Another threat to fetal research

A bill introduced in the 97th Congress by Representative William Dannemeyer would prohibit the use of federal funds for experimentation on living fetuses except to insure the survival of the fetus or infant. Pro-life groups are supporting the bill; critics claim it is poorly worded, will prevent needed research, and is unnecessary because existing NIH regulations on fetal research are adequate.     

Science and the university

The federal government-university relationship in scientific research has been eroded by excessive, unthinking regulations for the purposes of accountability. The Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-21 continues to jeopardize the quality of government-sponsored research in universities by demanding wasteful, meaningless work-load documentation. These regulatory demands must be revised to reflect the realistic obligations of accountability by a leadership capable of transcending special interests. Mutual respect between government and universities must be restored to achieve a partnership that helps better the national life while also protecting the integrity of the scientific faculty and its mission.     

Patients' voices: the powerful sound in the stem cell debate

Millions of patients may benefit from the applications of stem cell research, although there is disagreement about whether public funds should be used to develop the science. Patients have been key to winning political support. Acting as advocates, they have contended that public investment will speed the research and bring accountability to biomedical technology. A political dispute about the new research, which holds the potential for cures to devastating diseases and to foster healthy aging, shows the need to respect public sensibilities and to court public approval, as well as the importance of involving patients in debates where the methods of biomedical discoveries and ethical beliefs collide.     

Reporting of faculty time: an accounting perspective

Controversial federal regulations requiring universities to report 100 percent of the activities performed by faculty members encounter severe theoretical difficulties of allocation that pervade accounting and that at present are insoluble. Yet it is only natural for universities and government agencies to desire that such allocations be made. Accounting practitioners have faced such reporting dilemmas for generations; their experiences suggest ways of palliating the federal requirements.     

Federal regulation of local and sustainable food claims in Canada: a case study of Local Food Plus

Interest in purchasing local food from suppliers who follow sustainable practices is growing in Canada. Such suppliers wish to have their products recognized in the market so that price premiums might be received, and new markets developed. In response, the organization Local Food Plus (LFP) developed standards and a certification process to authenticate local and sustainable claims. LFP provides certification seals, and labeling provisions for qualifying producers and processors. However, given pre-existing national food labeling rules, it is not evident that existing regulations permit such claims. Using LFP as a case, this study examined whether current federal labeling rules might impede the marketing of local and sustainable claims. Key findings include that the use of the terms natural, sustainable, and local in panel language and on shelf-talkers could be contested; and that the absence of specific regulation of numerous pertinent terms means they can only be assessed against general fraud prevention regulations, resulting in case-by-case determinations of compliance. Sustainability food label approvals in Canada, based on these general provisions, have not always been favorable to sustainable producers and firms. Existing regulation of these potentially contested terms appears to be out of step with other policy-related developments at the federal level and / or conceptual developments in the field. Proposals are made for amending existing rules to better support local and sustainable claims.     

HHS preparing to issue new Baby Doe rules

Since a U.S. district court struck down its initial "Baby Doe" regulations, the Department of Health and Human Services is preparing a second version of federal rules designed to ensure appropriate treatment of handicapped newborns with life-threatening but correctible conditions. While child advocacy groups support the regulations with some reservations about the intrusive style of enforcement, most medical organizations, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics, are strongly opposed. Both houses of Congress have become involved with the issue by proposing to include handicapped infants under the Child Abuse and Treatment Act.     

University-industry research relationships in biotechnology: implications for the university

The growth of university-industry research relationships in biotechnology has raised questions concerning their effects, both positive and negative, on universities. A survey of over 1200 faculty members at 40 major universities in the United States reveals that biotechnology researchers with industrial support publish at higher rates, patent more frequently, participate in more administrative and professional activities and earn more than colleagues without such support. At the same time, faculty with industry funds are much more likely than other biotechnology faculty to report that their research has resulted in trade secrets and that commercial considerations have influenced their choice of research projects. Although the data do not establish a causal connection between industrial support and these faculty behaviors, our findings strongly suggest that university-industry research relationships have both benefits and risks for academic institutions. The challenge for universities is to find ways to manage these relationships that will preserve the benefits while minimizing the risks.     

Who will pay for medical education in our teaching hospitals?

Although most medical educators believe that education, research, and patient care are inseparable and essential to their academic mission, the educational component of this triad has never been given adequate, earmarked support. To fund educational programs, medical centers first relied on research grants and later on third-party payments intended for patient care. However, research money has long since ceased to be available for other purposes and recent federal cost containment measures have started to reduce payments for patient care. Teaching hospitals are threatened with loss of support not only for education, but for their capital improvements and care of the poor. Many institutions are now hoping to generate new income through business deals with for-profit health care corporations, but this effort probably will also fail and may compromise professional traditions. Teaching hospitals serve the public interest and will have to depend, at least in part, on public subsidy of their unavoidable extra costs.     

Animal research. Activists win big on rodent, bird rules

A federal judge last month ruled that animal-rights activists have the legal right to challenge U.S. Department of Agriculture rules that exempt the vast majority of research animals from federal regulation. Observers say that the ruling almost guarantees that the agency will extend regulations governing animal handling and housing to thousands of academic and industry laboratories that work with rodents and birds. Those new rules, say animal-care experts, could impose costly new requirements on labs that don't meet standards set by the private Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.     

SCIENCE PRIORITIES: An Opportunities-Based Science Budget

Newt Gingrich introduces the concept of an "opportunities-based budget", as an approach to federal research and development funding. Policy-makers should not frame the debate on science funding in terms of percentage of increase. Rather, a systematic analysis of the promise of opportunities should be conducted and the funds allotted accordingly. This article is a call to rethink how lawmakers are funding the discoveries upon which future generations will rely.     

切实采取措施抓好农业科研项目进度管理

近几年,随着国家对农业的支持力度逐年增加,农业科研项目的数量和资助强度也相应加大,为了使有限的财政资金合理、有效地发挥效益,项目进度管理日益成为管理者追求的目标之一。但目前有些农业科研项目的执行进度缓慢,使得财政资金的使用效益未能充分发挥,该文认为项目进度缓慢原因主要表现在预算意识淡漠、预算缺乏准确性和可行性、相关制度的硬性规定使有些预算科目支出受限、追加项目的影响等4个方面。在此基础上提出了加强项目进度管理的四项措施,一是加强领导,转变观念,提高认识;二是将预算进度管理纳入项目管理体系;三是完善相关规章制度;四是强化预算与设计执行的监督有效机制。     

The process values of university research. A new research funding system is needed for federal support of the process values of university research

The process values of university research are important in the context of several significant social and economic trends in American life. These values are being taken into account in the design and administration of federal programs. Federal programs to support these values should be distinguished from programs to support the product values of research. Failure to distinguish between these two types of programs will lead to a further dilution of quality in programs designed to advance science as a legitimate end in itself. The scientific community can best protect its own interests by helping federal agencies and universities and colleges develop a funding system to support the process values of university research on a cooperative, regional basis.     

高校科研经费预算管理存在的问题及对策

科研经费已成为高校经费的主要来源之一,加强高校科研经费预算管理对提高其使用效益有着非常重要的意义。本文针对当前我国高校科研经费预算管理中存在的问题,从提高科研人员的财经法规意识、科研经费预算编制、预算执行、预算控制和预算考核等五个方面提出了加强科研经费管理的对策。     

农业科研单位提高政策利用效率的途径分析

农业科技项目是我国农业科技进步的主要推动力量,面对当前大量供应的项目和经费资源,一些农业科研单位和科技人员"消化不良"的现象越来越突出。文章分析了现象产生的主要因素,提出农业科研单位要按照农业科研规律和自身发展的特点,充分利用国家政策,加强顶层设计的建议,即用开放的理念组建创新团队、用产业的思维设计项目体系、用系统的原则建设平台和用构建"资金蓄水池"的方式运筹经费等。     

新型科研机构财政支持科研经费的绩效管理路径探索

新型科研机构要实现促进科技成果转移转化、推动科技创新和经济社会发展深度融合的发展目标,需要在如何使用好财政支持科研经费上下功夫,高度重视绩效管理工作。在法律支持的环境下,加大改革创新力度,构筑起完善、公正、严格、可操作性强的预算制度和工作体系,从而为其高水平开展科技创新提供坚实基础和制度保障。新型科研机构需要进一步加深对绩效评价的认识与理解,找到当前存在的主要问题或难点,创新评价路径,对项目支出进行多维度评价,分析总结财政资金对科技创新、人才培养及成果转化的具体效益,为其下年度财政预算提供更加精确的数据支持,以期实现财政资金的科学合理调配。同时,要通过项目支出的绩效评价,从源头上防范资金使用风险,使财政资金的管理更加透明化、科学化^［1］。     

Four years of reagan science policy: notable shifts in priorities

Administration priorities for federal support of nondefense research and development emphasize basic research and the concomitant training of students. In 4 years basic research has moved from the smallest to the largest component in nondefense R & D expenditures, and basic research specifically to universities has grown by 26 percent in real terms during that period. New programs for fiscal year 1985 emphasize engineering education and research, as well as improved interactions between universities, federal laboratories, and industry.     

Federal R & d and industrial policy

Long-term U.S. economic growth requires better use of R & D resources and closer interaction of the academic, government, and industrial research communities. The federal government has proposed to increase support for university research as a key means of addressing national needs for new knowledge in fields important to industrial development and for training of technical personnel. But continuing growth in support for basic research depends on how well the science community can agree on what research investments will have the greatest impact in producing new knowledge.     

加快修购专项执行进度的几点体会

管理体系和制度是加快修购专项执行进度的保障,认真做好前期工作是修购专项顺利实施的前提,加强实施管理是加快修购专项执行进度的关键。文章认为,要进一步建立健全项目管理体系和管理制度,强化项目的组织管理,强化项目实施的过程管理,搞好各方协调,加快专项的执行进度,最终实现项目的和谐管理。     

Developing institutions to encourage the use of animal wastes as production inputs

Animal feeding operations have come under increased scrutiny as sources of water pollution. Due to the concentration of animals at individual locations and in certain regions, the local environment may not be able to use all of the nutrients contained in the manure. Particularly, problematic are waters being impaired by nitrogen and phosphorus from animal manure. Since federal and state regulations have not been totally successful in precluding water contamination from manure nutrients, scientists and policymakers might seek ways to encourage the use of manure as a resource for crop production. By analyzing diverse state regulations, this paper identifies several strategies that would treat animal waste as a recyclable production input rather than a production byproduct. Citizens and regulators can encourage more sustainable livestock production by proffering regulations that mandate selected production requirements or practices. Agronomic rate regulations, limitations on manure application and timing, lagoon safety requirements, closure mandates, and alternative uses of manure constitute possibilities to remedy some pollution problems.     

Community food security: Salience and participation at community level

Community food security (CFS) is an incipient movement based on the re-localization of many food system activities in response to values concerning the social, health, economic, and environmental consequences of the globalizing food system. This study examines the salience of these values based on the action agendas and accomplishments emerging from community planning events in six rural counties of New York, and the nature and type of participation and local support. The study finds a high level of agreement between CFS values as articulated by national leaders in this incipient movement and the action agendas. Further evidence of the salience of these themes is seen in the levels and types of activities and accomplishments taking place 8--12 months after the planning events. However, these follow-through activities appear to have been impeded by a variety of government regulations, uneven levels of support from community organizations and agencies, and a policy environment of fiscal austerity, narrow outcome-oriented accountability, and allocation of agency staff toward special-purpose grants and contracts. Many of these constraints are likely to exist in other communities and are beyond the scope of what community volunteers and practitioners can be expected to address on their own.