ABSTRACT
It seems paradoxical at first glance that the official science advisory system within the Executive Office of the President is currently held in such low esteem, even though a January 1987 Presidential message to Congress explicitly recognized the importance of US science and technology capabilities to the achievement of major national goals, including enhanced economic competitiveness. The low esteem in which the science advisory system is currently held is linked to the apparent failure of two successive Directors of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to convey that message to the President and his political advisers. Against this background, the widespread perception concerning the ineffectiveness of the Presidential science advisory system derives in part from the fact that OSTP has never been given sufficient resources to carry out the broad coordination, evaluation, analysis and planning functions envisioned by Congress.
