3.4
How to achieve benefit from application-oriented research: lessons from the Naval Research Laboratory's meteorology division
Nathaniel J. Logar, Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, Boulder, CO
How does the research performed by government mission agencies contribute to improved decision-making? Is it possible to improve models for research for the purpose of increasing the benefits to users? The meteorology division of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) promises research directed towards military and maritime application. However, a statement of benefit cannot guarantee effective research without the inclusion of mechanisms for assessing user needs and or directing research towards these needs. Assuming that research can lead to benefit for decision makers with minimal guidance can lead to irrelevance, wasted effort, and missed opportunities. Moving beyond the assumption leads to critical consideration of processes creating climate and meteorological science. I report the results of research on decision processes, and of interviews with agency scientists in NRL and other federally funded institutions. In the case of NRL Meteorology, policies for science do target stakeholders through both formal and informal mechanisms, and some of these mechanisms are generally transferable to other groups attempting to create a strong bond between the prioritization and execution of science on one side, and the benefit of information users on the other. The research results provide options for closing gaps between goals and outcomes that are taken from scientific mission agencies
I apply the economic concept of supply and demand to describe where supply of science provides decision support that matches user demand, and where science policies might miss opportunities or mischaracterize research as useful to a specific user. This analysis leads to increased understanding of how factors such as the definition of scientific problems, hierarchies in science decision-making structures, quality control mechanisms, distribution of participants in the knowledge production enterprise, and social accountability guide the process of producing useful information.
Recorded presentationSession 3, Application-Oriented Research
Thursday, 24 January 2008, 8:30 AM-9:45 AM, 228-229
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