Knowledge and Action: the Dilemma of Science Policy in the '70s

There are basically just two central questions regarding the organization and administration of science. These questions present themselves at many different levels of aggregate scientific activity, from the individual laboratory or university department, to multinational research institutes and collaborative programs, including research and development programs which are nationally funded.

The first question is how to organize, staff, and direct the search for knowledge so as to obtain the greatest rate of scientific progress for a given investment of human and material resources. The second question is how to couple the existing body of knowledge, as well as the search for new knowledge, to existing needs for policy or action, including those felt by education and technological innovation.

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