is needed now and ~viIl certainly be needed after a
Federal research and development nrogram becomes more fully develoned. The
National institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice called for `by the
Safe Streets Act is `specifically charged with establishing such a clearinghouse.
It is not clear, however, that the best place for such a clearirghoiise woii1~ he
at a Federal laboratory. It `might well be more desirable to have it housed di-
PAGENO="0315"
31.1
rectly within the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
or with a private contractor experienced in such operations.
Q. 12a. If you are familiar withY the NASA Technology Utilization approach
and with that of the Office of State Technical Services in the Department of
Commerce, please comment upon the possibility of such systems to get informa-
tion to law enforcement agencies. Would you suggest other approaches?
A. I am not sufficiently familiar with the details of those approaches to com-
ment on them directly. I have indicated in my previous answers, `however, that
I feel `strongly that an important part of the problem in improving the tech-
nology of law enforcement depends critically on the dissemination of the in-
formation coming out of industry and the lahoratories and the translation-al-
most "hand holding"-to the operating needs of the individual departments. A
technical clearinghouse serves only part of the need. There must be people in
the loop. These people must be familiar with the technology (which in meet
cases is not terribly complicated) and with the operational problem's of police
departments. This must become a professional specialization. Some of the larger
departments will hire their own. In most cases, however, there will have to be
state or regional offices employing these specialists in technology transfer-
modeled after the agricultural county agent-who will provide the information
link between the technically sophisticated products and reports and the operat-
ing needs of the technically unsophisticated police departments.
Mr. DADDARIO. Our next witness is Mr. Quinn Tamm.
Mr. WAGGONNER. Mr. `Chairman, I do not know how many of the
members of the committee are personally acquainted with Mr. Tamm
or his background, but I doubt seriously that it would be possible to
bring a man before this committee more knowledgeable on this subject.
Mr. Tamm is an authority on this subject, and `he is a rather practical
man in everything he does. I consider this committee extremely for-
tunate to be able to receive his testimony.
Mr. DADDARIG. Thank you, Mr. Waggonner.
Mr. TAMM. Thank you, Mr. Waggonner.
(Mr. Tarum's biography follows:)
QUINN TAMM
Mr. Quinn Tamm, Executive Director, International Association of Chiefs of
Police, Inc., is a native of Seattle, Washington. He received his early education
in Butte, Montana, and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1934.
Mr. Tamin served in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D.C.,
from 1934 to 1961 in the capacities of Special Agent, Inspector and Assistant
Director. At the time of his retirement in January 1961 he was the Assistant
Director of the Laboratory Division. Prior to that time he had served as Assist-
ant Director of the Identification Division and the Training and Inspection Divi-
sion of the FBI.
Mr. Tamm is married and the father of two sons.
Mr. TAMM. I do have a prepared statement that I would be very
pleased to submit to the committee rather th'an to take the committee's
time to read the statement which has been given you.
Mr. DADDARIO. It may he submitted. You can proceed as you would
like.
STATEMENT OP QUINN TAMM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNA-
TIONAL ASSOCIATION OP CHIEFS OF POLICE
Mr. TAMM. I would just like to cover some of the high spots. I think
it might be more productive if I answered some of the questions which
you might extend. I think I know some of the answers.
I do represent the professional association of law enforcement ad-
ministrators of this country. The IACP consists of over 7,000 police
PAGENO="0316"
312
administrators, located primarily in this country `and in Canada and in-
cludes representatives of 60 of the free world countries, but our mem-
bership is concentrated in this country.
We are interested in the fact that the Federal Government has shown
a decided interest in assisting law enforcement, and we hope that it
will be possible to stimulate some practical and some substantial sup-
port from the Federaj Government.
We are doing things in police work in the same manner in which
my grandfather did them 50 years ago. We are patrolling beats. We
have had some improvement in communications. We have had some
improvement in means of transportation but we have not made prog-
ress from the research and development standpoint.
We think that there is a wide area in which much progress can be
made. There is no other segment of the country or its society which
is receiving more attention or more criticism than are the police
at the present time.
I am not going to be able to tell you anything new or startling.
I am just running through this very briefly and then I will be very
happy to answer any questions.
I was Assistant Director in charge of the FBI Laboratory for
many years and I am a confirmed advocate of the marriage of sci-
ence to law enforcement. I can assure you that the FBI Laboratory
has contributed tremendously to law enforcement and literally thou-
sands upon thousands of criminal cases have been brought to successful
culmination because of the existence of this Laboratory.
At the same time, literally scores of innocent individuals have been
exonerated of wrongdoing through the application of science by the
FBI Laboratory.
In reference to a statement by Congressman Roush and anything
further that I may say, let me temper my comments by stating the
fact that anything that I say that is not praiseworthy of the FBI
Laboratory or any of the FBI functions will be interpreted as
criticism. I believe this sincerely. I would be amiss if I didn't say so.
FBI Laboratory is not a research laboratory. The tremendous volume
of current cases which come to the Laboratory for analysis from the
scientific standpoint in order that the cases may be presented in court
prohibit the exercising of research facilities or the use of the FBI
Laboratory for the intensive type of research that is needed in law
enforcement, except in those instances in which the research has de-
veloped directly from actually examining of evidence. This is a very
simple fact. There are just thousands upon thousands of cases that
come in for analysis and for presentation in court. I think that the
FBI Laboratory has shown leadership in this type of work.
It, incidentally, is supplemented by State laboratories around the
country in many of the States. The major cities have their own labora-
tories. These are laboratories that are devoted exclusively to the
analysis of evidence in current cases pending in court and the research
is limited because of the personnel and the funds available.
Mr. DADDARIO. Is that how it should be? You say you support the
National Institute of Law Enforcement later on in this statement,
but should we, in fact, allow this to continue as it is. Recognizing that
these limitations do occur, should there be some scientific and research
PAGENO="0317"
313
capabilities within the Justice Department so that this work which it
is doing could then be done better, or would it be done better?
Mr. TAMM. I think it would be done better, and I do support the
concept of this National Institute of Justice.
Two years ago, in the magazine published by the IACP which 1
edit, I wrote an editorial pointing out the need for the concept
which you have, an institute very similar to the National Science
Foundation, separated from and supported by Federal funds, but also
giving the opportunity to industry to assist in this problem or to
foundation grants so that worthwhile research could be conducted in
a very, very necessary field.
From the practical standpoint of what has gone on as far as the
law enforcement and criminal assistant agencies, I feel that the first
step in this direction would be the National Institute of Justice, and if
it is a part of the Department of Justice, it should be a separate part
of the Department of Justice, but it could come under the supervision
of the Attorney GeneraL This must be done because we have to have
some research capability in law enforcement. Otherwise, we are not
going to meet this rising crime problem.
Mr. DADDARIO. We are talking about an either/or situation, and I
wonder if some experience this committee has had in this area might
help, When this subcommittee reviewed the work being done by the
National Science Foundation, there was a proposal that it ought to
be the only agency in Government really to do basic research.
As we examined that, we came to the conclusion that this should not
be so, that it should retain that unique function, but that the mission-
oriented agencies, and I would certainly put the Justice Department
in this area, ought to have a basic research competence of their own in
order to develop the quality necessary to do a better job. It seems
to me that analogy applies here. If we were to. apply that capa-
bility and then develop some other type of institute, we might accom-
plish much more than if we separate these functions as has been
suggested.
Mr. TAMM. I would. agree with you. I feel that there are a couple
of basic needs here. For instance, industry has done a tremendous
amount of development work. that could be applied to law enforce-
ment, but law enforcement has no way of getting access to this. I have
talked to a great many people on this subject, and there is a very
practical problem that exists as far as industry is concerned; that is
the market is limited, and they just aren't about to spend a great deal
of money and make a one-shot sale of radios to a police department.
They ask how many do you want. If you give every one of them a
means c~f radio commurncation when the man leaves the force and
there is a turnover in law enforcement, will you buy a new radio or
will you give the new man a used one.
Mr. RousH. Mr. Chairman?
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Roush.
Mr. Rousu. Mr. Tamm, I have a great appreciation for the FBI. I
served as a prosecuting attorney for 4 years, and I have used their lab-
oratories. I have used them with great confidence. The point I was
trying to make was that when we talk about the national effort in
crime control, I believe we are trapped by the thought that the FBI
PAGENO="0318"
314'
is capable of doing everything and that the FBI is doing everything.
This inhibits our efforts in this regard.
They are not doing everything, and they are not, within the limits of
their jurisdiction, capable of doing everything. I am glad to see that
we are finally getting away from this idea and are looking elsewhere
for the research and development of new equipment, techniques, and
methods.
We are also, I believe, coming to the ~int where we are ready to
jump into this area of criminal behavior, the use of the social sciences,
in our effort to control and prevent crime. The rehabilitation of the
criminal i's a very, very important area.
The FBI has taken the leadership in many areas, but I might dis-
agree that they have exercised as much leadership as they could have
in bringing us into new endeavors which would make a major con-
tribution to crime control and prevention.
Mr. TAMM. I spent 26 years in the FBI. I was in charge of the lab-
oratory, I was in charge of training; at one time I was in charge of
the identification divisions. I served as assistant director in charge
of three divisions.
I feel very strongly and have always felt that law enforcement is a
local program. It shouldn't be subjected to Federal domination. I could
say just send money and I feel I could do the best job of law enforce-
ment you ever saw, and I feel this strongly.
I am going `to `agree with you completely that there `has been too
great a reliance in this area on law enforcement. This is a local prob-
lem and local `law enforcement officers are beginning to realize this.
We have seen a tremendous change in the last 6 years. Law enforce-
ment should be cap'ahle or be `assisted in being self-sufficient in its own
community. Law enforcement must relate itself to its own community.
We have to reoognize the social changes througth which this country
is going. In this regard, we can only do it locally. We need assistance
from the Federal Government because of the nature of the tax struc-
tures of the cities.
I just returned `from `a meeting with what we call our major cities
group. It consists of the 26 cities with a population of over 500,000.
We meet twi'ce a year. We had 21 of the major cities in this country
represented.
We have tremendous problems because of the changes that `are `going
on in the tax structure of the urban community as to whether there
is money enough to meet this iocai problem. We feel that one of the
solutions is the assistance of the Federal Government in providing
needed fund's, but with certain direction from the police departments
themselves. We h'ave relied too crnudh on the FBI laboratories. We have
relied too much on the FBI training. This is a problem we have to
meet now and I `agree with you completely.
Mr. DADDARIO. In the interest of saving time, I think I should file
a general disclaimer for the committee and the witnesses. If there is
any criticism of the FBI and the `fact that is it is n'ot doing everything,
we need not every time we make a recommendation or a statement
apologize as a result.
Do you have furt~her questions?
Mr. RousH. I only wanted to say it `is not just a matter of limitation
of funds, but `also'a `limitation of talent.
PAGENO="0319"
315
Mr. TAMM. Very de~fIniteiy, sir.
The association that I represent at the present time is actively
engaged in trying to raise the level of educational background of the
law enforcement people of this country. We have been doing this
primarily through a Ford Foundation grant that was given to us to
stimulate the interest in colleges and universities in police admimstra-
tion throughout `the country.
When we starbed out with this particular grant from the Ford
Foundation 4 years ago, there were 60 e~lleges and universities in this
country, including junior colleges, that offered degree progams leading
to a degree in police administration. Through `the efforts we have
obtained with this grant, there are now some 200 schools, colleges,
universities, and junior colleges that are giving courses `within easy
reach of law enforcement where the law enforcement officers can
attain a college degree.
Next, within the 50 States we have .been advocating a minimum
educational period and a minimum training period for law enforce-
ment officers to be adopted by State legislatures throughout the coun-
try to see if we can't raise the standard of law enforcement.
I do not tell you that education is the whole answer to this problem.
I say that education can contribute a great deal to solving some of
the problems of law enforcement.
There are 23 States that have a minimum requirement of law en-
forcement officers of at least a high school degree and a minimum
amount of training before you put this officer out on the street to per-
form his duties.
We strongly recommend in a period of 7 years' from now that the
educational requirement for police officers be a junior college degree,
and 10 to 15 years from now a college degree.
This is not beyond the realm of possibility. We must bring to the
law enforcement agency more expertise and I think the law enforce-
ment agency is making a decided effort to do this.
Training facilities are extremely important. We have to make more
facilities available to educate and train police officers and the better
we get them trained the more quickly we are going to conquer crime.
Mr. DADDARIO. You say that things ought to be done on a local level,
and you use Los Angeles as an example. What it is doing or not doing
is not known to the New York Police Department. What makes that
so? Why isn't there better coordination since there are now so many
associations? Why is there the communications barrier?
Mr. TAMM. We are trying to do this now. Actually, no one knows
how much research has been done in this country by individtial police
departments.
As a part of our Ford Foundation grant, we had $25,000 to organize
a central clearinghouse for information of this type. The $25,000 over
a 4-year period doesn't give a great deal of funds to collect and dis-
seminate the material and did not provide an evaluation capability.
Research has been accomplished in many fields of police work-such
as the very simple problem of one-man patrol versus two-man patrol
in a patrol car. There are police associations and police agencies that
very staunchly oppose the utilization of one-man patrol because it is
considered dangerous. We don't know if it is dangerous or not
dangerous.
PAGENO="0320"
316
The Chicago Police Department experimented extensively in this
particular area and I think ended up with one-man patrol car.
There is all this information around the country and we are trying
to bring it together.
We are limited by funds. My association is supported primarily
by membership dues. We probably take in $125,000 a year in mem-
bership dues which is not very much money for which we publish a
magazme and an annual report but primarily we are supported by
grants and by the fact that we have the only staff of its kind in the
country.
We are a nonprofit organization and Internal Revenue takes that
rather seriously so our funds are limited to what we get, but there is
a need for research. It is a question of financing. The material is there.
Mr. DADDARIO. The limitation here is funding rather than anything
else. If you were to take that as `a beginning point, what would you
need in money and numbers of people?
Mr. TAMM. This is one of the reasons I am interested in the National
Institute of Justice. I think it could perform this function.
Mr. DADDARIO. The Institute goes far beyond that. You can get to
the ultimate point by having something you could accomplish imme-
diately at less cost. Could you isolate it?
Mr. TAMM. Yes. I am actively trying to raise money from industry
right now to finance a project of this type at a million dollars a year.
Mr. DADDAIiIO. If that information were made available, you would
then have a good idea of where to go from there.
Mr. TAMM. Where to start and how good it is.
Mr. DADDARIO. Is that your fundamental reason for supporting the
National Institute-the idea that it would allow that to `be accom-
plished?
Mr. TAMM. It would allow th~s to be accomplished; yes, sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. Your recommendation, then, is that this be a first
step?
Mr. TAMM. Yes, very definitely.
Mr. DADDARIO. How would you put it together from the standpoint
of making it effective?
Mr. TAMM. I originally approached this on the `basis of our own
association and the fact we do represent and we are in constant con-
tact with over 4,000 chiefs of police in this country. We communicate
with them by magazine, we communicate with them by a series of
meetings conducted around the country, we develop some material for
them. We are now developing a crime prevention program which is
privately financed, and we have the means and we have the means of
communication and we have never had any of our members deny us
access to any information whidh they had.
My primary job is strictly one of financing a project such as this.
I have knocked on the doors of as many industrial concerns as there
are in this country, and I have not been able to interest any in the
problem of law enforcement up until last year. Now the problem that
is facing the police today, the civil disorders, has made industry
conscious.
Mr. DADDARIO. Are there men who belong to police departments in
some of our cities who you would use as the personnel in order to bring
this information together?
PAGENO="0321"
317
Mr. TAMM. Very definitely, but I also have a staff of my own. We
have the only staff of its kind in the country. I have a staff of men
representing all types of law enforcement, local, State, county, Fed-
eral. We are doing research in the field of highway safety. We are
doing research in the field of juvenile delinquency and the police role
in this regard.
We are doing extensive research in community relations. We do re-
organization management surveys of police departments. Every man
on the staff has at least one college degree and a minimum of 10 years
law enforcement experience, so we have created a basic staff for this
type of work.
Mr. DADDARIO. The point of local law enforcement is a very valid
one, and you have gone to industry to get some help.
Mr. TAMM. Yes, sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. Have you ever considered the possibility of getting
some of the men whom you know to be highly qualified and have the
cities support them for a year or 2 years activity participating in this
kind of a venture?
Mr. TAMM. We have, but there is another factor that enters into this
from a practical standpoint. The men that we want in this particular
regard are in the upper echelons of local law enforcement agencies.
There is a very practical question of them being away a year or 2
years from their own assignment because during that period of time
the position of chief or superintendent of police may become availa~ble
and they would not be there to take advantage of it.
Mr. DADDARIO. This is one of the problems we have in government.
But we ought to be able to motivate a career opportunity.
Mr. TAMM. My experience has been to get young college trained
police officers who have started up the ladder, have had a period of 6
to 12 years in law enforcement.
When they get beyond 12 or 14 years in a law enforcement agency.
and get involved in a civil service pension, you have trouble attracting
them because they hesitate to change their living conditions and move.
Most of the police officers are located in the communities in which they
were born. This creates a problem, too, but I think we are making
progress.
The whole law enforcement problem is so tremendous now it is
necessary that we realize that we are going to have to do something
about it. We are going to have to do something about the image of
law enforcement in the community and give the law enforcement
agencies the tools to perform the job.
Mr. DADDARTO. As we have discussed this this morning, you put a
price tag on it of a million dollars a year.
Mr. TAMM. As a starter.
Mr. DADDARIO. But a start which could lead us properly down this
road so that when additional sums are available we would pretty
much be able to indicate why these expenditures should be made.
Mr. TAMM. That is right.
This is a tremendous amount, but it is badly needed. I think some-
body is going to have to decide where we are going and what we need.
Mr. DADDARTO. Mr. Waggonner?
Mr. WAGGONNER. You know I share your approach to local law
enforcement; but I wonder, in the eyes of the public, what really
93-201 O-68----21
PAGENO="0322"
318
constitutes local law enforcement. Your approach to the research in-
stitute is from the point of view of the IACP. Some people consider
not just the local police departments which are municipal in nature
to be local law enforcement, but also the county unit of law enforce-
ment as well to be local, and, as you are aware, the Safe Streets Act
gives certain authority to the States in this regard.
How would we meld local law enforcement to include the IACP,
the county sheriff's departments, or the National Sheriffs' Associa-
tion, and the State police, which exist all over the country, in a way
that you could distribute uniformly without a prejudiced or dis-
colored point of view whatever an institute would produce that could
conceivably be beneficial? For example, would the IACP have access
to all the findings of such an institute, the National Sheriffs' Associ-
ation have access, and the State police have access, and then let them
coordinate at their own level those findings which they could utilize
to advantage? Would that be proper?
Mr. TAMM. Yes, sir. We represent the State police organizations.
There are 49 State police organizations out of the 50 States. Hawaii
doesn't have a State police organization. The heads of most of the
county police organizations are memberS of IACP. We have some
sheriffs as members. The National Sheriffs' Association as you know
is very much in existence. They are neighbors of ours. We work ex-
tremely close with them.
There is going to have to be some formula as far as we can deter-
mine to decide how we do or how this money is going to go within
a particular State. It would be possible to have grants directly to
them, hut that the States themselves must have a plan to, in order
to distribute money. Law enforcement operations differ from State to
State so the State itself is going to have to set up a plan and an orga-
nization as to how they are going to handle these funds. This is proper.
The State is going to have to recognize that there are major cities.
The State must have a plan and I would say that since this involves
Federal funds the plan must be approved by the Federal Government.
We again are engaged in some locally financed programs. For in-
stance, we just signed a contract with the State of Florida to do a
statewide survey as to the relationship of State and-in Florida they
have a statewide enforcement bureau-the other law enforcement
agencies.
We did a survey in Dade County which involves 30 municipalities
to see if it wouldn't be practical to evolve a metropolitan system
which I think will save money.
Mr. WAGGONNER. Governor Kirk is going to try again?
Mr. TAMM. Actually, I don't know if Governor Kirk is responsible
for this. The newly created law enforcement bureau is the one we have
the contract with.
Mr. WAGGONNER. The point I am making is we are going to benefit
from whatever we do. We can't allow this thing to be a matter of a
local pride and jealousy that puts the different associations in con-
flict even though they are attempting to accomplish the same thing.
This is similar to the problem that different union crafts find them-
selves in from time to time when they become jealous of their own
prerogatives.
PAGENO="0323"
319
Mr. TAMM. I can't say that law enforcement has reached this ulti-
mate degree. We do work very closely with the National Sheriffs'
Association. We have members of our associations who are sheriffs,
some of the largest sheriffs' offices in the country.
We do have the problems that we do represent the police adminis-
trators. Their wishes are not always consistent with the association
that represents the echelons of law enforcement, but we are moving
closer and closer together.
Mr. RousH. One of the good practical programs of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration is the technology utilization
program. I have intimate knowledge of the working of the aerospace
research center at Indiana University. Industry tells them their needs
and interests, and they in turn gather the information which is the
innovations of their laboratories. They are able to supply to an
industry a specific technical brief which is of interest to that industry,
and I wonder if your organization or the FBI uses this serVice which
NASA provides for private industry?
Mr. TAMM. I don't know about the FBI. We have been in very close
contact with NASA for the last year in discussions of the material
that they have available. We had them, at our last annual conference,
provide us with material and printed literature that they think might
be of assistance to the police.
They have been most gracious in the way they have reacted and we
are maintaining extremely close contact with them because they have
available certain things that law enforcement can use, such as the
location of police officers on beats, and keeping track of an automobile.
These days when we can track a missile in outer space we ought to
be able to keep track of a man who is only two blocks from the police
station.
This is, I think, going to be very productive and we have been in
very close contact with them.
Mr. RousH. Thank you.
Mr. DADDARIO. We thank you for coming here this morning and be-
ing so helpful, I apologize for not being able to question you further,
because we dO' believe that will be more helpful. We will be in
touch with you with a series of questions, and see if we can work this
out for the record.
(Mr. Tanim's prepared statement follows:)
PREPARED STATEMENT OF QUINN TAMM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF PotaGE
Mr. Chairman and gentleman of the Sub-Committee. I am very pleased to
have the opportunity to once again appear before a distinguished Congressional
body interested in providing assistance to the law enforcement agencies of this
country. Nothing is more gratifying to the 7,000 police executives who make up
our Association than the fact that the United States Congress is showing so
much concern for the betterment of our police forces and the methods for ac-
complishing the police mission.
It is redundant, of course, for me to say that no area of the public safety has
been more neglected than the nolice insofar as research and development science
and technology are concerned. I would be remiss however, if I did not once
again re-emphasize this fact. As you know, the police number only about 4~0,O00
in this country, `but there is no other segment of its size in our society whkh
is receiving more attention and criticism than are the police. Bearing in mind
that the police forces constitute only some 400,000 individuals in our population
PAGENO="0324"
320
of 200,000,000, I believe this is an enviable or unenviable position, depending
upon one's viewpoint.
We should be envied if the attention begets constructive assistance; we shall
regard our position as unenviable if the results continue to be nothing but un-
helpful, generalized criticism.
I am not certain that I can impart anything new or startling to your delibera-
tions. I have read the task force report entitled, Science and Technology pre-
pared under the auspices of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement
and the Administration of Justice, and find it to be an excellent study and de-
lineation of needs and concepts.
As you may know, I was Assistant Director in charge of the FBI Laboratory
for many years and I am a confirmed advocate of the marriage of science of law
enforcement. I can assure you that the FBI Laboratory has contributed tre-
mendously to law enforcement and literally thousands upon thousands of
criminal cases have been brought to successful culmination because of the exist-
ence of this laboratory. At the same time, literally scores of innocent individuals
have been exonerated of wrong-doing through the application of science by the
FBI Laboratory. I can think of no example more compelling for the marshalling
of the resources of other existing Federal laboratories for assistance to the
police.
At the same time, I am a staunch supporter of the National Institute of Law
Enforcement and Criminal Justice sponsored by Representative James H. Scheuer,
House of Representatives, and Senator Edward M. Kennedy in the Senate.
The Institute envisioned by these gentlemen and those who support the Bill
is, I believe, the proper framework for bringing together the expertise existing
in the Federal government. I am not ëertain of the Bill's status at the current
time since the latest information I have is that its acceptance or rejection by
the United States Congress must depend upon its fate in the Judiciary Com-
mittee of the Senate. I fervently hope, however, that this Bill, either by itself
or as a part of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Assistance Act will
become a reality.
I feel that there lies submerged in the great massive complexity of our Federal
framework a great deal of scientific and technological knowledge which can be
applied to law enforcement if there were some way to bring this knowledge to
the surface and to the attention of the police executives who could make it work.
The Science and Technology Task Force Report made reference to such an insti-
tute as I am advocating and said, "The program would create inter-disciplinary
teamS of mathematicians, computer scientists, electronic engineers, physicists,
biologists, and other natural scientists, and would require psychologists, sociolo-
gists, economists, and lawyers on these teams." Let me say parenthetically, that
I should also like to see knowledgeable police executtves made a part of these
teams. As you gentlemen know only too well, the various professions I have cited
have little meaningful dialogue under any corporate banner, `but I am certain
that should they be brought together in one institute, law enforcement would
benefit immeasurably. I am certain that there must exist devices, weapons, com-
munications instrumentation, and other hardware which, because it was not ap-
plicable to Viet Nam has been shelved and is gathering dust when it could very
well be adapted to more efficient and more humane law enforcement. An institute
such as has been proposed would bring to the fore a knowledge and instrumenta-
tion which can be of assistance to the police. Please do not ask me for specific
examples; I am merely commenting upon what I believe to be a possibility.
As any number of authorities and reports have pointed out, we can with radio
signals, order an automation to dig a small trench on the moon. At the same time,
however, we cannot alter the actions or direction of a flesh and blood policeman
through radio contact who may be only two miles from his radio dispatcher
unless, of course, the patrolman is still in his vehicle. We can photograph a six-
inch rock on the moon under the most adverse conditions, but we cannot photo-
graphically detect a night-time intruder in one of our stores. There must be
some means and some funds available for the safe-guarding of our citizens' lives
and properties when we can perform such awesomely magnificent feats in outer
space.
I am encouraged that some thinking is going into this, however. I might point
out to you that the American Express C~ompany, for instance, is planning a $10,000
a year grant for use by police agencies in research and development projects. As
I say, this is highly encouraging.
PAGENO="0325"
321
With respect to some of the specific areas of your interest, I am not sufficiently
equipped nor knowledgeable enough about existing Federal laboratories to com-
ment fully. As far as police thinking is concerned, however, I can provide you
with some viewpoints.
At IACP headquarters we have a Research and Development Division and the
Director of this Division in the last several months has been in touch with a
ntimber of the better known Federal agencies whose technical expertise might
be applied to police work. This is a rather new venture for us, however, and we
have only begun to scratch the surface.
To reiterate, we do need and desire the unusual analytical and other technical
capabilities of Federal laboratories to supplement the resources of existing crime
laboratories. For instance, the Atomic Energy Oommission could provide us with
extremely valuable help `through their knowledge of radiation, x-rays, and nu-
clear bombardment. It is most important for the police to determine the age of
inks, documents, human remains and any number of other physical properties.
We need the means to discover contraband on someone's person or in vehicles
plying our highways. The government has done a tremendous amount of work
in the fields of fabrics, clothing and protective gear which might be applied to
police uniforms. This, I believe, has been handled by the Army and Air Force.
The Bureau of Standards could be of great assistance in evaluating and testing
police equipment such as vehicles and their components. Certainly, any number
of Federal agencies have devised equipment and vehicle automotive techniques
which could assist police in getting longer life from their vehicles.
A police officer is burdened with all kinds of heavy equipment as `he walks his
beat. We need an analysis of this equipment to make his burden lighter. Instead
of adapting civilian vehicles to police work, we need someone to devise a better
car or patrol vehicle which would be particularly helpful to police. We need a
means of electronically bringing to a `halt motor vehicles being driven at danger-
ously high rates of speed. These are some thoughts that occurred to us when we
received this invitation to testify, and I am certain that your deliberations
have covered other areas of need.
I do believe that we could well use the information centers which some Federal
laboratories have established. I believe there is a great need, as I said before,
to bring out for the benefit of the police data which must exist in `the Federal
government. For instance, I was told privately sometime ago that the Army has
been testing the various tear gases being used by police. There is a great deal
of concern among police and the public generally as to the possible lasting harm-
ful effects of such products as Chemical Mace. We receive inquiries on this con-
stantly, but we have neither the means nor the funds to analyze this substance,
and therefore, we are unable to allay the fears of police and the public alike. If
the Army has information of this type we should like to know what it is since the
tear gases are being used throughout the country. I say this is an example of
what could ben'efit the police if such information centers were set up.
As I have indicated, I believe it is not only feasible but desirable that the
capabilities of existing Federal laboratories be used when they coincide with
the research needed by police departments. Close working relations could be
created among the Federal laboratories and police departments by using the
Research and Development Division of the IACP as the conduit. We represent
the great majority of the police executives in this country and IAOP is the only
organization of its kind in this country. Being non-profit, educational and pro-
fessional in character, we would be eligible to fill this role
From what I have s'aid already, it is clear that Federal laboratories could `do
much to foster the setting ~f standards for police equipment and technical meth-
ods and procedures since police agencies in this country are necessarily mdc-
pendent un'der our form of government. It `has been the `practice that they experi-
ment and adapt equipment and techniques independently. This, of course, is un-
economical and unrealistic. One of our main problems is disseminating data about
equipment usage and techniques which may have been developed in a single de-
partment. The proper approach, of course, would be for a police agency to be
selected for a pilot project for the determination of standards and then have this
information disseminated properly. Once again I would recommend the ,IACP as
the appropriate pipeline for this activity.
I believe that once an appropriate institute is established for the marriage of
Federal science and police work, funds should he made available to all appro-
priate government laboratories for training specialists in scientific and teelmical
aspects of police work in order that they might have more kn~wledgeahle research
application of existing science to the police establishment.
PAGENO="0326"
322
Industry, of course, has a great stake in minimizing crime in this country. The
cost of crime, as you know, is some twenty-two billion dollars a year and industry
must share a part of this burden both in losses and insurance costs. The problem
here, however, is that millions of dollars must sometimes be spent by industry
in researching a particular product and devising a prototype. Unfortunately, how-
ever, the police market and budget are not sufficient to take advantage of what
is devised. Without a suitable market `industry very rightly has little interest in
devoting a great deal of research to the needs of police. For example, Congress-
man Scheuer arranged an exhibit last year of sophisticated equipment which
might be applicable to police work. I saw at the exhibition a device capable of
detecting narcotics by their peculiar odor. This detection `could `be accomplished
at some distance; in other words, the device could detect narcotics in the attic
of a building even though the investigator was not even on the grounds. I do not
recall the price tag on this instrument but it was far beyond what any police
agency could afford and as a matter of fact, probably the cost would even prohibit
use of the device by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. There must be funds which
could bridge this gap and I suppose the only solution would be Federal subsidy
of private industry research followed by Federal support for police purchase of
the instrumentation developed.
Gentlemen, I believe that what you are trying to accomplish is extremely im-
portant and is something which should be followed to a logical conclusion. No one
needs more help today than the police officer and the innocent citizen lie protects.
We are on the verge of being engulfed `by criminality. There i's no greater do-
mestic need than to `bring about a reversal of this trend.
QUESTIONS SUBMITTEI) TO MR. QUINN TAMM BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE
ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVE1~OPMENT
1. In his testimony Dr. Blumstein stated:
I think the equipment needed in operating police departments is almost all on
the shelf somewhere. It is a matter of choosing from what is available and tying
it together in the right way. Although there are some ecoceptions to that, basically
the equipment can be made available. The research that is needed is resea'rch into
the operations of this system, into social causes of crime, into the impact on crime
of the various things done in the name of controlling it... We know how to make
the radios. It is a matter of coagulating the market, organizing the demand, and
providing the `wherewithal to get the radios introduced.
(a) Would you agree with that statement? If not, what do you see as the basic
needs?
(b) If you do not agree, why, isv your opinion, are law enforcement agencies not
using the available technology?
(c) What can be done about it?
(d) Why, in your opinion, hasn't industry filled the void as it would with nor-
mal consumer demand~s?
1.. Dr. Blumstein's statement as quoted substantiates my testimony made before
your committee on April 4, 1968 in which I said, "I am certain that there must
exist devices, weapons, communications instrumentation, and other hardware
which, because it was not applicable to Viet Nam has been shelved and is gathering
dust when it could very well be adapted to more efficient and more humane law
enforcement." However, we must not allow ourselves to be lulled into a feeling of
false security. Continued research and advancement is necessary. I support the
program advocated in the science and technology task force report of the Presi-
dent's Crime Commission which called for an interdisciplinary team of profes-
sionals that would be brought together in one institute such as the National In-
stitute of Law Enforcement and Criminal lustice, which would provide us with
new methodology in our fight against the rising crime rate. Law enforcement
agencies are not using the available technology because the instruments that
have been developed are not being produced in such quantities as to make the
use of these instruments economically feasible for smaller departments. I am sure
that there are many underlying reasons which have steered industry away from
filling `this void. One very compelling reason is the relatively small market for
products that will be used exclusively by law enforcement agencies.
2. In your testimony you refer to the JAUP advocating that ininim1,L~m educa-
tional and training requirements be adopted by the state legislatures through-
out the country.
(a) What minimum educational and training requirements does the IACIP
reconvinend?
PAGENO="0327"
323
(b) Why do yoi~t consider this necessary?
(o) What are the 23 States that harve adopted miovimum requirements?
2. The minimum edueational and training standards recommended by the IAOP
are listed on Enclosure #1. Enclosure #2 is a copy of our Model Police Stand-
ards (Jonncil Program which details our suggested program. In brief, we consider
these standards are the minimum possible that will permit the forces of law en-
forcement to cope with the increasing complex social problems of this modern
age. A detailed explanation of our position is outlined beginning on page 12 of
the August 1967 issue of our POLICE CHIEF magazine, Enclosure #3.* Detailed
data on the states having police training legislation are listed on Enclosure #4.
MINIMUM EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
Oitizen of United States
21 years of age
Background Investigation
Fingerprint Record Check (no felony conviction)
Medical and Mental Exanitha.tion
Oral Interview
High School Graduate or Equivalent
MINIMUM TRAINING STANDARDS
Type
Hours
To be completed
following
appointment
Recruit
240
12 months.
Supervisory
Middle management
Executive
Advanced officers' course
80
100
100
40
Do.
Do.
Optional.
Every 4 years.
*~c1~u~s 2 and 3 may be found in the committee files.
PAGENO="0328"
STATUS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING LEGISLATION IN UNITED STATES AS OF FEBRUARY 1968
V
3 Fixed by commission Government improvement fund_ - -
9 200 (averaging about 400 hours Peace officers training fund (from V
in active practice) fines)
9 Fixed by council at 224 hours General fund V
(also special course of 1
week in fingerprinting and
administration.
12 Fixed by council at 160 hours do M
12 Fixed by police standards Direct appropriation M
council at 200 hours.
16 Fixed by board at 160 hours - Local governmental law enforce- V
ment fund.
14 Fixed by board at 160 hours - Law enforcement training fund; M
$2 from each criminal court
cost
Up to 6 weeks Local agencies M
10 Fixed by commission at 160 do M
hours.
11 240 hours; fixed by council... - State general fund M
11 130 hours 10 percent from general fund to V
LEO training fund (assessment
on criminal fines).
Arkansas Law Enforcement Training
Academy.
Commission on peace officer stand-
ards and training. Departmentof
Justice.
Colorado Law Enforcement Training
Academy, advisory council (acad-
emy operates under the super-
vision of the Colorado State
patrol.)
Each agency pays own expenses Municipal police training council.
Council may reimburse employing Police standards council.
agency for salary and expenses
while in school.
To local governments that choose Local governmental law enforcement
to participate $500, or 3.'~ actual officers' training board.
expenses.
Fund pays full cost of training Law enfoi~em~nt training board
(also advisory council, 4 members).
Academy to be constructed at Iowa Law Enforcement Academy
Camp Dodge, Iowa. Council.
Police training commission (in
executive department).
Municipal police training council.
Michigan Law Enforcement Officers'
Training Council.
Number
State of
members
Hours of instruction-basic Funded
course
Mandatory
through- or Provides- Name of governing body
voluntary
Arkansas: Ch. 526, ArkansasStatute
(passed 1965)
California: Sec. 13500, Penal Code
(passed 1959)
Colorado: Ch. 263 (passed 1965)~~
Connecticut: Connecticut Statutes
ch. 104, sec. 7-294 (passed 1965).
Florida (passed 1967)
Illinois (passed 1965)
Indiana (passed 1967)
Iowa: Ch. 80.10, Iowa Statute
(passed 1967).
Maryland: Sec. 70-A, art 41, Anno-
tated Code of Maryland (passed
1966).
Massachusetts (passed 1964)
Michigan: SB. 30 (passed 1965)__ --
Food, lodging, and expenses during
school.
Mandatory for reimbursement 50
percent of salary and living ex-
penses during school.
Each agency or trainee pays $50
toward cost of basic course $15
for special course.
Appointing authority pays wages
and reasonable expenses.
Mandatory for reimbursement to
these governmental bodies that
choose to apply, 50 percent
salary, 50 percent expenses
(overnight).
PAGENO="0329"
Minnesota: Ch. 626.461, Minnesota 15 Fixed by superintendent, State legislation and municipal V State pays tuition, city or county
Statute (passed 1959). 80-160, 160-200 (in governments, 7 agencies pays per diem and regular salary.
1968-69). provide training.
Mississippi: Sec. 8086-01 et seq. Fixed by academy at 3 weeks_ Law Enforcement Officers Training V Commission of public safety may
(passed 1964). Academy fund. maintain a training academy_
Montana: Ch. 52, sec. 75, Code of 9 Academy open 3 weeks during Local agencies V Local agencies pay salaries and ex-
Montana (passed 1959). year. penses during training.
Nevada: Ch. 216, Nevada revised 5 72 hours set by commission_ - State department of education M Commission has adopted standards
statutes (passed 1965). and title 1, Higher Education and required training to be
Act of 1965. obtained.
New Jersey: 52:178-66 New 9 190 (actual classes exceed State general fund, $260,000 M Departments pay salaries during
Jersey Statutes (passed 1961 this) 240 hours, effective requested for 1968-69. training.
(v); passed 1965 (m)). Mar. 1, 1968.
New York: Sec. 480-484 executive 8 240 hours including 30 State general fund M 1 Payment of training expenses not
law, New York State, art. 19F, hours supervised field provided in act.
New York Statutes (passed training.
1959).
North Dakota: Ch. 12-61, North 9
Dakota Code (passed 1967).
Ohio: Sec. 109-71 Ohio Statutes 9
(passed 1966).
Oklahoma: (passed 1966) 5
Oregon: Oregon revised statutes 9
1.620, passed 1961 (v), passed
1967 (m).
Rhode Island: Ch. 42, sec. 1-25, None V Local agencies pay salaries. No Municipal police school (under
Public Laws of Rhode Island tuition. State pays training, superintendent of State police
(passed -). at University of Rhode Island).
Tennesseo: Ch. 6, sec. 38-801 V Institute charges agencies for cost Tennessee Police Training Institute.
Tennessee Statutes (passed 1963). of training expenses.
Texas: Senate bill 236 (passed 12 140 hours General fund $67, 356. in V Cities pay cost of training. Commission on law enforcement
1965). officer standards.
South Dakota: State government 7 80 hours and 2 days firearms General fund V Advisory commission to assist Training advisory commission.
ch. 161, sec. 2 (passed 1966). and 10 hours first-aid. division of criminal investigation.
`Cities over 1,000,000 excluded. 2 As to cities over 1,000.
Fixed by commission at 160 State general fund, $5,000 per M
hours effective 1968. year.
120; set by council Not provided in act M
120 hours Legislative appropriation M
Fixed by board at 120 hours - Police standards and training M 2
account in general fund.
State appropriation
Police officer training advisory board
(under superintendent, bureau
of criminal apprehension).
Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers'
Training Academy.
Montana Law Enforcement Academy
Advisory Board.
Peace officers standards and training
commission.
Police training (in department of
law and public safety).
Municipal police training council
(in office for local government),
municipalities pay for ammuni-
tion. Professionals get about $20
per session.
North Dakota Combined Law
Enforcement Council.
Peace officers training council (in
attorney general's office).
Council on law enforcement educa-
tion and training.
Board on police standards and
training.
Officer must be certified in order
to carry a firearm.
Payment of training expenses not
provided for in act.
Council may provide for tuition or
scholarships aid.
Board may require certification of
existing officers.
PAGENO="0330"
326
3. Insurance companies support research and standard setting in an effort to
lessen the losses due to fire. Why, in your opinion, hasn't this occurred in the
crime field, either with support by insurance companies or industrial trade
associations?
3. IACP does receive financial support for its work by insurance interests such
as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Prudential Life Insurance
Company, industrial trade associations such as the American Trucking Associa-
tions and the Automotive Safety Foundation, and various industrial corpora-
tions. We were supported in our work in the personnel standards area by a Ford
Foundation grant. In relationship to the overall requirement for law enforcement,
however, this total support has been modest, and concentrated in IACP.
4. Approwimately how many poUce departments are there in the United States?
Does the IAUP have any breakdown on the size of these departments (those
under 25 men, those under 50 men, etc.) and the average budget for each size?
4. It is estimated that there are some 40,000 police departments in the United
States, 25,000 of which are in communities of less than 1,000 population. The
Municipal Yearbook, Library of Congress Catalog Card #34-29121, published
by the International City Managers Association, contains a survey which gives
data for police departments in cities over 10,000 population. Data on 1,022 police
departments are given, including information on the size of the department and
the budget for each department. (The data are not summarized.)
5. Conld you describe the work the IAUP is doing with NASA's Office of Tech-
nology Utilization?
(a) Please submit a list of the 43 areas submitted to NASA where technology
could benefit law enforcement requirements.
(b) How were these 43 needs identified by the IA(JP?
(c) What areas is NASA investigating, and with what result?
(d) What does the IAUP plan to do with the information it receives from
NASA?
5. IACP staff personnel has had a series of meetings with persons from NASA's
Office of Technology Utilization including Mr. George J. Howick its Director.
The purpose of these meetings was to identify those areas of technological ad-
vancement which may be of importance and use to the law enforcement com-
munity. We were asked to provide NASA with a list of areas for examination.
Literature searches of the NASA information resources were conducted on the
development of extended range personal radio communications and light-weight
thermal clothing to eliminate the need for heavy cumbersome clothing. As a
result of these searches, two documents were forwarded to us for our review.
After reviewing these documents, we will contact manufacturers for the purpose
of determining the feasibility of producing a sufficient amount of these items to
benefit the law enforcement community. A list of the 43 areas identified is
attached as Enclosure #5.
(Enclosure 5)
MEMORANDUM
Date: December 8, 1967.
From: Roy MeLaren.
Subject: NASA Program Suggestions.
To: Ron Smith.
Topics proposed for further study are as follows:
1. Real `time display of status and location of patrol cars and other units in
the field with automated control programs to permit guided random patrol,
possibly eliminating beat constrictions'.
2. Automatic scanning of license plates on vehicles passing particular points,
such as major bridge on a controlled access roadway, much as railroad cars
are now scanned. The scanning device's output would `be searched by computer;
any "hits" would be immediately furnished a control point.
3. Development of extended range personal radio communications, so that
each police officer, whether in car or on foot could:
a. be contacted individually
b. be contacted as a group
c. have 3-way voice capability (that is, station to officer, officer to station,
and officer to officer).
d. direct original messages to discrete addresses
4. Crime and traffic forecasting system similar to techniques used in marketing.
5. Personnel testing techniques which would more concisely indicate pro-
motional potential.
PAGENO="0331"
327
6. Use of infra-sound at 8 cycles per second as a non-lethal weapon and riot
control device.
7. Miniaturized radar to detect persons in fields, woods, buildings and/or
houses, coupled with an automatic housing spotlight.
8. Device to automatically record (in printed form) officer assignments and
all miscellaneous activities.
9. Miniaturized recorder permitting automatic transmission of reports to
central point for typing, with personal radio-data channel.
10. Device to temporarily incapacitate a person without permanent injury.
11. Device to render automobile, scooter, motorcycle and/or helicopter com-
pletely silent.
12. Low light viewing devices in a price range which could be afforded and
in a configuration which could be handled by police officers. (See No. 7.)
13. TechnIques for use in the examination of physical evidence which exploit
neutron activation analysis.
14. System for automated fingerprint identification.
15. Police microwave systems which are designed to do a police communica-
tions job with economy foremost in mind.
16. Secure communications at a suitable privacy level for law enforcement.
17. Further exploration of spread spectrum, random access techniques for
police communications.
18. Development of high speed facsimile equipment having fingerprint trans-
mission definition for use between headquarters and substations.
19. Examination of digital overlay techniques to provide the movement of
(lata, etc., over existing radio channels.
20. Miniature transmitters-which can be monitored by a remote station for
surveillance (RDF) purposes.
21. Remote visual security scanners (self-contained) for business and other
high hazard areas. Such scanners should be sensitive to light and heat, yet not
be activated by small animals. For example, scanners would be self-activating and
would transmit a picture of an alley behind a series of medical offices to a remote
monitor at police headquarters. Patrol personnel could be dispatched and guided
by such an instrument. Such scanners could also be mounted on patrol vehicles
for use during hours of darkness, thus persons and suspicious vehicles in dark
shadows would be quickly located. Such scanners could be installed on rooftops of
a group of stores, buildings, or warehouse areas to prevent rooftop burglaries.
22. A computerized library of criminalistic formulas which would be placed
in several world-wide locations. Information relative to specific tests and/or pro-
cedures would be immediately available. (Data retrieval-information exchange.)
23. A chemical which can be discharged with direction by a police officer that
will incapacitate without the undesirable discomforts of liquid tear gas, and
which will not require penetration of the skin. (Related to No. 10.)
24. Blood coagulants that can be locally applied to stop arterial bleeding.
25. Small collapsible, lightweight ladders that can be carried in the trunks of
police vehicles, which would enable police access to rooftops of buildings.
26. Small lightweight flashlights with powerful adjustable beams variable from
pinpoint to flood. (See also No. 12.)
27. Waterproofing materials, yet porous~ to impregnate police uniforms to eliini-
nate the need for heavy cumbersome raincoats and boots
28. Lightweight thermal clothing to eliminate need for heavy cumbersome cold
weather clothing.
29. Computerized police assignment plans that will designate the most practical
quadrant or line cover for any given location in a community. While taking a rob-
bery report over the telephone the dispatcher would simply punch in the address
of the incident and an assignment cover would be produced in a second.
30. Portable lightweight metal detectors for scanning suspects at a distance
on the street for possible concealed weapons.
31. Inexpensive hidden miniature cameras capable of taking sharp photos with
available light. These could be placed in strategic locations inside stores and con-
nected with a silent alarm. When officers arrived at the scene of a robbery-if the
responsible(s) had already left-there would be developed photographs of the
suspects waiting for review and transmission.
32. A chemical that could be administered by police officers to reduce shock
of severely injured or burned persons to reduce the possibility of death.
33. Development of edor identification techniques so that an individual can be
identified through odors lingering at a crime scene. (See No. 38.)
PAGENO="0332"
328
34. Highway separators and crash rails of a resilient material or some other
substance to replace present crash rails and fencing.
35. Development of TV "instant" reply of crime and traffic scenes so patrol
officers, evidence technicians can take pictures used by investigators and labora-
tory personnel. (See No. 31.)
36. Back-pack propulsion units for patrol service.
37. Better radar which can calculate the speed of vehicles driving toward police
vehicle or crossing in front of a moving police vehicle.
38. Improve senses through physical or chemical processes.
a. Vision: better night vision by using infra-red goggles or lenses or taking
chemical such as bilberries.
b. Hearing: improved and selective hearing discerning various noises such
as sonar detectors, identification of certain noises which activate warning
devices.
c. Smell: improve ability to smell various conditions, burning wood, metal
cutting tor~cb, the presence of a person in a building being searched, or even
the identity of individuals. (See No. 33.)
39. Vehicle incapacitator: ability to direct a beam at a specific vehicle, causing
the engine to stop running.
40. Ability to scan city and identify specific vehicles, their location, ownership,
etc. Keep this data for short duration so when a crime is reported, the time and
place can be checked to see what vehicles were in the area.
41. A colorless "tagging" material which leaves a subliminal "odor" trail and
which may be sprayed upon a fleeing suspect or vehicle. This should remain for a
period of two or three days and should permit subliminal odor tracing by instili-
mentation. By this manner officers could avoid using deadly force in attempting to
apprehend fleeing sub~ects.
42. The development of a cartridge similar to a bullet which may be fired by
the officer at a subject. This cartridge would have the effect of causing instant
paralysis of the subject. This paralysis should last but a few minutes. (Related
to Item 10.)
43. Development of a world-wide data system comparable to N.O.I.O., using
such advanced techniques as satellite communications and optional scanning of
fingerprints and photographs in support of immigration processing and interna-
tional police operations.
6. Based upon your eceperience with running a clearing house on law enforce-
ment research, how useful is this concept as you are presently performing it?
What advantages and disadvantages do you see in tying such a function to a
Federal agency that already is performing a clearing house function for scientific
and technical information?
6. We are now witnessing the most wide-spread "information explosion" in our
nation's history. The law enforcement profession is feeling the pains of this
recent proliferation of research information, and we have found that it is most
beneficial to have a central depository and place of dissemination for reference
material relative to police science, criminalistics, law enforcement, and police
administration. The advantage of this type of specialized clearinghouse is obvious.
The researcher only has to inquire of one source for information regarding law
enforcement. I see no advantage in tying this information source into the Federal
Clearinghouse for Scientific and Technical Information. It does not seem to me
that the Clearinghouse can be as responsive to the needs of law enforcement as
a specialized law enforcement center.
7. As- we understand the functions of the FBI's laboratory, it is primarily a
servicO laboratory devoted to the analysis of evidence and to whatever research
and development is needed for its services. To what ecvtent would it be desirable
for this laboratory to seek a leadership position in the forensic and police
sciences?
7. As I have stated, the FBI laboratory has contributed tremendously to law
enforcement and literally thousands upon thousands of criminal cases have been
brought to successful culmination because of the existence of this laboratory.
At the same time, many individuals have been exonerated of wrong-doings
through the application of science by the FBI laboratory. I think this service
should~ be expanded.
8. Roughly speaking, what do you estimate it would cost per year to reverse the
increasing crime rate, or at least bring it into harmony with the population rate?
In what broad fields would you apportion these funds (training, operations,
research, etc.) and why?
PAGENO="0333"
329
8. It is estimated that our annual crime costs are in excess of $20 billion, and
only some $2.4 billion of that cost is for police services. At the same time, the
Department of Commerce tells us we, as a nation, spent $28.7 billion on recrea-
tion in 1966, and we are averaging over $18 billion per year on research and
development, little or none of it for law enforcement. I believe it impossible to give
you a definitive estimate on costs per year to reverse the crime rate. I do feel,
however, that the funds authorized by Title I of the "Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1967" should provide initial resources towards this end.
0. It has been proposed that the directors 01 Federal laboratories have funds
available to pursue research relevant to national problems (such as crime) up to
the point where proposals could then be submitted to the agency havinq the pri-
mary mission responsibility. What do you see as the advantages and disadvan-
tages of such a concept?
(a) How would Federal laboratory personnel be aware of the specific needs of
law enforcement agencies?
9. I would suggest that it would be quite useful to have funds available for the
directors of federal laboratories to pursue research relevant to the reduction of
crime. Federal agencies which are geared and structured towards research mat-
ters would not have the problems of staffing, and other incidental matters that
would be Involved in beginning new research either by police departments or
private institutions. I would suggest that the IACP should be the organization
through which the specific needs of law enforcement agencies can be identified.
Mr. DADDARIO. Even though we are in a rush, I wonder if you
could come forward, Mr. English, and in the `$hort `time remaining,
give us the highlights of your statement.
STATEMENT `OP JOSEPH M. ENGLISH, DIRECTOR OP THE FORENSIC
SCIENCES LABORATORY, INSTITUTE `OP CRIMINAL LAW AIfl)
PROCEDURE, `GEORGETOWN U~VERSITY
Mr. ENGLISH. Thank you, Mr. Ohairm'an.
It is certainly an `honor `and a privilege to participate in your dis-
cussions concerning Federal Government laboratories which have
scientific and technical skills applicable to the forensic sciences, which
are the disciplines of `the crime laboratory. The crime laboratory
disciplines `include document analysis, firearms and tool-mark iden-
tification, bloodstain identification, identification of stains due to other
body fluids, `hair an'd fiber analysis, `analyses of paints, glass fragments,
soils, dust and `other particulate evidence, extraction `and analysis
of drugs and poisons found in biological `specimens, `analysis of inks
and dyes, `and others.
Unlike many who `have spoken `here before me, whose organiza-
tions have long since established enviable records of accomplishment,
the National Bureau `of Standards, for instance, which observes its
67th birthday thi's month, `the President's Scientific Advisory Com-
mittee, the National Aeronautics and Sp'ace Administration, `and the
others, I represent `an installation which is not yet a year `and `a h'alf
old. Th'at you of thi's subcommittee of the Congress should `have sought
us out is gratifying.
If I may, I would like t'o explain what the Forensic Sciences
Laboratory is. The laboratory came into existence on October 19,
1966, a's a result of the combined' effort of the Ford Foun'd'ation `and
Georgetown University. This effort produced the Institute of Criminal
Law and Procedure, of which the F'oren'sic Sci'ences Laboratory is a
part.
PAGENO="0334"
330
The laboratory is based in the Law and Medical Centers of george-
town University and is involved with much of the remainder of the
university complex.
The laboratory has undertaken three missions. These are concerned
with (1) identifying that research product in the hard sciences and
in technology which has application to the unsolved problems of the
forensic sciences, (2) dissemination of this knowledge as well as of
the best current procedures through training and education `as well
as pt~blicatioii, and (3) providing of service in cases which relate to
research interest and in which injustice may otherwise be likely to
occur.
The identification and application of new knowledge in medical,
biochemical, toxicological, nuclear, and space science research which
ha's not or has inadequately found its way into the crime laboratory
appear to be the `aspects of the laboratory's work which is of prmcipai
interest to this subcommittee in its present investigation. I shall,
therefore, concentrate on these.
Many such scientific advances do exist, advances which are not
being used by crime laboratory experts. Advances frequently are not
used by police laboratories for a number of reasons:
1. The people doing the research have not been trying to solve
police problems, hence extension of scientific investigation oriented
to the solving of problems of identification as to source is not
undertaken.
2. The police `are not aware of new knowledge in the sciences
which may be of help to them and are not `trained to use it.
3. Researchers in t'he `h'ard sciences are not aware of the needs
of the crime laboratory or lack familiarity with the current state
of the art in the forensic sciences; for example, `an intimate ac-
quaintance with the procedures of handwriting identification may
help a computer software specialist introduce a new element of
precision to this field. Lacking this familiarity, there m'ay be a
tendency toward overly complex solutions to this and comparable
problems.
4. The community as a whole has not devoted, much conscious
attention to the needs of the crime laboratory disciplines.
On this last-mentioned point, it would not surprise me to find
that no one of the directors `of the federally run research and develop-
ment operations really knows of the needs of the forensic sciences.
To illustrate, the National Register of S'~ientific and Technical
Personnel does not identify forensic scientists as su'ch. A list of over
50 currently active scientific specialists in the forensic sciences was
searched `against the National Register. Of the more than 50 names,
indluding many outstanding men in this field, only seven were found
to appear in the Register under any category.
Obviously, there is little awareness that the field exists at al'l on
the part of that segment of the scientific community which maintains
rapport with the Federal Government's efforts in the sciences. The
same is true `among the private foundations, where there is no tradi-
tion of support `for the forensic sciences.
It would appear that in exploring the research and development
potential for the `forensic sciences of existing Federal laboratories,
PAGENO="0335"
331
care must be observed to avoid considering solutions before first becom-
ing fully appraised of the nature and extent of the problem.
You ask what my experience has been in obtaining collaboration and
assistance from Government laboratories which have scientific and
technical skills applicable to forensic analysis.
Since, initially, the efforts of the laboratory were concentrated on the
exploration of the capabilities of Georgetown University and those of
private and local government facilities and talent, it has beeii only
relatively recently that investigation of the Federal Government's
scientific capabilities has been undertaken.
Those contacts which have been effected with Federal agencies have
been very fruitful. The National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion has been engaged in highly advanced studies in instrument anal-
yses `for moon and planetary surface investigations which have special
importance for the analysis of particulate evidence on the mother
planet.
NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center scientists of the Laboratory
for Theoretical Studies there also have been doing some very signifi-
cant work in the area of experimental design development and evalu-
ation and the development of mathematical procedures to correct for
machine and transmission induced degradation c~f analytical data.
Also, their work in X-ray fluorescence and other analytical procedures
have been very interesting. Further, work at NASA-Goddard in telem-
etry of instrument readout and its significance in terms of the needs
of police investigating officers at the crime scene show exciting possi-
bilities to farseeing people in police work.
However, NASA-Goddard cannot spend from its budget any funds
to develop these obvious potential breakthroughs in crime control.
Georgetown can afford it with its Ford funds to supply only a tiny por-
tion of the total funds needed to develop the promise of this work into
actual hardware and know-how for police.
Explorations by the Forensic Sciences Laboratory `at the Harry
Diamond Ordnance Laboratory, the Armed Forces Institute of Path-
ology, and `other Federal scientific facilities as well `as many private
laboratory facilities have resulted in much assistance and encourage-
ment during the discussions which have taken place.
However, discussion does not produce hardware. Nor does it educate
and train police laboratory experts in its use.
In `my investigations so far, I have yet to find any Federal labora-
tory facility, and I must interject `at this point that I have just begun
this phnse, I have yet to come upon a facility which had fund's it could
commit to the work necessary to develop the promise of work already
done so that it would be useful `as a police `aid or a police `crime labora-
tory aid. Unfettered fund's in significant amounts `at the disposal of the
directors of Federal laboratory facilities may help matters. But I `am
not at `all `certain that they will in view of the mission orientation
which i's so evident in the Federal Government establishments `as re-
flecsted in the testimony of others who have preceded me here, `and in
view `of the almost total lack of awareness throughout the American
community, public and p'rivate sectors alike, that there is `such a thing
as `scientific crime `detection and `control `a's `a `legitimate `area for re-
search effort and support.
PAGENO="0336"
332
A policy statement may well help insofar as the application of
Federal laboratory cap:aJhuli'ties to the forensic sciences is concerned. I
certainly believe one is long overdue. I believe also that positive
encouragement on the part of Government to stimulate Federal lab-
oratory directors to commit funds in this direction is long overdue.
Obviously there are details and implications which must be studied
before such `a statement can be issued and implemented. The `study of
these details `and of the implications should be undertaken forthwith.
Such a study should take into consideration all potential interrela-
tionships-Government and local, Government and university, `Gov-
ernment `and police, police and university, and others `and should
examine into management an'd other organizational `aspects of in-
suring maximum benefits to the Nation from research efforts
expended.
The desirability of a Federal laboratory's establishing within `its
existing information system a clearinghouse or information center on
research and development relating to crime control `an'd the improved
administration of justice depends upon a `number of considerations.
Certainly a clearinghouse for this type of information is badly
needed. So i's training in the use of the needed information badly
needed. The `agency eventually charged with t'his responsibility will
have to perform a function similar to those of the Education Research
Information Center in the TJ.S. Office of Education, the Communica-
ble Diseases Center, the Armed Forces Technical Information Agen-
cy, and Medlars. The `operations of these `organizations whi~h have `had
salutary influences on educational, technological, and medical :research
an'd the application of the product of research efforts in education,
technology, and medicine should provide important guidance for the
establishment of such `a center.
Whether there is an existing `agency capable `of taking on this func-
tion, I am not prepared to say `at this time, but let us find out `and let
us get going. `Crime, like time `an'd tide, is not standing `still.
Mr. DADDAmO. Thank you very much, Mr. English.
You pointed out that there are in certain of our national labora-
tories significant information which, if utilized, could be of tremen-
dous help. Questions of jurisdiction and funding have been discussed
in these hearings, `and if this information could `be made known we
should be `able t'o take `advantage of it.
Mr. ENGLISH. `That is right.
`Mr. DADDARIO. We felt `that this was so. It `h'as `been indicated in a
few places that it is, `and you give us additional `information about it.
Your testimony i's very `significant `because `obviously if information
is obtained, even thoug~h it is `a byproduct of a mission-oriented labora-
tory, we ough't `to be able to handle it and to take `advantage of it. This
is one of the objective's o'f this committee.
I apologize that we `have to leave because you have `some very im-
portant information, and I `hope that `we might get in touch with you
with some further questions for the record.
Mr. ENGLISH. Certainly; yes sir.
Mr. DADDARIO. We would `like to `probe `into this further because it
is extremely helpful.
PAGENO="0337"
333
QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO MR. JOSEPH M. ENGLISH BY THE SUB-
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
1. It has been proposed that the directors of Federal laboratories have funds
available to pursue research relevant to national problems (such as crime) up
to the point where proposals could then be submitted to the agency having the
primary nvission responsibility. What do you see as the advantages and dis-
advantages of such a concept?
(a) How would Federal laboratory personnel be aware of the specific needs
of law enforcement agencies?
1. The providing of uncommitted funds which would be available to directors
of Federal laboratories to pursue research relevant to National problems, such as
crime, up to the point where proposals could be submitted to the agency having
primary responsi~bility would appear to offer a number of advantages. It should
speed the transfer to the forensic sciences of new knowledge and technology
from the many disciplines represented in these laboratories. Disadvantages are
not ~apparent at this point in time. However, problems are predictable. These for
the most part would be problems of management.
(a) Federal laboratory personnel could ~e made aware of the specific needs
of the Forensic Sciences in several ways. One possible way would be to institute a
Joint Congressional Science and Technology Utilization group. Such a group
should keep Federal laboratory personnel aware of the needs of law enforcement
agencies and in turn should keep law enforcement agencies acquainted with new
developments in the sciences. An example of a Federal agency which has already
demonstrated a concern that their research product serve the broader National
needs is the Technology Utilization Division of NASA. NASA utilization teams
have been organized for specific areas of possi~ble application of NASA-developed
technology. To insure optimum screening of the total Government research com-
munity, a liaison team designed for this purpose would appear to be essential.
The team, I believe, should be based in the Legislative branch. The necessary
funding of specific undertakings, I ~elieve, should be managed by this group with
the aid of an advisory panel drawn from among the outstanding people in the
Forensic Sciences as well as from among those in pertinent scientific disciplines
and the Law Enforcement profession. To attempt to operate without such a
utilization team presents serious problems. First, at this point in time, there does
not appear to be a realistic base for budgeting the amounts which should be
awarded to each of the many participating agencies. Second, making this the
concern of all research facilities means that we make it the prime concern of
none. On the other hand, the existence of funds which a Federal research agency
might court and the leverage provided by the utilization group's Congressional
base would tend `to form a powerful combination which, in my opinion, would
bring results far more quickly and efficiently in dealing with agencies of the
Executive Branch than another Executive agency created for this purpose is
likely to be able to accomplish.
The function of such `a Congressional group would be distinct from that of the
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) and the Institute of
Criminal Justice (ICJ), whose responsibilities are far broader, involve distri~bu-
tion of information and support to police throughout the Nation. The LEAA
and the ICJ would `be keenly interested consumers of the output resulting from
the Congressional group's activities within the Government research community.
2. In your testimony you indicate that certain work in government laboratories
could contribute to the forensic sciences but this would require that the labora-
tory directors have funds in significant amounts at their disposal to pursue this
work. Would you cite specific ewampies of the work you arc referring to and
how much money you csti~niate would be required to carry the work forward?
2. Examples of work in Government research laboratories which could con-
tribute to the Forensic Sciences include the following areas of scientific investi-
gation which have been supported by the Atomic Energy Commission, the
Department of Defense, NASA and others.
Work with radio isotopes and nuclear generators for use in chemical analysis,
such as: alphas excitation X-ray fluorescence systems, portable neutron gen-
erators and californium as a source of thermal neutrons which may bring neutron
activation analysis within reach of more police department crime laboratories.
Advanced detector systems employing advanced solid state detectors and
light weight, highly reliable, low power multi-channel analyzers, as well as the
miniaturized ion sputterhig source mass spectrograph as additional tools for
analysis of physical, including small particle evidence.
93~-2O1 O-68----22
PAGENO="0338"
334
Advanced computer methods including on-line real time data analysis, pat-
tern recognition, data handling-acquisition, compression and transmission
systems; techniques developed for the transmission and denoising of transmitted
television images as a means of speeding the transmission and utilization of
evidentiary data and many possible in-laboratory applications such as advanced
scanning and digitizing as a means of extracting data from handwriting and
hand printing.
Advanced technology in electron probe microanalysis for the analysis of
extremely small areas, which instrumentation should be within reach of larger
crime laboratories.
The starlight scope image intensification system for assistance in observing
illegal activity taking place under cover of darkness. These devices reportedly
were in use in Viet Nam more than two years ago and may constitute a type
of the hardware on the shelf which Dr. Blumstein referred to.
Advanced medical research and technology in blood analysis for parameters
of genetic and environmental origin.
Work being done in the development of methods of interpretation and man-
agement of information as a basis for decision making under stress as a means
of reducing the subjectivity of the process of evaluating evidentiary findings as
well as a possible tool in riot management.
For the benefits of work in the above areas to be effectively introduced into
the main stream of the Forensic Scienëes, several things are necessary.
These are:
(1) Extension of development work oriented to the special needs of the
Forensic Sciences,
(2) Better rapport between the Forensic Sciences and ongoing research
in related fields, and
(3) Greatly increased public awareness of the needs and their im-
portance.
To extend the development work and increase the inter-discipline dialogue,
especially the first, obviously funds are needed.
A Congressional group, such as described, could if properly staffed, produce
dramatic results with a budget of $150 thousand for the first year of operation,
including within that total $50 thousand general administrative costs and $100
thousand in unfettered funds for developmental research. The second year
budget would more nearly approximate the normal operating budget; which
would approximate $500 thousand annually, of which about $100 thousand
would cover general administrative costs and $400 thousand would be available
in unfettered funds for developmental research.
Funding for the design and production of hardware based on new knowledge
from this source would logically fall within the purview of the LEAA.
3. As we understand the functions of the FBI's laboratory, it is primarily a
service laboratory devoted to the analysis of evidence and to whatever research
and development is needed for its services. To what es~tent would it be desirable
for this laboratory to seek a leadership position in the forensic and police sciences?
3. The FBI Laboratory already holds a position of leadership among the
Nation's crime laboratories and from this vantage point has contributed and
is contributing substantial benefits to Law Enforcement. As to whether the FBI
Laboratory does or should undertake to assume responsibility for the work of
other crime laboratories involves a complex of considerations, such as those
bearing on delegated mission, those pertaining to recent legislation, the extent
of Federal objectives, etc. Any contemplated change should be carefully examined
in this light.
4. What work is being performed by Georgetown's Forensic ~cienees Laboratory
and what is planned for the future?
(a) How does this differ from the work being performed at the FBI Laboratory?
4. The Forensic Sciences Laboratory of Georgetown University's Institute of
Criminal Law and Procedure is engaged, within the limits of its own resources,
in applying and investigating the application of the analytical techniques used in
medical research and in basic research in the physical sciences to the extraction
of parameters from handwritten ballpen ink lines which parameters are or
may be useful in determining possible sources of the ink and in developing
information relative to its possible maximum age. The Laboratory is building a
bank of the data it is acquiring.
The technology which has been developed in the Laboratory has been made
available to the Nation's forensic science laboratories, the dye industry, the
ballpen ink industry and others. The Laboratory has provided assistance in this
PAGENO="0339"
~335
field when requested and when the request appeared to have merit. Such requests
have come from crime laboratory experts, the medical and legal communities
and the balipen industry. In addition, a great deal of interest has been manifested
by the dye industry.
The Laboratory has encouraged and supported research and the publishing of
scientific papers and panel discussions at this year's meetings of the American
Academy of Forensic Sciences; The American Chemical Society, Middle-Atlantic
Region; the Second National Symposium on Law Enforcement Science and
Technology and will present a paper before this year's meeting of the Interna-
tional Association for Identification.
These papers and panel discussions treat the advances made in the Laboratory
in handwriting identification, in non-destructive analysis of ballpen ink as well
as the possible utilization of modern computer technology, alpha excited X-ray
fluorescence and other space science developments in article physics and image
clarification in the Forensic Sciences.
The Laboratory is assembling a national register of Forensic Science talent.
Active investigation is under way to identify areas of medical research which
hold promise for relieving some of the more critical needs of the Forensic
Sciences. These include the problems of making more specific and more reliable
determinations of source of certain categories of physical evidence than is now
possible, such as: bloodstains, hairs and handwriting.
Highly qualified medical researchers have been identified and their interest
stimulated in these directions. These individuals constitute a resources uniquely
qualified to attack the problems referred to and are prepared to capitalize upon
and extend an impressive body of medical research developed technology as soon
as funds are available.
(a) The Forensic Sciences Laboratory differs from the FBI Laboratory in
that the Forensic Sciences Laboratory's principal purpose is to provide and
develop an academic base for the Forensic Sciences.
PROPOsED FoRENsIc SCIENcEs CENTER
THE PROBLEM
There are serious and growing needs in the administration of justice which
relate to the courts' increasing dependence upon the expertise of the Nation's
crime laboratories. This dependence has been intensified as a consequence of the
law's increasing recognition of the inherent limitations of confessions and needs
within the crime laboratory milieu. These factors, detailed in the professional
studies listed in the footnotes * below may be summarized as follows:
1. Significant numbers of laboratory experts lack adequate education and train-
ing. Particularly lacking are means and programs for continuing education and
updating in their fields.
2. Certification requirements for expert witnesses are nonexistent in most
forensic science disciplines.
3. Discoveries in other disciplines, such as the biological and medical sciences,
industrial technology, engineering, space sciences, nuclear science and others, have
found their way into the crime laboratory only to a very limited extent. For
example, none of the vast new knowledge of blood factors learned since 1902 has
been applied to the problems, of identification of dried blood strains. What is
known concerning the organic composition of hair has not been applied to the
identification of source of hair evidence.
4. Many working in crime laboratories cannot keep up to date on newer meth-
ods. Standardization of testing methods and dissemination of these methods are
either nonexistent or inadequate for the profession as a whole.
* 1Presiident's Commission on Law En~orcenient and Administration of Justice, Report-
The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society (1967).
2 Task Force on Science and Technology, President's Commission on Law Enforcement
and Administration of Justice, Task Force Report: Science and Technology (1967).
2 Methods Committee, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Study No. 7-Bloodstains
(1965) ; Report on IlairExaminations (1963); Study on Inflammables (195k).
~ American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Confidential Report to Document Examinera
(1966).
5Criminalistics Section, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Report on Drugs and
Examinations (1961) ; Results of Study No. 3-Firearms (1961).
PAGENO="0340"
336
5. Libraries of analytical data are badly needed. These data banks would
greatly assist in the analysis, evalution of analytical results and their interpreta-
tion as to specificity of source of evidentiary material.
43. There is no tradition of support for crime laboratory facilities in many
communities. This lack of a tradition of support for the crime laboratory and its
disciplines-the Forensic Sciences-likewise extends into the private sector.
PROPOSED ATTACK ON THE PROBLEM
Unlike other disciplines and other important areas of public affairs, the forensic
sciences have not enjoyed the presence of a "critical mass" which could actively
engage itself in a sustained program to overcome inadequacies and meet needs.
Unlike the other major professions, the forensic sciences are dependent upon an
extremely tenuous relationship with the academic community.
What also has been lacking is a special service mechanism which could ac-
commodate all those initiatives which must be applied to solve the problem. In
the absence of such an agency, the forensic sciences have not been able to gather
their resources and bring them to bear to provide solutions.
The Forensic Sciences Laboratory of Georgetown University has devoted a
year to study of the problem, of various options for solution, and of the design
of recommended programs to produce immediate and sustained improvements
through the most efficient utilization of resources.
To take the positive steps necessary to solution, it is proposed herein to launch
a center for. the forensic sciences as an integral part of the University complex.
The proposed center would provide a university base for the forensic sciences
and also serve as a model for similar activities at other universities throughout
the nation.
Programs to which the new center would address itself are as follows:
Continning Education.-Post secondary course areas would be offered with
special emphasis on the needs of presently practicing laboratory experts as
follows:
a. Forensic Toxicology
b. Forensic Serology
c. Forensic Pathology
d~ Forensic Crystallography
e. Hair and Fiber Analysis
f. Forensic Ballistics
g. Several specialized areas of Document Analysis, such as ink analysis by
spectrophotofluorometry, advanced study in handwriting identification, the
graphic arts, typography.
h. Several specialized areas of Instrument Analysis, such as: Neutron Activa-
tion Analysis, Ion Sputtering Source Mass Spectroscopy, X-ray Fluorescence
Spectroscopy, Emission Spectroscopy, Infrared-visible-ultraviolet Speetropho-
tometry, Gas Chromatography, Thin Layer Chromatography, Electron Spin
Resonance and others.
i. Experimental design techniques and statistical evaluation methods and
their application to laboratory procedures.
Certification for Ewpert Witnesses.-Certification standards for expert wit-
nesses in 10 delineated areas of practice will be developed.
Stndies to Apply New Knowledge.-Investigation by the Georgetown Uni-
versity Forensic Sciences Laboratory into priority needs and the consensus
of the profession pinpoint the following areas as critically in need of the bene-
fits of advances which are known in related basic science fields. Fortunately,
these problem areas are particularly amenable to solution by application of
the unique resources of personnel and facilities found to exist in the University
complex and the community, and these resources can be applied to the studies
at once:
Hair Identification by Organic Composition.-Three categories of organic
composition of human hair will be studied: (a) Characteristic fat or "lipid"
composition; (b) Pigmentation pattern or "melanin" composition; (c) Drug
content of melanin pigments.
Dried Blood Identification by Adaptation of Wet Blood Characteristics.-De-
spite extensive advances in wet blood research, forensic specialists in blood-
stain identification are as yet unable to extend beyond the basic ABO grouping
to take advantage of these advances. Immediate studies by individuals espe-
cially equipped to do so at the University and elsewhere can be undertaken
in the following areas:
PAGENO="0341"
337
(a) Extension of ABO and variations in hemoglobin content, enzymatic
content of the red cell, white cell shapes, serum proteins;
(b) Factors on gamma globulin molecules; and
(c) Factors on white blood cells (tissue antigens)~
Handwriting Mensuration System.-The application of modern technology in
order to permit a more detailed and objective examination of handwriting for
such things as identity, and psysiological and psychological pathogenesis of the
writer can be undertaken immediately.
Ballpoint Ink Dating.-The dating of bailpen writing is important because
of the high incidence of embezzlement, fraud, forgery, and other crimes in-
volving writing. There are no means for dating ballpen writings. The 1. U.
Forensic Sciences Laboratory enjoys a leading position in this area as a con-
sequence of its work in ink analysis by thin layer chromatography and spec-
trophotofluorometry. Dating studies would be a natural outgrowth of the previous
work and can be undertaken immediately.
Jllonographs.-To provide means for the gathering, coordinating, and dis-
seminating of information to promote a higher mean level of expertise among
widely dispersed laboratories and experts by communicating advances, new
methodologies and new and improved techniques and procedures, working
handbooks will be prepared and disseminated in the following areas:
Compilation of drug levels in fatal and nonfatal poisonings (reported
levels found by workers in the field)
Identification of Narcotics from Biological Specimens, such as: blood,
urine and tissues (methodology);
Hair and fiber identification;
Analysis of dried bloodstains (best present procedures);
Current developments in Firearms Identification;
Microscopic Characteristics of commonly encountered minerals and other
substances in incendiary cases, burglaries, etc.
Public Information and Education~-ExcePt for the leading role of the FBI,
local communities and the public at large do not have sophisticated appre-
ciation of the vital needs of the crime laboratory in the administration of
justice. The proposed center would serve as a focal point for news media, in
the support of an informed public awareness of the crime laboratory.
The public concerned includes the general citizenry and special constituencies
such as: judges, prosecution and defense attorneys, legislators, students, and
others.
5. Insurance companies support research and standard setting in an effort
to lessen the losses due to fire. Why, in your opinion, hasn't this occurred in the
crime field, either with support by insurance companies or industrial trade
associations?
5. The ravages of fire and disease have long been recognized as resulting from
controllable conditions. Whereas, the ravages of crime have been largely hidden
from view, with the result that it has only been in recent years that there has
been any widespread public awareness that serious problems do exist in this
field.
6. In his testimony Dr. Blumstein .stated:
I think the equipment needed in operating police departments is almost all on
the shelf somewhere. It is a matter of choosing from what is available and tying
it together in the right way. Although there are sonic eziceptions to that, basically
the equipment can be made available. . . The research that is needed is research
into the operations of this system, into social causes of crime, into the impact
on crime of the various things done in the name of coiitrolling it. . . . We know
how to make the radios. It is a matter of coagulating the market, organizing the
demand, and providing the wherewithal to get the radios introduced.
(a) Would you agree with that statement? If not, what do you see as the
basic needs?
(b) If you do not agree, why, in your opinion, are law enforcement agencies
not using the available technology?
(c) What can be done about it?
(d) Why, in your opinion, hasn't industry filled the void as it would with
normal consumer demands?
6. (a) Ooncerning Dr. B*hunstein's com~nents, it seems to me that he is talking
about police enforcement equipment, such as, radios. Moreover, his observations
concerning research seem to be directed solely toward research into police
operations and conditions conducive to crime.
PAGENO="0342"
338
What seems to have been grossly ignored is the crime laboratory area.-
detection and identification. This is where updated technology is critically
important.
(b) Much technology needs to be extended and specifically engineered for
crime laboratory use. Much of it is in fields with which police experts have limited
familiarity and, further, extensive training is needed in order that crime labora-
tory personnel be able to obtain the maximum benefits from the technology and
new knowledge which wifi be increasingly available to them if they are prepared
for it.
(c) Important education and training programs must be undertaken to attract
more people of high competence into the field. Salaries will have to become com-
petitive with those in other areas which employ scientific talent. The possibility
of draft deferment for young men contemplating careers in the field should re-
ceive serious consideration. Programs to update present crime laboratory per-
sonnel must be undertaken. Qualification standards for experts should be devel-
oped as should standards for laboratory procedures for testing and evaluating
results of tests in: bloodstain analysis; extraction and identification of poisons
including narcotics and other drugs from biological specimens; drug level de-
terminations; hair and fiber identification; firearms and tool mark identification;
properties of common substances including residues of combustibles and the
optical properties of organic and inorganic materials in general.
(d) Why industry hasn't filled the void as it would be expected to with
normal consumer demands obviously is conjectural. For one thing, the public
has a key role here. By and large, the public has not been aware of the tech-
nological needs of the crime laboratory. This may account for the absence of
demand and the low response on the part of industry to develop and market
improved laboratory procedures. When one considers that there are only 40
crime laboratories of varying degrees of capability among the 151 American
cities with populations* of 100 thousand or more, the industry's reluctance to
invest in developing products for such a limited market becomes somewhat
understandable.
The fact that the citizenry of the remaining 111 cities with no local crime
laboratory facilities tolerates such a situation and the fact that the citizens of
a number of the 40 cities whose police have only rudimentary local laboratory
facilities permit the condition to continue is an interesting, commentary on the
effectiveness of our mass media, which have emphasized the strengths of the
crime laboratory until even sophisticates labor under a vague notion that all
the problems have been solved.
Mr. DADDARIO. This committee will adjourn to the call of the Chair.
(Whereupon, ait 12:13 p.m., the committee was adjourned `to the call
of the Chair.)
PAGENO="0343"
APPENDIX A
(BELL REPORT)
REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT ON GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING FOR RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT, APRIL 30, 1962
EXECUTIVE O~'IcE OF THE PRESIDENT,
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET,
Wa.shington, D.C., Apr11 30, 1962.
DEAR Mit. PRESIDENT: As requested by your letter of Juiy 31, 1961,
we have reviewed the experience of the Government in using con-
tracts with private institutions and enterprises to obtain research
and development work needed for public purposes.
The attached report presents our findings and conclusions. Without
attempting to summarize the complete report, we include in this letter
a few of our most significant conclusions, as follows:
1. Federally-financed research and development work has been in-
creasing at a phenomenal rate-from 100 million dollars per year in
the late 1930's to over 10 billion dollars per year at present, with the
bulk of the increase coming since 1950. Over 80 percent of such work
is conducted today through non-Federal institutions rather than
through direct Federal operations. The growth and size of this work,
and the heavy reliance on non-Federal organizations to carry it out,
have had a striking impact on the Nation's universities and its indus-
tries, and have given rise to the establishment of new kinds of pro-
fessional and technical organizations. At present the system for
conducting Federal research and development work can best be de-
scribed as a highly complex partnership among various kinds of
public and private agencies, related in large part by contractual
agencies.
While many improvements are needed in the conduct of research
and development work, and in the contracting systems used, it is our
fundamental conclusion that it is in the national interest for the
Government to continue to rely heavily on contracts with non-Federal
institutions to accomplish scientific and technical work needed for
public purposes. A partnership among public and private agencies
is the best way in our society to enlist the Nation's resources and
achieve the most rapid progress.
2. The basic purposes to be served by Federal research and develop-
ment programs are public purposes, considered by the President and
the Congress to be of sufficient national importance to warrant the
expenditure of public funds. The management and control of such
(339)
PAGENO="0344"
340
programs must be firmly in the hands of full-time Government offi-
cials clearly responsible to the President and the Congress. With
programs of the size and complexity now common, this reqUires that
the Government have on its staff exceptionally strong and able execu-
tives, scientists, and engineers, fully qualified to weigh the views and
advice of technical specialists, to make policy decisions concerning
the types of work to be undertaken, when, by whom, and at what cost,
to supervise the execution of work undertaken, and to evaluate the
results.
At the present time we consider that one of the most serious obsta-
cles to the recruitment and retention of first-class scientists, admrnis-
trators, and engineers in the Government service is the serious dis-
parity between governmental and private compensation for
comparable work. We cannot stress too strongly the importance of
rectifying this situation, through Congressional enactment of civilian
pay reform legislation as you have recommended.
3. Given proper arrangements to maintain management control in
the hands of Government officials, federally-financed research and
development work can be accomplished through several different
means: direct governmental operations of laboratories and other in-
stallations; operation of Government-owned facilities by contractors;
grants and contracts with universities; contracts with not-for-profit
corporations or with profit corporations. Choices among these means
should be made on the basis of relative efficiency and effectiveness in
accomplishing the desired work, with due regard to the need to main-
tain and enlarge the long-term strength of the Nation's scientific re-
sources, both public and private.
In addition, the rapid expansion of the use of Government contracts,.
in a field where twenty-five years ago they were relatively rare, has
brought to the fore a number of different types of possible conflicts
of interests, and these should be avoided in assigning research and
development work. Clear-cut standards exist with respect to some of
these potential conflict-of-interest situations-as is the case with re-
spect to persons in private life acting as advisers and consultants to
&overnment, which was covered in your memorandum of February
9, 1962. Some other standards are now widely accepted-for example,
the undesirability of permitting a firm which holds a contract for
technical advisory services to seek a contract to develop or to supply
any major item with respect to which the firm has advised the Gov-
ernment. Still other standards are needed, and we recommend that
you request the head of each department and agency which does a
significari~t amount of contracting for research and development to
develop, in consultation with the Attorney General, clear-cut codes of
conduct, to provide standards and criteria to guide the public officials
and private persons and organizations engaged in research and devel-
opment activities.
4. We have identified a number of ways in which the contracting
system can and should be improved, including:
-providing more incentives for reducing costs and improving
performance;
-Improving our ability to evaluate the quality of research and
development work;
-giving more attention to feasibility studies and the develop-
ment of specifications prior to inviting private proposals for
PAGENO="0345"
341
major systems development, thus reducing "brochuresmanship"
with its heavy waste of scarce talent.
We have carefully considered the question Whether standards should
be applied to salaries and related benefits paid by research and de-
velopment contractors doing work for the Government. We believe
it is desirable to do so in those cases in which the system of letting
contracts does not result in cost control through competition. We be-
lieve the basic standard to be applied should be essentialy the same
as the standard you recently recommended to the Congress with re-
spect to. FederaJ employees-namely, comparability with salaries and
related benefits paid to persons doing similar work in the private
economy. Insofar as a comparability standard cannot be applied-
as would be the case with. respect to the very to~ jobs in an organ-
ization, for example-we would make it the personal responsibility
of the head of the contracting agency to make Sure that reasonable
limits are applied.
5. Finally, we consider that in recent years there has been a seri-
ous trend toward eroding the competence of the Government's re-
search and development establishments-in part owing to the keen
competition `for scarce talent which has come from Government con-
tractors. We believe it to be highly important to improve this situa-
tion-not by setting artificial or arbitrary limits on Government con-
tractors but by .sharply improving the working environment within
the Government, in *order to attract and hold first-class scientists
and technicians. In our judgment, the most important improvements
that are needed within Government are:
-to ensure that governmental researôh and development estab-
lishments are assigned significant and challenging work;
-to simplify management controls, eliminate unnecessary echel-
ons of review and supervision, and give to laboratory directors
more authority to command resources arid make administra-
tive decisions; and
-to raise salaries, particularly in the higher grades, in order to
provide greater comparability with salaries available in pri-
vate activities.
Action is under way along the first two lines-some of it begun
as the result of our review. Only the Congress can act on the third
aspect of the problem, and we strongly hope it will do so promptly.
* * * * *
In preparing this report, we have benefited from comments and
suggestions by the Attorney General, the Secretaries of Agriculture,
Commerce, Labor, and Health, Education and Welfare, and the Ad-
PAGENO="0346"
342
* ministrator, Federal Aviation Agency, and they concur in general
with our findings and conclusions.
ROBERT S. MONAMARA,
Secretary of Defense.
JAMES E. WEBB,
Administrator, National Aeronaiutics and Space Administration.
JOHN W. MAGY, Jr.
Chairman, Civil Service Coln4mission.
Dr. GLENN T. SEABORG,
Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.
Dr. ALAN T. WATERMAN,
Director, Natianal Science Foundation.
JEROME B. WIESNER,
Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.
DAVID E. BELL,
Director,Bureau of the Budget.
Foiu~woiw
This report has been prepared in response to the President's letter
of July 31, 1961, to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, asking
for a review of the use of Government contracts with private institu-
tions and enterprises to obtain scientific and technical work needed
for public purposes.
Such contracts have been used extensively since the end of World
War II to provide for the operation and management of research and
development facilities and programs, for analytical studies and ad-
visory services, and for technical supervision of complex systems,
as well as for the conduct of research and development projects.
As the President noted in his letter, there is a consensus that the
use of contracts is appropriate in many cases. At the same time,
a number of important issues have been raised, including the appro-
priate extent of reliance on contractors, the comparative salaries paid
by contractors and the Government, the effect of extensive contracting
on the Government's own research and development capabilities, and
the extent to which contracts may have been used to avoid limitations
which exist on direct Federal operations.
Accordingly, the President asked that the review focus on:
-criteria that should be used in determining whether to perform
a function through a contractor or through direct Federal
operations;
-actions needed to increase the Government's ability to review
contractor operations and to perform scientific and technical
work; and
-policies which should be followed by the Government in obtain-
ing maximum efficiency from contractor operations and in re-
viewing contractor performance and costs (including standards
for salaries, fees, and other items).
The President requested the following officials to participate in
the study: The Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Atomic
Energy Commission, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission,
the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration, and the Special Assistant to the President for Science and
PAGENO="0347"
343
Technology. The Director of the National Science Foundation was
also invited to participate.
In making the review requested by the President, a great deal of
material was available from hearings and reports of the Senate and
House Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, Judiciary, and
Government Operations, the House Committees on Post Office and
Civil Service and on Science and Astronautics, the second Hoover
Commission, and various governmental and private studies. In ad-
dition, information was obtained:
-by questionnaires to which ten Federal agencies and seventy-one
* Government field installations, universities, and contract estab-
lishments responded; and
-by interviews conducted at twenty-eight Government field in-
stallations and non-Federal establishments, and with a number
of agency headquarters officials.
These data were obtained and analyzed with respect to major policy
implications by an indepartmental staff group which included repre-
sentatives of each of the officials whom the President asked to par-
ticipate in the review.
This report presents a summary analysis and recommendations
growing out of this review. It is organized in four parts:
1. Statement of major issues
2. Considerations in deciding whether to contract out research
and development work
3. Proposals for improving policies and practices applying to
research and development contracting
4. Proposals for improving the Government's ability to carry
out research and development work directly.
In addition, there are attached to the report the following annexes
intended to present additional supporting information:1
1. Letter from the President to the Director of the Budget of.
July 31, 1961
2. Summary information concerning respondents to Bureau of
the Budget questionnaire and organizations interviewed
3. Special analysis on Federal research and development pro-
grams, reprinted from the Federal Budget for fiscal year 1963
4. Summary information concerning the distribution of na-
tional research and development funds, activities, and personnel
5. Summary of information obtained regarding salaries and
related benefits and turnover of personnel
6. Annotated bibliography on Federal contracting-out of re-
search and development.
PART 1
STATEMENT OF MAJOR ISSUES
Policy questions relating to Government contracting for research
and development* must be considered in the perspective of the phe-
1 Annexes 2 through 6 referred to are omitted from this reprint.
*Note on terminology: The term "research and development" is used in this report in
the sense in which it is used in the Federal Budget-that is, it means the conduct of activ-
ities intended to obtain new knowledge or to apply existing knowledge to new uses. The
Department of Defense uses the term "research, development, test, and evaluation," which
is a somewhat fuller but more cumbersome term for the same concept. In this repor.t the
shorter term is used for convenience. For a summary of all Federal activities of this type,
see Annex 3, "Federal Research and Development Programs," reprinted from The Budget of
the United ~5tates Government for Fiscal Year 1963.
PAGENO="0348"
344
nomenal growth, diversity, and change in Federal activities in this
field.
Federa~ research and deve~opm1ent activities and their impact
Prior to World War IT, the total Federal research and develop-
ment program is estimated to have cost annually about 100 million
dollars. In fiscal year 1950, total Federal research and development
expenditures were about 1.1 billion dollars. In the fiscal year 1963,
the total is expected to reach 12.4 billion dollars.
The fundamental reason for this growth in expenditures has been
the importance of scientific and technical work to the achievement of
major public purposes. Since World War II the national defense ef-
fort has rested more and more on the search for new technology. Our
military posture has come to depend less on production capacity in
being and more on the race for shorter lead times in the development
and deployment of new weapons systems and of counter-measures
against similar systems in the hands of potential enemies. The Defense
Department alone is expected to spend 7.1 billion dollars on research
and development in fiscal 1963, and the Atomic Energy `Commission
another 1.4 billion dollars.
Aside from the national defense, science and technology are of in-
creasing significance to many other Federal programs. The Nation's
effort in non-military space exploration-which is virtually entirely
a research and development effort-is growing extremely rapidly; the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration is expected to spend
2.4 billion dollars in fiscal 1963, and additional sums, related to the
national space program will be spent by the Department of Commerce
and other agencies. Moreover, scientific and technological efforts are
of major significance in agriculture, health, natural resources, and
many other Federal programs.
The end of this period of rapid growth is not yet in sight. Public
purposes will continue to require larger and larger scientific and
technological efforts for as far ahead as we can see.
The increase in Federal expenditures for research and development
has had an enormous impact on the Nation's scientific and technical
resources. It is not too much to say that the major initiative and re-
sponsibility for promoting and financing research and development
have in many important areas been shifted from private enterprise
(including academic as well as business institutions) to the Federal
Government. Prior to World War II, the great bulk of the Nation's
`research achievements occurred with little support from Federal
funds_although there were notable exceptions, such as in the field
of agriculture. Today it is estimated by the National Science Founda-
tion `that the Federal Budget finances about 65 per cent of `the total
national expenditure for research and development. Moreover, the
Federal share is rising.
Federal financing, however, does not necessarily imply Federal
operation. As the Federal research and development effort has risen,
there has been a steady reduction in the proportion conducted through
direct Federal operations. Today about 80 per cent of Federal expendi-
tures for research and development are made through non-Federal
institutions. Furthermore, while a major finding of this report is that
the Government's capabilities for direct operations in research and
development need to be substantially strengthened, there is no doubt
PAGENO="0349"
345
that the Government must continue to rely on the private sector for
the major share of the scientific and technical work which it requires.
The effects of the extraordinary increase in Federal expenditures
for research and development, and the increasing reliance on the pri-
vate sector to perform such work, have been very far reaching.
The impact on private industry has been striking. In the past the
Government utilized profit-making industry mainly for production
engineering and the manufacture of final products-not for research
and development. industries with which it dealt in securing the bulk
of its equipment were primarily the traditional large manufacturers
for the civilian economy-such as the automotive, machinery, ship-
building, steel, and oil industries-which relied on the Government
for only a portion, usually a minority, of their sales and revenues. In
the current scientific age, the older industries have declined in prom-
inence in the advanced equipment area and newer research and de-
velopment-oriented industries have come to the fore-such as those
dealing in aircraft, rockets, electronics, and atomic energy.
There are significant differences between these newer industries and
others. While the older industries were organized along mass-produc-
tion principles, and used large numbers of production workers, the
newer ones show roughly a one-to-one ratio between production
workers and scientist-engineers. Moreover, the proportion of produc-
tion workers is steadily declining. Between 1954 and 1959, production
workers in the aircraft industry declined 17 per cent while engineers
and scientists increased 96 per cent. Also, while the average ratio of
research and development expenditures to sales in all industry is about
3 per cent, the advanced weapons industry averages about 20 per cent
and the aerospace industry averages about 31 per cent.
But the most striking difference is the reliance of the newer indus.
tries almost entirely on Government sales for thcir business. In 1958,
a reasonably representative year, in an older industry, the automotive
industry, military sales ranged from 5 per cent for General Motors
to 15 per cent for Chrysler. In the same year in the aircraft industry,
military sales ranged from a low of 67 per cent for Beech Aircraft to
a high of 99.2 per cent for The Martin Company.
The present situation, therefore, is one in which a large group of
economically significant and teclmol'ogically advanced industries de-
pend for their existence and growth not on the open competitive market
of traditional economic theory, but on sales only to the United States
Government. And, moreover, companies in these industries have the
strongest incentives to seek contracts for research and development
work which will give them both the know-how and the preferred posi-
tion to seek laster follow-on production contracts.
The rapid increase in Federal research and development expendi-
tures has had striking effects on other institutions in our society apart
from private industry.
There has been a major impact on the universities. The Nation has
always depended largely on the universities for carrying out funda-
mental research. As such work has become more important to Govern-
ment and more expensive, an increasing share-particularly in the
physical and life sciences and engineering-has been supported by
Federal funds. The total impact on a university can be sizeable. Well
over half of the research budgets of such universities as Harvard,
PAGENO="0350"
346
Brown, Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford,
California Institute of Technology, University of Illinois, New York
University, and Princeton, for illustration, is supportetd by Federal
funds.
New institutional arrangements have been established in many cases,
related to but organized separately from the universities, in order to
respond to the needs of the Federal Government. Thus, the Lincoln
Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was estab-
lished by contract with the Air Force to supply research and develop-
ment services and to establish systems concepts for the continental
air defense, and similarly the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was estab-
lished at the California Institute of Technology to conduct research
on rocket propulsion for the Department of the Army and later to
supply space craft design and systems engineering services to the
National Aeronautics and `Space Administration. In addition, other
research institutions-such as the `Stanford Research Institute-which
were established to conduct research on contract for private or public
customers, now do a major share of their business with the Federal
Government.
In addition to altering the traditional patterns of organization of
private industry and the universities, the rise in Federal research and
development expenditures has resulted in the creation of entirely new
kinds of organizations.
One kind of organization is typified by the RAND Corporation,
established immediately after World War II, to provide operations
research and other analytical services by contract to the Air Force.
A number of similar organizations have been established since, more
or less modeled on RAND, to provide similar services to other govern-
mental agencies.
A second new kind of organization is the private corporation, gen-
erally not-for-profit but sometimes profit, created to furnish the Gov-
ernment with "systems engineering and technical direction" and other
professional services. The Aerospace Corporation, the MITRE Cor-
poration, the Systems Development Corporation, and the Planning
Research Corporation are illustrations.
A third new organizational arrangement was pioneered by the Office
of Scientific Research and Development during World War II and
used by the Atomic Energy Commission, which took over the wartime
atomic energy laboratories and added others-all consisting of facili-
ties and equipment owned by the Government but operated under
contract by private organizations, either industrial companies or
universities.
Apart from their impact on the institutions of our society, Federal
needs in research and development `are placing critical demands on `the
national pool of scientific and engineering taient. The National Sci-
ence Foundation points out that the country's supply :~f scientists and
engineers is increasing at the fairly stable rate of 6 per cent annually,
while the number engaged in research and development activities is
grow4ng at about 10 per cent each year. Accordingly, the task of devel-
oping our manpower resources in sufficient quality and quantity to
keep pace with the expanding research `and development effort is a
matter of great urgency. The competition for scientists and engineers
is becoming keener all the time and requires urgent attention to the
PAGENO="0351"
34,7
expansion of education and training, and to the efficient use of the sci-
entific and technical personnel we have now.
Questions and issues considered in this report
The dynamic character of the Nation's research and development ef-
forts, as summarized in the preceding paragraphs, has given rise to a
number of criticisms and points of concern. For example, concern has
been expressed that the Government's ability to perform essential
management functions has diminished because of an increasing de-
pendence on contractors to determine policies of a technical nature
and to exercise the type of management functions which Government
itself should perform. Some have criticised the new not-for-profit con-
tractors, performing systems engineering and technical direction work
for the Government, on the grounds that they are intruding on tradi-
tional functions performed by competitive industry. Some concern
has been expressed that universities are undertaking research and
development programs of a nature and size which may interfere with
their traditional educational functions. The cost-reimbursement type
of contracts the Government uses, particularly with respect to research
and development work on weapons and space systems, have been crit-
icized as providing insufficient incentives to keep costs down and insure
effective performance. Criticism has been leveled against relying so
heavily on contractors to perform research and development work as
simply a device for circumventing civil service rules and regulations.
Finally, the developments of recent years have inevitably blurred
the traditional dividing lines between the public and private sectors of
our Nation. A number of profound questions affecting the structure
of our society are raised by our inability to apply the classical dis-
tinctions between what is public and what is private. For example,
should a corporation created to provide services to Government and
receiving 100 per cent of its financial support from Government be
considered a "public" or a "private" agency? In what sense is a busi-
ness corporation doing nearly 100 per cent of its business with the
Government engaged in "free enterprise"?
In light of these criticisms and concerns, an appraisal of the experi-
ence in using contracts to accomplish the Government's research and.
development purposes is evidently timely. We have not, however, in the
course of the present review attempted to treat the fundamental phil-
osophical issues indicated in the preceding paragraph. We accept as
desirable the present high degree of interdependence and collaboration
between Government and private institutions. We believe the present
intermingling of the public and private sectors is in the national in-
terest because it affords the largest oppportunity for initiative and the
competition of ideas from all elements of the technical community.
Consequently, it is our judgment that the present complex partner-
ship between Government and private institutions should continue.
On these assumptions, the present report is intended to deal with the
practical question: what should the Government do to make the part-
nership work better in the public interest and with maximum effec-
tiveness and economy?
We deal principally with three aspects of this main question.
There is first the question, what aspects of the research and develop-
ment effort should be contracted out? This question falls into two
PAGENO="0352"
348
parts. One part relates to those crucial powers to manage and control
governmental activities which must be retained in the hands of public
officials directly answerable to the President and Congress. Are we in
danger of contracting out such powers to private organizations? If so,
what should be done about it?
The other part of this question relates to activities which do not
have to be carried out by Goverument officials, but on which there is
an option: they may be accomplished either by direct Government
operations or by contract with non-Federal institutions. What are the
criteria that should guide this choice? And if a private institution is
chosen, what are the criteria for choice as among universities, not-for-
profit corporations, profit corporations, or other possible contractors?
The second question we deal with is what standards and criteria
should govern contract terms in cases where research and development
is contracted out. For example, to what extent is competition effective
in ensuring efficient performance at low cost, and when-if at all-
must special rules be established to control fees, salaries paid, and other
elements of contractor cost?
The third question we deal with is how we can maintain strong
research and development institutions as direct Government opera-
tions. How can we prevent the best of the Government's research scien-
tists, engineers, and administrators from being drained off to private
institutions as a result of higher private salaries and superior private
working enviromnents, and how can we attract an adequate number
of the most talented new college graduates to a career in Government
service?
These questions are treated in the sections which follow.
PART 2
CONSIDERATIONS IN DECIDING WHETHER TO CONTRACT OUT RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT WORK
`Genera]izations about criterin for contracting out research and de-
velopment work must be reached with caution, in view o~f the wide
variety of different circumstances which must be covered.
A great many Government agencies are involved. The Department
of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and
the Atomic Energy Commission provide the bulk of Federal financing
hut a dozen or more agencies also play significant roles.
~Most Federal research and `development work is closely related to
the specifio~ purpose of the agency concerned-to the creation of new
weapons systems for the Department of Defense, for example, or the
exploration of new types of atomic power reactors for the Atomic
Energy Commission. But a significant portion ~f the research financed
by the Federal Government is aimed at more general targets: to
enlarge the national supply of highly trained scientists, for example,
as is the case with some programs of the National Science Foundation.
And even the most "mission-oriented" agencies have often found
it desirable to make available for basic research to advance the funda-
mental state of knowledge in fields that are relevant to their missions.
Both the Department of Defense and the AEC, for example, make sub-
stantial funds available for fundamental research, not related to any
specific item of equipment or other end product.
PAGENO="0353"
349
A great many different kinds of activity are involved, which have
been classified by some under five headings:
(1) fundamental research
(2) supporting research or exploratory development
(3) feasibility studies, operations analysis, and technical advice
(4) development and engineering of products, processes, or
systems
(5) tests and evaluation activities.
The lines between many of the activities listed are necessarily uncer-
tain. Nevertheless, it is clear that "research and development" is a
phrase that covers a considerable number of different kinds of activity.
Finally, there have been distinct historical developments affecting
the different Government agencies. Souse agencies, for example, have a
tradition of relying primarily on direct Government operations of
laboratories-others have precisely the opposite tradition of relying
primarily on contracting for the operation of such installations.
Against this background of diversity in several dimensions we have
asked what criteria should `be. used in deciding whether or not to con-
tract out any given research and development task? In outline, our
judgment on this question runs as follows:
There are certain functions which should under no circumstances be
contracted out. The nsanagement and control of the Federal research
and development effort. must be firmly in the hands of full-time Gov-
ernment officials clearly responsible to the President and the Congress.
Subject to this principle, many kinds of arrangements-including
both direct Federal operations and the various patterns of contracting
now- in use-can and should be used to mobilize the talent and facilities
needed to carry out the Federal research and development effort. Not
all arrangements however are equally suitable for all purposes and
under all circumstances, and discrinsinating choices must be macIc
among them by the Government agencies having research and develop-
meat responsjb~hties. These choices should be based primarily on two
considerations:
(I) Getting the job done effectively and efficiently, with due
regard to the long-term strength of the Nation's scientific and
technical resources, and
(2) Avoiding assignments of work which would create inherent
conflicts of interest.
Each of these judgments is elaborated below:
Strengthc:~ing the ability of the Government to manage and control
resea2ch and development pro grums
We regard it as axiomatic that policy decisions respecting the Gov-
ernment's research and development programs-decisions concerning
the types of work to be undertaken, when, by whom, and at what cost-
must be made by full-time Government officials clearly responsible to
the President and to the Congress. Furthermore, such officials must be
in a position to supervise the execution of work undertaken, and to
evaluate the results. These are basic functions of management which
cannot be transferred to any contractor if we are to have proper
accountability for the performance of public functions and `for the
use of public funds.
To say this does not imply that detailed administration of each
research and development task must be kept in the hands of top public
93-201--GS-----23.
PAGENO="0354"
350
officials. Indeed, quite the contrary is true, and an appropriate cielega-
tion of responsibility-either to subordinate public officials or by con-
tract to private persons or organizations-for the detailed administra-
tion of research and development work is essential to its efficient
execution.
It is not always easy to draw the line distinguishing essential man-
agement and control responsibilities which should not be delegated to
private contractors (or, indeed, to governmental research organiza-
tions such as laboratories) from those which can and should be so
assigned. Recognizing this difficulty, it nevertheless seems to be the
case that in recent years there have been instances-particularly in thc
Department of Defense-where we have come dangerously close te
permitting contract employees to exercise functions which belong with
top Govermuent management officials. Insofar as this has been true,
we believe it is being rectified. Government agencies are now keerdy
aware of this problem and have taken steps to retain function s essen-
tial to the performance of their responsibility under the law.
It is not enough, of course, to recognize that governmental managers
must retain top management functions and not contract them out. Jr.
order to perform those functions effectively, they must be themseive~
competent to make the required management decisions and, in addi-
tion, have access to all necessary technical advice. Three conclusions
follow:
First, where management decisions are based substantially on tech-
nical judgments, qualified executives, who can properly utilize the
advice of technical consultants, from both inside and outside the Gov-
ernment, are needed to perform them. There must be sufficient tech-
nical competence within the Government so that outside technical
advice does not become de facto technical decision-making. In many
instances the executives making the decisions can and should have
strong scientific backgrounds. In others, it is possible to have non-
scientists so long as they are capable of understanding the tecimical
issues involved and have otherwise appropriate administrative ex-
perience.
By and large, we believe it is necessary for the agencies concerned
to give increased stress to the need to bring into governmental service
as administrators men with scientific or engineering understanding,
and during the development of Government career executives, to give
many of them the opportunity, through appropriate training and ex-
perience, to strengthen their appreciation and understanding of sci-
entific and technical matters. Correspondingly, scientists and engineers
should be encouraged and guided to obtain, through appropriate
training and experience, a broader understanding of management and
public policy matters. The average governmental administrator in
the years to come will be dealing with issues having larger and larger
scientific and technical content, and his training and experience, both
before he enters Government service and after he has joined, should
reflect this fact.
At the present time, we are strongly persuaded that one of the most
serious obstacles to acquiring and maintaining the managerial com-
petence which the Government needs for its research and development
programs is the discrepancy between governmental and private com-
pensation for comparable work. This obstacle has been growing in-
PAGENO="0355"
351
creasingly serious in recent years as increases in Federal pay have been
concentrated primarily at the lower end of the pay scale-resulting in
the anomalous situation that many officials of Goverument responsible
for administerrng maior elements of Federal research and develop-
ment programs are paid substantially smaller salaries than personnel
of universities, of business corporations, or of not-for-profit organiza-
tions who carry out subordinate aspects of those research and develop-
rnent programs. We cannot stress too strongly the importance of recti-
fying this situation, and hope the Congress will take at this session the
action which the President has recommended to reform Federal civilian
pay scales.
Second, it is necessary for even the best qualified governmental man-
agers to obtain technica.l advice from specialists. Such tecimical advice
can be obtained from men within the Government or those outside.
When it is obtained from persons outside of Government, speeial
problems of potential conflict of interest are raised which were dealt
with in the President's recent memorandum entitled "Preventing
Conflicts of Interest on the Part of Advisers and Consultants to the
Government."
We believe it highly important for the Government to he. able to
turn to technical advice from its own establishment as well as from
outside sources. One major source of this technical knowledge is the
Government-operated laboratory or research installation and, as is
made clear later in this report, we believe major improvements are
needed at the present time in the management and staffing of these in-
stallations. A strong base of technical knowledge should be continually
maintained within the Government service and available for advice to
top management.
Third, we need to be particularly sensitive to the cumulative effects
of contracting out Government work. A series of actions to contract
out important activities, each wholly justified when considered on its
own merits, may i~hen taken together begin to erode the Government's
ability to manage its research and development programs. These must
be a high degree of awareness of this danger on the part of all govern-
mental officials concerned. Particular attention must be given to
strengthening the Government's ability to provide effective technical
supervision in the letting and carrying out of contracts, and to develop-
ing more adequate measures for performance evaluation.
Determining the assignment of research and development work
As indicated above, we consider it necessary and desirable to use a
variety of arrangements to obtain the scientific and technical services
needed to accomplish public purposes. Such arrangements include: di-
rect governmental operations through laboratories or other installa-
tions; operation of Government-owned facilities by contractors;
grants and contracts with universities and entities associated with
universities; contracts with not-for-profit corporations wholly or
largely devoted to performing work for Government; and contracts
with private business corporations. We also feel that innovation is still
needed in these matters, and each agency should be encouraged to seek
new and better arrangements to accomplish its purposes. Choices
among available arrangements should be based primarily on two
factors:
PAGENO="0356"
352
-relative effectiveness and efficiency, and
-avoidance of conflicts of interest.
Relative effectiveness and efficiency
In `selecting recipients, whether public or private, for research and
development assignments, the basic rule (apart from the conflict-of-
interest problem) should be to assign the job where it can be done most
effectively and efficiently~ with clue regard to the strengthening of in-
stitutional resources as well as to the immediate execution of proj ects.
This criterion `does not, in our judgment, lead to a conclusion that
certain kinds of work should be assigned only to certain kinds of in-
stitutions. Too much depends on individual competence, historical evo-
lution, and other special circumstances to permit any such simple rule
to hold. However, it seems clear that some types of facilities have na-
tural advantages which should be made use of. Thus:
Direct Federal operations, such as the governmental laboratory,
enjoy a close and contmuing relationship to the agency they serve
which permits maximum responsiveness to the needs of that agency
and a maxinnim sense of sharing the mission of the agency. Such oper-
ations accordingly have a natural advantage in conducting research,
feasibility studies, developmental and analytical work, user tests and
evaluations which directly support the management functions of the
agency. Furthermore, an agency-operated research and development
installation may provide a useful source of technical management per-
sonnel for its sponsor.
At the present time we consider that the laboratories and other f a-
cihties available to Government are operating under certain import-
ant handicaps which should be removed if these facilities are to sup-
port properly the Federal research and development effort. These
matters are discussed at some length in part 4 of this report.
Colleges and universities have a long tradition in basic research. The
process of graduate education and basic research have long been
closely associated, and reinforce each other in many ways. This unique
intellectual environment has proven to be highly conducive to success-
ful undirected and creative research by highly skilled specialists. Such
research is not amenable to management control by adherence to firm
schedules, well-defined objectives, or pre-cletermined methods of work.
In the colleges and universities graduate education and basic research
constitute an effective means of introducing future research workers to
their fields in direct association with experienced peoile in those fields,
and in an atmosphere of active research work. Applied research appro-
priate to the universities is that which broadly advances the state of
the art.
University-associated research centers are well suited to basic or
applied research for which the facilities are so large and expensive that
the research acquires the character of a major program best carried out
in an entity apart from theregular academic organization. Research in
such centers often benefits frcin the `active participation of university
scientists. At the same time the sponsoring university (and sometimes
other, cooperating universities) benefits from increased opportunities
for research by its facilities and graduate students.
Not-for profit organizations (other than universities and contractor-
operator Government facilities), if strongly led, can provide a degree of
independence, both from Government and from the commercial mar-
PAGENO="0357"
353
ket, which may make them~ particularly useful as a source of objective
analytical advice and technical services. These organizations have on
occasion provided an imporEant means for establishing a. competent
research organization for a particular task more rapidly than could
have been possible within the less flexible administrative requirements
of the Government.
Uontractor-o22era.ted Government facilities appear to be effective, in
some instances, in securing competent. scientific and technical personnel
to perform research and development work where very complex and
costly facilities are required and the Government desires to maintain
control of those facilities. Under such arrangements, it has been pos-
sible for the Government to retain most of the controls inherent in
direct Federal operations, while at the same time gaining many of the
advantages of flexibility with respect to staffing, organizations,
and management, which are inherent iii university and industrial
operations.
Operatian.s in the profit sector of the economy have special advan-
tages when large and complex arrays of resources needed for advanced
development and pre-production work must be marshalled quickly. If
the contracting system is such as to provide appropriate incentives,
operations for profit can have advantages in spurring efficiency, reduc-
ing costs, and speeding accomplishments. (It is plain that not. all oper-
ations in this sector, have resulted in low costs or rapid and efficient
performance; we regard this as a. major problem for the contracting
system and discuss it further in part 3 of this r~port.) Contractors
in the profit sector may have the advantage of drawing on resources
developed to satisfy commercial as well as governmental customers
which adds to the flexibility of procurement., and may permit resources
to be phased in and out of Government work on demand.
The preceding paragraphs have stressed the advantages of these
different types of organization. There are disadvantages relating to
each type which must also be taken into account. Universities, for
example, are not orclinarly qualified-nor would they wish-to under-
take maj or system.s engineering contracts.
We repeat that the advantages-and disadvantages-noted above
do not mean that these different types of arrangements should be given
areas of monopoly on different kinds of work. There are, by common
agreement, considerable advantages derived from the present divers-
ity of operations. It permits great flexibility in establishing and direct-
mg filfierent kinds of facilities and units, and in meeting the need
for managing different kinds of jobs. Comparison of operations among
these various types of organizations helps provide yardsticks for
evaluating performance.
Morover, this diversity helps provide many sources of ideas and of
the critic~ `m9lysis of ide'~s, on which scientific uid technical piogress
depend. Indeed, we believe that some research (in contrast to develop-
ment) should be undertaken by most types of organizations. Basic
and applied research activities related to the mission of the organiza-
tion help to provide a better intellectual environment in which to
carry out development work. They also assist greatly in recruiting
high quality research staff. .
In addition to the desirability of making use of th~ natural areas
of `td\ antage w ithin this diversity of arrangements, there is one addi
PAGENO="0358"
354
tional point we would stress. Activities closely related to governmen-
tal managerial decisions (such as those in support of contractor selec-
tion), or to activities inherently governmental (such as regulatory
functions, or technical activities directly bound up with military
operations), are likely to call for a direct Federal capability and to
be less successfully handled by contract.
Conflicts of interest
There are at least three aspects of the conflict-of-interest problem
which arise in connection with governmental research and develop-
ment work.
First, there are problems relating to private individuals who serve
simultaneously as governmental consultants and as officers, directors,
or employees of private organizations with which the Government
has a contractual relationship. Many of these individuals are among
the Nation's most capable people in the research and development.
field, and can be of very great assistance to Government agencies.
The problems arising in their case with respect to potential conflicts
of interest have been dealt with in the President's memorandum of
February 9, referred to earlier in this report. The essential standard
set out in that memorandum was that no individual serving as an
adviser or consultant should render advice on an issue whose outcome
would have a direct and predictable effect on the interests of the
private organization which he serves. To this end the President asked
that arrangements be made whereby each adviser and consultant would
disclose the full extent of his private interests, and the responsible
Government officials would undertake to make sure that conflict-of-
interest situations are avoided.
Second, there is a significant tendency to have on the boards of
trustees and directors of the major universities, not-for-profit and
profit establishments engaged in Federal research and development
work, representatives of other institutions involved in such work.
Such interlocking directorships may serve to reinforce and strengthen
the overall management of private organizations which are heavily
financed by the Government. Certainly it is in the public interest that
organizations on whom so much reliance is placed for accomplishing
public purposes should be controlled by the most responsible, mature,
and knowledgeable men available in the Nation. However, we see the
clear possibility of conflict-of-interest situations developing through
such common directorships that might be harmful to the public inter-
est. Members of governing boards of private business enterprises, uni-
versities, or other organizations which advise the Government with
respect to research and development activities are often simultaneously
members of governing boards of organizations which receive or may
receive contracts or grants from the Government for research, devel-
opment, or production work. Unless these board members also serve
as consultants to the Government, present conflict-of-interest laws do
not apply. The spirit, if not the letter, of the standards of conduct
for Government advisers set forth in the President's memorandum, in
our judgment, can and should provide guidance to boards and their
members with respect to the interrelationships among universities, not-
for-profit organizations, and business corporations where Government
business is involved. Some boards of trustees and directors have
already taken action along these lines.
PAGENO="0359"
355
Beyond this, however, there is a third type of problem which re-
quires consideration: this might be described as potential conflicts of
interest relating to organizations rather than to individuals. It arises
in several forms-not all of which by any means are yet fully under-
stood. Indeed, in this area of potential conflicts of interest relating to
individuals and organizations in the research and development field,
we are in an early stage of developing accepted standards of conduct-
unlike other fields, such as the law or medicine, where there are long-
established standards of conduct.
One form of organizational conflict of interest relates to the distinc-
tion between organizations providing professional services (e.g., tech-
nical advice) and those providing manufactured products. A conflict
of interest could arise, for example, if a private corporation received a
contract to provide technical advice and guidance with respect to a
weapons system for which that same private corporation later sought a
development or production contract, or for which it sought to develop
or supply a key subsystem or component. It is clear that such conflict-
of-interest situations can arise whether or not the profit motive is
present. The managers of the not-for-profit institutions have neces-
sarily a strong interest in the continuation and success of such institu-
tions, and `it is part of good management of Federal research and
development programs to avoid placing any contractor-whether
profit or nonprofit-in a position where a conflict of interest could
clearly exist.
Another kind of issue `is raised by the question whether an organiza-
tion which has been established to provide services to a Government
agency should be permitted to seek contracts with other Government
agencies-or with non-Government customers. The question has arisen
particularly with respect to not-for-profit organizations established to
provide professional services.
This `is not a clear consensus on this question among Government
officials and officers of the organizations in question. We have con-
sidered the question far enough to have the following tentative views:
In the case of organizations in the area of operations and policy
research (such, for example, as the Rand Corporation), the principal
advantages they have to offer are the deta~hed quality and objectivity
of their work. Here, too close control by any Government agency may
tend to limit objectivity. Organizations of this kind should not be
discouraged from dealing with a variety of clients, both in and out of
Government.
Oii the other hand, a number of the organizations which have been
established to provide systems engineering and technical direction
(such, for example, as Aerospace Corporation) are at least for the time
being of value principally as they act as agents of a single client. In
time, as programs change and new requirements arise, it may be pos-
sible and desiraible for such organizations also to achieve a fully inde-
pendent financial basis, resting on multiple clients, but this would seem
more likely to be a later rather than an earlier development.
Enough `has been said to indicate that this general area of conflict of
interest with respect to research and development work is turning up
new kinds of questions and all the answers have not yet been found. We
believe it important to continue to work toward setting forth standards
of conduct, as was done by the President in his February memorandum.
PAGENO="0360"
356
We recommend that the President instruct each department and
agency head, in consultation `with the Attorney General, to proceed to
develop as much `of a code of conduct `for individuals and organizations
in the research and development `field as circumstances now permit.
Finally, we would note that `beyond any `formal standards, we `cannot
escape the `necessity of relying on t'he sensitive `conscience of officials in
the Government and in private organizations to make sure that appro-
priate standards are continually maintained.
PART 3
PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING POLICIES AND PRACTICES APPLYING TO RESEARCIl
AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING
During the course of this review, a number of suggestions arose
which we believe to indicate desirable improvements in the Govern-
ment's policies and practices applying to research and development
contracting.
Improving the Government's Oornpetence as a "Sophisticated Buyer"
In `order for the contracting system to work effectively, the first re-
quirement is for the Government to be a sophisticated buyer-that is,
to know what it wants and how to get it. Mention has already `been
made of the requirements this places on governmental management
officials. At this point four additional suggestions are made.
1. In the case of many large systems development projects, it has
been the practice to invite private corporations to submit' proposals
to undertake research and development, work-relating to a new mis-
sile System, for example, or a new aircraft system. Such proposals are
often invited before usable and realistic specifications of ~he system
have beeii worked out in sufficient detail. As a consequence, highly elab-
orate, independent, and expensive studies are often undertaken by the
would-be contractors in the course of submitting `their proposals. This
is a very costly method of `obtaining competitive proposals, and it un-
necessarily consumes large amounts of the best creative talent this
country possesses, both on the preparation of the proposals `and their
evaluation. Delivery time pressures may necessitate inviting proposals
before specifications are completed, but we believe this practice can
and `should be substantially curtailed.
This would mean in many instances, improving the Government's
ability to. accomplish feasibility studies, or letting special contracts
for that purpose, before inviting proposals. In either event, it would
require the acceptance of a greater degree of responsibility by Govern-
ment managers for making preliminary decisions prior to inviting pri-
vate proposals. We believe the gains from such a change would be
substantial in the avoidance of unnecessary aiid wasteful use of scarce
scientific and technical personnel as well as heavy costs to the private
contractors concerned-costs which in most cases are passed on to the
Government.
`2. We believe there is a great deal of work to be done to improve the
Government's ability to supervise and to evaluate the conduct of re-
search and development efforts-whether undertaken through public
or private facilities. We do not have nearly ei~ougli understanding as
yet of how to know whether we are getting a good product for our
PAGENO="0361"
357
money, whether research and development work is being competently
managed, or how to select the more competent from the less competent
as between research and development establishments.
\~Then inadequate technical criteria exist, there is a tendency to sub-
stitute conformity with administrative and fiscal procedures for eval-
nation of substantive performance. What is required is more exchange
of information between agencies on their practices in contractor evalua-
tion and on their experience with these practices. A continuing forum
should be provided for such exchange. It is possible also that some cen-
tral and fairly formal means of reporting methods and experience and
recording them permanently should be established. We recommend
that the Director of the new Office of Science and Technology, when
established, be asked to study the possibility of establishing such a
forum and the best means for providing information regarding eval-
uation practices.
3. Wi4h the tremendous proliferation of research and development
operations `and associated facilities in recent years, it `has become diffi-
cult for the Government officials who arrange for such work `to be
done to be aware of all the facilities and manpower that are available.
To maintain a complete and continuous roster of manpower, equip-
ment and organizations, sensitive to month-by-month changes, would
undoubtedly be too costly in terms of its value.
Nevertheless, we believe that an organized attempt should be made
`to improve the current inventory of information on the scientific and
technical resources of the country. We recommend that the National
Science Foundation consider ways and means of improving the avail-
ability of such information for use `by `all concerned in public `and
private `activities.
4. In addition, the expansion of the Nation's research and develop-
ment effort has multiplied the difficulties `of communication `among
researchers engaged `on related projects `at `separate facilities, both
pubhi'c and private. It `is clear `that additional steps `should be taken to
further efforts `to improve the `system for `the exchange `of information
in the field of `science and technology.
At present `a Panel on Scientific Information of the President's Sci-
ence Advisory Committee is `at work on thi's subject. We expect `that
its report will be followed by full-scale planning for the establishment
of a more effective technical information exchange system, to support
`the `needs `of `the operating scientists `and the engineer.
Improving arrangements with the private sector types of contracts
The principal type of `contract for resear'ch `and development work
which is made with private industry is `the cost-plus-fixed-fee con-
tract. Such contracts `have been u'sed in `this `area because of `the inherent
difficulty of establishing precise objectives for the work `to be done
and `of making costs estimates ahead of time.
At the same time, this type `of contract has well-known disadv'an-
t'ages. it provides little or no incentive f'or private managers to reduce
costs or `otherwise increase efficiency. Indeed, the cost-pius-fixed-fee
contract, in combination with strong pressures from governmental
managers to `accomplish work on `a rapid `time schedule, probably pro-
vides incentives for raising rather `than for reducing costs. If a `corpora-
tion is judged `in terms `of whether `it accomplishes a result by `a given
deadline rather `than :by whether it accomplishes that result `a't minimum
PAGENO="0362"
358
cost, it will naturally pay less `attention to costs `and more attention
to speed of accomplishment. On the other hand, where there is no
given deadline, the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract may serve to prolong
the research and development work and induce `the contractor `to delay
completion.
Consequently, we believe it to be desirable to replace cost-plus-
fixed-fee contracting with fixed price contracting wherever that is
feasi'bl&-as it should be in the procurement of some late-stage devel-
opment, test work, and services. Where it is judged that cost reim-
bursement must `be retained as the contracting principle, it should
be possible in many instances to include an incentive arrangement
under which the fee would not `be fixed, but would vary according
to a predetermined `standard which would relate larger fees to lower
costs, superior performance, and shorter delivery times. There is am-
ple evidence to prove that if adequate incentives are given by rewards
for outstanding performance, both time and money can be saved.
Where the nature of the task permits, it may `be desirable to include
in the contract penalty provisions for inadequate performance.
Finally, if neither fixed-price nor incentive-type contracts are pos-
sible, it is still necessary for Government managers to insist on con-
sideration being given to lower cost, as well as better products and
shorter delivery times-and to include previous performance as one
element in evaluating different contractors and the desirability of
awarding them subsequent contracts.
Contract administration
The written contract itself, however well done, is only one aspect
of the situation. The administration of a contract requires as much
care and effort as the preparation of the contract itself. This is par-
ticularly important with respect to changes in system characteristics,
for these changes often `become the mechanism for justifying cost
overruns. Other factors of importance in contract administration are
fixing authority and responsibility in both Government and industry,
excessive reporting requirements, `and `an all-too-frequent lack of pre-
arranged milestones for auditing purposes.
Reimbursable costs
Concern has been expressed because of significant differences among
the various agencies in policies regarding which costs are eligible for
reimbursement-notably with respect `to some of the indirect costs.
These differences are now `being reviewed by the Bureau of the Budget
with the cooperation of the Department of Defense, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Atomic Energy `Commis-
sion, and the General Services Administration.
Arrangements with universities
With respect `to universities, Government agencies share responsi-
bility for seeing that research and development financed at univer-
sities does not weaken these institutions or distort their functions
which are so vital to the national interest.
Government agencies use `both grants and contracts in financing
research at universities, but in our judgment the grant has proved
to be a simpler and more desirable device for Federal financing of
fundamental research, where it is in the interest of `the Government
PAGENO="0363"
359
not to exercise close control over the objectives and direction of re-
search. Since all relevant Government agencies are now empowered
to use grants instead of contracts in supporting basic research, the
wider use of this authority should be encouraged.
Apart from this matter, three othe.rs seem worthy of comment.
`One arises from the extensive use of contracts (or grants) for
specific `and precisely identified projects. Often there is a tendency to
believe that in providing support `for a single specific project the
chance of finding a solution to a problem is being maximized. In
reality, however, less `specific support often would permit more effec-
tive research in broad areas of science, or in interdisciplinary fields,
and provide greater freedom in drawing in more scien'tists to partici-
pate in the work that is undertaken. Universities, too, often find proj -
ect support cumbersome and awkward. A particular professor may be
working on several projects financed by several Government `agencies
and must make `arbitrary decisions in `allocating expenses to a par-
ticular project. It thus appears both possible and desirable to move
in the direction of using grants to support broader programs, or to
support the more general `activities of an institution, rather than to
tie each `allocation of funds to a specific project. A. number of Govern-
ment agen'cies have been moving in this d'irection and it would be
desirable to expand the use of such forms of support as experience
warrants.
At the same time, it would not, in our judgment, be appropriate to
place major reliance on the instituti'onal grant, since the major pur-
pose of makino grants in most cases is to assure that `the university
personnel `and ~acilities concerned will be devoted to pursuing specific
courses of inquiry.
A second problem associated with the support of research at uni-
versities is whether the Government should pay all costs, including
indirect expenses or "overhead," associated with work financed by the
Government. We believe this matter involves two related but distinct
questions, which should be separated in considering the appropriate
policy to `be followed.
1. We `believe `there is no question that, in `those cases in which it
is desirable for the Government to pay the entire cost `of work done
at a university, the `Government should pay for allowable indirect as
well as direct costs. To do otherwise would `be discriminatory against
universities in comparison wi'th other kinds of institutions. F'or pur-
poses of financial and accounting simplicity, in those cases where
grants are used, and it is desirable for `the Government to pay all
allowable costs, it may be possible to work out a uniform `or average
percentage figure which could `be regarded as covering in'direct costs.
2. We believe there are many cases in which it is neither necessary
nor desirable for the Government to pay all the costs of the work to
be `done.. In many fields of research, `a university may gain a great deal
from having `the research in question done on its campus, with the
participation of its faculty and students, and may `be able `and willing
to share in the costs, either through its regular funds or through rais-
ing `additional funds from foundations, alumni, or `by other means.
The extent and degree of cost-sh'aring can and should vary among dif-
ferent agencies and programs, and we are not prepared at this time
to suggest any uniform standards-except the negative one that it
PAGENO="0364"
30
would be plainly illogical to require that the university uniformly
provide its share through the payment of all or a part of the indirect
costs. Only in the exceptional case would this turn out to be the best
basis for determining the appropriate sharing of costs.
A third problem relates to the means for furnishing major capital
assets for research at universities (such as a major building or a major
piece of equipment. Such as a linear accelerator, synchrotron, or large
computer). In most cases, it will be preferable to finance such facilities
by a sepa~ate grant (or contract), which will ensure that careful at-
tention is given to the long-term value of the asset and to the estab-
lishment of appropriate arrangements for managing and maintain-
ing it.
Arrajements with respect to not-f or-pro fit organirations other
than universities
It ha~ been the practice in contracting for research and development
work with such organizations to cover all allow-able costs and, in acldi-
tion, to provide what is commonly called a~ "fee." The reason for pay-
ing a "fee" to not-for-profit organizations is quite different from the
reason for paying a fee to profit-making contractors and therefore the
term "fee" is misleading. The profit-making contractor is engaged
in business for profit. 1-us profit and the return to his shareholders or
investors can only come from the fee. In the case of the not-for-profit
organizations, there are no shareholders, but there are two sound
reasons to justify payment of a "development" or "general support"
allow-ance to such organizations.
One is that such allowances provide some degree of operational
stability and flexibility to organizations w-hich otherwise would be
very tightly bound to the precise limitations of cost financing of
specific tasks; the allowances can be used to even out variations in the
income of the organization resulting from variations in the level of
contract work. A second justification is that most not-for-profit organi-
zations must conduct some independent, self-initiated research if the
are to obtain and hold highly competent scientists and engineers. Such
staff members, it is argued, will only be attracted if they can share, to
some extent., in independently directed research efforts.
We consider that both of these arguments have merit and, in con-
sequence~ support the continuation of these payments. iBoth arguments
represent incentives to maintain the cohesiveness andi the quality of the
organization, which is in the interest of the Government. They should
underlie the thinking of the Government representatives who nego-
tiate contracts with not-for-profit organizations. But the amount of
the "fee" or allowance in each instance must. still be determined b~
bargaining between Government and contractor, in accordance ~vith
the independent relationship that is essential to successful contracting.
An imprntsnt anestion 1el'~tln2' to not foi piofit olganw'Ltlons
other than universities, concerns facilities and equipment. In our
judgment, the normal rule should be that where facilities and equip-
ment are require.d to perforn-i research and development work desired
by the Government, the Government should either provicTe the facili-
ties and equipment, or cover their cost as part of the contract. This is
the rule relating to profit organizations and would hold in general
for not-for-profit organizations-but there are two special problems
with respect tO the lattar.
PAGENO="0365"
361
First, we believe it is generally not desirable to furnish funds
through "fees" for the purpose of enabling a contractor to acquire
maj or capital assets. On the other hand, the `Govei~hment should not
attempt to dictate what a contractor does with his "fee", provided it
has been established on a sound and equitable basis, and if a contractor
chooses to use part of his "fee'to acqune facilities for use in his self
initiated research, we. would see no o.bj ection.
Second, we would think it equitable, where the Government has pro-
vided facilities, funds to obtain facilities, `substantial working capital,
or other resources to a contractor, it should, upon dissolution of the or-
ganization, be entitled to a first claim upon..such resources. This would
seem to he a matter which should be governed, insofar as possible, by
the terms of the contract-or in the case of any newly established or-
ganizations, should be provided in the provisions of its charter.
Salaries and related benefits
In addition to the question of fees and allowances, there has been a
great deal of concern over the salaries and related benefits received by
persons employed on federally financed research and development
work in private institutions, particularly persons employed in not-
for-prOfit establishments doing work exclusively for the Government.
Controls have been suggested or urged by congressional committees
and others to make sure that there is no excessive expenditure of public
funds and to minimize the undesirable competitive effect on the Fed-
eral careei' service.
We agree that where the contracting system does riot provide built-
in controls (for example, through competitive bidding). attention
should "be paid to the reasonableness of contractors' sal aries and re-
lated benefits, and contractors should be reimbursed only for, reason-
able compensation costs. `. . `
The key question is how to decide what `is reasonable and appro-
priate compensation. lYe believe the basic standard for reimbursement
of salaries and related benefits should be one of' comparability to com-
pensation of persons doing similar work in the private' economy. `The
President recently proposed to the Congress that the lay for Federal
civilian employees should be b'ased on the concept of reasonablecom-
parability with employees doing similar work in the private' econonry.
lYe believe this to be a sound principle which can be applied in the
present circumstances as well.
Application of this comparability principles may require some spe-
c~ai compensation surveys (perhaps made by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics), which can and should be arranged for as necessary. Fur-
thermore, there will undoubtedly be cases in which' comparable data
are difficult to obtain-as, for example, with respect to top management
jobs. In such cases tire specific approval of tire head of tire Government
contracting agency or his designee should be required.
In view of tire inherent coniplexity and sensitivity of this subject,
we suggest that special administrative arrangements should be estab-
lished in each agency. Contract policies respecting salaries and related
benefits in each contracting agency should be controlled by an official
reporting directly to the head of the agency (in the Department of De-
fense, to assure uniformity of treatment, by an official reporting di-
rectly to tire Secretary of Defense), and salaries above a certain'level-
say $25,000-should require the personal approval of that official.
PAGENO="0366"
362
PART 4
PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING THE GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO CARRY OUT
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES DIRECTLY
Based on the evidence acquired in the course of this review, we be-
lieve there is no doubt that the effects of the substantial increase in con-
tracting out Federal research and development work on the Govern-
ment's own ability to execute research and development work have been
deleterious.
The effects of the sharp rise in contracting out have included the
following. First, contractors have often been able to provide a superior
working environment for their scientists and engineers-better sal-
aries, better facilities, better administrative support-making con-
tracting operations attractive alternatives to Federal work. Second,
it has often seemed that contractors have been given the more signifi-
cant and more interesting work assignments, leaving Government
research and development establishments with routine missions and
static programs which do not attract the best talent. Third, additional
burdens have often been placed on Government research establishments
to assist in evaluating the work of increasing numbers of contractors
and to train and educate less skilled contractor personnel-without ad-
ding to the total staff and thus detracting from the direct research
work which appeals to the most competent personnel. Fourth, scien-
tists in contracting institutions have often had freedom to move "out-
side of channels" in the Government hierarchy and to participate in
program determination and technical advice at the highest levels-
freedom frequently not available to the Government's own scientists.
Finally, one of the most serious aspects of the contracting out process
has been that it has provided an alternative to correcting the deficien-
cies in the Government's own operations.
In consequence, for some time there has been a serious trend toward
the reduction of the competence of Government research and develop-
ment establishments. Recently a number of significant actions have
been started which are intended to reverse this trend. We point par-
ticularly to the strong leadership being given within the Defense
Department by the Director of Defense Research and Engineering,
in striving to raise the capabilities of the Department's laboratories
and other research and development facilities.
Nevertheless, we believe the situation is still serious and that major
efforts are required.
We consider it a most important objective for the Government to
maintain first-class facilities and equipment of its `own to carry out
research and development work. This observation applies not only to
the newer research and development agencies but equally to the older
agencies such as Commerce, Interior and Agriculture.
No matter how heavily the Government relies on private contract-
ing, it should never lose a strong internal competence in research and
development. By maintaining such competence it can be sure of being
able to make the difficult but extraordinarily important program deci-
sions which rest on scientific and technical judgments. Moreover, the
Government's research facilities are a significant source of manage-
ment personnel.
Major steps seem to us to be necessary in the following matters:
PAGENO="0367"
363
1. It is generally recognized that having significant and challeng-
ing work to do is the most important element in establishing a suc-
cessful research and development organization. It is suggested that
responsibility should be assigned in each department and agency to
the Assistant Secretary for Research and Development or his equiva-
lent to make sure that assignments to governmental research facili-
ties are such as to attract and hold first-class men. Furthermore,
arrangements should be made to call on Government laboratory and
development center personnel to a larger extent for technical advice
and participation in broad program and management decisions-in
contrast to the predominant use of outside advisers.
2. The evidence is compelling that managerial arrangements for
many Government-operated research and development facilities are
cumbersome and awkward. Several improvements are needed in many
instances, including
-delegating to research laboratory directors more authority to
make program and personnel decisions, to control funds, and
otherwise to command the resources which are necessary to carry
out the mission of the installation.
-providing the research laboratory director a discretionary al-
lotment of funds, to be available for projects of his choosing,
and for the results of which he is to be responsible;
-eliminating where possible excess layers or echelons of super-
visory management, and insuring that technical, administrative,
and fiscal reviews be conducted concurrently and in coordinated
fashion; and
-making laboratory research assignments in the form of a few
major items with a reasonable degree of continuity rather than
a multiplicity of small narrowly specified `tasks; this will put
responsibility for detailed definition of the work to be done at
the laboratory level where it belongs.
To carry out these improvements will require careful and detailed
analysis of the different situations in different agencies. Above all, it
will require the energetic direction of top officials in each agency.
Plans have already been developed for joint teams of Civil Service
Commission and Department of Defense research and manpower per-
sonnel to visit nine Defense laboratories during April and May 1962, in
order to analyze precisely what administrative restrictions exist that
hamper research effectiveness. In this fashion, those unwarranted
limitations that can be eliminated by executive action can be identified
as distinguished from those that may require legislative change.
3. Salary limitations, as already mentioned, in our opinion play a
major role in preventing the Government from obtaining or retaining
highly competent men and women. Largely because of the lack of com-
parable salaries, the Government is not now and has not for at least the
past 10 years been able to attract or retain its share of such critically
necessary people as: recently graduated, highly recommended Ph.D's
in mathematics and physics; recent B.S./M.S. scientific and engineer-
ing graduates in the upper 25 percent of their classes at top-ranked
universities; good experienced, weapons systems engineers and missile,
space, and electronic specialists at intermediate and senior levels; and
senior-level laboratory directors, scientific managers, and administra-
tors. This obstacle will be substantially overcome if the Congress ap-
PAGENO="0368"
364
proves the President's rečommendation to establish a standard of
comparability with private pay levels for higher professional and tech-
nical jobs in the Federal service.
4. A special problem in the Defense Department is the relationship
between uniformed and civilianpersonnei. This is a difficult and sensi-
tive problem of which the Department of Defense is well aware. We do
not attempt in this report to propose detailed solutions, but we do sug-
gest thatcertain principles are becoming evident as a result of the ex-
perience of recent years.
It seems clear, for example, that the military services will have in-
creasing need for substantial numbers of officers who have extensive
scientific and technical training and experience. Such officers bring
first-hand knowledge of operational conditions and requirements to
research and development installations and, in turn, learn about the
state of the art and the feasible applications of technology to military
operations. The military officer is needed to communicate the needs of
the user, to prepare the operational forces for new equipment, to plan
for the use of developing equipment, and later to install it and super-
vise its use.
All of the above roles suggest that when military personnel are used
in research and development activities, they should perform as "tech-
nical men" rather than "military men" except when there is a need for
their military skills. Military command and direction become impor-
tant only as one moves from the research end of the spectrum into the
area where operational considerations l)redomlflate. Both at middle
management and policy levels, a well-balanced mixture of military and
civilian personnel may be most advantageous in programs designed to
meet mihitar~ needs.
In research, there are many instances in which the existence of mili-
tary supervision, and the decreased opportunities for advancement be-
cause of military occupancy of top jobs, are among the principal rea-
sons why the Defense Department has had difficulty in attracting ou~t-
stand~ng civilian scientists and engineers. On the other hand, there are
examples within the Department of cases in which enlightened I)olicles
of civil-military relationships have dlrawn on the strengths of each and
produced excellent results. In such instances, the military headI of the
laboratory has usually concentrated on administrative problems and
the civilian technical director has had complete control of technical
programs.
Military officers should not be substituted for civilians iii the direc-
tion and management of research and development unless they are
technically qualified and their military background is directly needled
and applicable.
In the course of the next year, the Department of Defense intends
to give consideration to the delineation of those research and develop-
ment installations in which operational considerations are predomi-
nant and those installations in which scientific and teclmical considera-
tions are predominant. Having done so, the assignment of military offi-
cers to head the former type of installation, and civilians (or equally
qualified military officers) to head the latter will be encouraged. Fur-
thermore, when military personnel are assigned to work in civilian-
directed installations on the basis of their technical abilities, it is in-
PAGENO="0369"
365
tended that they should be free of the usual rotation-of-duty require-
ments and not have separate lines of reporting.
5. In addition to the recommendations above, we have given con-
sideration to the possible establishment of a new kind of Government
research and development establishment, which might be called a Gov-
ernment Institute. Such an Institute would provide a means for re-
producing within the Government structure some of the more positive
attributes of the nonprofit corporation. Each Institute would be created
pursuant to authority granted by the Congress and be subject to the
supervision of a Cabinet officer or agency head. It would, however, as
a separate corporate entity directly managed by its own Board of Re-
gents, enjoy a considerable degree of independence in the conduct of
its internal affairs. An Institute would have authority to operate its
own career nieri~ system, as the Tennessee Valley Authority does.
would be able to establish a compensation system based on the corn-
para.bility principle, and would have broad authority to use funds and
to acquire and dispose of property.
The objective of establishing such an instrumentality would be to
achieve in the administration of certain research and development
programs the kind of flexibility which has been obtained by Govern-
ment corporations while retaining, as was done with the Government
corporation, effective public accountability and control.
We regard idea as promising and recommend that the Bureau of the
Budget study it further, in cooperation with some of the agencies hav-
ing major research and development programs. It may well prove to ~e
a useful additional means for carrying out governmental research aiid
development efforts.
6. It would seem, based on the results of this review, that it would
be possible and desirable to make more use of existing governmental
facilities and avoid the creation of duplicate facilities. This is not as
easy a problem as it might seem. It is ordinarily necessary for a labora-
tory, if it is to provide strong and competent facilities, to have a major
mission and a major source of funding. This will limit the extent to
which it is possible to make such facilities available for the work of
other agencies. Nevertheless, in some cases and to some extent it is
clearly possible to do this and a continuing scrutiny is necessary in
order to make sure that the facilities which the Government has are
used to their fullest extent.
7. Finally, together with the better use of existing facilities, the
Government must also make better use of its existing scientific and
engineering personnel. This implies not only a careful watch over work
assignments, but also a continual upgrading of the capabilities of Fed-
eral personnel through education and training. At the present time,
technology is changing so rapidly that on-the-job scientists and engi-
neers find themselves out of date after a decade or so out of the uni-
versity. To remedy this, the Government must strengthen its educa-
tional program for its own personnel, to the extent of sending them
back to the university for about an academic year every decade. This
program, necessary as it is, will only become attractive if the employee
is ensured job security on his return from school and if his parent
organization is allowed to carry him on its personnel roster.
93-201-OS----24
PAGENO="0370"
366
ANNEX 1
THE WHITE HOUSE,
J'uZy 31, 1961.
Honorable DAVID E. BELL,
Director, Bureau of the Budget,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. BELL: Since the end of World War II, the Federal Gov-
ernment has been making extensive use of contracts with private in-
stitutions and enterprises to provide for the operation and manage-
ment of research and development facilities and programs, for analyti-
cal studies and advisory services, and for technical supervision of
weapons systems and other programs administered on a systems basis.
Through such contracts the Government has been able to accomplish
scientific and tecimical work essential to urgent public purposes.
In part, the use of such contracts has been made necessary by the
Government's entry into new fields, such as atomic energy, missile
development and space exploration, and the need for talents and serv-
ices not previously employed. In part, the use of contracts has also
been induced by the recommendations of the second Hoover Commis-
sion and other groups that the Government terminate activities which
could better be performed for it by private enterprise. Present Federal
policies with respect to contracting-out Government actvities are out-
lined generally in Bureau of the Budget Circular No. A-49, "Use of
management and operating contracts", and Bureau of the Budget
Bulletin No. 60-2, "Commercial-industrial activities of the Govern-
ment providing products or services for governmental use".
After a decade or more of experience with such contracts, I think
it would be desirable to review the effectiveness of this means of accom-
plishing the Government's purposes. Some of the questions that require
review have been posed recently in studies and reports by several com-
mittees of Congress. I would like to have you undertake, with the
assistance and cooperation of the other Federal officials most con-
cerned, a review of the experience with respect to the types of con-
tracts mentioned above. I am requesting the following officials to
participate in the study: the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of
the Atomic Energy Commission, the Chairman of the United States
Civil Service Commission, the Administrator of the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration, and the Special Assistant to the
President for Science and Technology.
The product of the review should be recommendations to guide
future executive branch action. While there is a consensus that the use
of contracts is essential and appropriate to carry on certain types of
Federal operations, it also appears that use of the contract device
has been made necessary in part by the limitations which exist with
respect to direct Federal operations. I would like to have you explore
the circumstances and conditions under which contractor operations
provide the most effective means for accomplishing the Government's
objectives in the areas under review. I would also like to have full
consideration given to the limitations which make direct Federal
operations difficult, and to the development of proposals for adjust-
ments and new concepts in direct Federal operations which would
provide the Government with greater flexibility in determining
PAGENO="0371"
367
whether the public interest would best be served by the use of con-
tractor or direct Government operations.
The review should focus on the following matters: (1) the effect of
the use of contractors on direct Federal operations, the Federal per-
sonnel system, and the Government's own capabilities, including the
capability to review contractor operations and carry on scientific
and technical work in areas where the contract device has not been
used, and policies and actions needed to increase the Government's
capabilities in these respects; (2) the policies, if any, that the Gov-
ernment should follow in controlling the salaries and fringe bene-
fits of personnel working under a contract, and the appointment,
management and dismissal of such personnel; (3) the criteria to be
used in determining whether to perform a service or function through
a contractor or through direct Federal operations, including any
special considerations to be given to the nature of the contractor
and his relationship to production contractors; (4) the policies which
should apply in selecting contractors, including the organization of
institutions for the sole purpose of entering into contracts with the
Government; (5) the means for reviewing and supervising contractor
operations, and for achieving maximum efficiency in such operations;
and (6) the policies which should apply with respect to contractor
fees and cost reimbursement practices on items such as overhead,
facilities and equipment, and advertising.
The results of the review should be available not later than
December 1.
Sincerely,
JOHN F. KENNEDY.
PAGENO="0372"
APPENDIX B
EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 10521
March 19, 1954, 1~ F. R. 1499
ADMINISTRATION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH BY AGENCIES
OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Whereas. the security and welfare of the United States depend
increasingly upon the advancement of knowledge in the sciences; and
Whereas useful applications of science to defense, humanitarian,
and other purposes in the Nation require a strong foundation in basic
scientific knowledge and trained scientific manpower; and
Whereas the administration of. Federal scientific research programs
affecting institutions of learning must be consistentwith the preserva-
tion of the strength, vitality, and independence of higher education
in the United States; and
Whereas, in order to conserve fiscal and manpower resources, it is
necessary that Federal scientific research programs be administered
with all practicable efficiency and economy; and
Whereas the National Science Foundation has been established by
law for the purpose, among others, of developing and encouraging the
pursuit of an appropriate and effective national policy for the pro-
motion of basic research and education in the sciences:
Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Presi-
dent of the United States, it is hereby ordered as foflows:
SECTION 1. The National Science Foundation (hereinafter referred
to as the Foundation) shall from time to time recommend to the. Presi-
dent policies for the Federal Government which will strengthen the
national scientific effort and furnish guidance toward defining the
responsibilities of the Federal Government in the conduct and support
of sci~ntiflc research.
SEC. 2. The Foundation shall continue to make comprehensive
studies and recommendations regarding' the Nation's scientific re-
search effort and its resources for scientiflc activities, including f a-
cilities and scientific personnel, and its foreseeable scientific needs,
with particular attention to the extent of the Federal Government's ac-
tivities and the resulting effects upon trained scientific personnel. In
making such studies, the Foundation ~h~Ii make full use of existing
sources of information and research facilities within the Federal
Government..
Suc. 3. The Foundation, in concert with each Federal agency con-
cerned, shall review the scientific research programs and activities of
the Federal Government in order, aniong other purposes, to formulate
methods for strengthening the administration of such programs and
(368)
PAGENO="0373"
369
activities by the responsible agencies, and to study areas of basic re-
search where gaps or undesirable overlapping of support may exist,
and shall recommend to the heads of agencies concernmg the Support
given to basic research.
SEC. 4. As now or hereafter authorized or permitted by law, the
Foundation shall be increasingly responsible for providing support by
the Federal Government for general-purpose basic research through
contracts and grants. The conduct and support by other Federal agen-
cies of basic research in arms which are closely related to their mis-
sions is recognized as important and c[esirable, especially in response
to current national needs, and shall continue.
SEC. 5. The Foundation, in consultation with educational institu-
tions, the heads of Federal agencies, and the Commissioner of Eclu-
cation of the T)epartment of I-Iealth, Education, and Welfare, shall
study the effects upon educational institutions of Federal policies and
administration of contracts and grants for scientific research and de-
velopment, and shall recommend policies and procedures which will
promote the attainment of general national research objectives and
realization of the research needs of Federal agencies while safeguard-
ing the strength and independence of the Nation's institutions of
learning.
SEC. 6. The head of each Federal agency engaged in scientific re-
search shall make certain that effective executive, organizational, and
fiscal practices exist to ensure (a) that the Foundation is consulted on
policies concerning the support of basic research, (b) that `al?pioved
scientific research programs conducted by the agency are reviewed
continuously in order to preserve priorities in research efforts and to
adjust programs to meet changing conditions without imposing un-
necessary `added burdens on budgetary and other resources, (c) that
applied research and development shall be undertaken with sufficient
consideration of the underlying basic research a.nd such other factors
as relative urgency, project costs, and availability of manpower and
facilities, and (d) that, subject to considerations of security and ap-
plicable law, adequate dissemination shall he made within the Federal
Government of reports on the nature and progress of research projects
as an aid to the efficiency and economy of the overall Federal scientific
research program.
SEc. 7. Federal agencies supporting or engaging in scientific
research shall, with the assistance of the Foundation, cooperate in an
effort to improve the methods of classification and reporting of scien-
tific research projects and activities, subj oct to the requirements of
security of information.
SEC. 8. To facilitate the efficient use of scientific research equipment
and facilities held by Federal agencies:
(a) the `head of each such agency engaged in scientific research shall,
to the extent practicable, encourage `and facilitate the sharing with
other Federal agencies of major equipment and facilities;
(b) a Federal agency shall procure new maj or equipment or facili-
ties for scientific research purposes only after taking suitable steps to
ascertain that the need cannot be met adequately from existing inven-
tories or facilities of its own or of other agencies; and
(e) the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and
Development shall take necessary steps to ensure that each Federal
PAGENO="0374"
370
agency engaged directly in scientific research is kept informed of
selected major equipment and facilities which could serve the needs
of more than one agency. Each Federal agency possessing such equip-
ment and facilities shall maintain appropriate records to assist other
agencies in arranging for their joint use or exchange.
SEc. 9. The heads of the respective Federal agencies shall make such
reports concerning activities within the purview of this order as may
be required by the President.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.
THE Wrni~ HotTsE, March 17, 1954.
PAGENO="0375"
APPENDIX C
EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 10807
March 17, 1959, 24 P.R. 1897
FEDERAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Whereas science and technology are essential resources for the
security and welfare of the United States; and
Whereas Federal programs in science and technology will advance
our security, health, and economic welfare and the quality of education
in the United States; and
Whereas closer cooperation among Federal agencies will facilitate
the resolution of common problems in science and technology, promote
a greater measure of coordination, and otherwise improve the planning
and management of Federal programs in these fields:
Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President
of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. Establishment of Council. (a) There is hereby estab-
lished the Federal Council for Science and Teclmology (hereinafter
referred to as the Council).
(b) The Council shall be composed of the following-designated
members: (1) the Special Assistant to the President for Science and
Technology, (2) one representative of each of the following-named
departments, who shall be designated by the Secretary of the Depart-
ment concerned and shall be an official of the Department of policy
rank: the Departments of Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Com-
merce. and Health, Education, and Welfare, (3) the Director of
the National Science Foundation, (4) the Administrator of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and (5) a repre-
sentative of the Atomic Energy Commission, who shall be the Chair-
man of the Commission or another member of the Commission desig-
nated `by the Chairman. A representative of the Secretary of State
designated by the `Secretary and a representative of the Director of
the Bureau of the Budget designated by the Director may attend
meetings of the Council as observers.
(c) The Chairman of the Council (hereinafter referred to as the
Chairman) `shall be designated by the President from time to time
from among the members thereof. The Chairman may make provision
for another member of the Council, with the consent `of such member,
to act temporarily as Chairman.
(d) The Ohairman (1) may request the head of any Federal agency
not named in section 2(b) of `this order to designate a representative
to participate in meetings or parts of meetings of the Council concerned
(371)
PAGENO="0376"
372
with matters of substantial interest to the agency, and (2) may invite
other persons `to attend meetings of the Council.
(e) The Council shall meet at the call of the Chairman.
SEC. 2. Functions of Council. (a) T'he Council shall consider prob-
lems and developments in the fields of science and technology and re-
lated activities affecting more than one Federal agency or concerning
the over-all advancement of the Nation's science and technology, and
shall recommend policies `and other measures (1) to provide more ef-
fective planning and administration of Federal `scientific and tech-
nological programs, (2) to identify research needs including areas of
research requiring `additional emphasis, (3) to `achieve more effective
utilization of the scientific and technological resources and facilities
of Federal `agencies, including the elimination of unnecessary duplica-
tion, and (4) to further international cooperation in science and tech-
nology. In developing such policies and measures the Council, after
consulting, when considered appropriate by the Chairman, the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences, the President's Science Advisory Commit-
tee, and other organizations, shall consider (i) the effects of Federal
research and development policies and program's on non-Federal pro-
grams and institutions, (ii) long-range program plans designed to
meet the scientific and technological needs of the Federal Government,
including manpower and capital requirements, and (iii) the effects of
non-Federal programs in `science `and technology upon Federal re-
search and development policies and programs.
(b) The Council shall consider and recommend measures for the
effective implementat~on of Federal policies concerning the a cimims-
tration and conduct of Federal programs in science and technology.
(c) The Council shall perform such other related duties as shall be
assigned, consonant with law, by the President or by the Chairman.
(cl) The Chairman shall, from time to time, submit to the President
such of the Council's recommendations or reports as require `the atten-
tion of the President by reason of their importance or character.
Sec. 3. Agency assistance to Council. (a) For the purpose of ef-
fectuating this order, each Federal agency represented on the Council
shall furnish necessary assistance to the Council in consonance with
section 214 of the act `of May 3, 1945, 59 Stat. 134 (31 U.S.C. 691).
Such assistance may include (1) detailing employees to the Council to
perform such `functions, `consistent with the purposes of this order, as
the Chairman may assign to them, and (2) undeiituking, upon request
of the Chairman, such special studies for the Council as come within
the functions herein assigned to the Council.
(h) Upon request of the Chairman, the heads of Federal `agencies
shall, so far as practicable, provide the Council with information and
reports relating to the scientific and technological activities of the re-
spective agencies.
SEC. 4. Standing committees and panels. For the purpose of conduct-
ing studies and making reports as directed by the Chairman, `standing
committees and panels of the Council may be established in consonance
with the provisions of `section 214 of the act of May 3, 1945, 59 St'at. 134
(31 U.S.C. 691). At least one such standing committee shall be `com-
posed of a scientist-administrators representing Federal agencies, shall
provide `a forum for consideration of common administrative policies
and procedures relating to Federal research and development activities
PAGENO="0377"
and for formulation of recommendations thereon, and shall perform
such other related functions as may be. assigned to it by the Chairman
of the Council.
SEC. 5. Security procedures. The Chairman shall establish proce-
dures to insure the security of classified information used by or in. the
custody of the Council or employees under its jurisdiction.
SEC. 6. Other orders; construction of orders. (a) Executive Order
No. 9912 of December 24, 1947, entitled "Establishing the interdepart-
mental Committee on Scientific Research and Development," is hereby
revoked.
(b) Executive Order No. 10521 of March 17, 1954, entitled "Admin-
istration of Scientific Research by Agencies of the Federal Govern-
ment," is hereby amended:
(1) By substituting for section 1 thereof the following:
"SECTION 1. The National Science Foundation (hereinafter referred
to as the Foundation) shall from time to time recommend to the Presi-
dent policies for the promotion and support of basic research and edu-
cation in the sciences, including policies with respect to furnishing
guidance toward defining the responsibilities of the Federal Govern-
ment in the conduct and support of basic scientific research."
(2) By inserting before the words "scientific research programs and
activities" in section 3 thereof the word "basic".
(3) (i) By adding the word "and" at the end of paragraph (a) of
section 8 thereof, (ii) by deleting the semicolon and the word "and" at
the end of paragraph (b) of section 8 and inserting in lieu thereof a
period, and (iii) by revoking paragraph (c) of section 8.
(4) By adding at the end of the order a new section 10 reading as
follows:
"SEC. 10. The National Science Foundation shall provide leadership
in the effective coordination of the scientific information activities of
the Federal Government with a view to improving the availability and
dissemination of scientific information. Federal agencies shall coop-
erate with and assist the National Science Foundation in the perform-
aiice of this function, to the extent permitted by law."
(c) The provisions of Executive Order No. 10521, as hereby
amended, shall not limit the functions of the Council under this order.
The provisions of this order shall not limit the functions of any Fed-
eral agency or officer under Executive Order No. 10521, as hereby
amended.
(cI) The Council shall be advisory to the President. and to the heads
of Federal agencies represented on the Council; accordingly, this order
shall not be construed as subjecting any agency, officer, or function to
control by the Council.
DWIGHT D. EIsENHowER.
THE WHITE HOUSE, Marc/i 13, 1969.
PAGENO="0378"
APPENDIX P
[Circular No. A-64 (Revised) I
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET,
Washington, D.C., June p28, 1965.
Subject: Position management systems and employment ceilings.
To the Heads of Executive Departments and establishments:
1. Purpose. This Circular (a) establishes criteria for the operation
of an effective position management system, and (b) sets forth in-
formation on the concepts and procedures to be followed with regard
to employment ceilings, their observance, and related reporting to the
Bureau of the Budget. Effective July 31, 1965, this revised Circular
replaces Circular No. A-64 dated March 31, 1964, as amended by
Transmittal Memorandum No. 1 of January 5, 1965.
2. Polic'q. Consistent with the policy of reducing Government costs
(see Bureau of the Budget Circular No. A-44, Revised, March 29,
1965), the President expects each agency head to pursue vigorously
the efforts of his agency to achieve lower employment levels and
increased productivity through tighter management, aggressive man-
power utilization programs, simplification of procedures, and strip-
ping work to essentials; and to assure strict observance of the
employment ceilings.
3. Position management.
a. Each department and agency will develop and maintain a posi-
tion management system designed to assure that the work is organized
and assigned among positions in a manner which will serve mission
needs most effectively and economically. As used in this Circular,
position management includes the evaluation of the need for posi-
tions and required skills and knowledge; and the organization,
grouping and assignment of duties and responsibilities among all
positions. The position structure should be designed to utilize the most
effective work processes, equipment, procedures, methods and
techniques.
The position management system should be designed to identify,
prevent and eliminate such common faults as unnecessary organiza-
tional fragmentation, excessive layering, excessive use of deputies,
assistants to, and special assistants, improper design of jobs, out-
moded work methods, and improper distribution of manpower re-
sources.
b. A position management system should be developed which is best
adapted to the needs of a particular agency or program. Provision
normally should be made in each position management system, how-
ever, for the following key elements:
(374)
PAGENO="0379"
375
(1) Assignment of responsibility. Responsibility for work organi-
zation and position management should be explicitly assigned to line
managers at appropriate levels in the organization.
(2) Utilization of total staff resources. In carrying out their re-
sponsibilities, line managers should utilize budget, planning, manage-
ment analysis, personnel, and other special staff in the development
and continuing operation of an effective position management sys-
tem in the organization. it is especially important that the work of
the different staff elements be coordinated and mutually supporting.
(3) Position authorization and enploynnent controls. A position
authorization and employment control procedure should be estab-
lished to assure that existing and proposed work organization and.
staffing arrangements meet the requirements of good position man-
agement. Such a procedure must have as its basis adequate records,
not only to identify the numbers of employees, but to identify posi-
tively the types of employment which are covered by the attached
statement of definitions.
The procedure must ensure that (a) employment requirements are
kept under continuous review, (b) positions authorized are limited
to those that can be financed from available funds, (c) year-end em-
ployment does not exceed the approved ceiling, and (d) employment
is not permitted to reach a point at any time during the year which
would require reduction-in-force or other disruptive or uneconomical
actions to get within the approved ceiling by year-end.
The requirements for the authorized position structure should be
determined principally through the budget process, but also through
the use of such t.ools as work measurement, work standards, produc-
tivity analysis, and manpower and workload reporting. An adequate
position authorization and employment control system should provide
control over total employment as well as over full-time employment in
permanent positions.
(4) Vacancy control. Before any vacancy is filled, a review should
be made to determine whether the duties of the position can be elimi-
nated, assigned to other positions, or modified to permit performance
at a lower grade.
(5) Posifrion reclassification.. Before any position is reclassified, the
organizational work pattern should be thoroughly reviewed to ascer-
tain the necessity for assigning responsibilities as high as the grade
being proposed. Approval should be withheld unless the review indi-
cates that such action is clearly consistent with the aims of effective and
economical accomplishment of the agency mission.
(6) Approval of organi~ational changes.. Each proposed change of
organization or position structure should be reviewed and approved
as appropriate from the standpoint of work design, occupational dis-
.tribution, grade distribution, manpower requirements, and costs.
(7) Interagency sharing of personnel resources. Efforts to achieve
effective manpower utilization should include the exploration of possi-
ble arrangements with other agencies for the sharing of personnel
resources to meet certain nonrecurring needs or to take care of con-
tinuing housekeeping or administrative services. This type of arrange-
ment could be advantageous for small offices, in Washington or in the
field, but may be also applicable to specialized work in larger offices,
PAGENO="0380"
376
particularly where other agencies are better equipped to perform such
services more effectively and economically.
(8) Reporting. The position management system should provide
complete, accurate, reliable, and timely information on numbers of
en'iployees to meet central reporting requirements of the Civil Serv-
ice Commission and the Bureau of the Budget as well as periodic
reports for the use of the agency in reviewing the effectiveness of the
system. The reports should provide essential data for effective analysis
by the agency head and upon request by the Bureau of the Budget,
the Civil Service Commission, and the Congress. While the frequency
of central reporting will vary from agency to agency, the system
should make it possible to provide management, either periodically or
upon request, with the following information:
(a) The number of positions authorized under the position manage-
ment system, by employment category and grade. (See Attachment
A for definitions of employment categories.)
(b) The number of occupied positions, by employment category and
grade.
(c) Any new arrangements entered into for the provision of services
by contract.
(d) An analysis and explanation of any significant changes in the
position structure, together with an analysis of any longer-term trends
indicated.
(9) Special reviews. When budget reviews, internal management
appraisals, quarterly reports, or other available data indicate that an
organization may not be achieving effective position management,
action should be initiated to identify the reasons and bring about
changes in personnel, organization structure, management piactices~
or work processes to achieve improvement.
c. Assessments of the effectiveness of its position management sys
tem should be made by the department or agency itself, and will he
made by the Bureau of the Budget as part of if.s continuing surveil-
lance of agency programs, by the Civil Service. Commission in its
inspection of position classification, and as a l)art of the joint reviews
of management and manpower utilization conducted by the Bureau of
the Budget, the Civil Service Commission, and the agencies under
review.
4. System and nature of employment ceilings.
a. Maximum allowable employment figures ("employment ceilings")
are determined by the President at the time of the annual budget re-
view, both for the end of the fiscal year then in progress and for the
end of the succeeding fiscal year.
b. Each year the employment ceilings applicable to the year in
progress are intended to be absolute limits as of the end of the fiscal
year, consistent with the employment reportable to the Civil Service
Commission on the Standard Form 113 series, and in accordance with
this Circular.
c. Generally, employment ceilings reflect budget proposals and
assumptions with regard to workload, efficiency, proposed new leg-
islation, interagency reimbursable arrangements, and other special
financing methods. Employment included for proposed legislation, or
for carrying out proposed supplemental appropriations, must be re-
PAGENO="0381"
377
served until the additional funds become available by congressional
action. Employment under estimated reimbursable arrangements must
also be reserved until such arrangements have been negotiated.
d. Any decision to substitute the use of service contracts for direct
employment, or t.o change the proportionate use of full-time (perma-
nent or temporary), part-time, or intermittent employment must be
based on considerations of effectiveness and economy in administering
Federal programs, and must not be used as a device to avoid com-
pliance with the ceilings.
5. Adjustments to empio~~ment ceilings. Under normal circmnstances
it would be expected that requests for revisions in employment ceilings
for the current year in progress would be considered by the Bureau of
the Budget during the examination of agency budget submissions for
the following year. In the case of unusual or emergency situations,
requests for revisions may be submitted at other times.
Revisions to employment ceilings will be considered only when
congressional action on the budget request, or on supplemental requests
or budget amendments transmitted after the budget, or any develop-
ment subsequent to the establishment of the ceilings dearly requires
a material change in the number of positions.
In the agency's request for an adjustment, it is not sufficient: merely
to justify the need for additional employment in a part.icula.r bureau
or unit. The justification should indicate clearly why the increase
cannot be absorbed through an internal adjustment in the agency's
ceiling distribution, or why the need cannot be postponed to the
next fiscal year.
All requests for adjustments in ceilings will be brought to the Presi-
dent's attention througl~ the Bureau of the Budget.
6. I?epoi't of violations. It is tIme responsibility of each agency head
to insure that the end-of-year employment is kept withhm the approved
ceilings. In exceptional situations where the end-of-year employment
exceeds an approved ceiling, the agency head will be responsible for
the preparatjon of a report containing:
a. An explanation of the factors which caused employment to exceed
the ceiling;
b. A s1~atement describing the specific weaknesses in the agency's
employment control system which permitted the violation to occur
and the action taken to prevent recurrence of such violations; and
c. A schedule showing by bureau, the agency's distribution of the
estai)lishe.d ceiling and the corresponding numbers of employees at the
end of the year.
An original and two copies of the report described above will be
submitted to the Bureau of the Budget no later than the 20th of the
month following the end of the fiscal year.
CHARLES L. SCHULTZE, Director.
Attachment.
DEF~NITJONS OF EMPLOYMENT CATEGORIES
Note that the three types of employment are the equivalent of those
set forth in the Federal Personnel Manual, Chapter 292. The employ~
mont categories used in the Civil Service Commission Monthly Re
PAGENO="0382"
378
port of Federal Civilian Employment (Standard Form 113-A) are
consistent with these definitions.
1. A full-time employee is one who is regularly scheduled to work
the number of hours and days required by the administrative work-
week for his employment group or class. (Most full-time employees
have an administrative workweek of 5 days of 8 hours each). Such
employees may occupy either of two types of positions.
a. A permanent position-one which has been established with-
out time limit, or for a limited period of a year or more, or which,
in any event, has been occupied for a year or more (regardless of
the intent when it was established).
h. A temporary position-one which has been established for
a limited period of less than a year a.nd which has not been occu-
pied for more than a year.
2. A part-time employee is one who is regularly employed on a pre-
scheduled tour of duty which is less than the specified hours or days of
work for full-time employees in the same group or class.
3. An intermittent employee is one who is employed on an irregular
or occasional basis, with hours or days of work not on a prearranged
schedule, and with compensation only for the time actually employed
or for services actually rendered.
PAGENO="0383"
APPENDIX E
[Circular No. A-76 (Revised)]
ExECUTIvIi OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET,
Wc'~shington, D.C., August 30,1967.
Transmittal Memorandum No.1.
Subject: Policies for acquiring commercial or industrial products and
services for Government use.
To the Heads of Executive Departments and Establishments:
Transmitted herewith is a revision of Bureau of the Budget Circu-
lar A-76 dated March 3, 1966. It is issue.d to clarify some provisions
of the earlier Circular and to lessen the burden of work by the agencies
in implementing its provisions. A brief summary of the changes is
attached.
There is no change in the Government's general policy of relying
upon the private enterprise system to supply its needs, except where
it is in the national interest for the Government to provide directly
the products and services it uses.
We intend to keep the provisions of the Circular under continuing
review. We anticipate that further changes will be desirable in light
of experience gained from implementing the Circular's provisions,
including the required reviews of existing Government commercial
or industrial activities to be completed by June 30, 1968. We intend
to give special attention to the adequacy of the guidelines contained in
the Circular for such matters as coniparativ~ cost analyses; the cir-
cumstances under which cost differentials in favor of private enter-
prise are appropriate; and the use of contracts involving support
services that require minimal capital investment.
We welcome your suggestions.
PHILLIP S. HUGHES, Acting Director.
Attachments.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET,
Washington, D.C., August 30,1967.
Subject: Policies for acquiring commercial or industrial products and
services for Government use.
To the Heads of Executive Departments and Establishments:
1. Purpose. This Circular replaces Bureau of the Budget Circular
A-76 issued March 3, 1966. It is issued to clarify some provisions of
the earlier Circular and to lessen the burden of work by the agencies
in implementing its provisions. The basic policies to be applied by
executive agencies in determining whether commercial and industrial
products and services used by the Government `are to be provided by
(379)
PAGENO="0384"
380
private suppliers or by the Government itself are the same as those
contained in Circular A-76 dated March 3, 1966.
2. Policy. The guidelines in this Circular are in furtherance of the
Government's general policy of relying on the private enterprise sys-
tem to supply its needs.
In some instances, however, it is in the national interest for the Gov-
ernment to provide directly the products and services it uses. These
circumstances are set forth in paragraph 5 of this Circular.
No executive agency will initiate a "new start" or continue the op-
eration of an existing "Government commercial or industrial activity"
except as specifically required by law or as provided in this Circular.
3. Definitions. For purposes of this Circular:
a. A "new start" is a newly established Government commercial or
industrial activity involving additional capital investment of $25,000
or more or additional annual costs of production of $50,000 or more.
A reactivation, expansion, modernization or replacement of an activ-
ity involving additional capital investment of $50,000 or more or adcli-
tional annual costs of production of $100,000 or more are, for purposes
of this Circular, also regarded as "new starts." Consolidation of two
or more activities without increasing the overall total amount of prod-
ucts or services provided is not a "new start."
b. A Government commercial or industrial activity is one which is
operated and managed by an executive agciwy and which provides for
the Government's own use a. prothict or service that is obtainable from
a private source. The term does not include a Government-owned con-
tractor-operated activity.
c. A private eom~merckil source is a. private business concern which
rov~des a commercial or industrial product or service required by
agencies and which is located in the United States, its territories and
possessions, the District of Columbia., or the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico.
4. Scope. This Circular is applicable to commercial and industrial
products and services used b executive agencies, except that it:
a.. 1~Tjfl not be used as authority to enter into contracts if such au-
thority does not otherwise. exist nor will it be used to justify departure
from any law or regulation, including regulations of the Civil Service
Commission or other appropriate authority, nor will it be used for the
purpose of avoiding established salary or personnel limitations.
b. Does not alter the existing requirement that executive agencies
will perform for themselves t.hose basic functions of management
which they must perform in order to retain essential control over the
conduct of their programs. These functions include selection and
direction of Government employees, assignment of organizational re-
sponsibilities, planning of programs, establishment of performance
goals and priorities, and evaluation of performance.
c. Does not apply to managerial advisory services such as those
normally provided by an office of general counsel, a management and
organization staff, or a systems analysis unit. Advisory assistance in
areas such as these may be provided either by Government staff orga-
nizations or from private sources as deemed appropriate by executive
agencies.
d. Does not apply to products or services which are provided to the
public. (But an executive agency which provides a product or service
PAGENO="0385"
381
to the public should apply the provisions of this Circular with respect
to any commercial or industrial products or services which it uses.)
e. Does not apply to products or services obtained from other
Federal agencies which are authorized or required by law to furnish
them.
f. Should not be applied when its application would be inconsistent
with the terms of any treaty or international agreement.
5. Circumstances under which the Government may provide a com-
mercial or industrial product or service for its own use. A Government
commercial or industrial activity may be authorized only under one or
more of the following conditions:
a. Procurement of a product or service from a commercial source
would disrupt or materially delay an agency's program. The fact that
a commercial or industrial activity is classified or is related to an agen-
cy's basic program is not an adequate reason for starting or continuing
a Government activity, but a Government agency may provide a prod-
uct or service for its own use if a review conducted and documented as
provided in paragraph 7 establishes that reliance upon a commercial
source will disrupt or materially delay the successful accomplishment
of its program.
b. It is necessary for the Government to conduct a commercial or in-
dustrial activity for purposes of combat support or for individual and
unit retraining of military personnel or to maintain or strengthen
mobilization readiness.
c. A satisfactory commercial source is not available and cannot be
developed in time to provide a product or service when it is needed.
Agencies' efforts to find satisfactory commercial sources should be
supplemented as appropriate by obtaining assistance from the Gen-
eral Services and Small Business Administrations or the Business and
Defense Services Administration. Urgency of a requirement is not
an adequate reason for starting or continuing a Government commer-
cial or industrial activity unless there is evidence that commercial
sources are not able and the Government is able to provide a product
or service when needed.
d. The product or service is available from another Federal agency.
Excess property available from other Federal agencies should be used
in preference to new procurement as provided by the Federal Property
and administrative Services Act of 1949, and related regulations.
Property which has not been reported excess also may be provided
by other Federal agencies and unused plant and production capacity
of other agencies may be utilized. In such instances, the agency sup-
plying a product or service to another agency is responsible for com-
pliance with this Circular. The fact that a product or service is being
provided to another agency does not by itself justify a Government
commercial or industrial activity.
e. Procurement of the product or service from a commercial source
will result ~n higher cost to the Government. A Government com-
mercial activity may be authorized if a comparative cost analysis
prepared as provided in this Circular indicates that the Government
can provide or is providing a product or service at a cost lower than if
the product or service were obtained from commercial sources.
However, disadvantages of starting or continuing Government
activities must be carefully weighed. Government ownership and
93-201--OS----25
PAGENO="0386"
382
operation of facilities usually involve removal or withholding of
property from tax rolls, reduction of revenues from income and other
taxes, and diversion of management attention from the Government's
primary program objectives. Losses also may occur due to such factors
as obsolescence of plant and equipment and unanticipated reductions
in the Government's requirements for a product or service. Govern-
ment commercial activities should not be started or continued for
reasons involving comparative costs unless savings are sufficient to
justify the assumption of these and similar risks and uncertainties:
6. Cost comparisons. A decision to rely upon a Government activity
for reasons involving relative costs must be supported by a compara-
tive cost analysis which will disclose as accurately as possible the dif-
ference between the cost which the Government is incurring or will
incur under each alternative.
Commercial sources should be relied upon without incurring the
delay and expense of conducting cost comparison studies for products
or services estimated to cost the Government less than $50,000 per year.
However, if there is reason to believe that inadequate competition or
other factors are causing commercial prices to be unreasonable, a cost
comparison study will be directed by the agency head or by his
designee even if it is estimated that the Government will spend less
than $50,000 per year for the product or service. A Government activ-
ity should not be authorized on the basis of such a comparison study,
however, unless reasonable efforts to obtain satisfactory prices from
existing commercial sources or to develop other commercial sources
are unsuccessful.
Cost comparison studies also should be made before deciding to rely
upon a commercial source when terms of contracts will cause the
Government to finance directly or indirectly more than $50,000 for
cost of facilities and equipment to be constructed to Government
specifications. Cost comparison studies should also be made in other
cases if there is reason to believe that savings can be realized by the
Government providing for its own needs. Such studies will not be
made, however, if in-house provision of the product or service, or
commercial procurement thereof, is clearly justified in accordance with
other provisions of this Circular.
The determination as to whether to purchase or to lease equipment
or to construct buildings or acquire their use under lease-construction
arrangements involves a determination of the difference in costs under
the alternatives, and the principles set forth in this Circular should
be applied to the extent relevant in making such determinations.
a. Costs of obtaining products or services from commercial sources
should include amounts paid directly to suppliers, transportation
charges, and expenses of preparing bid invitations, evaluating bids, and
negotiating, awarding, and managing contracts. Costs of materials
furnished by the Government to contractors, appropriate charges for
Government-owned equipment and facilities used by contractors and
costs due to incentive or premium provisions in contracts also should
be included. If discontinuance of a Government commercial or indus-
trial activity will cause a facility being retained by the Government
for mobilization or other reasons to be placed in a standby status, the
costs of preparing and maintaining the facility as standby also should
be included. Similarly, if such a discontinua.nce is expected to result
PAGENO="0387"
383
in premature retirement of Government employees which will cause a
significant increase in retirement costs to the Government, such in-
creased cost should be added to the cost of procurement from commer-
cial sources. Costs of obtaining products or services from commercial
sources should be documented and organized for comparison with costs
of obtaining the product or service from a Government activity.
b. For purposes of economy and simplicity in making cost compari-
son studies, generally agreed costs that would tend to be the same un-
der either alternative need not be measured and included (for ex-
ample, bid and award costs and operating costs under lease-purchase
alternatives).
c. Costs of obtaining products or services from Government activities
should include all costs which would be incurred if a product or serv-
ice were provided by the Government and which woulld not be in-
curred if the product or service were obtained from a commercial
source. The objectives should be to compute, as realistically as possible,
the incremental or additional cost that would be incurred by the Gov-
ernment under the alternatives under consideration. In making such
determinations it is important that recognition be given to the full
amount of additional or incremental direct and indirect cost to be in-
curred in providing the products or services required. Under this gen-
eral principle, the following costs should be included, considering the
circumstances of each case:
(1) Personal services and benefits. Include costs of all elements of
compensation and allowance for both military and civilian personnel,
including the full cost to the Government of retirement systems, calcu-
late.d on a normal cost basis, Social Security taxes where applicable, em-
ployees' insurance, health, and medical plans, (including services avail-
able from Government military or civilian medical facilities), living
allowances, uniforms, leave, termination and separation allowances,
travel and moving expenses, and claims paid through the Bureau of
Employees' Compensation.
(2) Materials, supplies, and utilities services. Include costs of sup-
plies and materials used in providing a product or service and costs of
transportation, storage, handling, custody, and protection of property,
and costs of electric power, gas, water, and communications services.
(3) Maintenance and repair. Include costs of maintaining and re-
pairing structures and equipment which are used in providing a prod-
uct or service.
(4) Damage or loss of property. Include costs of uninsured losses
due to fire or other hazard, costs of insurance premiums and costs of
settling loss and damage claims.
(5) Federal taxes. Include income and other Federal tax revenues
(except Social Security taxes) received from corporation or other
business entities (but not from individual stockholders) if a product
or service is obtained through commercial channels. Estimates of
corporate income for these purposes should be based upon the earnings
experience of the industry, if available, but if such data are not avail-
able. The Quarterly Financial Report of Manufacturing Corporation,
published by the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and
Exchange Commission may be consulted. Assistance of the appropriate
Government regulatory agencies may be obtained in estimating taxes
for regulated industries.
PAGENO="0388"
384
(6) Depreciation. Compute depreciation as a cost for any new or
additional facilities or equipment which will be required if a Gov-
ernment activity is started or continued. Depreciation will not be
allocated for facilities and equipment acquired by the Government
before the cost comparison study is started. However, if reliance upon
a commercial source will cause Government-owned equipment or f a-
cilities to become available for other Federal use or for disposal as
surplus, the cost comparison analysis should include as a cost of the
Government activity, an appropriate amount based upon the estimated
current market value of such equipment or facilities. The Internal Rev-
enue Service publication, Depreciation Guidelines and Rules may be
used in computing depreciation. However, rates contained in this
publication are maximums to be used oniy for reference purposes
and only when more specific depreciation data are not available. Ac-
celerated depreciation rates permitted in some instances by the In-
ternal Revenue Service will no~ be used. In computing the deprecia-
tion cost of new or additional facilities or equipment to be acquired
if a Government activity is started or continued and in determining
comparative costs under lease-purchase alternatives, appropriate rec-
ognition should be given to estimated residual or salvage values of the
facilities or equipment.
(7) Interest. Compute interest for any new or additional capital to
be invested based upon the average rate of yield for long-term Treas-
ury bonds as shown in the current monthly Treasury Bulletin. The
method of computation should provide for reduction in the capital
investment to which interest is applied over the useful life of the asset
on a straight-line basis.
(8) Indirect costs. Include any additional indirect costs incurred re-
sulting from a Government activity for such activities as management
and supervision, budgeting, accounting, personnel, legal and other
applicable services.
7. Adrnini~tering the policy.
a. Inventory. Each agency will compile and maintain an inventory
of its commercial or industrial activities having an annual output of
products or services costing $50,000 or more or a capital investment
of $25,000 or more. In addition to such general descriptive information
as may be appropriate, the inventory should include for each activity
the amount of the Government's capital investment, the amount pa;id
annually for the products or services involved, and the basis upon
which the activity is being continued under the provisions of this
Circular. The general descriptive information needed for identifying
each activity should have been included in the inventory by June 30,
1966. Other information needed to complete the inventory should be
added as reviews required in paragraphs 7.b. and c. are completed.
b. "New starts."
(1) A "new start" should not be initiated until possibilities of
obtaining the product or service from commercial sources have been
explored and not until it is approved by the agency head or by an
assistant secretary or official of equivalent rank on the basis of factual
justification for establishing the activity under the provisions of this
Circular.
(2) If statutory authority and funds for construction are required
before a "new start" can be initiated, the actions to be taken under
PAGENO="0389"
385
this Circular should be completed before the agency's budget request
is submitted to the Bureau of the Budget. Instructions concerning data
to be submitted in support of such budget requests will be included in
annual revisions of Bureau of the Budget Circular No. A-li.
(3) A "new start" should not be proposed for reasons involving
comparative costs unless savings are sufficient to outweigh uncertain-
ties and risks of unanticipated losses involved in Government
activities.
The amount of savings required as justification for a "new start"
will vary depending on individual circumstances. Substantial savings
should be required as justification if a large new or additional capital
investment is involved or if there are possibilities of early obsolescence
or uncertainties regarding maintenance and production costs, prices
and future Government requirements. Justification may be based on
smaller anticipated savings if little or no capital investment is in-
volved, if chances for obsolescence are minimal, and if reliable in-
formation is available concerning production costs, commercial prices
and Government requirements. While no precise standard is perseribed
in view of these varying circumstances a "new start" ordinarily should
not be approved unless costs of a Government activity will be at least
10 percent less than costs of obtaining the product or service from
commercial sources. It is emphasized that 10 percent is not intended to
be a fixed figure.
A decision to reject a proposed "new start" for comparative cost
reasons should be reconsidered if actual bids or proposals indicate
that commercial prices will be higher than were estimated in the cost
comparison study.
(4) When a "new start" begins to operate it should be included in
an agency's inventory of commercial and industrial activities.
c. Existing Government activities.
(1) A systematic review of existing commercial or industrial activi-
ties (including previously approved "new starts" which have been in
operation for at least 18 months) should be maintained in each agency
under the direction of the agency head or the person designated by
him as provided in paragraph 8. The agency head or his designee may
exempt designated activities if he decides that such reviews are not
warranted in specific instances. Activities not so exempted should be
reviewed at least once before June 30, 1968. More frequent reviews of
selected activities should be scheduled as deemed advisable. Activities
remaining in the inventory after June 30, 1968, should be scheduled
for at least one additional followup review during each three-year
period but this requirement may be waived by the agency head or
his designee if he concludes that such further review is not warranted.
(2) Reviews should be organized in such a manner as to ascertain
whether continued operation of Government commercial activities is
in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. Reviews should in-
clude information concerning availability from commercial sources of
products or services involved and feasibility of using commercial
sources in lieu of existing Government activities.
(3) An activity should be continued for reasons of comparative
costs only if a comparative cost analysis indicates that savings result-
ing from continuation of the activity are at least sufficient to outweigh
the disadvantages of Government commercial and industrial activities.
PAGENO="0390"
386
No specific standard or guideline is prescribed for deciding whether
savings are sufficient to justify continuation of an existing Govern-
ment commercial activity and each activity should be evaluated on the
basis of the applicable circumstances.
(4) A report of each review should be prepared. A decision to con-
tinue an activity should be approved by an assistant secretary or offi-.
cial of equivalent rank and the basis for the decision should appear
in the inventory record for the activity. Activities not so approved
should be discontinued. Reasonable adjustments in the timing of such
actions may be made, however, in order to alleviate economic disloca-
tions and personal hardships to affected career personnel.
8. Implementation. Each agency is responsible for making the pro-
visions of this Circular effective by issuing appropriate implementing
instructions and by providing adequate management support and
procedures for review and followup to assure that the instructions are
placed in effect. A copy of the implementing instructions issued by
each agency will be furnished to the Bureau of the Budget.
If overall responsibility for these actions is delegated by the agency
head, it should be `assigned to a senior official reporting directly to the
agency head.
If legislation is needed in order to carry out the purposes of this
Circular, agencies should prepare necessary legislative proposals for
review in accordance with Bureau of the Budget Circular No. A-iD.
9. Effective date. This Circular is effective on October 2, 1967.
PHILLIP S. 1-IUGHEs, Acting Director.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN BUREAU OF THE BUDGET CIRCULAR NO. A-76 AS
REVISED AUGUST 19 G 7
Paragraph 3-Definitions
3.a. The definition for a "new start" has been split as between (a) a
newly established Government commercial or industrial activity and
(b) a reactivation, expansion, modernization, or replacement of an
activity. These separate definitions have been provided so that different
dollar limitations on capital investment and annual cost of production
may be applied. There is no change in the dollar limitations applicable
to newly established Government commercial or industrial activities.
But the dollar limitations have been doubled for the category of
"new starts" that are a reactivation, expansion, modernization, or re-
placement of an activity. The change is necessary in order to avoid
applying the "new start" procedures to routine adjustments for han-
dling existing workload. For example, the replacement of a single
machine tool at a shipyard may easily add capital cost of more than
$25,000, or the addition of only 10 employees at relatively low grades
would add more than $50,000 per year to production cost. This type
of change occurs several times a year at a large facility and, under the
terms of the earlier Circular A-76, each such change would have to be
treated as a "new start" with a detailed cost study and a special
approval.
3.b. The definition of a Government commercial or industrial activ-
lty has been clarified. The earlier Circular, by definition, excluded a
PAGENO="0391"
387
Government-owned-contractor-operated activity but the wording was
not entirely clear. The change made clarifies the fact that a Govern-
ment-owned-contractor-operated activity is not to be regarded as a
Government commercial or industrial activity for purposes of the
Circular.
Paragraph 4-Scope
4.c. The words "professional staff' that were contained in the earlier
Circular have been eliminated. Paragraph 4.c. is intended to exempt
various kinds of staff advisory services which are so intimately related
to the processes of top management and control of Government pro-
grams that the general provisions of A-76 favoring reliance upon
commercial sources should not be applicable. The term "professional
staff" was so broad that it could be interpreted to apply to a large
variety of services which are commercially available and which are
not necessarily related intimately to top management and control of
Government programs. The change will clarify the meaning of this
subparagraph.
Paragraph 6-Cost comparisons
A change is made in the third unnumbered paragraph to make clear
that if there is reason to believe savings can be realized by the Govern-
ment providing for its own need~, cost comparison studies should be
made before deciding to rely upon a commercial source. However, the
changed wording also makes it clear that cost studies will not be re-
quired if in-house provision of the product or service, or commercial
procurement thereof, is clearly justified in accordance with other pro-
visions of the Circular.
A new unnumbered paragraph has been added to provide guidelines
for applying provisions of the Circular to purchase vs lease of equip-
ment, `and to construction of buildings vs acquisition under lease-con-
struction arrangements. The paragraph requires a determination of
the difference in costs under the alternatives, and application of the
principles set forth in the Circular in making judgments in these
areas.
6.a. A sentence has been added providing that if discontinuance of a
Government commercial or industrial activity will result in premature
retirement of Government employees, and will cause a significant in-
crease in retirement costs to the Government, such increased costs
should be added to the cost of procurement from commercial sources.
6.b. This is `a new `subparagraph. It provides that costs which would
tend to be `the same for both Government `and industry need not be
measured and included in comparative cost analyses (for example, bid
and `award costs and operating costs under lease-purchase alternatives).
T'he change is made in the interest of economy and simplicity in mak-
ing cost comparisons.
6.c. (Paragraph 6.b. in the earlier Circular). A sentence has been
added to clarify the fact that the incremental method of costing is
to be employed and to emphasize the importance of a realistic recog-
nition of `all such additional or incremental costs.
6.c.(1). (Paragraph 6.b.(l) in the earlier Circular). Some addi-
tional wording ha's been `added to clarify, in connection with personal
services and benefits, that the full cost to the Government of retire-
ment systems `should be included.
PAGENO="0392"
388
6.c. (6). (Paragraph 6.b.(6) in the earlier Circular). A sentence has
been added to make clear that appropriate recognition should be given
to estimated residual or salvage value of facilities or equipment in
computmg depreciation.
6.c. (7). (Paragraph 6.b. (7) in the earlier Circular). This para-
graph has been rewritten to provide that the computation of interest
for any new or additional capital to be invested will be based upon
the average rate of yield for long-term Treasury bonds as shown in
the current monthly Treasury Bulletin. Also, the method of computa-
tion suggested would provide for reduction in the capital investment
to which interest is applied as the asset is depreciated. The purpose
of the change is to clarify the rate and source of interest to be charged
and to provide guidance as to the principal to which it is to be applied.
The suggested rate is a readily available measure of the current cost
of money to the Government and the provision for reducing the bal-
ance to which interest is applied is considered reasonable because the
interest cost should not go on indefinitely.
6.c. (8). (Paragraph 6.b. (8) in the earlier Circular). A change in
wording has been made to clarify that Government costs should in-
clude any additional indirect costs incurred for such activities as man-
agement and supervision, budgeting, accounting, personnel, legal and
other applicable services.
Pa~zgraph 7-Adrnini~tering the po~icy
7.b. (3). Tn the past there has been some misunderstanding about
the ~ost differential in favor of private enterprise due to uncertainties
relal ing to Government production costs, equipment obsolescence,
and other factors, including the amount of capital investment in-
volved. A sentence has been added to clarify the fact that the ten per
cent cost differential in favor of private enterprise, mentioned in this
subparagraph, is not intended to be a fixed figure. The differential may
be more or less than ten percent, depending upon the circumstances in
each individual case.
Paragraph 8-Implementation
A sentence has been added requiring agencies to furnish the Bureau
of the Budget with a copy of their implementing instructions.
PAGENO="0393"
APPENDIX F
AEC POLLUTION REsEARCIT
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,
JOINT COMMITTEE ON ATo~IIo ENERGY,
November 15, 1966.
Mr. CHARLES L. SOHULTZE,
Director, Bureau of the Budget,
TVas/iington, D.C.
DEAR Mn. SOHULTZE: I am writing to discuss the overall pollution
of our environment, which President Johnson has described as "one
of the most pervasive problems of our society." I also wish to offer
some suggestions concerning use of existing facilities to help resolve
this critical problem affecting our Nation and the entire world.
Month by month the degree of concern over pollution, within the
scientific community and the public at large, becomes more intense.
Clearly, it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to furnish
dynamic leadership in planning and conducting a long-term program
to deal with this matter. In this connection, I have reviewed and been
impressed by last November's report of the Environmental Pollution
Panel of the President's Science Advisory Committee. On several
occasions I have publicly called attention to some of the Panel's most
significant conclusions.
One of these conclusions is that an urgent need exists to provide
additional trained personnel, with adequate facilities, to launch the
required broadscale attack on the manifold causes of environmental
pollution. While I generally agree with this view, I am concerned that
we may lose irretrievable lead-time in establishing new organizations
and facilities, which will result in wasteful duplication and fail to
achieve the desired results. We can and must make the optimum use of
the qualified people and facilities currently available to us.
For more than two decades, the Federal Government has supported
a vast program of research and development including the construc-
tion of expensive laboratories and other scientific establishments.
These plants are furnished with the most advanced equipment. Thou-
sands of scientists and engineers have been trained at Federal expense,
and there exist in this country a number of highly skilled organizations
which we have built up and supported in order to devote their ener-
gies to the attainment of various national research and development
objectives. My efforts on the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and
the Government Operations Committee have convinced me of the
critical need for making better use of these Federal research establish-
ments in solving the dilemma of environmental pollution, particularly
as it relates to urban desigii. This needs t.o be done in order to maximize
(389)
PAGENO="0394"
390
our scientific and technological progress and to achieve the best allo-
cation of scarce resources.
As a specific example I call your attention to the federally-sup-
ported atomic energy research laboratories. Unquestionably, these f a-
cilities represent a national asset of incomparable value. The plants
themselves are outstanding in their quality and diversity. They are
staffed by outstanding people, expert in both the physical and life sci-
ences. The systems type approach which they have applied to problems
of the magnitude and complexity of development of nuclear energy
for peaceful and military purposes especially qualifies these organiza-
tions for coping with the Herculean tasks which must be accomplished
in order to safeguard our environment against pollution. Moreover,
and very importantly, these organizations have had perhaps the most
extensive experience in many of the programs which must be pursued
now with great vigor, such as measurements of pollution, studies of its
effects, and analysis of waste disposal methods.
I have discussed this matter with Atomic Energy Commission Chair-
man Glenn Seaborg, and have requested him to consider carefully the
capabilities of our atomic energy facilities to contribute to the national
effort to abate pollution. I am also bringing this to your personal
attention because of your position of responsibility concerning the
overall programs of Executive Agencies. I hope you will specifically
review this subject with Dr. Seaborg to determine how best to utilize
these outstanding laboratories. Your efforts to assure that available
resources are used wherever possible are of the utmost importance in
promoting an effective, timely and economical Federal approach to
this problem. You can be assured of my support in these efforts.
I believe it is of vital importance that the matters I have discussed
be given full and early consideration. Accordingly, I would appreciate
an opportunity to talk with you about them as soon as our mutual
schedules permit.
With kindest regards,
Sincerely,
CHET HOLIFIELD, Chairman.
ExEcUTIvE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,
BUREAU OF THE BUDGET,
Washington, D.C., January 6, 1967.
Hon. CHET HOLIFIELD,
Chairman, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy,
Congress of the United States,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR CHET: I write in belated response to your letters of Novem-
ber 14 and 15 concerning the problems of pollution control research
and development, with specific reference to the possible use of AEC
facilities and to certain aspects of procurement practices among the
agencies involved.
We have discussed this matter in a preliminary way with AEC, and
we plan to make a more detailed exploration into the possibilities iden-
tified in your November 15 letter as soon as the current problems of
budget preparation are out of the way.
PAGENO="0395"
3~1
I cert~ainly share your concern that air and water pollution rep-
resents a very serious national problem and that we should give
careful thought to the means and methods to be pursuant in the years
immediately ahead in our efforts to cope with this problem. I, too, hope,
that we will be able to get together to talk about these matters. When
the budget is out of the way I would like to arrange a time to meet
with you.
CHARLES L. SCHULTZE, Director.
PAGENO="0396"
APPENDIX G
THE "KILLIAN COMMITTEE" REPORT, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,
1964
In 1964 a Committee on Utilization of Scientific and Engineering
Manpower of the National Academy of Sciences made its report, "To-
ward Better Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Talent: A Pro-
gram for Action." Chaired by James R. Killian, Jr., of Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, the committee undertook the study in response
to a recommendation to President Kennedy by Jerome Wiesner, his
special assistant for science and technology. Chapter III of this report
had to do with utilization of manpower and the Federal Government.
The 12 recommendations made and discussed in that chapter bear
more or less directly upon the utilization of Government laboratories.
The text of chapter III as follows:
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON UTILIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND
ENGINEERING MANPOWER
TOWARD BETTER UTILIzATIoN OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING TALENT-A Puo-
GRAM FOR ACTION
PREFACE
Suggestions that a study be undertaken to examine the utilization of scientists
and engineers in the United States originated in the President's Science Advisory
Committee and in the Federal Council for Science and Technology. As early as
1959, both bodies had expressed a need for such a review and had taken first
steps toward initiating a study.
In 1961, in response to a recommendation to President Kennedy by Jerome
Wiesner, his Special Assistant for Science and Technology, the President ap-
proved the undertaking of a study on utilization, together with a review of
requirements for the development of scientists and engineers between now and
1970. This latter review, it was agreed, should be undertaken by the President's
Science Advisory Committee.
The study of utilization, it was felt, could best be conducted through a non-
governmental body and supported from private sources. The National Academy
of Sciences was requested to appoint a committee to make such a study, and
to secure the necessary funds. The Academy agreed and in 1962 appointed the
Committee on Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Manpower; and, in
response to a proposal from the Academy, the Ford Foundation made a grant
to finance the Committee's work. This report reflects the views of the Com-
mittee, based on its two years of study.
The Committee expresses its gratitude for the subvention of the Ford Founda-
tion and for the generous conditions governing its use.
The Committee has been supported by an able staff: Marvin Adelson, Executive
Director, on leave from System Development Corporation; for various periods,
Vincent P. Rock, on leave from the Institute for Defense Analyses; Arnold
Nemore; Ernest Mosbaek; Allen 0. Gamble; and John Dickson.
UTILIZATION AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The federal government influences the deployment and utilization of scientific
and engineering manpower in three principal ways. (1) At the policy level, it
(392)
PAGENO="0397"
393
initiates major programs requiring a heavy investment of scientific and engi-
neering talent. (2) In implementing its programs it purchases a major share
of the nation's research and development effort, and of its end products. (3)
It directly employs many scientists and engineers. In addition, the federal
government is the largest supplier of information about scientists and engineers,
and about the activities, such as research and development, in which they
engage.
As the initiator of major national programs, over the past 15 years the
government has determined the deployment of hundreds of thousands of scien-
tists and engineers, its decision to invest heavily in the development of missiles
and of other advanced weapons systems, and more recently its decision to carry
through the manned lunar project by 1970, are together largely responsible for
the high proportion of scientists and engineers now engaged more or less
directly in national security and space efforts.
Through contracts and grants, the government has an indirect but powerful
influence on the utilization of a large fraction of the nation's scientific and
engineering manpower employed by industry and the universities. This influ-
ence is exerted by the government in its definitions of work to be funded, its
selection of the institutions where the work will be done and the individuals
who will do it, in the conditions it writes into contracts and grants under which
work will be performed, and in the skill and intelligence with which the work
is supervised by government scientists, engineers, and administrators.
Finally, the government directly employs more than 120 thousand scientists
and engineers, of whom one third are engaged in research and development.
The following series of recommendations is intended to help the government
improve its performance in each of these roles.
THE GOVERNMENT AS AN INITIATOR OF MAJOR PROGRAMS
1. Before the government reaches a decision to undertake a great technological
program (e.g., the lunar landing or the supersonic transport projects), it should
make a careful assessment of the impact of the decision on the deployment and
utilization of scientists and engineers.
In view of the way in which certain government decisions have radically
altered the pattern of deployment of scientists and engineers in recent years,
it might be supposed that major decisions had been preceded by careful studies
of their probable impact on the market for scientific and engineering manpower,
and, more broadly, of their effect on the general direction of scientific and
technological effort in the United States. Yet, so far as we can learn, no adequate
studies of the impact of these decisions were in fact made before the decisions
were taken. Indeed, meaningful studies probably could not have been made,
partly because the information on which to base them was not available.
Common sense suggests that there should be a careful calculation of the
requirements for scientific and engineering manpower that will flow from each
major decision of the federal government. When these requirements are large,
the government should make an estimate of what the resulting redeployment
of `the nation's manpower is likely to cost in money and in scientific `and engi-
neering manpower diverted from other objectives.
Such calculations and estimates are difficult to obtain. At the present time,
many different units of the federal government are involved in the collection,
analysis, and publication of information on scientific and technical personnel.
Even though considerable progress has been made toward the coordination of
these disparate activities, officials at the top levels of the government still lack
the kind of coordinated information they need if they are to assess accurately
the impact their `decisions are likely to have on the deployment and utilization of
scientific and engineering manpower.
2. Responsibility should be assigned to a unit within the Executive Office of
the President for (a) stimulating and coordinating planning by federal depart-
ments and agencies with respect to scientific and engineering manpower; (`b)
promoting research, both inside and outside government, that is likely to facili-
tate 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.
PAGENO="0398"
394
Executive Office leadership and coordination are clearly essential, both to
assess the impact of major decisions and to promote continuing improvement
in the utilization of scientists and engineers. The Committee does not propose
that the collection of information about scientific and engineering manpower be
accomplished by a single agency; centralization of this kind, in fact, is to be
avoided. It does propose that the data now being collected from various sources
be made more compatible. In some areas, additional data must be obtained.
In support of this objective, extensive and continuing analysis is needed to
ensure that information related to scientific and engineering manpower is both
adequate and useful for making major decisions in all sectors, and especially
in the federal government.
Another task of Executive leadership should be to strengthen research in the
field of scientific and engineering manpower. A considerable increase in expendi-
tures for development of organized information would yield a high return in
better utilization of scientists and engineers. Particularly urgent is the need for
research that will identify and help to resolve certain critical problems. For
example, convertibility and occupational mobility of scientists and engineers
critically affect their utilization; yet there is little useful information on this
subject.
The machinery and the precise arrangements required for the development
of an integrated federal policy on all manpower are not the proper concern of
this Committee. Nevertheless, it sees an acute need for a continuing assessment
of the total impact of government policies and activities on the development and
utilization of manpower in the United States. The Committee is encouraged by
the recent establishment by the President of a cabinet-level Committee on Man-
power.
THE GOVERNMENT AS PURCHASER
3. Each department and agency charged with major scientific or engineering
activities should assign to one of its top officials 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
activities; (b) bringing to the attention of his colleagues the implications, in
terms of scientific and engineering manpower, of proposed new programs; (c)
assessing the impact on manpower of cancellation, curtailment, 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; (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.
Decisions made within the departments and agencies of the government are of
key importance in determining how effectively a very large proportion of the
nation's scientific and engineering manpower outside the government is utilized.
At the present time, the direct attention paid to the utilization of scientific and
engineering manpower varies widely from agency to agency. The National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration, for example, as required by statute, has
actively sought and organized information on the numbers and kinds of scientific
and engineering personnel that are involved in its programs, including those em-
ployed by its contractors. The Department of Defense has very little `information
of this kind. It has, however, actively examined the impact of various manage-
ment policies and practices on project effectiveness, although not directly on
utilization of manpower. Responsibility for efficient use of scientific and engineer-
ing manpower tends to be widely diffused within most agencies, and is regarded
by most program managers as incidental to other `tasks. If this responsibility is
to be fulfilled effectively, it must be made the principal concern of designated of-
ficials at the highest level of department arid agency management.
4. The Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics arid Space Adminis-
tration, the Federal Aviation Agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, and other
agencies with major technological programs should continue to place great em-
phasis on improving the management of major projects by assigning to these
projects identifiably top-quality managers with both technical and administra-
tive skills, and giving them authority, responsibility, and resources necessary for
successful completion of projects.
PAGENO="0399"
395
We particularly commend measures already taken to give both military and
civilian personnel special training in project management ; to form project teams
that cut across conventional organizational lines; to use formal management tech-
niques for the better coordination of complex programs; and to increase the tech-
nical competence of government project-management teams by encouraging them
to draw on the resources of industrial contractors, non-profit companies, and uni-
versities.
More than half of all scientists and engineers employed by private industry
in research and development are working on projects financed and supervised
by the federal government. The effectiveness of their efforts depends in very large
degree upon the skill with which the government manages these projects. A single
unwise decision in the fixing of design objectives may delay by a year the develop-
ment of a space vehicle or a weapons system, and add a thousand, man-years of
scientific and engineering effort to its cost. Conversely, an alert and technically
competent project-management team can effect enormous savings in time and ef-
fort by skillfully coordinating the activities of contractors working on different
but related phases of a major space or weapons system.
It appears that the successful development of two particular weapons systems,
for which the Committee had case studies prepared, can be traced in part to skill-
ful management for both the government and industry by strong project offices.
Many large government research and development projects have in fact been
handled most competently. But we believe that the quality of management could
be substantially improved by wider use of techniques such as those recommended
above and by recognition and rew:ard of exceptional work. It would be improved
further by the passage of legislation raising the salaries of scientists and engi-
neers in the upper civil service grades, from whose ranks the members of project-
management teams are in large part recruited. The military services~ also, need
to give more attention to the development and retention of this kind of engineer-
manager in their officer corps.
5. Government agencies responsible for development programs should continue
to place great emphasis on accurate estimates of their cost and feasibility, and
on the use of multi-phase contracts.
The Committee is impressed by evidence of the government's growing skill
in estimating the cost of projected programs, and in determining their techno-
logical feasibility before large amounts of money and manpower have been
committed. The government is also to be commended for increased use of multi-
phase contracting, a system under which several companies, chosen in competi-
tion, are awarded contracts calling for preliminary study and task definition. The
company that performs best in this early and relatively inexpensive phase is then
awarded a development contract. One of the several advantages of multi-phase
contracting is that it tends to reduce the number of prospective contractors sub-
mitting major proposals for a development program, thus reducing the invest-
n1ent of scientific and engineering talent in the preparation of proposals.
6. In development programs, the use of fixed-price and incentive contracts in-
stead of cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts is to be commended. Great care must be
taken by government agencies to establish meaningful and realistic performance
criteria.
In general, the Committee favors the increasing use of fixed-price and incen-
tive contracts for development work. It is clear that the payment of higher fees to
contractors whose performance is superior is likely to result in over-all improve-
ment in the efficiency with which scarce technical talent is utilized in government-
financed research and development programs. There is a danger, however, in
overemphasizing objective performance criteria in contracts, in such a way that a
company's profits become related to the achievement of goals irrelevant to the
central objective for which its services are secured. For example, early opera-
tional capability and low cost are usually desirable characteristics for military
systems. But if the need is for a highly dependable back-up to a system already in
the field, care must be taken lest a premium paid for speed of contractor per-
formance~ or an undue penalty for a cost overrun, divert attention and effort from
the primary goal of reliability.
7. The Committee commends federal contracting agencies in the fields of
defense and space for their increasing ability to act at an early stage to cancel,
curtail or materially alter major programs that do not appear to be worth
their cost.
Because of the necessarily speculative nature of development, it may often prove
impossible to reach a desired goal by continuing to move along a particular line,
or to reach it soon enough at an acceptable cost. Significant reductions in waste
PAGENO="0400"
396
of money as well as manpower can be achieved if responsible government organi-
zations are alert to the desirability of terminating or drastically modifying
projects, or even entire programs, whenever there is convincing evidence of
probable failure. Carefully considered action to terminate or redirect a program
under such conditions is more often a sign of strength than a sign of weakness
in the government's research and development management, and should be so
interpreted by Congress and the public. Such action can be an important means
of conserving scarce scientific and engineering manpower.
8. Federal departments and agencies should work with industry to develop
plans and programs for minimizing the dislocation and consequent malutilization
of scientists and engineers as a result of program cancellation or redirection.
Early cancellation or curtailment of major programs will not, by itself, improve
utilization of scientific and engineering personnel unless the personnel inactivated
by these decisions can go to work on other productive activities immediately.
If they are thrown out of employment by the cancellation, or assigned to busy-
work projects, their usefulness is actually reduced, of course, although money
may be saved by reduced need for materials and facilities.
As noted at the beginning of this report, scientists and engineers can play a
key role in creating new opportunities for the nation. If the burden of defense
lightens, they should be involved in the conversion of defense industry to other
national objectives or to civilian purposes. If their potential is to be utilized
productively, cooperative action will be needed to facilitate the transition. Pro-
visions are required to enable existing defense industrial contractors more readily
to utilize their scientists and engineers in diversifying and transforming the
enterprise. Incentives to facilitate the formation of new enterprises, based on the
capabilities of creative groups wishing to apply technology with which they are
familiar to the civilian economy, will also be of value.
It would be in the national interest if, during the periods of transition, attrac-
tive opportunities could be provided for individual scientists and engineers to
replenish and augment their professional value through education and training,
possibly at university centers as well as within the organizations in which they
work.
The Committee recognizes that these objectives *are difficult to achieve, and
hastens to express its view that programs designed to minimize dislocation
should not involve coercive methods that would curtail the freedom of indi-
viduals or encroach upon the proper prerogatives of responsible free enterprise.
9. Federal support of contractor-initiated technical effort by government indus-
trial contractors should be maintained at a substantial level. Incentives should
be developed for encouraging corporate managements to emphasize quality and
continuity, and to orient work toward long-run objectives.
Companies engaged in research and development or production under govern-
ment contract are usually permitted to devote some portion of their total effort
to what has been called independent research and development, or, as it has
more recently been designated, contractor-initiated technical effort. Its objectives
are, as a rule, defined only in general terms, and it is treated as a recognized
business cost. Independent research and development has provided scientists
and engineers employed by industrial contractors the opportunity to develop
advanced concepts that, in many cases, have been of great value to the govern-
ment. In the current efforts to strengthen government contracting procedures,
it would be unfortunate if government funding in this area were to be eliminated
or even substantially reduced. While the Committee recognizes the need for
limits on government funding for this purpose, it believes that the public interest
would be better served by an increase than by a decrease in current allowances.
The government should seek to develop incentives to encourage the most ef-
fective use of the manpower supported by the funds it supplies. While detailed
government controls over the specific activities of individual contractors are
not desirable, a periodic review by responsible and competent technical people
would be useful to determine whether the results of independent research and
development effort are commensurate with its cost.
THE GOVERNMENT AS EMPLOYER
10. Greater emphasis should be placed on assuring a high level of professional
competence in the federal scientific establishment. 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.
PAGENO="0401"
397
Since World War II, the government's large and important scientific estab-
lishment has had continuing difficulty competing with industry and the univer-
sities for the services of talented scientists and engineers. Many groups, both
inside and outside the government, have studied this problem and made recom-
mendations. A number of the recommendations have now been adopted, and the
government's competitive position is consequently stronger today than at any
time in the past 18 years. But, as Table 1 shows, the salaries paid to scientists
and engineers at the upper levels of government career service are far below
those prevailing at comparable levels in private industry. The discrepancy is
even greater in the top policy positions. Ironically, the government is often in the
position of reimbursing a contractor for salaries the contractor has paid to
scientists and engineers that are very much higher than the salaries the govern-
ment can pay its own employees. Enactment of pending legislation authorizing
higher salaries at the upper levels of government service would improve the
government's competitive position.
Table 1.-Comparison of top Government career salaries with those in priivate
business for comparable work
Corresponding
levels in private
Federal Government: business
GS-16 $16,000 to $18,000 $20, 000 to $30, 000
GS-17 $18,000 to $20,000 $27, 500 to ~37, 500
GS-18 $20,000 $32, 500 to $45, 000
Source: The Competition for Quality, vol. 1 Federal Council for Science and Technology,
1962. (The Federal Government salaries listed here reflect upward revisions enacted since.
that report.)
Raising salaries is only one of several measures that must be taken if the
government is to attract and retain its fair share of the nation's best scientific
and engineering talent. Managers of some federal laboratories should strengthen
their recruiting programs, particularly at colleges and universities. The govern-V
ment should also take more positive steps to provide scientists and engineers
employed in federal laboratories with a wider variety of opportunities for con-
tinuing their education and developing their professional competence. These
opportunities should include work in private industry, at other government
establishments, and at universities, and they should be available to scientists
and engineers at reasonable intervals throughout their professional careers.
Federal laboratories and agencies should also encourage their scientists and
engineers to participate in activities of professional societies. The personnel of
these establishments have not always had the opportunity to participate on study
groups and advisory panels, and in scientific missions representing the United
States. They should be called upon more than they are now, and their participa-
tion should be encouraged by their employers. They have much to contribute.
As part of its study, the Committee had case studies made for it on the utiliza-
tion of scientific and engineering manpower in the development of two military
systems-Titan II and the Naval Tactical Data System. The first such compre-
hensive studies so far made, they highlighted the superior opportunities for
advanced technical study that are given to military officers, in contrast with rela-
tively meager opportunities available for civilian employees.
11. The U.S. Civil Service Commission should take the lead in working with
government departments and agencies to improve the working environment of
scientists and engineers employed by the federal government. It should also help
to foster improved forecasting of their future requirements for scientific and
engineering personnel.
Although improved utilization of scientific and engineering manpower is pri-
marily the responsibility of agency and departmental managers, there is need
for action that will cut across departmental lines. The Civil Service Commission
should assist the individual agencies in their planning of how many scientists
and engineers-of what types-the government is likely to require in the future.
The Civil Service Commission should, in addition, carefully review govern-
ment personnel policies to determine which ones have or can have a significant
effect on the environment in which research and development is carried out in
government laboratories. Where changes in such policies seem advisable, au-
thority to make them should be promptly sought. At the same time, the commis-
sion should aid and encourage agency heads and laboratory directors fully to
use all existing authority to improve working environments.
93-201 0-68-26
PAGENO="0402"
398
12. The Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, 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 mis-
sions 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 loca-
tion provide them maximum opportunity to be strong and creative, and (c) that
their programs and administrative arrangements are compatible with the objec-
tives 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 conducting these reviews and in arriving at decisions.
The great national research centers financed by the government utilize large
numbers of scientists and engineers. The missions of some of them, especially of
those related to defense, have changed since their establishment. It is important
that their present and future missions be clear-cut and of high priority, and that
their use of scientists and engineers be unmistakably in the national interest. In
maintaining these major concentrations of manpower, the government has a
special responsibility to appraise them in terms of both their contributions to
urgent government needs and their impact on the over-all utilization of scientists
and engineers, taking into consideration the needs of the private sector of the
economy.
New ways to manage and house the large research laboratories of the federal
government are needed. Some laboratories can be handled directly by the govern-
ment, others by industry, by universities, and by non-profit corporations. It may
be necessary to handle some of them in new ways. In the long future, it will
probably be wise not to expect universities to manage such establishments unless
there is no alternative for the government.
PAGENO="0403"
399
APPENDIX H
Department of Defense
IN-HOUSE
LABORATORIES
Report of the
Defense Science Board Task Force
31 October 1966
Engineering
Office of the Director of Defense Research and
Washington, D. C.
PAGENO="0404"
400
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IN-HOUSE LABORATORIES
Report of the
Defense Science Board Task Force
Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering
Washington, D.C. 20301
~31 October 1966
PAGENO="0405"
401
MEMBERSHIP
Defense Science Board Task Force
on
Department of Defense In-House Laboratories
Dr. Leonard S. Sheingold, Chairman
Vice-President
Sylvania Electronic Systems
* Dr. Launor F. Carter
Vice-President - Research
* Systems Development Corporation
Dr. Martin Goland
President
Southwest Research Institute
Mr. John Golden
Department of State
Center for Overseas Analyses
Dr. O.G. Haywood
President
Huyck Corporation
1].
PAGENO="0406"
402
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF DEFENSE RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING
WASHINGTON, D. C. 2O3O~
7 November 1966
TO: THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THROUGH: THE DIRECTOR OF DEFENSE RESEARCH
AND ENGINEERING
The Defense Science Board herewith submits its report on Depart-
ment of Defense in-house laboratories and recommends it for your
consideration. This report is the outcome of a study made by a
task force of the Board, under the chairmanship of Dr. Leonard S.
Sheingold, in response to a request by Dr. Foster.
Dr. Sheingold is willing to assist you and Dr. Foster in preparing
for any action that you deem appropriate pursuant to the findings
and recommendations. I wish to thank him and the other task
force members for their able and perceptive conduct of this review.
Chairman
Defense Science Board
1.11
PAGENO="0407"
403
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF DEFENSE RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20301
31 October 1966
MEMORANDUM FOR CHAIRMAN, DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD
SUBJECT: Department of Defense In-House Laboratories Report of
the Defense Science Board Task Force
The Defense Science Board Task Force on In-House Laboratories sub-
mits herewith its final report dealing with proposed management actions
to make more effective use of the DoD technical laboratories.
The Task Force concentrated on the laboratories' contributions to the
development and acquisition of military operational systems and equip-
ments to determine the necessary steps to be taken to improve the
effectiveness of the laboratories in high-priority research and develop-
ment areas.
Since it is the most recent of a number of reports involving in-house
laboratories issued during the past several years, this report contains
a summary of those previous activities most pertinent to the DSB effort.
Basically, an attempt was made to determine the laboratories' involve-
ment in the current DoD RDT&E programs; and it is indicated that,
although the in-house activities cover a very broad spectrum, there are
some areas in which the laboratories are scarcely involved, such as
ballistic-missile systems development. On the other hand, the labor-
atories' participation in conventional-warfare matters appears to be the
basis for an important mission area that will exist for many years.
Previous committees have recommended that the Military Departments
establish mission-oriented laboratories or weapon centers. This re-
port defines such a weapon center and discusses some of the relative
advantages and disadvantages in its establishment.
One of the more significant actions taken by the Departments in the
last few years was the establishment of the position of Director of
Laboratories. The critical nature of this high-ranking position and the
opportunities it offers for the future management of the in-house
laboratories are considered in some detail.
V
PAGENO="0408"
404
The report also deals with some issues of long standing, such as
military versus civilian management, personnel policies and allocation
of resources.
The report contains three specific recommendations. The first involves
a marked increase in the in-house laboratories1 participation in the
weapon-systems planning process. The second concerns a proposal for
the establishment of the first weapon center; and the third relates to
the solution of the administrative problems associated with providing
the necessary resources for effective planning and management of the
laboratories.
Leonard S. Sheingold, Chairman
Task Force on rn-House
Laboratories
vi
PAGENO="0409"
405
CONT ENTS
Page
Membership, Defense Science Board Task Force on
Department of Defense In-House Laboratories ii
Memoranda of Transmittal iii
1. Introduction
2. Background
3. The Laboratories' Contributions to the Defense
RDT&E Program
4. Role of the In-House Laboratories in Developing
Ballistic-Missile Systems 7
5. The Concept of Weapon Centers 8
6. Director of Laboratories . 11
7. Military Versus Civilian Management 13
8. Personnel Policies 15
9. Resources Management 16
10. Recommendations 17
10. 1 Participation of Laboratories in Weapon-
System Planning 17
10.2 Weapon Centers 18
10. 3 Authority of Laboratory Directors 18
vii
PAGENO="0410"
406
1. INTRODUCTION
The Secretary of Defens.e has often stated as a matter of policy
the need for competent and creative in-house technical laboratories.
Among the evident reasons underlying this need are: (1) the mainten-
ance of national competence during peacetime, as well as times of con-
flict, in those areas of technology peculiar to military needs; (Z) the
necessity for maintaining a continuity of effort, free from commercial
pressures and directed toward the conception and evolution of advanced
weapon systems; (3) the need for competent in-house skills that can
monitor and assess the accomplishments of DoD contractors; and (4)
the requirement of having available to the Military Services a fast-
reaction capability to solve critical, immediate problems that arise in
connection with existing operational weapon systems, or when unex-
pected combat situations are encountered such as that currently
existing in Southeast Asia.
In recent years, increased attention has been given by the Office
of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Military Departments to the
management problems associated with in-house technical efforts. Con-
structive progress -particularly regarding salaries, working conditions,
personnel administration, flexibility of funding, ease of obtaining labor-
atory instrumentation, etc. -has been made, especially during the past
four years. Nevertheless, there remain many critical and fundamental
problems relating to laboratory mission areas and to the relevancy of
the laboratories' programs to providing our military forces with
superior weapons, equipment, training and techniques.
There is a growing awareness that the many innovations during
the past years in weapon-system planning, organization and management
have had a profound impact on the in-house laboratories, and have
given rise to a number of questions regarding their future operations.
The Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on In-House Labor-
atories held its first meeting on 9 February 1966 and determined that
it would:
(3rn) Examine how the laboratories contribute to the development
and acquisition of military operational systems and equip-
ments.
(2) Determine the feasibility of establishing weapon centers or
lead laboratories, as previously recommended by the
Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E).
PAGENO="0411"
407
(3) Consider alternate approaches for improving the effective-
ness of the laboratories.
(4) Formulate recommendations for future actions by the
DDR&E.
The approach selected was to schedule a series of meetings to
examine how the Military Departments consider the laboratories have
contributed-or are expected to contribute-to important military pro-
grams. Three subsequent meetings were held to obtain an assessment
of laboratory contributions to strategic systems (9 March 1966),
weaponry for general-purpose forces (l4April 1966), and specific
Vietnam warfare requirements (27 May 1966).
During the meetings, the Task Force was apprised of one very
familiar problem, largely administrative, relating to personnel,
facilities and financial management. Specifically, laboratory managers
have considerable difficulty in planning and .managing their laboratories
because manpower, :facilities and funding are handled by three
separate OSD offices. In this regard, the Task Force observed that the
DDR&E has inadeqt~āte authority over all the resources required for
efficient laboratory planning and management. As a result, the Task
Force concluded that the assigned authorities and responsibilities of
the DDR&E need further examination. A separate pertinent recom-
mendation has therefore been included in this report.
2. BACKGROUND
The basic policies on research and development (R&D) activities
were established by.a memorandum from the Secretary of Defense
dated 14 October 1961 and by the Bell Report' of April 1962. Both
policy statements reaffirmed the need for stronger in-house organiza-
tions to spearhead the Defense research, development, test and evalu-
ation (RDT&E) programs, and established both broad and specific~
objectives to be met:. All three Military Departments subsequently
issued implementing policies concerned with strengthening their in-
house activities.
The DDR&E continued to maintain surveillance over the program
structure of the in-house laboratories during the period 1961-1966. In
1964, a study group in the Office of the DDR&E was established to
1Bureau of the Budget (David E. Bell, Director), Report to the
President on Government Contracting for Research and Development,
30 April 1962, Document No. 94, 87th Congress, Zd Session.
2
PAGENO="0412"
408
reexamine the total in-house laboratory structure. It concluded that,
although much progress had been made since 1961, these improvements
were evolutionary rather than revolutionary and did not produce any
necessary fundamental changes.
The Plan for the Operation and Management of the Principal DoD
In-House Laboratories2 was issued in November 1964. The salient
features of the plan were:
(1) A proposed reorientation of the larger Defense laboratories
toward military problem areas or military missions, e. g.,
antisubmarine warfare (ASW), battlefield communications,
air-to-ground warfare, etc.
(2) A proposed elimination of echelons between the Departments'
Assistant Secretaries (R&D) and the principal mission-
oriented laboratories through the establishment of a new
technical line-management structure headed by,~ Director
of Laboratories with requisite authority to provide the
proper R&D environment for the Defense establishment.
(3) A proposal that laboratories encompass the full spectrum of
activities (basic research through operational development)
with respect to a military problem area. They would be
given (a) greater local authority over decisions in the areas
of research and exploratory and advanced development and
(b) greater re~sponsibility for providing technical assistance
and advice, in the areas of engineering and operational de-
velopment, to weapon-system development and acquisition
organizations.
On 20 November 1964, the Secretary of Defense forwarded this
plan to the Military Departments, and asked that they work closely
with the DDR&E and the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Administration)
in planning the detailed implementation of `some such plan in each of
the military departments." During 1965 there was considerable ex-
change of ideas and detailed study of approaches that were compatible
with the mode of operation of each Department.
In June 1964, the President's Science Advisor, Dr. D. Hornig,
established the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) Panel
on U. S. Government In-House Laboratories to ascertain ways of
2Office of the Secretary of Defense, Plan for the Operation and
Management of the Principal DoD In-House Laboratories, 16 November
1964.
3
PAGENO="0413"
409
increasing the total effectiveness of the Federal Government's
laboratories. Because of the size of the RDT&E base system in the
Department ofDefense (DoD), particular attention was given to the
Defense laboratories. The PSAC Panel's report is not yet available,
but it is expected to consider many-of the same basic questions
covered in previous reports.
Shortly after Dr. Foster succeeded Dr. Brown in October 1965,
he initiated action to determine the status of the DoD laboratory ques-
tion. After a series of meetings with the Departments' Assistant
Secretaries (R&D), he forwarded to them a memorandum, dated
7 November 1965, which emphasized the urgent need to develop a com-
prehensive plan for the development of the DoD in-house laboratories.
He has asked the Military Departments to:
(1) Develop a list of five to ten top-priority military R&D
- problem areas needing urgent and continuing attention for
the next ten years (e. g., amphibious warfare, limited war-
fare, air-to-ground warfare).
(Z) Determine which of the problem areas developed are the
most suitable for lead or systems laboratories or technical
centers; indicate any necessary construction at the lead
sites and subsequent phase-outs of other sites.
(3) Outline the main functions that should be considered for per-
formance in the lead DoD laboratories or technical centers.
(4) State what additional authorities or steps are required to
make the new laboratories as effective as possible.
- Dr. Foster received preliminary, responses from the Departments
and has held a number of meetings with them to determine the most
appropriate action to take. In addition, he established a Defense Science
Board Task Force to assist in the evaluation of these Service inputs and
possibly to provide suggestions for appropriate alternatives. On
10 May 1966, Dr. Foster convened a special group, composed of the
Chairman of the PSAC Panel on Government In-House Laboratories,
the Chairman of the PSAC Panel on Government Personnel, the Chair-
man of the DSB Task Force on In-House Laboratories, the Military
Departments' Directors of Laboratories, and the Air Force Special
Assistant for Laboratories. It. is Dr. ~ intention to meet
periodically with this group to discuss specific plans of action to improve
the DoD laboratories. - -
4
PAGENO="0414"
410
3. THE LABORATORIES' CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
DEFENSE RDT&E PROGRAM
In general, the DoD laboratories engage in a very broad spectrum
of activities. The Task Force considered it important to gain some
understanding of the laboratories' direct involvement with the develop-
ment and acquisition of operational hardware for our modern military
forces. With this understanding, even if only qualitative, it should be
possible to identify critical problem areas that require management
attention.
The present system by which important military systems are
developed and produced consists of at least the following three basic
steps:
(1) A firm requirement is established, usually after much dis-
cussion between the Departments and OSD; systems studies
are made, concepts are evaluated, and funds are allocated.
(2) A program-management organization is then established
within an appropriate Service systems command.
(3) After competitive bidding, a substantial contract is awarded
to an industrial concern for large-scale system development
and production.
The program-management system is a highly efficient arrange-
ment for evaluating the performance of contractors on well-defined
major programs. In general, the laboratories' personnel are involved
in providing important services to the system/project office (SPO).
Prior to an award, specifications are prepared for bid solicitations,
special studies are conducted, and consulting support to the SPO is
provided. Laboratories' specialists usually participate in the source-
selection process. After the award is made, the DoD laboratories'
involvement is substantially decreased, particularly if a tight incentive
contract has been negotiated. Occasionally, if a contract is in difficulty
because of technical-feasibility problems, in-house laboratories are
asked to examine the problem areas, make recommendations, and
subsequently contribute.
The DoD laboratories provide supporting services to the SPOs;
they provide supporting services to the organizations responsible for
establishing requirements; they provide supporting services to opera-
tional commands. The level and quality of their support are usually
difficult to evaluate,~ since there is little available data that can be
interpreted meaningfully.
5
PAGENO="0415"
411
Although the SPO-industry team arrangement is the management
mechanism by which most of the costly and sophisticated weapon sys-
tems are acquired, a good percentage of R&D for subsystems and com-
ponents is handled directly by the laboratories. Most of these systems
developments involve contracts with industry, although some of them
are actually carried out by in-house laboratory engineers. Also, some
of these developments-f uzes, air-to-surface missiles, munitions, etc.
-result in working models that are subsequently turned over to industry
for production. Of the three Services, the Army and the Navy do a
substantial amount of in-house development, whereas the Air Force
does considerably less. Virtually all production is accomplished by
industry.
The tremendous variation in the percentage of in-house develop-
ment efforts of the various Service laboratories is quite understandable
because of fundamental differences in their management approaches.
For example, the Air Force has decided to rely almost exclusively on
the SPO-industry team, whereas both the Navy and the Army consider
a hybrid arrangement, which includes some laboratory developments,
to be effective.
All the Services' technical organizations, however, do have
prime responsibility in one area-they establish projects and provide
contractual support for a large university and industrial base to advance
technology for future weapon-system developments. The funding re-
quested in FY 1967 for these efforts was $407 million for R&D category
6. 1, research, and $1. 063 billion for 6. Z, exploratory development.
The funds expended in these areas are divided among a multitude
of small contracts or projects covering a number of technical disci-
plines. The Task Force concluded that the relevancy of the 6. land 6. Z
laboratory programs could be increased substantially if the laboratories
were given an opportunity to define and work on significant military
systems problems. This could be done by increasing the participation
of the in-house technical specialists in systems analyses, systems
syntheses, establishment of requirements, SPO managem ent, and
other important functions relating to weapon-system research and de-
velopment-particularly if high-level planners would depend more on
the laboratories' special~sts for technical judgments in significant
RDT&E matters.
6
PAGENO="0416"
412
4. ROLE OF THE IN-HOUSE LABORATORIES IN DEVELOPING
BALLISTIC-MISSILE SYSTEMS
In analyzing the proper role of the DoD's in-house laboratories,
the Task Force reviewed their involvement in developing strategic
weapon systems, weaponry for general warfare, and developments for
special types of warfare such as that in Southeast Asia. Strategic
weapon systems and, in particular, ballistic-missile systems received
the Task Force's close attention.
The growth of a very substantial industrial competence in the
development of strategic weapons, which has continued at a high level
during peacetime, places this area in a special situation. In this
matter, there is general agreement that engineering and production
should continue to be concentrated primarily in private industry, but
there are different views on whether the in-house laboratories should
participate fully in the advanced development of strategic weapons.
There are those, particularly in the Air Force, who feel that industry
should perform this function along with a special not-for-profit organ-
ization that has been established to provide the Government with tech-
nical and management assistance. In any event, up to the present time
the development of large strategic missile systems for the three
Military Services has been carried on largely outside the structure of
the in-house laboratories.
The Task Force recognizes that the development pattern used in
the area of strategic weapons has been quite successful. The combina-
tion of a strong industrial (or nonprofit) contractor and a qualified pro-
gram office appears to be the accepted approach for developing major
strategic n-~Issile systems such as Minuteman, Poseidon and Nike X.
If it is assumed that, duringthe next few years, there will be no
fundamental changes in the way strategic missile systems are developed
or procured, there still remain some issues involving the laboratories
that must be resolved. They include the participation of the labor-
atories in long-range planning for strategic systems to ensure that the
laboratories' R&D efforts relating to future strategic systems are sig-
nificant and pertinent. The laboratories may also have the important
function of troubleshooting and updating operational strategic systems.
Clearly, there is need for a better understanding-and better mission
statements- concerning the laboratories' participation in activities in-
volving strategic weapon systems.
7
PAGENO="0417"
413
5. THE CONCEPT OF WEAPON CENTERS
It has been recommended by the Office of the DDR&E that the
Military Departments seriously consider the establishment of large
weapon centers, each embracing a broadly conceived technical pro-
gram concentrated on a particular military problem area associated
with general-purpose warfare. Whereas in most cases the Services'
in-house RDT&E competence in a given mission-ASW, for example-
is now spread among many laboratories at numerous geographic loca-
tions, the weapon-center concept would draw these varied strengths
together and unite them in a single comprehensive technical team. In
effect the weapon center would bea project-oriented applied labor-
atory in which there would be continuous mission-discipline interaction.
The establishment of a weapon center could result in (1) the elimination
of laboratories that are marginal with respect to either competence or
size and (Z) a consolidation of interests.
It should be emphasized that, while the weapon-center concept
is one possible aid toward achieving R&D effectiveness, it is by no
means a necessary requirement for a successful program. Other fac-
tor s - technical management, personnel policies, financial management,
etc. -are of at least equal importance in determining the effectiveness
of in-house efforts.
There appears to be considerable variation in the willingness of
the Services to plan for the establishment of weapon centers. The
Navy and the Army now have some mission-oriented laboratories in
which a number of actual developments are carried on by Government
engineers. The Air Force laboratories, on the other hand, are organ-
ized on the basis of technology areas If there is a lack of enthusiasm
for new centers, it is partially owing to the many organizational changes
in the past few years and to the feeling that concentration on making the
present system work better by examining new management approaches
would result in more progress.
The Task Force believes, however, that the establishment of
weapon (-systems) centers is a good concept for long-range planning,
since it provides an opportunity to combine in-house resources in
order to work more directly and effectively on critical military prob-
lems.
8
93-201 0 - 68 - 27
PAGENO="0418"
414
Although it is not possible to present a detailed description of a
typical weapon center, some of its important characteristics can be
defined as follows:
(1) It would be oriented toward a military mission ora military
problem.
(2) The number of professional scientists and engineers would
be of the order of 1, 000 or more, so as to achieve a
`critical mass."
(3) The weapon center, which may have more than one geo-
graphical location, would be a self-contained organization
in that it would perform research and development with
feasibility models as the end product. These models
should be capable of demonstrating proof of function in a
military situation..
(4) The director of the center would have direct control over
all the resources required, such as funding, manpower and
facilitie~; and he would report at a sufficiently hig~i level
that echelon "layering" would be minimum.
(5) About 70 percent of the professional personnel would be
devoted to creative in-house engineering. Although con-
tracts would be awarded, the fundamental development
engineering would be accomplished within the center.
(6) The weapons center's specialists would participate in the
determination of military requirements associated with its
mis s ion.
(7) The center would be involved in the initial procurement of
equipments and would provid~ support to the procurement
agency when large-scale production is achieved.
(8) The overall performance of the center would be critically
evaluated on a periodic basis to guarantee that the center
is a competitive organization with high performance stan-
dards and achievements.
9
PAGENO="0419"
415
The advantages of creating a weapon center by combining the
capabilities of certain laboratories already engaged in component or
subsystem developments are the following:
(1) It would enable concentration on the identification and
solution of critical military problems.
(2) It would provide opportunities for Government engineers
to work more effectively on important military problems,
and would help to better orient specialists responsible for'
areas of technical disciplines.
(3) Clear responsibility would be delegated to the weapon
center.
(4) The combined mission- discipline approach would enable
the center to serve as a quick-reaction facility andto be
particularly responsive to war needs.
(5) There would be opportunity to arrive at optimum solutions
to problems independently of technical-specialty biases.
(The systems approach could be more readily applied.)
(6) It would be much easier to evaluate the center's perform-
ance, because end products that are clearly the responsi-
bility of the center could be tested and evaluated.
There are also some disadvantages:
(1) Penalties in the form of cost, political effects, time delays,
personnel attrition, etc., may be excessive because of a
fundamental change in organizational concept.
(2) There could be difficulties in arriving at acceptable mission
statements.
(3) There could be a tendency toward monopoly and overpro-
tection.
(4) In the event that one or more weapon' centers were created,
there would still bea requirement for a management sys-
tem to handle technical specialties.
A logical approach to the practical planning of a weapon center
would be for each Military Department to examine its laboratories with
10
PAGENO="0420"
416
a view to determining which ones concentrate on developing subsystems
in-house rather than depend upon industry. Both the Navy and the Army
have some in-house development programs, particularly in the areas of
fuzes, projectiles and tactical missiles, while in the Air Force, be-
cause of its different management philosophy, in-house development
activities are kept at a minimum.
The next step would be to match existing development capabilities
to a warfare area of real military interest. An example of a suitable
weapon center for the Navy would be an ASW-Surface Systems
Development Center which would cover the spectrum of systems anal-
ysis and concepts, research, engineering development, prototype de-
velopment, initial procurement and development testing. An action of
this type should encourage original contributions to ASW systems by
personnel of the in-house laboratories.
In planning future weapon centers, the tremendous competence
that has been established in our industrial base must be recognized.
Work by Government engineers in the centers should be directed toward
areas in which a competence already exists and could logically be
extended.
The Task Force cOncluded that a plan for establishing the first
weapon center should be prepared as a priority item. Furtheri~ore,
the center should be devoted to some major aspect of the ASW problem
because of that area's importance and outstanding in-house engineering
capabilities that now exist in the Navy.
6. DIRECTOR OF LABORATORIES
In addition to the weapon-center approach, there will always be
a need for laboratories organized on a technical-discipline basis. It is
important that these laboratories are represented at a high policy-
making level to ensure that individual laboratory programs are based
upon an understanding of important military needs.
Only four years ago, the Air Force examined its many labor-
atories and decided to group its resources in eight technical organiza-
tions. In addition, a systems engineering group was created to do
systems engineering and to provide technical direction for aeronautical
systems. The laboratories were given division status (Research and
Technology Division-RTD) under Major General Marvin C. Demler,
reporting to the Commander, Air Force Systems Command (AFSC).
11
PAGENO="0421"
417
Similarly, the Army and the Navy have regrouped their technical
resources during the past two years. General Besson, Commander,
Army Materiel Command (AMC), recently appointed a Director of
Laboratories, Dr. Jay Tol Thomas, who has line authority over the
central AMC laboratories. The Navy established a new position,
Director of Navy Laboratories, reporting to the Assistant Secretary
of the Navy (R&D), to which Dr. Gerald Johnson was appointed. In the
last few months, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (R&D)
created a new position in his office, Special Assistant for Laboratories,
and appointed Dr. William Lehman to serve in that capacity.
The Task Force observed that the status and reporting position of
the ranking technical managers in each Military Department have been
increased substantially during the past few months. This step alone
should have a beneficial effect on the morale and contribution of the
in-house laboratories' personnel, since it is clear evidence that the
laboratories are sufficiently important to warrant high-ranking posi-
tions. Each of these directors now has an opportunity to provide the
important interaction between high-level decision-makers and the tech-
nical specialists in the laboratories.
Every effort must now be made to give the three Departmental
Directors of Laboratories the support necessary for better utilization
of the laboratories' resources. With the direct assistance of the
DDR&E, the Directors of Laboratories should concentrate on using in-
house technical specialists to-
(1) understand and define overall systems problems, particu-
larly in tactical-warfare areas;
(2) work jointly with military planners to define crucial
military requirements, based upon a critical assessment
of existing and predicted technology;
(3) provide, within the assigned mission area, military and
technical concepts that could serve as justification for the
Departments' long-range programs in research and ex-
ploratory development;
(4) conduct sufficient technical work in-house to ensure that
specifications for weapon systems can be developed with
confidence; and
(5) provide a limited amount of consulting support to special
project offices when a commitment is made to undertake
a major program development.
12
PAGENO="0422"
418
If each Department's Director of Laboratories is fully, accepted
as a member of the top-level management team, the mission-discipline
interaction should be substantially improved, and the laboratories'
personnel should couple more effectively with-
(1) the military users (requirements);
(2) special program offices and major contractors that handle
the management of critical weapon-system developments;
(3) nonprofit organizations, of which some provide special
studies for the higher echelons and others are responsible
for roles in systems engineering and technical direction;
(4) the technical community at large which provides aavanced
technology for future weapon systems; and
(5) organizations responsible for testing and evaluating existing
military systems to determine how they perform and what
improvements can be made.
The Task Force concluded that the frequent meetings now being
conducted by the DDR&E with the Directors of Laboratories should be
continued indefinitely. The resultant dialogue creates the mutual
understanding that is required to improve the laboratories' responsive-
ness to important present and future military requirements.
7. MILITARY VERSUS CIVILIAN MANAGEMENT
Below the level of Director of Laboratories are the laboratory
managers who have line responsibility for their organizations'
activities. In previous examinations of the in-house laboratories, the
problem of military versus civilian leadership has been considered
critical.
`it is generally conceded that competent management of a military
in-house laboratory requi~res a sound knowledge of the military prob-
lems encountered in actual field and combat situations. This has been
the leading argument for maintaining military management control of
the Defense laboratories.
Nevertheless, in a carefully planned program, it is not out of the
question to have civilian personneLwho are thoroughly versed in military
affairs from a quite practical viewpoint. It is as possible for civilians
to understand the military environment as it is for military personnel
to be trained in technical areas. . .
13
PAGENO="0423"
419
* It would appear that, for the future, there will be available a
certain number of military personnel who are entirely competent to
direct in-house laboratories. In addition to their military training,
they must have technical education and training, as well as direct ex-
perience in research and development.3 Also, as has already been
noted, civilian personnel can most certainly be trained to direct pro-
grams in military operations. It might be said that both classes of
individuals have similar training and backgrounds, but the military
personnel are more heavily indoctrinated in combat matters, while the
balance of training in the case of civilians is heavier on the technical
and theoretical side.
It appears that every director of an in-house laboratory should
be chosen on the basis of capability, especially his ability to challenge
and stimulate his staff, and regardless of military or civilian status.
Only in this way can both civilians and military personnel be afforded
the same opportunity for professional advancement. The idea has often
been suggested that, if a laboratory director is military, his deputy
should be civilian, and vice-versa. This is a satisfactory management
approach in view of the increasingly technological complexion of modern
weapon systems. It has also been suggested that, if the emphasis is on
in-house development, the director should be a civilian engineering
manager. On the other hand, if the emphasis is on contractual activi-
ties, the director should be a technical military officer.
These remarks are directed toward research and development.
As military systems move into test and evaluation, there is little
difference of opinion on the conclusion that military management
should prevail.
One final point regarding the selection of individual laboratory
directors: A deliberate attempt should be made to avoid appointing to
key laboratory management positions military officers who are pre-
paring to retire. Similarly, under no circumstances should a civil
servant be allowed to assume the leadership of a laboratory primarily
because of longevity of service. Above all, the tenure of office should
be of sufficient duration to indicate clearly that the director himself
has had a real impact on laboratory operations.
3Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering,
Technical Military Personnel, Report of the Defense Science Board
Subcommittee, 9 September 1965.
14
PAGENO="0424"
420
8. PERSONNEL POLICIES
Perhaps the most serious problem standing in the way of effective
in-house laboratory work is that of achieving flexibility in handling
laboratory personnel. It is generally agreed that, if the management
of DoD in-house laboratories could handle personnel with the same
degree of flexibility as is possible in comparable industrial organiza-
tions, an Immediate and substantial improvement in laboratory effec-
tiveness would be realized.
The problems standing in the way of flexibility in personnel mat-
ters are too~well known to require elaboration here. Foremost among
them are the rigidity of job assignment, the difficulty of reassignment
to new duties, and the conflict between available funds and spaces.
These circumstances are a result of civil-service regulations, in
addition to what appears tO be an unduly rigid interpretation of civil-
service policies by the top management of DoD and the Military Depart-
ments. The latter point is not certain, since civil-service regulations
may indeed be as inflexible as the Departments believe them to be, but
there are some indications that the Departments are not taking advan-
tage of all the flexibility that current civil-service regulations permit.
In any event, no matter how the result is achieved, it is abso-
lutely essential that substantially more flexibility be allowed laboratory
management in handling their personnel than is now permitted. If the
laboratories are to operate at the expected high level of efficiency and
competence, they must have The same degree of control over their
staffs that agencies outside the Government have.
It should be recognized that many of the civil-service regulations
are the consequence of a system designed in past years when the
Government was not faced with major scientific and technical problems.
Today, Government salaries are much improved; moreover, the
Government is the largest national employer of professional personnel.
It is fair to say, therefore, that a drastic revision of personnel policies
relating to scientific and technical professionals is not only in order but
necessary for the future.
If the Government cannot employ and reward highly skilled pro-
fessional people with the same flexibility that industry currently
practices, the Government cannot expect an equal measure of per-
formance by its technical teams. There appears to be no question that
this is one of the major impediments to improved efficiency on the part
of the in-house laboratories, and DoD management should give this
problem its concentrated attention.
15
PAGENO="0425"
421
The point has already been made that there is some difference
of opinion regarding the handicaps that current regulations impose on
the management of in-house personnel. In order to help resolve this
and allied questions, it would be useful to initiate studies that include
the examination of a number of case histories in which personnel
difficulties have been encountered. While each case history can be
reported under the cloak of anonymity, each should be a detailed study
of an actual situation, with a careful analysis of the input at all man-
agemer~t levels. Following such detailed studies, recommendations
can be drawn up regarding the proper direction of future action.
It should be remarked that some studies of this kind have been
conducted in the past, but they have usually been incidental to studies
with a broader purpose and have not concentrated adequately on a
detailed examination of personnel management procedures. Moreover,
none have brought forth a specific and constructive plan of action to
resolve the known problems.
9. RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
In addition to their mission orientation, the laboratories must
have sufficient flexibility to react when there is an urgent national need.
There have been too many times in the past (ballistic missiles, ASW
system studies, etc.) when problems have arisen on which the
immediate support of in-house laboratories could have been used. One
of the main reasons given for not using the Government's technical
specialists is the lack of flexibility in their response.
Virtually every study that has been made of the in-house labor-
atory system has been critical, in varying degrees, of the combined
management of manpower, facilities, funding and personnel resources.
At present, each of these is managed differently at practically all
levels within the Military Departments. The Task Force believes that
the management of resources and the responsibilities for policy, pro-
cedures and regulations pertaining to their use are fragmented among
many staff agencies, whose concerns and interests are broader than
merely RDT&E. In too many cases, RDT&E activities are bound by
practices designed for logistical and operational activities-in contrast
to the more generally recognized practices of industrial organizations,
which are tailored specifically for the creative, laboratory-type organ-
ization. As a result, the operation and future planning of the labor-
atories depend upon a diffuse, high-level management structure with
divided control and authority over resources and their use.
The Task Force concluded that the systems approach could well
be applied to the administration of the DoD laboratories.
16
PAGENO="0426"
422
10. RECOMMENDATIONS
10. 1 Participation of Laboratories in Weapon-System Planning
The Task Force urges that an intensive program be established
to sharply increase the direct involvement of the in-house laboratories
in high-priority RDT&E activities. Their involvement must include:
technical evaluation of operational equipment,
participation in the generating of requirements,
systems analyses and syntheses,
interaction with the SPO-industry team, and
planning for future weapon systems.
The success of a program of this type, which will depend heavily
on the Departmental Directors of Laboratories, should drastically in-
crease the participation of key laboratory personnel in the weapon-
system decision proáess. As a result, the technological program
(R&D categories 6. 1, 6. 2 and 6. 3) should be more directly focused on
critical military needs.
(1) Recommendation: The Task Force recommends that,
by 1 January 1967, each Military Department prepare plans for action
that will markedly increase the participation of its laboratories in
planning for weapon systems.
Some suggested approaches are:
(a) Establish ad hoc systems groups to help define
important technical problems in specific areas of military concern.
(b) Create systems teams of laboratory personnel to
define threats and determine the vulnerability of proposed major weapon
systems.
(c) Have the laboratories examine current 6. 1 and
6. 2 programs and recommend which specific ones should be heavily
supported in FY 1968 or 1969, based on the relevancy of technical
accomplishments to military needs.
The Task Force suggests that, in recognition of the Departments'
individual differences in mission and management approach, the DDR&E
permit them broad latitude in responding to this first recommendation.
17
PAGENO="0427"
423
10. 2 Weapon Centers
The combining of laboratory resources into a new weapon center
is a promising management approach toward improving the mission-
discipline interface. A single weapon center should be established on
a priority basis and should serve as an example for the establishment
of others if experience warrants such action.
(2) Recommendation: The Task Force recommends that,
by 1 January 1967, the Navy conduct the required planning for estab-
lishing the first weapon center. The planning should depend heavily
upon the unique in-house engineering competence that exists in one or
more of the Navy laboratories, and the center's mission should be
related to a significant part of the ASW problem.
10. 3 Authority of Laboratory Directors
The Task Force's final recommendation involves the problem of
providing each laboratory director with adequate resources for the
effective planning and management of his organization. This particular
problem must be faced squarely at the OSD level.
(3) Recommendation: The Task Force recommends that
an OSD committee be established to determine the steps that are neces-
sary to provide laboratory directors with appropriate controls over
facilities, manpower and funding resources. The' committee `should
include the Director of Defense Research and Engineering as chair-
man, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics),
the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower) and the Assistant
Secretary of Defense (Administration).
18
PAGENO="0428"
APPENDIX I
DoD LABORATORIES IN THE FUTURE
(By E. M. Glass, Assistant Director, Laboratory Management)
Management Analysis Memorandum 67-3 of the Office for Laboratory Manage-
inent, Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Washington,
D.C. 20301
FOREWORD
This paper Was presented on 19 October 19G7 at a National Security Indus-
trial Asso~iaJtion R&D Syrnposftum, of whldh the theme was "National R&D
for the 1970's." The intent of the paper was to summarize the pa~st actions taken
with respect to the Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories and to predict
the future role and characteristics of those organizations.
INTRODUCTION
Kettering once remarked, "We should all be concerned with the future be-
cause we w~ffl have to spend the rest of our lives there." Playing the rdle of a
prophet, however, can be both stimulating and frustrating, pleasure and pain,
but, as Horace W'al~oie said, "Prognostics do not always prove prophesies,
at least the Wis~st prophets make sure of the eveiris first." I intend to take this
aidvice seriously.
Before we can really examine the future of our laboratories, we must first
make some assumptions concerning the future role of the Department of Defense,
the organization which they serve. We must assume that the international scene
will undoui~tedly continue tO require that our nutional objectives have the strong
support of military power; that our major objedti'ves will be both to maintain an
"assured deStrudtion" capalbility and an effedtive deterrent to limited wars; and
and that we will require a fiexilbie capability that can rOact rapidly to the coun-
ter4moves of our adversaries or take immedIate advantage of new advances in
Science and technology. Finally, in order to meet these defense needs, new
technology, techn:iqu~s, wOalponis and systems will be required, tog~ther with a
greater degree of interaction between technology and operations.
DEFENSE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTIONS
In order to maintain our most flexible and imaginative defense posture, the
Department of Defense must utilize every conceFs~aJble resource, capability and
contribution it can possibly motivate, attract or support. This requires the com-
petence and contributions of all types of institiiitions-industry, university, nOn-
profit end in~house organi~atioat. Ehch of these institutional forms has a rela-
tively unique, although not mutually exclusive role to play. Each is an impor-
tant, interretated, synergetic subsystem whose products of new knowledge, de-
signs and weaponry are the first-line technological defense against foreseOahle
thrOats.
In terms of level of support for these organizations (FY 1966 obligations),
industrial organi~ations receive about 60 percent of the RDT&E (research,
development, test and evaluation) appropriation; educa:tional institutions, about
12 percent; nonprofit organizations, .approximlately 5 percent; and in-house
organizations, Slightly above 20 percent. Although the dynamics of Defense
RDT&E activities will result in many programmatic changes, it is not clear
thalt there Will be miajor shifts in the relative balance of support for these
in~titutions.
ROLE AND DEFINITION OF LABORATORIES
Probably no class of in~titutions has been studied and analyzed, praised and
criticized, organized and reorganized to Ithe degree that has been the lot of
the Defense in-house laboratories. This is an area in which everyone fancies
(424)
PAGENO="0429"
425
himself an expert, but areas of agreement seem to be difficult t& r~a~h. This lack
of donsensus may be due in part to the "bllr~d-nien-'and-the-elephant" syndrome.
Each study grenp se~s only a portion of the total labora~bory system, dither be-
caixse of sp~ci'al interests or the lack of an adequate finiskrn of just wh~t a
laboratory Is.
Their impoi~ant contributions to m:ilitary technology and w~aponry over the
yeats also attest to the variety of activities of the Defense laboratories. These
indlude such developments ns the Siddwinder and `Shrike missiles, thermal
batteries, proximity fuzes, fluid amplifiers, caiseless ammunition, irradiated
foods and the heart pump. With respect to the more immediate needs of South-
east Asia, contributions such as antimalarial drugs, defollants, night vision de-
Vices, the 175mm artillery sy~tem, frozen blood ai~d antipersonnel weapons such
as the "Gtavel" mine have added signifidantly to our defense ca~abill~ty.
A popular notion of a laboratory is a place enclOsed by four walls and popu-
lated by men and women in white cents. This is obviously a too narrow and
restrictive definition. In fields such as oceanography, deep `submergence, tar-
restria.l sciences and atmospheric physics, the natural environments provide
the setting for R&D environments. The broad-ranging facilities now required to
carry out sophisticated resdareh and development in support of defense and
space activities have given new dimensions and properties `to the term "labora-
tory."
In the case of the Defense laboratories, they seem to be involved in almost the
entire spectrum of RDT&E activities, ranging from the more fundamental end
of the spectrum, as represented by the Air Force's Cambridge Research Labors-
tories, through the technology-oriented organizations such as the Fort Monmouth
Electronics Laboratories and, finally, encompassing such development organiza-
tions `as the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake-now the
Naval Weapons Center-and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory at White Oak.
However, test and evaluation centers like the Army's Dugway Proving Ground,
the Navy's Patuxent River Air Test Station or the National Test Ranges are
generally excluded from our definition.
Because of the heterogeneity of these organizations and thdir varying interrela-
tionships, it is not easy to come up wi.th a simple and meaningful definition. The
same difficulty applies to defining the role of the Defense laboratories. Many
attempts have been made to delineate the roles of these organizations and the
reasons underlying the need for them.
Because technology has become the life blood of the Military Departments,
laboratories in the Department of Defense are necessary for many purposes,
examples of which are:
(1) The maintenance of national competence during peacetime, as well as times
of conflict, in those areas of technology peculiar to military needs;
(2) The necessity for maintaining a continuity of effort, free from commercial
pressures and directed toward the conception and evolution of advanced weapon
systems;
(3) The need for competent in-house skills that can monitor and assess the
accomplishments of DoD contractors; and
(4) The requirement of having available to the Military Service a fast-reaction
capability to solve critical immediate problems that arise in connection with
existing operational weapon systems, or when unexpected combat situations are
encountered such as that currently existing in Southeast Asia.
BACKGROUND
During the 1960s, there has been consistent high-level emphasis within the
Government on improving the effectiveness of the in-house laboratories in carry-
ing out the roles discussed above. Many of you are quite familiar with the Bell
Report, the DoD Task 97 report and the "Competition for Quality" reports of
1961 and 1962. During the years immediately following the issuance of these
reports, increased attention was given :to the solution of management and aclmin-
istra.tive problems that had seriously hindered the effectiveness of these organi-
zations. Constructive progress was made, particularly with respect to working
conditions, salaries, facilities, personnel administration, flexibility of funding,
ease of obtaining laboratory equipment, etc.
Beginning about 1964, a consensus was developing to the effec:t that the in-house
laboratories lacked meaningful problems, management stability and prominence,
and recognition, and they also failed to impact at the highest policy levels. While
administrative improvements were valuable and should be pursued diligently,
PAGENO="0430"
426
they were not considered, in themselves, sufficient to make laboratories effective
tools of the organizations they served. During the later part of 1964, there evolved
a new concept designed to produce fundamental changes in the DoD in-house lab-
oratories which included the following salient features:
(1) A proposed reorientation of the larger Defense laboratories toward military
problem areas of military missions (e.g., antisubmarine warfare (ASW), battle-
field communications, air-to-ground warfare, etc.).
(2) A proposed elimination of echelons between the Military Departments'
Assistant Secretaries (Research and Development) and the principal mission-
oriented laboratories through the establishment of a new technical line manage-
ment structure headed by a Director of Laboratories with requisite authority to
provide the proper R&D environment for the Defense establishment.
(3) A proposal that laboratories encompass the full spectrum of activities
(basic research through operational systems development) with respect to a
military problem area. They would be given (a) greater local authority over
decisions in the areas of research and exploratory and advanced developmen:t;
and (b) greater responsibility for, providing technical assistance and advice-in
the areas of engineering and operational systems development-to weapon-system
development and acquisition organizations.
During 1965 and early 1966, each of the Military Departments embarked upon
many studies in response to this new concept. They examined many approaches
and alternatives, seeking means that were responsive to the DoD objectives, yet
were compatible with their own history, traditions and methods of operation.
It was during this time period that the Army and the Navy established positions
of "Director of Laboratories." The Air Force also created the position of Special
Assistant for Laboratories at the Assistant Secretary level to give high-level sup-
port to its Research and Technology Division, its Aerospace Medical Division and
its Office of Aerospace Research. Within the Army `and the Navy, this was ac-
companied by some regrouping of technical resources. This elevation of status and
reporting level of these ranking technical managers provided the laboratories
with new opportunities for important interactions between high-level decision
makers and the technical specialists within the laboratories.
Shortly after Dr. John S. Foster, Jr., assumed the position of Director of De-
fense Research and Engineering, he asked the Defense Science Board to examine
the progress that had been in strengthening the Defense laboratories and to
develop specific action plans for those aspects requiring additional strengthening.
As a result of these studies, `a unified effort was developed to increase the labora-
tories' involvement in urgent military problems and to continue the long-standing
effort to eliminate the major administrative difficulties that still impaired the
efficiency of laboratories. These actions, currently under way, will determine
the characteristics and roles of the Defense laboratories for many years to come.
However, these changes will not be carried out in one massive reorganization
or restructuring, but rather in well-thought-out steps over the next five years
or so.
THE FUTURE
It is clear that the future success of the Defense effort will depend more and
more on scientific, technological and engineering excellence. Flexible arrange-
ment,s will have to be devised to permit all of the Defense-supported institutions
to respond rapidly to changing needs, the changing state of technology and the
changing nature of new tasks. As a result of this dynamic environment, we will
see many fundamental changes in the in-house laboratory structure of `the 1970s.
Although many of the laboratories we now have will continue in their existing
forms, there should emerge a number of new "weapon centers" created through
the elimination or consolidation of existing technical organizations.
These centers will be fashioned to embrace a broadly conceived technical pro-
gram which concentrates on a particular military problem or warfare area, such
as underseas warfare, air-to-ground warfare, battlefield communications, etc.
Thus, they will be project-oriented centers with continuous mission-discipline
interactions. The strength of these organizations will be the mix of scientists,
technologists and engineers, working in a closely related way on an important set
of common problems. Although each center will be tailored specifically to meet
the needs of its assigned military warfare area `and accordingly will have many
unique features, there will be a `commonality of important characteristics that
will apply to all.
Each center will be oriented toward a military mission or a military problem.
It will employ on the order of 1000 or more professional scientists and engineers.
PAGENO="0431"
427
Although it may have more than one geographical location, the weapon center
would be a self-contained organization in that it would perform research and
development, with feasibility models as an important product.
About 70 percent of the center's professionals would be devoted to creative
in-house engineering. Although contracts would be awarded, the fundamental
development engineering would be accomplished within the center. The center's
specialists would participate in the determination of military requirements
associated with its mission; would be involved in the initial procurement of
equipments; and would provide support to the procurement agency when large-
scale production is achieved. The director of `the center would have direct control
over all the resources, required, such as funding, manpower and facilities, and he
would report at a sufficiently high level that he could ensure the required "R&D
environment" and could participate readily in important policy decisions.
The overall performance of the center would be critically evaluated periodically
to guarantee that `the center is a competitive organization with high performance
standards and achievements.
To this end, the Navy has recently taken a series of steps to consolidate and
realign a number of existing organizations, creating centers of critical site that
will deal with the problems of major Navy systems and subsystems. Examples
of actions already taken are as follows:
The David Taylor Model Basin and the Marine Engineering Laboratory have
been combined to form the Naval Ship R&D Center, with the responsibility for
advanced ship concepts.
NOTS (Pasadena), segments of the Navy Electronics Laboratory, and several
other smaller Navy elements have been administratively combined into the Naval
Undersea Warfare Center.
NOTS (China Lake) and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (Corona) have been
unified into the Naval Weapons Center, with broad responsibilities for air-to-air
and air-to-ground warfare.
The Army has developed a long-range plan to consolidate many of its medical,
materials and technology-oriented organizations. In addition, two weapon-center-
like organizations are under study-an Air Mobility Center and a weapon center
with broad responsibilities in the area of gun systems, fire-control systems and
related subsystems.
The Air Force has under consideration the desirability `of combining a number
of activities to create an Armament Weapon Center concerned with conventional
air munitions.
I don't want to leave the impression that there is complete unanimity on the
weapon-center concept, for that is not the case. Advocates are sure that the
creation of this type of organization would bring enormous benefits to the DoD.
They see new opportunities for optimum concentration on the `identification and
solution of critical military problems. The combined mission-discipline approach
would enable the center to serve as a quick-reaction facility and to be particularly
responsive during crises or war. Such an arrangement is believed to enhance the
systems approach and would provide a better basis to arrive at optimum solutions
to problems independently of technical-specialty bias, and in addition would
orient researchers and technologists toward more meaningful and productive
areas of work. Finally, a center's performance would be much easier to assess,
because its end products could be tested and evaluated.
Those who oppose this concept see penalties in the form of cost, time delays,
personnel attrition, etc., because of this fundamental change in organizational
philosophy. Considerable duplication of effort is foreseen because of the com-
monality of technical disciplines to many military problem areas, unless a man-
agement system is created to minimize this. Further, there would be a tendency
toward monopoly or overprotection under such an arrangement.
In planning future centers of this type, recognition must also be given to the
tremendous competence that has been created within our industrial base, and
means to continue to exploit this competence must be an inherent part of the
weapon-center concept. Work by the in-house scientists and engineers should be
directed toward areas in which in-house competence already exists or could
logically be extended.
In any event, the Defense laboratories of the future, regardless of their mode
of operation, will become fully accepted members of the top-level management
team and, in addition to their more traditional functions, will take on expanding
roles to:
PAGENO="0432"
428
(1) understand and define overall system problems; -
(2) work jointly with military planners to define crucial military require-
ments, based upon critical assessment of existing and predicted technology;
(3) provide, within assigned mission areas, military and technical concepts
that could serve as the basis for the Department's long-range programs in
research and exploratory development;
(4) conduct sufficient technical work in-house to ensure that specifications
for systems can be developed with confidence, and serve in the evaluation,
assistance and day-to-day direction of the work of other organizations
engaged in systems or technology development; and
(5) furnish consulting support to project managers when a commitment
is made to undertake a major program development.
Another basic change that will come during the not-too-distant future will
involve the flexibility in the personnel policies for laboratory scientists and
engineers. Many of us believe that, if the management of in-house laboratories
could handle personnel with the same degree of flexibility as is possible in com-
parable industrial organizations, an immediate and substantial improvement in
laboratory effectiveness would be realized.
Part of the problem may be due to the unduly restrictive interpretations of
civil service policies and regulations by the Military Departments. In this con-
nection, Dr. Foster and Mr. John Macy, Chairman of the Civil Service Commis-
sion, have joined forces to determine how to apply the full flexibilities under the
civil service system to the personnel administration of the Defense laboratories.
This is preliminary to a more complete examination of the legislation governing
the policies that are permissible. Basic legislative changes designed to create the
proper personnel environment for creative R&D organizations are expected to
be the rule rather than the exception in the 1970s.
SUMMARY
The Defense labOratories of the future will play key roles with respect to
shaping and administering the complex research, development, test and evalua-
tion (RDT&E) program upon which our defense posture depends so heavily.
These organizations will be completely involved in the mainstream of urgent
defense needs, providing the solutions to vital problems, and offering technical
judgments highly relevant to the needs of top-level planners and decision
makers.
The creation of the new positions of Directors of Laboratories was a first
and important step in this direction because of their close interface with the
policy level. This was followed by the creation of selected new weapon centers,
whose missions will provide a direct correlation with important military problems
and functions, should enhance the traditional role of in-house laboratories, and
should further strengthen the bond with, and the interplay between, the in-house
technical community and other institutional forms.
The total number of Defense laboratories will tend to become smaller because
of consolidations and the creation of new weapon centers; however, the relative
balance of funding among the various institutional forms will probably remain
essentially as it is today.
The emphasis for Defense laboratories will be on quality rather than quantity,
and the current manning of the total structure will probably not change sig-
nificantly, during the next decade, except for unforeseen deficiencies or crises.
Thus it becomes even more important that our laboratories be purposefully
staffed and directed and appraised critically in a timely fashion. Laboratories
that have become obsolete through loss or dilution of mission, or unproductive
owing to stagnation or marginal leadership, must and will be revitalized, phased
down or eliminated.
An important ingredient of this will result from the optimum availability
of personnel and management flexibility at the laboratory director's level. If
current trends persist, broad recognition will be given to the premise that the
creative work performed by scientists and engineers is quite different from
that of other professions, disciplines and employees. Therefore, the management
techniques and environment must be responsive to these important differences.
As a result, public laws, policies and regulations within the next decade will
result in new personnel and management flexibility that will minimize differences
between Government laboratories and non-Government organizations.
PAGENO="0433"
429
Finally, one of the most important roles that the laboratories of the future
will be increasingly called upon to play is their contribution to the technical
definition of crucial military requirements and the consequent translation of
these military requirements into technological goals and experimental prototypes,
including much heavier involvement in planning for new weapon systems. It is
this role in which laboratories can interact almost universally with the military
planners, the operational forces, and all the other non-Governmental institutions
that make the realization of our Defense goals possible.
REFERENCES
1. Brown, Harold. "Imaginative and Flexible. Thinking," The Airman, USAF,
XI, 9, September 1967.
2. Report to the President on Government Contracting for Research and Develop-
ment. (The Bell Report.) Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
Document No. 94, 87th Congress, 2nd Session, 30 April1962.
3. Foster, John. S., Jr. "Remarks to the Fifth Army Science Conference at West
Paint, New York," Policy ~9tatements on~ the Defense In-House Laboratories.
Washington, D.C.: Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineer-
ing, 1 July 1966, MAM 66-2.
4. . In-House Rc~D in National Defense. Keynote address at the Thirteenth
Annual Air Force Science and Engineering Symposium. Washington, D.C.:
Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, 27 September
1966, MAM 66-2, Supplement 2.
5. Johnson, Gerald W. "The Navy Laboratory Structure." Lecture at the Armed
Forces Staff College, 22 May 1967.
6. Larsen, Finn J. "Role of the Military Laboratory," Policy ~Statements on the
Defense In-House Laboratories. Address before the Aerospace and. Science
Technology Branch, Scientific Research Society of America. Washington,
D.C.: Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, 1 July
1966, MAM 66-2.
7. MacArthur, Donald M. "The Challenges to the In-House Laboratories." Re-
marks at the Air Force Aerospace Medical Division, Brooks Air Force Base,
Texas, 30 September 1966.
8. Ind~ustry-Government RctD Laboratories. Proceedings of NSIA-RADAC (Na-
tional Security Industrial Association, R&D Committee), 1 November 1966,
Washington, D.C.
9. Department of Defense In-House Laboratories. Report of the Defense Science
Board Task Force. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Director of Defense
Research and Engineering, 31 October 1966.
10. Plan for the Operation and Management of the Principal DoD In-House
Laboratories. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 16
Nov~mh~r 1964.
93-201 O-68-----28
PAGENO="0434"
APPENDIX J
Noms ON THE ECONOMY ACT OP 1932
(Warren H. Donnelly, Science Policy Research Division, Legislative
Reference Service, the Library of Congress)
The Economy Act of 1932 1 permits any executive department or
independent establishment of the Government to place orders with
other parts of the executive branch for materials, supplies, equipment,
work, or services of any kind that the requisitioned agency may be
able to supply if (1) funds are available, and (2) it is determined
by the head of the requisitioning department to be "in the interest of
the Government to do so." 2~AJthough the notion of cost is not defined,
it is further provided "that if such work or services can be as con-
veniently or more cheaply performed by private agencies such work
shall be let by competitive bid to such private agencies." Several inter-
pretations of this act have resulted from decisions by the Comptroller
General: (1) The indefinite loan of equipment among agencies which
might result in transfer without reimbursement was prohibited;
(2) authority to procure services and supplies from other agencies
rather than from commercial sources because of lower cost was re-
garded as permissive rather than mandatory; (3) payment of actual
cost is required ~ including charges for depreciation.6
A relevant decision of the Comptroller General holds that a per-
forming agency should be in a position to supply what is needed
without adding new plant and equipment.T Directly related to this
concept was an unpublished decision, made in July 1954, that the
Economy Act did not contemplate that one agency would acquire, even
with its own funds, substantial equipment for the, sole purpose of
being able to supply services to other agencies, nor that it would
request other agencies to support the construction of facilities.8
131 U.S.C. 686 (47 Stat. 417) Public Law 72-212.
`31 U.S.C. 686(a).
`38 C.G. 334.
~37CG 16.
`22 CO. 74.
6 38 CO. 784.
733 CO. 565.
`Unpublished Comptroller General decision B-119486, dated July 23, 1954.
(430)
PAGENO="0435"
431
APPENDIX K
SCIENTISTS
AND
ENGINEERS
IN THE
FEDERAL PERSONNEL
SYSTEM
h~~;
U.S. CIVIL. SERVICE COMMISSION
1968
PAGENO="0436"
432
"The power of the sun is in our hands. From
this day forward there will be no excuses."
-President Lyndon B. Johnson
February 10, 1966
To the Federal Scientist and Engineer:
President Johnson's statement to the recipients of the National Medal of Science for
1965 was a call that went far beyond the scientific and technical programs of this
Nation.
Today many of the best of the generation for whom there will be no excuses are
working in Government laboratories. Here they must be both scientists and public
servants. Neither role diminishes or compromises the other; indeed, it is because
these two roles are so complementary that I am confident our Government laboratories
can continue to attract men and women of the quality that disdains excuses.
The Civil Service Commission and the heads of the employing agencies are exerting
every effort to insure that Government research and development programs are staffed
by such people. The Federal personnel system can make its full contribution to this
effort, however, only if the special features and fiexibilities of the system are widely
understood and fully exploited.
This pamphlet is an attempt to make sure that such understanding is widespread in
the Federal scientific and technical community. I think many managers whop read it
will realize they have a freer hand in personnel management than they supposed.
I urge you to seek the advice and assistance of your personnel officer, and that of his
staff specialists, on how best to use these flexibilities in meeting your own particular
needs.
JOHN W. MACY, Jr.
Chairman,
U.S. Civil Service Commission
PAGENO="0437"
433
THE
SPECIAL FEATURES
of the
FEDERAL PERSONNEL SYSTEM
OF INTEREST TO THE SCIENTIST AND ENGINEER
PAGENO="0438"
PAGENO="0439"
435
STAFFING FOR EFFECTIVE
PERFORMANCE
A primary objective of Federal personnel administration is to enable managers to
carry out their missions and programs effectively. Therefore, the personnel function
must operate as a part of the total management function rather than as an end in
itself. To insure that this relationship exists, agency heads are responsible for
determining the appropriate pattern of organization for personnel management
most suited to the needs of the agency. The Commission does urge agency heads
to delegate their personnel management authorities to subordinate management
officials as near the work levels as possible.
Most Federal departments and agencies operate under the civil service merit system,
which emphasizes the following principles:
* Wide publicity for employment opportunities.
* Equal consideration of all qualified applicants.
* Qualification standards related to the work to be done.
* Selection from among the best qualified.
Many features of the Federal personnel system apply equally to all agencies and to
the many, diverse occupational groups, from clerical to professional, found in the
Federal service. Generally, however, there is enough discretion within the broad
framework of statute and regulation to allow agencies to develop personnel programs
to meet the needs of special groups such as scientists and engineers.
To insure sound planning before recruitment is started, managers should determine
the staffing pattern that promises full achievement of the mission or project to be
undertaken. This staffing pattern should include forecasts of the numbers of em-
ployees needed, the qualifications they must have, and the expected duration of their
assignments. Once this advance planning is completed, active recruitment can begin.
PAGENO="0440"
436
A VARIETY OF
RECRUITMENT PROCEDURES
The Federal manager has many methods to choose from in deciding how to fill a
specific vacancy. Ordinarily, when well-qualified candidates are available within
his department or agency, he may decide to fill the job by promotion or by reassign-
ment. If well-qualified candidates are available elsewhere, however, he may decide
to hire an employee from some other Federal department or agency, rehire a former
Federal employee, or recruit someone who has not previously worked for the
Government.
If the decision is to recruit someone from outside the agency, the following methods
and tools are available for use by Federal managers:
* The Interagency Board System. Applicants file with interagency boards of examiners
that are designated to maintain lists of eligibles for engineering and scientific
positions. These lAB's then serve as a central source of qualified applicants for
Federal agencies. By informing other JAB's of shortages that may develop the
interagency board network can refer applications anywhere in the system where
a need develops.
In order to provide an open-competitive vehicle for processing applications,
examination announcements are no longer issued for specific occupations, such as
chemist, or mathematician. Most examination announcements now cover a
broad range of occupations and are open for receipt of applications on a continuous
basis. Agency recruiters would be wise to check with the appropriate inter-
agency board of examiners to determine if qualified applicants are available before
initiating new recruiting efforts when a vacancy develops, or staff increases are
anticipated.
* Selective Certification. A technique called "selective certification" may be used
whereby only those candidates who meet the particular requirements of a specific
position are referred to the agency. For example, this technique may be used to
fill positions where experience in two or more fields is desired or where experience
in a specific subspecialty of a field is desired.
To insure an input of high-quality applicants into the examination process, a well-
planned and vigorous recruiting drive is necessary. The following "tools of the
trade" will help:
* Advertising Vacancies. Paid advertisements may be used to publicize vacancies in
shortage category positions. Such advertisements may be placed in any publi-
- cation including professional and trade journals, college newspapers, and general
circulation newspapers, which the agency considers appropriate.
PAGENO="0441"
437
* Using Various Employment Services. In addition to the State employment services,
agencies may use nonprofit professionally sponsored employment services to
recruit for professional scientific or engineering positions without the prior
approval of the Civil Service Commission. In using these services, each agency
must pay the employment service any fees charged for placement. Agencies may
not use an employment service that discriminates because of race, creed, color,
sex, or national origin.
* Hiring On-the-Spot. Federal officials sometimes complain that industry makes
immediate offers to good candidates while the Government may take weeks.
Actually, agency recruiters, in cooperation with the Civil Service Commission,
can arrange to make on-the-spot offers to candidates for scientific and engineering
positions using one of the three plans described below.
Agency agrees to appoint all qualified candidates including those certified
by the Commission.
Competitors may be rated eligible or ineligible. Numerical ratings are
not required.
If it becomes impossible to appoint all eligibles under consideration,
selection must be made in accordance with veterans preference.
Agency is unable to appoint all qualified candidates.
All qualified candidates are given numerical ratings.
Appointing officer may appoint any candidate with an eligible rating with-
out immediate regard to order on the register.
The register muse be reconstituted at least once a month to insure com-
pliance with the `~rule of three' and veterans preference.
Civil Service Commission has determined that candidates are in critically
shore supply. Each position concerned is common to two or more Federal
agencies.
Agencies may appoint any qualified candidate without either a prior
commitment to hire all eligibles as in Plan A, or a periodic reconstitution
of registers as in Plan B.
Other approaches are available for hiring on-the-spot. For example, in reccnt
years the Commission has made increasing use of what has become known as the
`quality approach" to direct recruiting. The quality approach recognizes that
in practically all occupations there is a shortage of the best qualified eligibles.
By determining in advance what the shortage level is for a particular occupation,
it is possible for an examining office to authorize agencies to hire on-the-spot for
career-conditional appointment any eligible whose rating is above the pre-
determined level. In some cases when there is' an examination open, an agency
representative may be authorized to recruit, test, and hire candidates whose
ratings are sufficiently high to place them in the best qualified group.
PAGENO="0442"
438
* Making Offers Early. Offers of appointment may be made to prospective college
graduates well in advance of graduation. Security clearances and necessary paper
work can then be completed while the individual selected is still in school.
* Paying Travel Expenses to First Post of Duty. In filling shortage category positions,
as listed by the Civil Service Commission, agencies may pay the travel and moving
costs of new appointees and of student trainees promoted to a higher grade upon
completion of college work.
* Appointing Without Examination. Appointments to positions established under
P.L. 313, may be made without competitive examination. However, the qualifi-
cations of individuals selected for such positions must be approved by the Civil
Service Commission. In addition, the Civil Service Commission may authorize,
in exceptional cases, appointment to other positions in the competitive service
without examination. Such authority may be granted when qualified persons
are so few, or the salary or duties are such, that it would not be in the interest of
good administration to fill the vacancy by the normal open-competitive process.
Former Federal employees who have acquired career status may be reappointed
without competitive examination to any position for which they may qualify.
PAGENO="0443"
439
SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
For scientific and engineering positions which do not require prior experience, can-
didates who have earned a college degree within the most recent two years and who
meet criteria of superior academic achievement can qualify for higher grades than those
for which they would otherwise be eligible. The table below provides the criteria
for each grade and indicates for the higher grades the kinds of positions which may
be filled by candidates with such qualifications.
Grade Degree Criteria
Upper 25% of his class; or
B' average or better; or
"B+" (3.5) average or better in applicable major field; or
~`S `
U
BAPUEI nD's
VII LUIS
Elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, or a national honor-
ary subject-matter scholastic society; or
Scored 600 or better on an appropriate Area Test or Ad-
vanced Test in the Graduate Record Examination.
Note.' The grade averages may be based on completed
courses at the time of application or the last two years of
the undergraduate curriculum.
PAGENO="0444"
440
GS9
MASTER'S Ranks in the upper quarter of all Master's degree graduates
DEGREE in his field.
G511
MASTER'S
DEGREE
Minimum of two years study required by university for
the degree; and
Ranks in the upper quarter of all graduates in his field with
this same type of Master's degree.
Positions involve research, creativity, or advanced scientific
work.
GS-12
Ph D
DEGREE
Ranks in the upper half of all Ph. D. degree graduates in
Positions involve research or exploratory development.
Moreover, candidates for research and development positions at any level who have
made a significant creative contribution can qualify for one additional grade above the
one for which their experience and training would normally qualify them. However,
a candidate who achieves a higher grade on the basis of the criteria in the table
above cannot qualify for an additional higher grade based on a significant creative
contribution.
PAGENO="0445"
441
SOME APPOINTMENT OPTIONS
FOR MEETING PROJECT NEEDS
For scientific projects of limited duration (four years or less), career types of staffing
may not be appropriate. In such cases the Commission's regulations provide for
two types of appointments, in addition to the usual temporary appointments:
TERM APPOINTMENT
A "term appointment" is a temporary appointment used to meet "project"
requirements. Such appointments may be made where the employment on a
project will be for more than one year but less than four years. In some instances
this authority may be useful in appointing visiting scientists, engineers, and
college faculty members. Characteristics of this appointment include:
* Prior Civil Service Commission authorization is required.
* Appointment outside the register may be made in the absence of adequate
registers.
* Appointment from a register does not confįr competitive status.
* Appointees are eligible for within-grade increases in salary.
PAGENO="0446"
442
* Appointees are entitled to annual and sick leave benefits.
* Group Life Insurance and Health Benefits are available, if desired.
* Civil Service Retirement is not afforded.
* Reassignments and promotions within a project are authorized.
* First year of service is a trial period.
* After completion of the trial period, appointees are covered by the reduction-
in-force regulations until termination of the "project" and have the same
protections against adverse action as career employees.
ONE YEAR APPOINTMENT
A "one-year appointment" is a temporary appointment, not to exceed one year,
of college faculty members to positions of a scientific, professional, analytical,
employee development, or instructional nature. Characteristics of this appoint-
ment include:
* Civil Service Commission approval is not required.
* Appointments may be made without regard to registers.
* Appointees are entitled to annual and sick leave benefits.
* Group Life Insurance, Health Benefits, and Civil Service Retirement benefits
are not afforded.
* Reassignments, promotions, and transfers are not authorized.
* Trial period is not required.
In addition to enabling agencies to meet temporary staffing needs, the appointments
described above may, by providing concrete experience in Government activities,
encourage well-qualified persons to consider career type appointments.
PAGENO="0447"
443
THE FEDERAL PAY SYSTEM
Since 1962 the Federal service has had a modernized pay policy and pay system. Its
most important feature is a basic policy for determining pay levels:
THE POLICY
Federal Salary Rates Shall Be Comparable With Private Enterprise Salary Rates for
the Same Levels of Work."
Each year the Bureau of Labor Statistics makes a survey of salary rates in private
enterprise for many jobs that are the same in Government and industry. Included
in the survey are jobs in chemistry and engineering, from junior levels to the levels
of research leadership and program~ supervision. The survey yields national
average salaries that are directly comparable with Federal salaries in the scale up
to and including GS-15. On the basis of these comparisons, the President submits
to Congress any salary recommendations he feels are justified.
THE PAY SYSTEM
Several special features help the Federal service compete in the labor market and
stimulate high-quality performance
* Recognizing the Quality of Performance. Two related steps give the manager
additional control over the pay of staff members:
* An extra within-grade increase, in addition to the regular one, can be
awarded once a year for high-quality performance.
* The regular within-grade increase may be given only if the employee's per-
formance is of an acceptable level of competence; thus the marginal
worker can no longer qualify for such an increase.
PAGENO="0448"
444
* Special Salary Rates. Authority to increase salary rates for shortage category
jobs allows the Commission to raise the entire range of rates within the grade
when necessary to meet private-enterprise salaries in shortage occupations.
Such increases may be authorized on a nationwide, regional, or locality basis.
They are subject to review once a year. This authority is now being widely,
used for professional engineering, scientific, and medical positions.
* Special Recruitment Salary Rates for Individuals With Superior Qualifications. For.
positions in grade GS-11 and above, the Commission has authority to give con-
sideration to an individual candidate's existing salary, unusually high or unique
qualifications, or a special need of the Government for his services, and to permit
his appointment at a rate above the minimum rate of the appropriate grade.
One major use of this authority is to recruit persons with doctorates.
Promotion Increases. The minimum amount of additional salary an employee
receives upon promotion is the equivalent of two within-grade increases.
(Where there is no scheduled rate in the higher grade which is at least two steps
above the previous rate, the employee receives the maximum salary for the grade
or keeps his existing rate, whichever is higher.)
* Structural Features. The internal structure of the General Schedule has been
improved significantly. For example, it now provides for:
* Regular and meaningful salary differences between grades.
* Uniform and meaningful rate ranges at most grades. (For grades up to
GS-15, ranges are about 30% of the minimum rate of the grade.)
* Uniform and meaningful within-grade increases, with nine increases avail-
able at most grades, each amounting to about 3.3 percent of the entry rate.
* Absence of Numerical Restrictions on Top Grades for Certain Occupations. Professional
engineering positions primarily concerned with research and development and
professional positions in the physical and natural sciences and medicine are not
subject to the numerical limitations covering positions at GS-16, 17, and 18.
Thus agencies may recommend to the Commission as many such positions in
these grades as duties and responsibilities warrant.
PAGENO="0449"
445
RELATIONSHIP OF POSITION CLASSIFICATION
TO QUALITY STAFFING
A close relationship must exist between the function of classifying a position and
the function of filling it with a well-qualified person. In recent years the Commis-
sion and the agencies have made much progress in bringing these two vital functions
into a harmonious relationship. The following tools and techniques for relating
the job and the man are available to enhance the development of a high-quality
staff:
IMPACT OF THE MAN
Federal jobs are classified on a basis of duties, responsibilities, and qualifications
required. The system recognizes, particularly in R&D and many other profes-
sional positions, that the qualifications and abilities of an outstanding incumbent
will attract greater responsibilities to him to the point where a higher grade may
be justified. Some classification standards make specific reference to this factor
and provide specific guidance for its consideration; the lack of such reference in
a standard, however, does not mean that it is not present.
TWO TRACK SYSTEM
Positions may be classified at the higher grade levels, without requiring super-
visory or administrative responsibilities, on the basis of individual research
effort and required professional qualifications. Thus, the junior scientist can
choose the ~track" most suited to his talents, whether as an individual researcher
or as a scientific administrator, and prepare himself accordingly.
93-201 0 - 68 - 29
PAGENO="0450"
446
TAILORING JOBS-NOT MEN
Almost all research positions and, in some cases, other types of positions can
be tailored to the qualifications of candidates. For example, if an outstanding
candidate is over-qualified for a given vacancy the agency can, after determining
the level for which the candidate is qualified, either establish a new position
at that grade level or, if possible, expand the duties and responsibilities of the
vacant position so that it is classifiable at that grade level.
INTERDISCIPLINARY POSITIONS
Interdisciplinary positions are positions which involve work in two or more
professional fields and which may be filled by persons qualified in any of the
pertinent disciplines. A vacant interdisciplinary position may, without re-
writing the position description, be reclassified to the occupational series fitting
the qualifications of a particular candidate.
MOBILITY BETWEEN DISCIPLINES
The Commission has modified the basic education requirements for professional
scientific and engineering positions so that employees may move easily from
one subject matter emphasis to another in their jobs.
A panel of professionally qualified examiners may exercise professional knowledge
and judgment in evaluating the qualifications of scientiSts and engineers whose
completed education does not fully satisfy specified dourse requirements, but
whose experience and education clearly demonstrate possession of the knowledges
and abilities required for professional work in a given occupation.
PAGENO="0451"
447
RELATIONSHIP OF POSITION
CLASSIFICATION TO PERSONNEL
DETAILS AND ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS
DETAILS
The classification and qualification system allows management to "detail" an
employee from his current job to another one of higher or lower grade or laterally
to one for which he does not meet the regular requirements.
Details may be made for periods of up to six months without Commission
approval or for longer periods with the approval of the Commission. They are
useful for making emergency assignments and they are particularly valuable in
training and developing employees. For example:
* An employee may be detailed to another type of position or another agency
for the purpose of cross training.
* An employee may be detailed to a higher level position for the purpose of
developing and reinforcing higher skills or for determining ability to perform
at that level.
* An employee may be detailed to an understudy type position.
Details of the latter two types should be made in accordance with the agency's
merit promotion program. If the individual selected for the detail performs
according to expectations, he may then be promoted to the position without
again invoking the procedures of the merit promotion program.
PAGENO="0452"
448
ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS
The classification system does not control the type of organizational pattern,
the numbers of employees to be used, or the shape of individual positions.
These are all completely under management's control, within mission and budget
limitations. Thus, the manager may decide to have a `flat" or a "narrow"
form of organization, and to divide the work among many specialists or to use
a generalist approach. The classification system is neutral towards these
decisions and stands ready to reflect whatever job structure management designs.
Congress has made the Commission responsible for insuring that the numerical
limitation imposed on non-scientific and non-research and development engi-
neering positions in grades GS-16, 17, and 18 are not exceeded, Other than
this the Commission does not control the total number of positions, or the number
of positions at any particular grade level, established in an agency. This is a
responsibility of management, for only the agency management has the broad
authority to determine how work is to be organized and what duties and
responsibilities are to be assigned to any given employee.
In addition, the Commission, in delegating authority for personnel administra-
tion, does not normally specify the level to which agency heads must or may
redelegate this authority, nor does the commission prescribe an agency's organi-
zation for personnel administration. Although the Commission urges, at every
opportunity, the redelegation of authority to levels as close to the work level as
possible, agency officials are free to redelegate as much or as little of their
authority as they feel is necessary or appropriate to the successful accomplish-
ment of agency objectives,
The fact that discretionary areas, broad at the national level, have a disquieting
habit of appearing narrow at the laboratory level has been commented on by
Chairman Macy in these words:
`I am constantly amazed when I find that a certain discretionary area,
which is broad at the national level, as enunciated by the Commission,
appears to be narrow when it reaches the laboratory. . . . I would hope
that we would have enough confidence in laboratory managers and that we
would have an effective enough administrative pattern so that these dis-
cretions could be applied at the laboratory level."
PAGENO="0453"
449
TRAINING FOR EXCELLENCE
A law passed in 1958 was a landmark in the Government's pursuit of excellence.
Its many flexible provisions are especially suitable for meeting the need of Federal
research and engineering activities to keep professional and technical staff abreast of
rapidly changing developments. Thus, laboratories can build in training as a part
of the regular careers of thįir professionals.
THE TRAINING LAW AUTHORIZES
* Employee training at full pay within the agency or at outside facilities.
* Training at colleges, universities, professional institutes, industrial labora-
tories, or research foundations.
* Payment for all or part of tuition and related costs.
* Acceptance by employees of contributions and awards incident to training in
non-Government facilities.
* Payment of travel expenses and registration fees for attendance at professional
meetings.
* Cooperation among agencies in opening up training courses across agency
lines.
THE LAW HAS CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS BUT ALSO
PROVIDES FOR APPROPRIATE WAIVERS
* Employees must have at least one year of civilian service before training at a
non-Government facility can be authorized. [HOWEVER, IF THE AGENCY
HEAD FINDS THAT POSTPONEMENT OF THE TRAINING IS CON-
TRARY TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST, HE MAY WAIVE THIS
RESTRICTION.]
* Employees may receive only one year of training in a non-Government facility
during any 10-year period of service. [HOWEVER, THIS RESTRICTION
MAY BE WAIVED BY THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION AT THE
REQUEST OF THE HEAD OF THE AGENCY.]
* University training may not be undertaken for the sole purpose of obtaining
a degree. [HOWEVER, IF THE TRAINING IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
DEVELOPING SKILLS, KNOWLEDGES, AND ABILITIES WHICH WILL
BETTER QUALIFY AN EMPLOYEE FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF
OFFICIAL DUTIES, AND THE DEGREE IS ATTAINED IN THE PROC-
ESS OF RECEIVING SUCH TRAINING, THE DEGREE IS AN INCI-
DENTAL BY-PRODUCT OF THE TRAINING, RATHER THAN ITS SOLE
PURPOSE.]
PAGENO="0454"
450
A number of agencies have sent staff members to universities for full-time training for
periods of up to one year. In addition, several laboratories have worked out arrange-
ments with nearby universities under which senior staff members of the laboratory
serve as part-time faculty members and give graduate courses to their junior col-
leagues, often using projects of the laboratory as course or thesis subjects.
Training on the job continues to be the most important and economical method of
training large numbers of people in the skills and knowledges required in our complex
civilization. This type of training has proved its effectiveness regardless of level and
kind of work. It should not be neglected in favor of academic training.
The Commission has authorized a variety of techniques which agencies are encouraged
to utilize.
TRAINING AGREEMENTS
Agencies may enter into special agreements with the Civil Service Commission
which provide that satisfactory completion of a special course of in-service
training qualifies a participant for reassignment or promotion to a specific job.
For example, an agreement may be effected which provides for a promotion after
satisfactory completion of six months training to a position for which the indi-
vidual would not otherwise qualify.
Training programs of this type may be used to bring performance levels of pro-
fessionals recruited at GS-5 and GS-7 to the GS-7 and GS-9 levels quickly.
EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS
Agencies may enter into special executive development agreements with the
Civil Service Commission which authorize the movement of individuals from
professional, scientific, and technical fields to administrative fields in order to
- prepare them for supervisory assignments in their professional fields.
The agency must show that, within a reasonable time after assignment to the
positions covered, employecs will acquire the knowledges necessary to perform
fully their new duties.
Under such an agreement, agencies can make these movements of personnel with-
out the prior approval of the Commission. If no such agreement has been made,
such movement can be accomplished only with the prior approval of the Civil
Service Commission. -
PAGENO="0455"
451
CO-OP TRAINING PROGRAMS*
These are long range programs designed to attract quality personnel to full-time
Federal employment upon attainment of their degrees. A program is usually
arranged so that the student alternates about six months of academic training at
an accredited college or university with six months of work experience in the
Government agency.
PAGENO="0456"
PAGENO="0457"
453
RECOGNIZING ACHIEVEMENT
Two ways in which the personnel system recognizes achievement have already been
outlined: quality increases within the grade and impact of an outsta~iding staff
member on his assignment. Some important additional methods follow:
MERIT PROMOTION PROGRAM
Under guidelines published by the Commission, each agency develops a promo-
tion program to insure that broad areas of consideration are used and that
selections are made from among the best qualified when vacancies are to be
filled by promotion. (As indicated earlier, management may fill vacancies by
methods other than promotion.) By promoting the best qualified, management
recognizes achievement and sets the tone of the entire enterprise. To insure
valid judgments, some Federal agencies convene panels of senior colleagues so
that professionals are rated for promotion by persons who are expert in the
area concerned.
INCENTIVE AWARDS
Agency heads are authorized to grant cash awards or honorary awards, or a
combination of both, to employees for achievements that improve operations or
are in the public interest. These are important vehicles for recognizing high
quality performance, particularly when quality increases would not be appro-
priate. Cash awards of up to $25,000 and honorary awards ranging from an
official commendation up to the "President's Award for Distinguished Federal
Civilian Service" have been granted to scientists and engineers. ~or example,
17 of the 21 largest cash awards-ranging from $5,000 to $25,000-were made
for scientific and technical achievements; and 18 of the 46 Presidential Awards
for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service have been awarded to Federal. scientists.
PAGENO="0458"
454
For outstanding R&D achievement some Federal agencies have established
special medals or awards named for distinguished scientists who served the
agency in the past. For example, the Office of Naval Research has established
an annual Navy-wide science award known as the Captain Robert Dexter Conrad
Award for Scientific Achievement. This award was named in honor of the first
head of the Planning Division of ONR, who was the primary architect of the
Navy's basic research program. The Naval Research Laboratory annually
grants the E. 0. Hulburt Award to a NRL scientist or engineer for a scientific
accomplishment of significant value to the Navy. This award was named in
honor of the Laboratory's first Director of Research. The Bureau of Standards
annually awards the Stratton Award to a Bureau scientist or engineer for an
unusually significant contribution to some area of science or engineering. This
award was named in honor of the Bureau's first director.
Name awards have also been established by some laboratories for the best tech-
nical paper-of-the-year published by a staff member. For example, Cambridge
Research Laboratories has established the Dr. Marcus D. O'Day Award. The
Air Force Navigation and Guidance Laboratory has established the Samuel M.
Burka Award.
There is room for considerable ingenuity in establishing award programs for
special purposes. The Commission's pamphlet Awards and Honors for Scientists
and Engineers provides further information on this subject.
PERFORMANCE RATING PLANS
The Commission may approve a wide variety of rating plans for use within the
agencies. Except for certain broad principles, there is no requirement for uni-
formity between agencies nor between occupations or components within the
same agency. Thus, agencies are encouraged to develop performance rating
plans tailored to the specific environment in which they will be used.
A well-conceived, conscientiously administered performance rating plan can
assist in the identification of the type of training or higher education needed
by an individual to work at his maximum capacity. It can also assist in the
identification and recognition of staff members who have made important scien-
tific and technical contributions. However, because of the recognition possible
under the incentive awards program, it is perhaps true that the "Outstanding"
rating is little used today.
Regardless of how individuals or groups are recognized for their achievements,
administrators must realize that, to be effective and meaningful, recognition
must be reserved for real contributions.
PAGENO="0459"
455
ENCOURAGING
A CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT
This, then, is the Federal personnel system as it applies to scientists and engineers
in most departments and agencies--a group of principles, policies, and procedures
within which laboratory directors can shape the particular environment they seek
for their staffs in the light of the missions and goals assigned to the organization.
The development of an environment to foster high productivity and innovation is a
large subject, beyond the scope of this pamphlet, and one abounding in subtleties
that go far beyond adequate salary rates or generous vacation time. But many
personnel factors, as well as other management factors such as the extent to which
authority is delegated to the laboratory director, undoubtedly enter into this chal-
lenging and complex subject.
Some factors such as those related to pay policies and career development oppor-
tunities are mentioned elsewhere in this pamphlet. Among others that should be
considered are the following:
* Attendance at conferences of professional societies.
* Giving credit lines or otherwise acknowledging contributors to publications
of the laboratory.
* Freedom to publish, teach, or lecture outside of duty hours.
* Scheduling of vacation time. (One definite advantage of Federal employment
is that normally vacations do not have to be taken only at certain seasons
when an entire operation shuts down.)
* Flexibility in hours of work. (Agency heads have the discretion to authorize
variations in the standard 40-hour week. Thus, staff members may work on
a `first 40 hours" basis-for example, working late one evening on an experi-
ment and coming in late the next day; or they may work a 40-hour week
scheduled to allow them to attend classes during the normal workday when
the training is not authorized under provisions of law.)
* Position titles adapted to the profession. (Official titles such as ~`Supervisory
Physicist" are used for personnel and payroll purposes, but agency heads may
authorize more professionally meaningful titles for publication on papers,
correspondence, etc. Examples are `Member of Technical Staff," "Research
Associate," or "Senior Scientist.")
Granted, the laboratory director, like all Federal managers, has to work within a
framework of statutes, Commission regulations, and internal agency instructions.
Nevertheless, there are real flexibilities built into the framework for personnel
management, flexibilities that are not always fully known and less often fully
utilized. This pamphlet is designed to help the science and engineering manager
keep in mind the whole range of special resources available to him in the difficult
task of developing a good laboratory environment.
PAGENO="0460"
APPENDIX L
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS-LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH SERVICE
PRINCIPAL PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO TIlE FUTURE USE OF GOVERNMENT LABORATORIES
Warren H. Donnelly, Specialist, Science and Technology, Science Policy Research
Division, and Mary Anne Lipforcl, Research Assistant, Science Policy Research
Division, Washington D.C.
Growing interest in the future use of Government laboratories has prompted
the compilation of the following listing of principal publications and references.
The listing is in two parts. First, principal documents and reports relating to
use of Government laboratories are cited. Second, actual inventories of Govern-
ment laboratories are identified. All items are listed chronologically to show the
development of interest.
Many of these items are summarized briefly in the report, "A Case Study of
the Utilization of Federal Laboratory Resources," published by the Research and
Technical Programs Subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Oper-
ations as a committee print in November 1966.
I. PRINCIPAL PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO FUTURE USE OF GOVERNMENT LABORATORIES
1932: The Economy Act of 19a2. 31 USC 686 (47 Stat. 417) Public Law 72-212.
1947: Steelman, John R. "Administration for Research," vol. 3 of Science and
Public Policy, a report to the President, October 4, 1947.
1954: Executive Order No. 10521, 19 FR 54, March 19, 1954, pp. 1499-1500. [This
order directed the Interdepartmental Committee to see that Federal
agencies engaged in research ". . . keep informed of major equipment
and facilities which could serve the needs of more than one agency."]
1955: Subcommittee on Research Activities in the Department of Defense and
Defense Related Agencies, Committee on Business Organization of the
Department of Defense. `~Research Activities in the Department of
Defense and Defense Related Agencies," April 1955.
1955: U.S. Commission on the Organization of the Executive Branch of the Gov-
ernment. "Research and Development in Government," also published as
House Document No. 174, 84th Congress, 1st Session, May 1955.
1957: National Science Foundation. "Federal Financial Support of Physical
Facilities `and Major Equipment for the Conduct of Scientific Research,"
a report to the Bureau of the Budget, June 1957.
1959: Executive Office of the President, Bureau of the Budget. "Commercial-
Industrial Activities of the Government Providing Products or Services
for Government Use," Bulletin No. 60-2, September 21, 1959.
1960: Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. "The Future Role of the Atomic
Energy Commission Laboratories," 86th Congress, 2d Session, October
1960.
1962: Executive Office of the President, Bureau of the Budget "Report to the
President on Government Contracting for Research and Development,"
April 30, 1962. Text printed in "Systems Development and `Management,"
hearings, and as Senate Document No. 94, 87th Congress, 2d Session,
1962. [The Bell Report].
1962: Subcommittee on Military Operation, Committee on Government Opera-
tions. "Systems Development and Management," hearings. House of
Representatives, 87th Congress, 2d Session, 1962. [Hearings on the Bell
Report].
1964: National Academy of `Sciences-National Research Council. "Toward Better
Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Manpower," report of the Corn-
mittee on the Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Manpower, Pub-
lication No. 1191, Washington, D.C., 1964.
1965: Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology. "Bio-
medical Science and Its Administration: A Study of the National Insti-
tutes of Health," February 1965. [The Wooldridge Report].
(456)
PAGENO="0461"
457
1966: Office of the Comptroller General of the United States. "Survey of Research
Laboratories, Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts"
report to the Congress, January 1966.
1966: Executive Office of the President, Bureau of the Budget. "Policies for
Acquiring Commercial or Industrial Products and Services for Govern-
ment Use," Circular No. A-76, March 3, 1966.
II. INVENTORIES AND INFORMATION ON FEDERAL LABORATORY RESOURCES
1955: Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and Development:.~
"Major Scientific Facilities and Equipment of U.S. Government Labora-
tories," June 1, 1955.
1957': National Science Foundation. "Fed~eral Financial Support of `Physical
Facilities and Major Equipment for the Conduct of Scientific Research,"
`a report to the Bureau of the Budget, June 1957.
1964: U.S. General Services Administration. "Inventory Report on Real Property
Owned by the United States Throughout the World as of June 30,, 1963,"
Washington, D.C., 1964.
1964: Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development, Committee on Sci-
ence `and Astronautics. "Fiscal Trends in Federal Research and
Development, Government and Science, No. 2," House of Representatives,
88th Congress, 2d `Session, 1964. Committee print.
1964: National Science Foundation. "Obligations for Research and Development,
and R & D Plant, `by Geographic Divisions and `States, by Selected Fed-
eral Agencies, Fiscal Years 1961-1964," `report to the Subcommittee Oil
Science, Research, and Development of the Committee on Science and
`Astronautics. House of RepresentatiVeS, 88th Congress, 2d Session, 1964.
Committee print.
1964: Select Committee on Government Research. "Manpower for Research and
Development," Study No. II, U.S. House of RepresentatiVeS, 88th Con-
gress, Zd Session, 1964. House Report 1907.
1964: Department of the Navy. "Department of the `Navy, R.D.T. & E. Manage-
nient Guide," vol. 2, NAVEXOS P2457, July 1, 1964.
1964: Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Department
Defense. "In-House LaboratOries of the Department of Defense; Organi-
zational Relationships, Resources, and Missions," vol. III of Phase III
Study, Military Construction, $upporting Services, Personnel and Man-
power, November 15, 11)64.
1964: Select Committee on Government Research. "Federal Facilities for
`Research and Development," Study No. III. House of Representatives,
88th Congress, 2d Session, November 19, 1964.
1964: U.S. Civil `Service Commission. "The Environment of the Federal Labora-
tory," proceedings of the Third Symposium, December 7-8, 1964.
1964: Air Force System's Command, U.S. Air Force. "Technical Facility
Capability Key," FFACO 80-3, July 1, 1965.
1966: Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Department of
Defense. "Department of Defense In-House R.D.T. & E. Activities,"
Management Analysis Report, September 1, 1966.
1966: Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Department
of Defense, "Department of Defense In-House Laboratories: Report of
the Defense `Science Board Task Force," October 31, 1966.
0
PAGENO="0462"