Science agencies tell of assessment plans

Federal science and technology agencies are already under intense scrutiny by a Congress pledged to balance the federal budget by 2002: Their budgets are among the few items available for cutting. Beginning next year, these agencies face another layer of examination as they gear up to comply with the Government Performance & Results Act (GPRA). The law requires all federal agencies to develop a system for evaluating the performance and relevance of their programs. The first formal performance evaluation plans must be in place by January 1999. Just how federal science agencies are going to do this was the subject of a hearing by the House Science Committee earlier this month. Committee Chairman Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.) said Congress recognized when the act was passed in 1993 that assessing the performance of science programs "would pose a special challenge. Because of this challenge, it is imperative that the Committee on ...