What forum participants saidParticipants expressed 10 key views about nanomanufacturing. Notably, participants saw nanomanufacturing as a future megatrend, and they anticipated continuing scientific breakthroughs. Although participants viewed the United States as likely leading in nanotechnology R&D today, they foresaw intense global competition. They also identified emerging challenges to U.S. co...

Agencies are increasingly asked to demonstrate results, but many programs lack credible performance information and the capacity to rigorously evaluate program results. To assist agency efforts to provide credible information, GAO examined the experiences of five agencies that demonstrated evaluation capacity in their performance reports: the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the Coa...

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the administration of the Bayh-Dole Act in research universities.GAO noted that: (1) federal agencies' administration of the Bayh-Dole Act as it applies to research universities is decentralized; (2) while the Department of Commerce has issued implementing regulations and provides coordination under limited circumstances, the act actually is admi...

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on fiscal year (FY) 1995 expenditures made by the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology associated with external and internal public affairs activities. GAO noted that: (1) the four agencies spent a tot...

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the justification for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) proposed procurement of an icebreaking research vessel.GAO found that: (1) NSF and the scientific community have not demonstrated an increase in icebreaker requirements since 1990 to sufficiently justify a fifth icebreaker vessel; (2) the three icebreakers currently in operation are unde...

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Academic Research Infrastructure Program, focusing on whether the program restricts academic institutions from including indirect or overhead costs in their matching contributions. GAO noted that: (1) the NSF program generally requires academic institutions to provide between 30 and 50 percent of a project's...

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Science Foundation's (NSF) competitive and noncompetitive procurement process, focusing on whether NSF: (1) solicitations clearly describe contract requirements; (2) evaluates bids in accordance with solicitation evaluation criteria; and (3) properly justifies procuring services on a sole-source basis.GAO found that: (1) there were one...

GAO discussed federal research grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), focusing on the possibility of conflicts of interest or competitive advantage resulting from inappropriate access to research results. GAO noted that: (1) greater controls are needed to monitor access to research information and to the research beneficiaries; (2) betw...

GAO discussed the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Science and Engineering Pipeline Study, focusing on: (1) how NSF reviewed the study; and (2) information that NSF provided in a September 1991 letter to a congressional subcommittee on its study review process. GAO noted that: (1) in 1984, the White House requested the study to analyze the demand-supply balance for scientists and engineers; (2)...

GAO discussed the Coast Guard's plans to purchase a new icebreaker, and identified alternatives to purchasing a new vessel. GAO found that the Coast Guard estimated that it would cost $330 million to acquire the icebreaker, and about $7 million in annual operating costs. GAO also found that, although it could not determine whether the Coast Guard actually needed the new icebreaker, it believed tha...