Policymaking for Global Change Research: A Pilot Project

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The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) was the first "presidential initiative" in science under the administration of President George Bush. It began early in 1989. As the first such initiative it has pioneered institutionally. In 1993, the the Global Change Program involves eleven different agencies and about $1.3 billion in support of research and related activities. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has played a leadership role in the USGCRP. This pilot project will develop the theoretical and methodological tools to examine the development of this program. The pilot will allow the principal investigator to conduct a reconnaissance to determine who were the key actors in the interaction of federal agencies with each other and, possibly, with relevant parties in other countries, in the development of this new program. It will allow him to identify major projects sponsored under the program and criteria by which to select some for further study. The pilot will use actor-network theory to consider how NSF has worked with others to construct and maintain a coalition of diverse support behind this program. Findings will advance knowledge concerning the federal role in the social construction of science by linking actor-network theory with an important issue in science policy and by considering whether and how accountability for "good science" and for "policy relevance" can be reconciled.