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What Is the States’ Role in Science Policy? The fifty American states are significant consumers of scientific and technical information, and the universities and businesses residing in each state greatly contribute to the creation of scientific and technical information. The role of the states in science policy and investment in R&D, however, has been overshadowed by the federal government and industry.1 Indeed, until recently, states were not viewed as playing a significant role in science policy. They were more often seen as the beneficiaries of federal grants or the homes of federal facilities. Indeed, given competing priorities, the states themselves rarely saw any benefit in making their own investments in scientific research. This began to change in the 1980s, and by the 1990s states were becoming intimately involved in research efforts . A 1992 report on the subject by the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government noted, “In the late 1940s, the debate revolved around the appropriateness of a new federal role in research. This time it involves new roles for the states, too, in maintaining the national capability in science and technology and in pursuing industrial excellence, environmental quality, health care, education reform, and other domestic goals. The states are growing strong and sophisticated enough, many believe, to take a greater, more independent role in pursuing these peaceful but still fundamental national goals.”2 In the beginning, interest the states had in science was linked to the promotion of economic growth. Except in education (e.g., efforts to legislate the teaching of creationism ), states avoided setting specific science policies, especially those regulating research agendas. This, too, has begun to change, with more state governments considering policies to constrain or promote certain types of scientific research. Recent actions taken by several states to authorize, forbid, or regulate the use of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and cloning are just two of the better-known examples. This chapter will explore states’ increasing involvement in national science policy and acknowledge the states as ever-more important players in the science policy arena, alongside universities, national labs, industry, and the general public. Shifts in State Priorities Prior to 1970, states did not devote much energy to creating S&T and high-technology economies. North Carolina was the only state that maintained an S&T-based state economic agency of any kind. Today, however, almost every state has an office assigned to take the lead in developing R&D activities.3 Momentum for state initiatives in science and technology began to pick up in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. With traditional manufacturing dying out and jobs moving overseas, the nation’s governors developed a compelling interest in diversifying their economies. Many took note of those few states whose traditional excellence in research and cultivation of scientific facilities was attracting high-tech development and significant economic growth, especially in areas such as information technology and biotechnology.4 These states were well equipped to quickly retool and create knowledge-based economies and to benefit from the massive high-tech boom of the 1990s; others followed suit, but more than a few states are still trying to catch up. 153 CHAPTER 9 The States 154 | BEYOND SPUTNIK According to a 1999 National Science Foundation report , state R&D support has tended to focus on three goals: (1) enhancing the research capacity of state colleges and universities, and encouraging more university-industry partnerships; (2) supporting entrepreneurs and hightech start-ups in an effort to encourage more “homegrown ” businesses; and (3) facilitating the incorporation of new technologies into existing product lines and facilities in an effort to enhance efficiency and productivity.5 R&D for Economic Growth: States and Academia For many reasons state governments did not significantly support research prior to the early 1970s. Some critics have suggested that academia’s near-total dependence on federal research funding ruled out opportunities for state support.6 Conversely, many governors and state legislatures did not see the value of investing in university-based research, and scientists did little to demonstrate the potential benefits.7 Even so, state governments were all the while contributing, albeit indirectly, through their support of state universities, and particularly faculty teaching salaries , which cannot be paid using federal grant dollars. Governors and state legislatures have more recently devised innovative ways to provide state-level research funding. Most states now have established entities dedicated to supporting local R&D. In many states, this responsibility has been linked closely to state economic development organizations, which have incorporated R&D funding directly into their economic development plans.8 Many state officials are recognizing that...

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