The Vicissitudes of Federal Support: Views on R&D grants and contracts today should be studied with concern for the future

Scientific research in the United States today is firmly wedded to government funds. The Select Committee on Government Research of the House of Representatives, under the chairmanship of Rep. Carl Elliott (D.-Ala.), has been studying the administration of grants and has begun to report (C&EN, Aug. 17, page 33). The committee's study of review and recommendation of project proposals gave attention to some views that deserve thoughtful study for the future. There has been criticism that the advisory panel system for recommending projects is creating an "advisory elite" with vested interest. There have been suggestions that the fields of research supported might be narrowed by such an elite to those favored by panel members. Suspicion has been voiced that there is more than coincidence between the grants received by an institution and its representation on advisory panels. Geographical imbalance has also entered into the criticisms. The Elliott committee examined panel ...