Improving U.S. Science Policy

ScienceScope in Science magazine (Volume 322, Number 5901, Issue of 24 October 2008) reports:

Researchers will gather in Washington, D.C., in early December to bolster a White House-led effort across the government to improve how science agencies make policy decisions. The "Science of Science Policy" effort, begun in 2006 and funded mostly by the U.S. National Science Foundation, is subsidizing more than $15 million per year in work that analyzes research trends, gauges scientific progress, and develops modeling and forecasting techniques. The government's goal is to "make more informed, defensible policy decisions," says the U.S. Department of Energy's Bill Valdez.