SHAPING THE FUTURE OF FEDERAL SCIENCE: A LOOK BACK AND A LOOK AHEAD

In 1996, the American Geological Institute (AGI) convened a workshop gathering leaders of biological, geological, hydrological, and mapping societies to consider the scientific opportunities that could result from a congressionally mandated consolidation of the science functions of the Department of the Interior (DOI). The consolidation merged much of the National Biological Service (NBS) and several components of the U.S. Bureau of Mines into the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). All three DOI bureaus had been targeted for elimination in congressional proposals the previous year, and the consolidation represented a compromise that would enable many of the functions of these bureaus to continue. By focusing on opportunities, the workshop helped set a positive course for the merged mission that has served the USGS well over the ensuing decades. The workshop participants embraced a vision that took advantage of the expanded breadth of the science that could be brought to bear to support decision-making by DOI and many others related to natural resources, environmental issues, and natural hazards. The workshop also endorsed the separation of science from regulatory authority that was a key driver in the establishment of the NBS in 1993, bringing together biological science activities in DOI land management bureaus to form a bureau that, like the USGS, had neither regulatory nor land management responsibilities but delivered independent, authoritative science. The resulting report identified five opportunity areas: credibility and quality assurance of scientific information, integration of information across disciplines and cross-disciplinary training, research agendas based on natural boundaries, development of data collection and analysis and information technologies, and assessment of hot spots and anticipation of environmental problems. The three primary recommendations were: Develop interdisciplinary initiatives and budgets that provide new approaches to problems; encourage partnerships and alliances; and implement stakeholder councils. Since that time, the USGS has continued to benefit from the active engagement of scientific and professional societies, most notably through the USGS Coalition that was started in 2002 as well as through participation in federal advisory committees.