Advocacy: Why and How
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Advocacy: Why and How As a member of the Materials Research Society, you are probably aware that MRS dedicates a substantial amount of volunteer effort to communicating with the U.S. federal government in support of sound science policy.* To get a sense of what MRS is doing in science advocacy, just click on the drop-down menu items under the “Advocacy” menu bar item on the MRS Web site at www.mrs.org. In this letter, I want to tell you why MRS is engaged in these efforts and how you can be involved. Federal funding for basic research is important. It is widely accepted that economic growth and dramatically increased quality of life result from knowledgeintensive technology developments.† In addition to direct benefits (e.g., life- or labor-saving devices), a substantial fraction of worldwide economic growth can be attributed to technology development. Technology development is, in turn, fueled by basic research, which, while motivated primarily by curiosity, builds intellectual capital and lays the groundwork for future technologies.‡ However, basic research generally has low short-term returns. Due to the long time horizon and uncertainty for return on investment, only governments can provide the sustained investment in basic research necessary to maintain technology development in an open global economy. The United States has the world’s largest economy and makes the largest investments in science and technology in absolute terms; thus, it makes sense for MRS to work to influence the U.S. government. As shown in Figure 1, the U.S. federal budget consists of mandatory parts (primarily Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security), which must be funded unless the laws that created them are changed, and discretionary parts that are decided every year. Funding for research is part of the discretionary budget. It is important to realize that there is no such thing as “stable funding” for science
“Science funding has to compete every year for a slice of the discretionary pie.”
in the United States. Science funding has to compete every year for a slice of the discretionary pie, which is only about 1/3 of the total federal budget. In addition to science
funding, this portion of the federal budget includes a huge range of activities, including Defense, Health and Human Services, Education, and many others. Members of Congress, as well as the citizens of the United States, are generally very supportive of science, but it is always necessary to justify and prioritize expenditures on the discretionary side. This is especially true in these challenging economic times. Helping the legislative and executive branches to justify and prioritize science funding is the main reason for MRS advocacy efforts. In the past, the “cold war” and the “space race” provided simple focal points for physical sciences advocacy efforts. In the future, pressing issues such as energy may also provide such focal points. While such issues can help to spur action, enthusiasm for them continually waxes and wanes. Thus it is critically important to contin
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