Political Power and the Funding of Politics: Lessons for the Materials Research Society from the Experiment of the Natio
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Political Power and the Funding of Politics Lessons for the Materials Research Society from the Experiment of the National Coalition for Science and Technology Philip Speser
It is one of the fundamental realities of American politics that political power is relatively easy to obtain; the real problem is keeping the Organization financially solvent in periods when there are no political crises. This Statement may sound implausible at first, but the experiment called the National Coalition for Science and Technology (NCST) confirms it.
What Was NCST? NCST was formed shortly after the first Reagan budget was released. Don Stein, Dave Garin, and Sid Katz were congressional fellows sponsored by organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During their time as members of congressional committees and Senators' and representatives' staffs, they learned firsthand that Congress is responsive to the voice of the people. They also learned that one reason science budgets were being threatened was that the voices of some people, bench scientists and engineers like themselves, were not being articulated. Concerned about the future of American science and technology, NCST founders decided to embark on a major experiment in the politics of science and technology. They formed NCST, the first registered lobby of bench scientists and engineers focusing on bread-and-butter science and engineering issues. NCST's objectives were to build the political power of scientists and engineers, to convince that Com-
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munity that it was part of its civic responsibility to be politically active, and to fight off budget cuts in federally funded science and technology. Throughout its eight-year existence, NCST represented between 200 and 1,000 individual scientists and engineers and received support from approximately 40 R&D-intensive corporations, professional societies, universities, and independent labs. Compared to groups like the AFLCIO and National Federation of Independent Businesses, NCST was a minuscule Organization. Despite its size, NCST was able to play a central role in the allocations adopted for science functions in the congressional budget resolution. As part of its efforts to build the political power of scientists and engineers, NCST also was central to the enactment of legislation such as RL. 99502, the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986.
NCST and Political Power How did NCST obtain power? The first source of NCST's political power was attention to detail. In Washington, DC, contacts are not everything, but they certainly help. The way you get and maintain contacts is by Walking the halls of Congress to meet with people and by working the phones with people "back home." For years, NCST was there when Senate and House Budget Committee members needed to be visited, their staff educated, letters sent, testimony
submitted, and phone calls made to stimulate grassroots pressure. NCST also provided financial support to several friends of science in Congress through honoraria for speeches at NC
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