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entitled 'Federal Research: Policies Guiding the Dissemination of
Scientific Research from Selected Agencies Should Be Clarified and
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Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
May 2007:
Federal Research:
Policies Guiding the Dissemination of Scientific Research from Selected
Agencies Should Be Clarified and Better Communicated:
GAO-07-653:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-07-653, a report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Committee on
Appropriations, U.S. Senate
Why GAO Did This Study:
Researchers at federal agencies disseminate their research results
through a variety of approaches, including scientific publications,
presentations, press releases, and media interviews. Because of recent
concerns about some federal researchers possibly being restricted from
disseminating their research on controversial topics, GAO determined
(1) the policies that guide the dissemination of federal research at
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); (2) how effectively these
agencies have communicated their policies to researchers; and (3) the
extent to which researchers have been restricted in disseminating their
research. GAO conducted a survey of 1,811 researchers randomly selected
at the three agencies, and had a 66 percent response rate.
What GAO Found:
Most of the NASA, NIST, and NOAA policies that guide the dissemination
of federally funded research generally facilitate the dissemination
process, but some do not. GAO found that overall NASA’s policies,
including its recently revised media policy, are clear and should help
facilitate dissemination regardless of the dissemination approach used.
At NIST and NOAA, GAO found that the agencies’ policies for
dissemination through publications and presentations were generally
clear and should facilitate dissemination; but their policies for
disseminating research through media interviews and press releases may
hinder it. For example, because both NIST and NOAA are part of
Commerce, researchers at these agencies must comply with department-
level policies to disseminate their research results through media
interviews or press releases, but Commerce’s policies are outdated and
can prevent researchers from meeting media schedules. Moreover,
requests by NOAA researchers to share their research via media
interviews and press releases may be further hampered because these
researchers must also comply with their own agency’s media interview
and press release policies in addition to the Department of Commerce’s.
NOAA officials told GAO that because its media interview and press
release policies lack clarity, they have been inconsistently
interpreted by NOAA public affairs officials.
According to GAO’s survey, NASA, NIST, and NOAA have made efforts to
communicate their dissemination policies to their research staff, but
many researchers are not confident that they know how to comply with
some of the policies. The agencies have communicated their
dissemination policies through staff meetings, on agency Web sites, and
in limited formal training. While 90 percent of researchers are
confident that they understand the policies for publications, only
about 65 percent are confident they understand their agency’s media
interview and press release policies well enough to comply with them.
Similarly, almost half of the researchers across the agencies are
unsure whether their agency’s policy allows them to discuss their
personal views on the policy implications of their research. Finally,
only 25 percent of researchers across the agencies are aware of a
process to follow to appeal denials of requests to disseminate their
research.
On the basis of responses to GAO’s survey, 6 percent—or about 200
researchers—across NASA, NIST, and NOAA had dissemination requests
denied during the last 5 years. One of the most common reasons
researchers mentioned for these denials was that the topic of the
research was sensitive or restricted for security reasons; in some
cases, no reason was given. Most researchers at these agencies believe
that their agency is more supportive of dissemination of research
through publications and presentations, than dissemination through the
media. Most NIST and NOAA researchers believe that their agency
consistently applies the dissemination policies for each route of
dissemination, while more researchers at NASA believe the agency
consistently applies its policies for publications than believe the
agency consistently applies its policies for press releases and
interviews.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO is making recommendations to the Department of Commerce, NASA,
NIST, and NOAA to clarify their dissemination polices for press
releases and media interviews, ensure researchers have a policy for
appealing dissemination decisions, and provide training on these
policies. In commenting on a draft of this report, Commerce, responding
for NIST, NOAA, and itself, generally concurred with GAO’s findings and
recommendations, as did NASA.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-653].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Ms. Anu Mittal at (202)
512-3841 or mittala@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
NASA, NIST, and NOAA Policies Generally Facilitate the Dissemination of
Research, but Some Do Not:
Despite Agencies' Efforts to Communicate Research Dissemination and
Dispute Resolution Policies, Many Researchers Are Not Confident about
How to Comply with Them:
Six Percent of Researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA Had Dissemination
Requests Denied, and Many Believe That Their Agencies Are Less
Supportive of Media Interviews than Other Dissemination Methods:
OSTP Provides Indirect Oversight of Agencies' Dissemination Policies:
Conclusions:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Appendix II: Selected Survey Results for NASA, NIST, and NOAA:
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Commerce:
Appendix IV: Comments from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration:
Appendix V: Comments from the Office of Science and Technology Policy:
Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Figures:
Figure 1: NOAA/Commerce News Release Review Process, as of March 2006:
Figure 2: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Learned How to Comply
with Dissemination Policies through Various Methods:
Figure 3: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Are Confident That
They Understand Policies Well Enough to Follow Them:
Figure 4: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Believe That Their
Agency Supports Dissemination, by Dissemination Route:
Figure 5: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Believe That Their
Agency Consistently Applies Policies, by Dissemination Route:
Abbreviations:
EOP: Executive Office of the President:
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology:
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
OMB: Office of Management and Budget:
OSTP: Office of Science and Technology Policy:
OPCIA: Office of Public, Constituent, and Intergovernmental Affairs:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
May 17, 2007:
The Honorable Barbara A. Mikulski:
Chairman:
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies:
Committee on Appropriations:
United States Senate:
Dear Madam Chairman:
Federal agencies strive to base science-related public policy on the
best available information provided through objective research, some of
which is conducted by federal researchers. Because progress in
scientific understanding depends on open communication, sharing
research results with the broader research community is necessary to
help validate and expand upon these results. While the results of some
research cannot be disseminated because of national security or
intellectual property concerns, dissemination of most federally funded
research helps ensure a maximum return on the public's investment in
this research. Much scientific research is either conducted by
federally employed researchers or supported through grants and
contracts awarded by over a dozen federal departments and agencies,
such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This report focuses on
the dissemination of research conducted by federally employed
researchers at these three agencies, as you requested.
The topics of research performed by NASA, NIST, and NOAA cover the
gamut, from space exploration equipment to voting technology to fishery
ecosystem health. For example, NASA's research is diverse and is spread
among 10 centers across the United States. These centers perform work
that covers topics ranging from aeronautical research to exploration
systems to Earth, moon, and space exploration. NIST, an agency within
the Department of Commerce, conducts research that is used by a variety
of government and industrial customers in diverse areas, such as
electronic voting technology, secured automated banking, drinking water
quality, and fuel cell technology. Research at NIST is spread across
various laboratories that focus on particular scientific pursuits, such
as information technology, materials science and engineering, and
building and fire research. Similarly, the breadth of research
activities undertaken by NOAA, another Commerce agency, includes
providing weather, water, and climate services; managing and protecting
fisheries and sensitive marine ecosystems; conducting atmospheric,
climate, and ecosystems research; and promoting efficient and
environmentally safe commerce and transportation.
Research generated by NASA, NIST, and NOAA researchers can be
disseminated through a number of different routes to reach a variety of
audiences. Some dissemination routes, such as through publications,
including peer-reviewed journals and agency scientific and technical
reports, are useful for sharing information with the scientific
community. Similarly, researchers can present their findings to
colleagues at conferences, workshops, symposia, or professional society
meetings. Other dissemination routes can reach a still wider audience.
For example, agency press releases or postings on agency Web sites can
help target media attention to particular research findings, and media
interviews can provide the general public with access to scientific
information.
In recent years, concerns have emerged regarding the possibility that
limits are being placed on the efforts of federally employed
researchers to share the results of their work through these various
dissemination routes. For example, in January 2006, the press reported
allegations that a NASA scientist was restricted from speaking with the
press after presenting his research findings related to climate change
at a conference. In addition, some researchers at NOAA have claimed
that the agency had put restrictions on their ability to speak to
reporters, had imposed delays in the approval and coordination process
for speaking with the media, or had censored their views in issued
reports.
In this context, we (1) identified and evaluated the policies that
guide the dissemination of federal research results at NASA, NIST, and
NOAA; (2) determined how effectively the dissemination and dispute
resolution policies of these agencies have been communicated to
researchers; and (3) determined the extent to which researchers at
these agencies have experienced restrictions on the dissemination of
their research results. In addition, we obtained information on the
role that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has
identified for itself in helping agencies develop and implement
policies related to the dissemination of research results.
To identify and evaluate the policies that guide the dissemination of
federally funded research results at NASA, NIST, and NOAA, we obtained,
reviewed, and analyzed the dissemination policies for these agencies,
in addition to relevant policies from Commerce. In addition, we spoke
with managers and researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA as well as public
affairs officials at each of these agencies and Commerce. During these
interviews, we confirmed that we had copies of the relevant
dissemination policies and discussed how these policies were put into
practice. To determine how effectively these policies have been
communicated to researchers and the extent to which researchers at
these agencies have experienced restrictions on the dissemination of
their research results, we surveyed a stratified random sample of 1,811
researchers across scientific and engineering disciplines at NASA,
NIST, and NOAA. This sample included 578 NASA researchers, 699 NIST
researchers, and 534 NOAA researchers. We selected these 1,811
researchers from among the 1,794 researchers at NASA, 1,337 researchers
at NIST, and 1,815 researchers at NOAA. Overall, we received a 66
percent response rate to our survey, for a total of 1,177 respondents.
We defined researchers to be included in our population as federally
employed scientists, engineers, or other researchers who are in a
position to disseminate their research results to a wider audience.
Through our survey, we sought the researchers' views on their agencies'
research dissemination policies, the level of agency support for
dissemination, and their experiences with dissemination. In addition,
we asked the researchers to provide examples of ways in which their
agencies' dissemination policies work well and ways in which these
policies could be improved. All estimates based on our survey allow us
to project the results of our survey to all researchers at these three
agencies with a 95 percent level of confidence. Unless otherwise noted,
all percentage estimates have a 95 percent confidence interval within
plus or minus 8 percentage points. In addition, any comparison between
point estimates is statistically significant at the 0.05 level, unless
otherwise noted. In one instance, the number of responses to three
follow-up questions designed to elicit elaborative information received
too few responses to generalize to the population. Although we cannot
generalize from these responses, we included this information because
it provides context for specific concerns that these respondents had
about certain research dissemination policies at their agencies. Where
we use this information, we highlight the fact that it cannot be
generalized to the population by attributing the statements as a survey
response, rather than as researcher perception. To determine OSTP's
role in helping agencies develop and implement policies for the
dissemination of research results, we submitted detailed questions to
OSTP officials, to which we received written responses. Appendix I
contains an expanded explanation of our scope and methodology, and
appendix II contains selected survey results for NASA, NIST, and NOAA.
We conducted our work from June 2006 through March 2007 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
Most of the policies guiding the dissemination of scientific research
at NASA, NIST, and NOAA generally facilitate the dissemination process,
but some Commerce and NOAA policies lack clarity and can hinder
dissemination. Specifically, we found the following:
* At NASA, researchers must comply with both agencywide dissemination
policies and policies established by the specific NASA centers to which
they belong. We found that NASA policies are generally clear and should
help facilitate the dissemination of research results. For example,
NASA's recently revised media policy clearly defines the roles and
responsibilities for managers, researchers, and public affairs staff;
details steps in the process for dissemination via press releases and
interviews; and describes a process to resolve disputes about agency
decisions regarding press releases. To supplement the policy, NASA has
also developed operating procedures for the release of public
information and a "Frequently Asked Questions" guide.
* At NIST, researchers must comply with both agency-level policies for
the dissemination of research through publications and presentations
and Commerce's department-level policies for dissemination of research
through media interviews and press releases. NIST's policies generally
facilitate the dissemination of scientific results because they clearly
describe the reviews that are required before publications and
presentations may be released, and they describe the process that
researchers may use to appeal decisions made during the review process.
In contrast, Commerce's policies that apply to requests for media
interviews and press releases have not been revised for over 20 years,
are unrealistic, and may hinder dissemination efforts. For example,
Commerce requires all of its constituent agencies to submit proposed
media interviews and press releases to its department-level Office of
Public Affairs for review and approval; it does not delegate authority
to approve these activities to the agency-level public affairs offices.
Because of the potentially high volume of requests, sometimes in the
hundreds after a large event, it is not realistic to expect the
department-level Office of Public Affairs to review every media
interview and press release request that each Commerce agency
generates.
* At NOAA, researchers must comply with both agency-level policies and
policies established by individual NOAA program offices for
dissemination of research through publications and presentations. These
policies generally facilitate dissemination, because they are clear and
delegate authority to approve dissemination requests to managers in the
office to which the researcher belongs. For dissemination of research
through press releases and media interviews, NOAA researchers must
comply not only with Commerce's department-level policies, which as
previously mentioned are outdated and may hinder dissemination, but
also with NOAA's agencywide policies, which are unclear and may further
impede dissemination. For example, the lack of clarity in NOAA's media
interview policy has led to different interpretations of the policy by
NOAA public affairs officials, which results in an uneven application
of the policy among researchers. Some public affairs officials have
interpreted the policy to mean that researchers are required to obtain
prior approval for all interviews, while others believe researchers
have to notify the public affairs office only after the interview has
occurred.
Despite the agencies' efforts to communicate their dissemination
policies to researchers, many researchers are not confident that they
know how to comply with some of these policies or how to resolve
disputes regarding agency decisions, according to our survey. NASA,
NIST, and NOAA have employed a variety of formal and informal methods,
including staff meetings and notifications on agency Web sites, to
communicate dissemination policy to their researchers. However, most
researchers learned how to comply with their agency's policies through
informal methods, such as e-mails from management and on-the-job
experience, rather than through more formal means, such as training
sessions. Moreover, many researchers are not confident that they
understand all of the policies well enough to follow them. For example,
according to our survey, while an estimated 90 percent of researchers
across all three agencies believe they understand their agency's policy
for dissemination through publications well enough to comply with them,
only about 65 percent of researchers believe they understand their
agency's policies for media interviews and press releases. Similarly,
although NASA and NOAA leaders have told researchers that they may
discuss potential policy implications of their research as long as they
identify such views as their personal opinions and not those of the
agency, this communication has not been effective, as fewer than one-
half of the researchers at these two agencies believe they are free to
discuss their views. In addition, only 25 percent of researchers across
all three agencies are aware of a process or procedure they are to
follow if they want to appeal denials of requests to disseminate their
research.
On the basis of our survey results, we estimate that 6 percent (about
200) of the researchers across NASA, NIST, and NOAA have been denied
approval to disseminate their research results in the past 5 years.
Despite the difficulties experienced by these researchers, most
researchers believe that their agency either encourages dissemination
of research results or insists on it. However, researchers believe
that, overall, their agencies tend to be less supportive of
dissemination through media interviews than through other dissemination
routes. Among the most common reasons researchers mentioned for denials
of their requests for dissemination, other than those stemming from
standard technical review, is that the topic or issue of the research
was sensitive or that the research was restricted for security reasons.
In some instances, researchers reported that their agency gave them no
reason for the denial. As a result of these denials, many of these
researchers gave up trying to disseminate their results, while others
subsequently disseminated the results of their work using a different
dissemination route. For example, one researcher who had been denied
permission to present his research at a conference went on to
disseminate the research results by publishing a paper. Regarding
agency support for dissemination, over 90 percent of the researchers at
NASA, NIST, and NOAA believe that their agency supports dissemination
of research results through publications and presentations; and
significantly fewer researchers, ranging from 54 percent of the
researchers at NOAA to 68 percent of the researchers at NIST, believe
that their agency is supportive of dissemination through media
interviews. Finally, most researchers at NIST and NOAA believe that
their agencies consistently apply the dissemination policies for each
route of dissemination. In contrast, more researchers at NASA believe
that the agency consistently applies its policies for publications than
believe that the agency consistently applies its policies for press
releases and media interviews.
According to OSTP, it does not conduct scientific research on its own
nor does it formulate or directly oversee the development of
dissemination policies or decisions at individual agencies. However,
OSTP has publicly affirmed the value of science as a basis for federal
action and recognizes the importance of timely, complete, and accurate
communication of scientific information. The OSTP Director has on
several occasions asked the leaders and chief scientists of federal
agencies to develop, revise, or reemphasize their dissemination
policies and to ensure that agency employees and managers understand
their rights and obligations under these policies. The director has
cited NASA's media policy as a model for other agencies to consider in
developing their own dissemination policies.
Given the lack of clarity of some dissemination policies, the lack of a
process for appealing dissemination decisions, and researcher
uncertainty about how to comply with these policies, we are
recommending that Commerce and NOAA clarify their policies for
disseminating research results via press releases and media interviews.
Furthermore, we are recommending that Commerce, NASA, NIST, and NOAA
review their dissemination policies and ensure that they clearly
identify a process by which researchers can appeal dissemination
decisions, and provide formal training to inform, reinforce, and update
managers, researchers, and public affairs staff on these policies.
Commerce, on behalf of NIST, NOAA, and itself, generally concurred with
our findings and recommendations; NASA and OSTP concurred with our
recommendations.
Background:
In recent years, there have been a number of allegations concerning
interference with federal researchers in their efforts to disseminate
their research results to a wider audience, external to their
agency.[Footnote 1] Many of these allegations have concerned
interference with researchers' attempts to speak with the media or
present research findings at conferences. These claims have frequently
surrounded research on politically sensitive topics, such as climate
change and the role it may play in connection to other weather events,
such as hurricanes. For example, some federal researchers have alleged
that they were not allowed to use the phrase "global warming," and
others have alleged that NOAA has limited scientific debate by not
reporting all of the research regarding a possible connection between
global warming and increased hurricane intensity.
These concerns have resulted in a number of inquiries into the
dissemination practices and policies at several federal agencies. For
example, in May 2006, in response to a congressional request, the
National Science Foundation's National Science Board examined the
existing policies of selected federal science agencies, including NASA
and NOAA, to determine if they contained steps to ensure the
credibility of research results and insulate these results from
suppression or distortion. The board found that there was no consistent
federal policy regarding the dissemination of research results by
federal employees and recommended that all agencies that conduct
research establish policies and procedures to encourage an open
exchange of data and results. The board also recommended that the
administration develop and issue an overarching set of principles for
the communication of scientific information by government scientists,
policymakers, and managers that could be used as the framework under
which each agency would develop its specific policies and procedures.
In addition to the National Science Board review, other groups have
sought information on the dissemination activities of federal agencies.
For example, in 2005, Environmental Science and Technology, an online
and print journal published by the American Chemical Society, requested
and received copies of NOAA Office of Public Affairs documents through
the Freedom of Information Act pertaining to climate change, including
exchanges between NOAA scientists and public affairs staff.
Furthermore, in September 2006, 14 Senators requested that the
Inspectors General at Commerce and NASA investigate reports of
political interference with the work of scientists at NASA and NOAA. In
February 2007, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Government
Accountability Project, two nongovernmental advocacy organizations,
jointly issued a report examining the extent to which politics play a
role in scientific research. More recently, over the first few months
of 2007, Congress has held several hearings exploring allegations of
political interference with the work of government climate change
scientists.
A number of federal agencies conduct scientific research that is used
to inform federal policy decisions. This report focuses on NASA and 2
of the 13 agencies within Commerce--NIST and NOAA.[Footnote 2] NASA's
organic statute--the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as
amended--calls for NASA to "provide for the widest practicable and
appropriate dissemination" of the scientific and technical information
resulting from NASA's research efforts. This work is structured around
four mission areas--aeronautics research, exploration systems, science,
and space operations--and is performed at 10 research and flight
centers across the United States. Each of these centers performs a
variety of research, engineering, construction, and support functions
related to the mission areas, and each has a separate management
structure, including a center director, to guide its activities.
Furthermore, each center has its own public affairs office that is
responsible for managing the center's media contacts and
communications. In addition, NASA headquarters has its own public
affairs office that oversees agencywide programs and activities to
coordinate and maintain open and credible communication channels to the
news media and the public.
Each of Commerce's 13 agencies is headed by its own director,
undersecretary, or assistant secretary. Even though each of these
agencies has its own public affairs office, Commerce's Office of Public
Affairs is responsible for overseeing public affairs interactions for
the department, such as issuing press releases and answering media
inquiries, as well as for keeping abreast of the activities at all 13
agencies, many of which disseminate research results, as is the case
with NIST and NOAA. NIST's mission is "to promote U.S. innovation and
industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards,
and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our
quality of life." To a large extent, this mission is fulfilled by the
research undertaken by scientists, engineers, and technical experts at
the agency's Maryland and Colorado facilities. NIST is specifically
required to disseminate research conducted under several of its
programs. Most research at NIST is conducted at one of its eight
laboratories, covering research areas such as manufacturing
engineering, physics, and information technology. It is NIST's policy
to publish the results of these technical programs openly, widely, and
promptly, and this is accomplished through scientific reports issued by
researchers as well as press releases and Web-based newsletters issued
by NIST's Public and Business Affairs Office. NOAA is the largest of
the Commerce agencies, and its work is structured around four program
goals--ecosystems, climate, weather and water, and commerce and
transportation--and seven operating organizations, or program
offices.[Footnote 3] Similar to NASA and NIST, NOAA headquarters has a
public affairs office--the Office of Communications--which is led by a
director and tasked with facilitating media and public communications
with the agency.[Footnote 4] Each of NOAA's program offices also has a
public affairs officer who reports to the director of the Office of
Communications and serves as the primary public affairs contact for
program office researchers.
Research dissemination at each of these agencies is guided by
departmental or agency policies. In addition, the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) has also issued guidelines and bulletins that have an
impact on the dissemination of research results. For example, in
October 2001, OMB issued its Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the
Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information
Disseminated by Federal Agencies, which required agencies to issue
their own guidelines to ensure the quality of information being
disseminated.[Footnote 5] NASA, NIST, and NOAA have all issued their
own information quality guidelines.[Footnote 6] In addition, OMB issued
the Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review in December 2004
that established governmentwide guidance establishing that important
scientific information shall be peer-reviewed by qualified specialists
before it is disseminated by the federal government. Among other
things, the bulletin provides guidance to federal agencies on what
information is subject to peer review and requires agencies to begin a
systematic process of peer-review planning for influential scientific
information (including highly influential scientific assessments) that
the agency plans to disseminate in the foreseeable future.
In addition to the research activities of specific agencies, OSTP
advises the President and others in the Executive Office of the
President (EOP) on the effects of science and technology on matters
being considered in the policymaking process. OSTP serves as a source
of scientific and technological information and advice for the
President with respect to major policies of the federal government and
acts as the scientific and technical arm of the EOP policymaking
process. As part of this work, OSTP and OMB collaborate to help
agencies develop research and development budgets to address national
priorities. OSTP meets regularly with agency staff as well as
representatives of industry, academia, and the general public to seek
or share information about science and technology policy and leads
interagency efforts to develop and implement science and technology
policies.
NASA, NIST, and NOAA Policies Generally Facilitate the Dissemination of
Research, but Some Do Not:
Researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA must comply with both office
specific and agencywide or departmental-level policies, most of which
facilitate dissemination of research. NASA's researchers are subject to
agency-level policies and center-specific policies for the
dissemination of research through publications, presentations, press
releases, and media interviews, and these policies generally facilitate
dissemination. NIST and NOAA have agency-level policies that generally
facilitate the dissemination of research results through publications
and presentations. Researchers at NIST and NOAA must follow both agency-
level policies and guidance and Commerce's department-level policies if
they want to disseminate their research through media interviews and
press releases. However, NOAA's agency-level and Commerce's department-
level policies may hinder dissemination through these routes.
NASA Policies Provide Clear Guidance to Facilitate Research
Dissemination:
At NASA, researchers must comply with both agencywide policies and
center-specific policies when disseminating research results,
regardless of the form this dissemination takes. For example, for
publications and presentations, all researchers are directed to comply
with the agency's policy for approval, publication, and dissemination
of scientific and technical information.[Footnote 7] Scientific and
technical information is defined as the results--including facts,
analyses, and conclusions--of basic and applied scientific, technical,
and related engineering research and development. This information can
be disseminated through a variety of channels, including NASA
publications, outside journals, presentations at meetings or workshops,
and Web sites. The policy directs that all scientific and technical
information released outside the agency through these means must be
reviewed to determine whether public access to it should be prohibited
or restricted, for national security or intellectual property reasons.
In addition, NASA's policies direct that all research results that are
to be disseminated undergo professional and technical reviews to ensure
that the information is being clearly communicated, is technically
accurate, and meets data quality standards. These technical review and
management approval procedures vary depending upon the information
content, publication route, and intended audience--domestic or
international. To indicate that a document has completed the necessary
reviews, researchers generally must complete two forms--one identifying
what restrictions, if any, need to be placed on the document prior to
dissemination and the other indicating that the document has undergone
technical peer review. NASA managers with whom we spoke at the centers
said that they found the agency's policies to be clear, easy to follow,
and similar to procedures researchers follow in the academic community,
although some said that the agency's reviews to identify security
restrictions can be cumbersome at times.
Regarding dissemination of research through media interviews and press
releases, researchers at NASA are subject to the agency's policy on the
release of information to news and information media, hereafter
referred to as the "media policy." This policy, which was revised in
March 2006, governs the release of information to the media, especially
information with the potential to generate significant media or public
interest, including press releases, media advisories, news features,
and Web postings.[Footnote 8] According to NASA, the media policy in
place prior to March 2006 had not been substantively modified since
1987 and required clarification to be both useful and practical to
implement. Furthermore, the NASA public affairs policy review team,
composed of representatives from throughout NASA's scientific and
public affairs offices, found that the previous policies were
convoluted, bureaucratic, and resulted in a breakdown between
researchers and public affairs staff.
We found that NASA's revised 2006 media policy is generally clear and
should help facilitate dissemination of research results by devolving
decision making and providing a process to resolve disputes. The
policy, its accompanying "Frequently Asked Questions" guide, and
statements by the NASA Administrator assert NASA's commitment to a
culture of openness with the media and the public and affirm that the
agency values the free exchange of ideas, data, and information as part
of scientific and technical inquiry. The policy defines the roles,
responsibilities, and methods of coordination for managers,
researchers, and public affairs staff and lays out guidelines for
working with the public affairs office, clearly stating what public
affairs officials can and cannot do. Specifically, regarding media
interviews, the updated policy clearly affirms that NASA employees may
speak to the media and public about their work without prior approval;
however, they must notify their immediate supervisor and their center
public affairs office immediately thereafter. While researchers are
encouraged to have a public affairs official present during interviews,
it is not required and the policy clearly defines the role of public
affairs staff as one of logistical support and clarification, not
interference. Finally, the policy states that NASA employees may
communicate conclusions on the basis of their research to the media.
However, NASA employees who present personal views outside of their
official area of expertise or responsibility must make clear that they
are presenting their individual views and not those of the agency.
In addition to clarifying the policy for conducting media interviews,
NASA's revised media policy also describes the process for
dissemination via press releases or other media items, such as news
features, media advisories, or news-related Web postings. Specifically,
the policy, augmented by accompanying operating procedures, clearly
outlines the coordination, review, and approval process that is
required prior to issuing a press release. While some public affairs
officials and managers told us that some of the reviews for press
releases can require more time than available to meet the deadlines of
the news cycle, they also felt that the revised policy had improved the
approval process. In addition, the policy specifically delegates
authority to NASA centers, independent of headquarters, to issue public
information that is of local interest, among other things. Items
eligible for issuance by the centers include releases on specific
research topics that have a targeted audience, such as the development
of a new "superplastic" that would be of interest to people who use
polymers, or an announcement of an upcoming lecture series to be held
at the center. Delegating authority to the centers to issue their own
press releases allows NASA to better publicize the work it does to
targeted audiences of interest. Finally, the revised media policy
describes the process for researchers to use when they disagree with
the agency's decision regarding whether to issue a press release or
another type of public information. The policy allows such appeals to
be elevated to the Office of the Administrator for resolution, if
needed.
NIST and NOAA Policies Provide Clear Guidance to Facilitate the
Dissemination of Research through Publications and Presentations:
NIST's publication and presentation policy, called the Technical
Communications Program, generally facilitates the dissemination of
scientific results. Similar to NASA's publications policy, NIST's
policy clearly describes the extent and type of reviews for technical
and scientific accuracy that are required before publications and
presentations may be released outside the agency. For example,
abstracts and outlines for talks that are not of a sensitive nature and
will be limited in distribution can be approved by the researcher's
division chief and do not need to go through a more extensive review.
However, manuscripts for journals and books that are intended for
public distribution must be reviewed and approved by the laboratory to
which the researcher belongs as well as the NIST Editorial Review
Board. This board, composed of NIST technical authors and editors from
all organizational units, conducts a critical evaluation of the
technical content and methodology, among other things. If the review
board does not support publication, it generally recommends changes,
which if made by the author, would result in approval. If the author
chooses not to accept these changes, the policy delineates the steps
that the author should take to resolve any disagreement. NIST managers
said that the guidance and procedures for getting potential
publications through the editorial review process and disseminated were
adequate, clear, and readily accessible to researchers on the internal
NIST Web site.
Similar to NIST, NOAA's publication and presentation policy facilitates
research dissemination and clearly describes the process for
disseminating scientific and technical publications. Specifically,
NOAA's policy encourages each program office to review, edit, and
disseminate its own publications, and the policy clearly delegates
responsibility to each program office to ensure the scientific and
technical quality of its publications and presentations.[Footnote 9]
Furthermore, NOAA has developed a standard form to guide the review
process and to document final approval for release. In addition,
several NOAA program offices have supplemented these agencywide
policies with office-specific ones. For example, the National Weather
Service's policy clearly delineates the review and approval process for
their publications.[Footnote 10] Similarly, the National Environmental
Satellite, Data, and Information Service created an office-specific
form that documents the multiple reviews a proposed manuscript must
undergo. This form, signed by the branch chief, division chief, and
office director or deputy director, certifies that a research paper is
worthy of scientific review or useful for education or outreach
purposes. Several NOAA managers told us that NOAA's publication review
process was clear and worked well.
Researchers at NIST and NOAA Have to Comply with Commerce and Agency-
Specific Policies for the Dissemination of Research through Media
Interviews and Press Releases:
Researchers at NIST and NOAA are subject to Commerce's department-level
policies when disseminating research results through media interviews
and press releases; however, these policies are outdated and
unrealistic and can impede the dissemination of research results. At
NIST, researchers have been provided with agency-specific guidance to
supplement Commerce's department-level media interview and press
release policies. At NOAA, researchers must also adhere to agency-level
media and press release policies, which are generally unclear and can
lead to inconsistent interpretations that can further hinder the
dissemination of research through these dissemination routes.
Researchers at NIST and NOAA Are Subject to Outdated Commerce Policies
for Media Interviews and Press Releases:
Researchers at NIST and NOAA must follow Commerce's department-level
policies for dissemination of research results through media interviews
and press releases; however, these policies, which have not been
revised for over 20 years, are outdated and unrealistic.[Footnote 11]
Commerce policies direct all of its constituent agencies to submit all
proposed media interviews and press releases to its Office of Public
Affairs for review and approval, and the department does not delegate
authority to approve any of these activities to the agency-level public
affairs office. Because Commerce's public affairs office is responsible
for overseeing the media activities for 13 agencies, according to
Commerce officials, it is not realistic to expect this office to review
every media interview and press release request that each of these
agencies generates. For example, from a large agency like NOAA, the
volume of media requests can range from dozens on a normal business day
to hundreds following a major event, such as a tsunami. In addition,
Commerce's policy states that disputes concerning a potential media
interview or press releases that are not resolved by the Director of
Public Affairs shall be referred to the Secretary of Commerce.
At a February 2007 Senate hearing, a Commerce official referred to the
department's communication policies as "contradictory" and "woefully
outdated." These policies, which have not been revised since 1983, were
implemented prior to the expansion and widespread adoption of newer
media outlets, such as the Internet and 24-hour cable news stations,
and therefore do not take these routes of dissemination into
consideration. While officials from Commerce's Office of Public Affairs
said that they would like to be informed about all press releases and
interviews, they realize that this request is not realistic given the
volume of releases from some agencies. Consequently, Commerce public
affairs officials acknowledged that even though it is required, they do
not generally review low-level or routine releases.
To streamline the approval process and respond to allegations by some
researchers about the department's interference with media
dissemination of research results, Commerce began an effort in November
2005 to revise its media and communications policies. According to a
Commerce official, this effort included three rounds of input. During
the first round, Commerce solicited informal feedback from managers and
some scientists at selected agencies, including at NIST and NOAA. As
part of the subsequent two rounds, Commerce solicited input from
managers and public affairs officials at all Commerce agencies. In
addition, these officials were encouraged to share the draft with
researchers and other public affairs officials within their agency to
obtain their feedback and input. We reviewed a draft of the revised
policy in March 2007. Because the final policy was released after our
audit work was completed, we did not conduct a detailed evaluation of
the new policy. However, we did note that the revised policy included
provisions to address some of the concerns we identified with the prior
policy. For example, the revised policy affirms the department's
support for open and free communication of scientific and technical
ideas, findings, and conclusions based on researchers' official work
and asserts that researchers are free to participate in interviews,
without prior approval, on matters directly related to their research.
In addition, the revised policy takes other positive steps, such as the
inclusion of an appeals process and the clarification of the role of
the public affairs office. However, it also contains some unclear
elements that may cause confusion for the agencies and researchers who
are trying to adhere to the policy. The policy was officially released
on March 29, 2007, and, according to a Commerce official, it will be
accompanied by a training program to educate public affairs officials
on how to implement it.
Researchers at NIST Have Been Provided with Supplemental Agency
Guidance:
To supplement Commerce policies for dissemination of research results
through media interviews and press releases, NIST has issued Web-based
guidance that provides an overview of the Commerce policy and serves as
a reference tool for NIST researchers who interact with the media. The
guidance on responding to media inquiries explicitly states that
interview requests from the media are to be cleared in advance through
Commerce's Office of Public Affairs. In addition, this guidance
provides information on Commerce's media policy in a question-and-
answer format, including instructions that researchers should discuss
only the research facts and should not express personal opinions when
communicating with the media.
NIST managers commented that while NIST issues between 30 and 50 press
releases a year, they have found that other dissemination methods, such
as e-mailing a biweekly publication called Tech Beat, have been a more
effective way to reach the media. In fact, the managers estimated that
60 percent of the news articles about NIST research are generated from
Tech Beat articles. Like press releases, Tech Beat articles go through
the Commerce review and approval process, and they are subject to NIST
technical and scientific review. NIST officials with whom we spoke said
that while they forward most proposed interview requests to Commerce
for review and approval, they generally do not seek approval for
interviews that result from a press release or from a Tech Beat article
previously approved by Commerce.
Researchers at NOAA Are Subject to Unclear Agency-Level Media Interview
and Press Release Dissemination Policies:
In addition to adhering to Commerce's policies for media interviews and
press releases, researchers at NOAA must also follow NOAA-specific
policies and procedures, which are at times unclear, leading to
inconsistent interpretation. For example, regarding media interviews,
one part of NOAA's policy directs its employees to inform NOAA
headquarters or program office public affairs officials prior to
participating in interviews that are of national news interest, concern
regulatory or controversial issues, or pertain to research having
potential policy interest; however, another part of this policy states
that responsibility of the NOAA headquarters' public affairs office is
to approve and coordinate media communications, including interviews
and press releases.[Footnote 12] As a result of this unclear language,
public affairs officials have interpreted these requirements
differently. Some believe that researchers are required to obtain prior
approval for all interviews, while others believe researchers must
notify the public affairs office after an interview has occurred. This
has resulted in an uneven application of the policy among researchers.
Furthermore, the policy does not define what qualifies as "of national
news interest" or "controversial," thereby leaving the interpretation
to each individual.
In addition, some of NOAA's procedures required for media interview
approvals can be burdensome and could delay dissemination of research.
To seek approval for a media interview, NOAA program office public
affairs staff are expected to complete a form that contains information
about the topic, the potential questions, the media outlet, and the
reporter, among other things. The completed form is forwarded to the
headquarters' public affairs office for review and approval. However,
while interview approvals typically occur within a few hours, in some
cases they have arrived after the reporters' deadlines, resulting in
missed interviews, according to NOAA public affairs officials.
Furthermore, some of these officials expressed concern that reporters
may shy away from contacting NOAA researchers because of the drawn out
approval process, ultimately causing NOAA to miss opportunities to
inform the public about its work.
Regarding press releases, NOAA public affairs officials have also
interpreted approval requirements differently from one another. For
example, some officials believe that the policy requires all press
releases to be approved by the NOAA headquarters' public affairs
office, while others believe headquarters approval is not required for
releases of regional interest or involving routine activities. NOAA's
press release policy, unlike NASA's policy, does not distinguish
between press releases on local topics and press releases on national
topics and does not delegate authority to program office public affairs
officials to issue such press releases. However, according to public
affairs officials with whom we spoke, routine releases may not warrant
the same scrutiny as ones likely to be of national interest or
controversial. For example, a NOAA public affairs official commented
that routine releases about StormReady--a community safety and
emergency preparedness program--should be treated differently from
press releases that have a broader scope, such as annual releases of
climate data.
According to NOAA public affairs officials, the approval process for
press releases is lengthy and burdensome, and approvals that took 1 to
2 days a few years ago can now take as long as 2 weeks to obtain. This
is because the process involves 13 separate steps for approval that
begin after the press release has been drafted, which itself can be a
lengthy process. (See fig. 1.) In November 2006, another requirement
was added to the approval process--that is, a public affairs briefing
memorandum must precede certain requests to issue a press release, such
as those involving a controversial or "hot" topic. According to a
senior NOAA public affairs official, the intent of requiring the
memorandum was to inform NOAA management about upcoming announcements
and help ensure that the program office public affairs staff had
gathered enough information about the proposed release to judge its
merit.
Figure 1: NOAA/Commerce News Release Review Process, as of March 2006:
[See PDF for image]
Source: NOAA Office of Public, Constituent, and Intergovernmental
Affairs (OPCIA).
Note: OPCIA is also referred to as the NOAA headquarters office of
public affairs.
[End of figure]
The myriad steps in the approval process can hinder the timely issuance
of press releases. As was the case with delays in approving interviews,
officials told us press releases that come out too late are in danger
of not making it into the news and cited several instances in which
requests to issue press releases never received an approval or a denial
from headquarters public affairs and, consequently, were never
released. Moreover, no explanation for the lack of response was offered
to the public affairs office or the researcher. Furthermore, officials
at a NOAA laboratory have become discouraged from seeking press
releases for research conducted at the laboratory because of delays and
the lack of responsiveness to such requests, further limiting NOAA's
ability to publicize its research.
Despite Agencies' Efforts to Communicate Research Dissemination and
Dispute Resolution Policies, Many Researchers Are Not Confident about
How to Comply with Them:
According to our survey, researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA usually
learned about their agency's dissemination policies through informal
communication methods, rather than through formal training provided by
their agency. In addition, more researchers at the three agencies are
confident that they understand their agency's policies on the
dissemination of research through publications and presentations well
enough to comply with them, than are confident that they understand
their agency's media interview and press release policies. Furthermore,
many researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA are unsure whether their
agency's policies allow them to discuss research results with potential
policy implications or to express personal views related to federal
policy decisions. Finally, we estimate that only one-quarter of all
researchers across the three agencies are aware of their agency's
processes to appeal decisions made regarding requested dissemination.
Most Researchers Learned about Agency Dissemination Policies through
Informal Methods:
According to our survey and agency officials with whom we spoke,
researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA were most likely to learn about
their agency's dissemination policies through informal communication
methods. Most researchers at each agency learned about these policies
through a variety of informal means, such as e-mails from their agency
or operating unit managers, or through on-the-job training with
supervisors. Researchers were less likely to learn about agency
dissemination policies through formal training sessions, a method that
agency officials told us was typically offered on a limited basis
focused toward specific groups, such as those likely to have media
contact. Specifically:
* At NASA, we estimate that three-quarters of researchers learned of
their agency's dissemination policies through e-mails or other
correspondence from center or office managers, 70 percent through on-
the-job training, and about one-half through notifications on internal
agency Web sites. Managers and public affairs officials said that
limited training on dissemination of research through publications,
presentations, and media interviews is available. At most centers,
managers said that training on the publication and presentation review
process is done on the job by supervisors or managers, although some
centers have conducted limited formal training on how to comply with
export control regulations,[Footnote 13] which are a required segment
of NASA's scientific and technical review process. Several NASA center
public affairs officials said they have also conducted limited formal
training on media interviews, but this training was usually targeted
toward researchers who are expected to have significant exposure to
reporters. Headquarters and several center officials told us that
little or no formal training had been conducted on NASA's recently
revised media policy.
* At NIST, officials told us that they generally rely on the agency's
internal Web site to inform employees about NIST's publication and
presentation policies; however, they mentioned that more specific,
individual training is offered on an as-needed basis. Media and
communications training targeted toward researchers with high media
exposure is offered periodically, covering the approval processes for
media interviews and press releases. However, according to our survey
estimates, nearly 80 percent of researchers received information about
their agency's policies through on the job training, and nearly two-
thirds learned about them through e-mail communication from the agency.
Additionally, about one-half of researchers at NIST learned of the
dissemination policies through notifications on internal agency Web
sites or at staff or town-hall meetings; and fewer (about 24 percent)
attended formal training sessions to learn about the policies.
* At NOAA, researchers most often learned of the agency's dissemination
policies through informal methods, such as e-mails or other
correspondence from center or office managers (75 percent), on-the-job
training (59 percent), and notifications on internal agency Web sites
(37 percent). These sentiments were echoed by NOAA managers who told us
that they typically inform researchers about the agency's policies on
dissemination of publications and presentations through on-the-job
training, on an as-needed basis. They added that researchers are
usually exposed to standard scientific peer review processes during
graduate school, and that these processes are similar to the agency's
review processes. Regarding media interviews, at least one public
affairs branch office offered a formal training course that included an
overview of NOAA requirements in this area and offered advice on
effectively communicating with the media. According to program office
officials, this training was well received by those who participated.
Figure 2 shows the methods by which researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA
generally learned about their agency's research dissemination policies.
Figure 2: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Learned How to Comply
with Dissemination Policies through Various Methods:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
Researchers Have More Concerns about Adhering to Their Agency's Media
Interview and Press Release Policies than to Their Publication and
Presentation Policies:
Most researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA feel confident that they know
how to comply with their agency's policies for publications and
presentations, but many do not feel as confident that they know how to
comply with their agency's policies on media interviews and press
releases. (See fig. 3.) According to our survey, we estimate that more
than 80 percent of researchers at each agency are confident that they
understand their agency's policies on publications and presentations
well enough to comply with them. At NIST, about three-quarters of
researchers are also confident that they know how to follow their
agency's policies on media interviews and press releases. In contrast,
nearly one-half of researchers at NASA and over one-third of
researchers at NOAA are not confident that they understand their
agency's policies on media interviews well enough to follow them, and
40 percent of NASA researchers and 35 percent of NOAA researchers are
not confident they understand their agency's policies on press
releases.
Figure 3: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Are Confident That
They Understand Policies Well Enough to Follow Them:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
Researchers Are Often Unclear about Whether They Can Discuss Research
Results with Potential Policy Implications or Express Their Personal
Views:
Many researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA are unclear about whether
their agency allows them to discuss research results with policy
implications. This is particularly striking at NASA and NOAA, given
that the leaders of these two agencies have each assured their
researchers that they may discuss the policy implications of their
research. When research results are consistent with their agency's
policy or position statements, we estimate that two-thirds of
researchers across NASA, NIST, and NOAA believe that they are allowed
to discuss these potential policy implications. However, when research
results differ from their agency's policy or positions statements, 23
percent of researchers across all three agencies believe they may not
discuss those results, and 40 percent are not sure. In addition, even
though NASA's recently revised media policy clearly states that
researchers are allowed to discuss conclusions drawn from their work
with the media as long as they disclose them as personal views and not
views of the agency, many researchers are unsure whether they are
allowed to discuss personal views related to potential policy
implications of their research results. On the basis of our survey, we
estimate that only one-half of researchers at NASA believe that they
may make such statements, and another 40 percent are not sure whether
they can.
Unlike NASA researchers, researchers at NIST are not allowed to discuss
their personal views on the policy implications of their research, even
if they disclose that the views are their own and not those of their
agency. This is because NIST and Commerce policies state that when
speaking publicly on topics related to research conducted at the
agency, it is not realistic for a researcher to express personal views
without the perception that the employee is speaking on behalf of the
agency. Nevertheless, we estimate that 24 percent of researchers at
NIST believe that they are free to discuss potential policy
implications of their research provided they identify such views as
their personal opinions and not those of the agency, and 49 percent of
researchers at NIST are not sure whether they can discuss their
personal views.
NOAA researchers, like NIST researchers, are also subject to Commerce's
policy that restricts their ability to discuss their personal views.
However, in a February 2006 e-mail to NOAA employees, the NOAA
Administrator said that communicating personal views was allowed
provided that the researcher stated the views were the researcher's
opinion. Despite the clarifying instruction from the administrator, we
estimate that 42 percent of NOAA researchers are uncertain whether they
may discuss personal views with the media, and another 40 percent
believe they may do so if they offer a disclaimer.
Researchers Are Generally Unaware of Their Agencies' Process for
Appealing Dissemination Decisions:
According to our survey, only 33 percent of NASA researchers, 26
percent of NIST researchers, and 17 percent of NOAA researchers are
aware of their agencies' processes to address disputes over
dissemination requests. Even at NASA, where officials told us that the
agency rolled out its revised media policy, which includes a dispute
resolution process, with great fanfare, we estimate that only one-third
of researchers are aware of the appeals process for dissemination of
research. According to NASA headquarters and center public affairs
officials with whom we spoke, no one, to date, has attempted to use the
dispute resolution process for media-related concerns. For other types
of dissemination, such as through publications, center managers
generally told us that formal processes for appeal did not exist;
however, most managers said that a researcher would likely raise
concerns through the chain of command or rely on other agency
processes, such as those for personnel disputes. Most NASA center
managers told us that disputes over disseminating scientific and
technical information are rare, and some managers said that they had
never needed a formal process to resolve disputes.
NIST managers told us that the NIST technical review policy delineates
a process for appeals of dissemination decisions for publications and
presentations. However, according to our survey, we estimate that only
26 percent of researchers at NIST are aware that such an appeals
process existed. NIST officials said that no disputes over the
dissemination of information via publications had occurred in the past
5 years. Regarding media contacts, Commerce officials said existing
Commerce policies include a process to handle disputes. However, these
officials acknowledged that the process may not have been clear to
staff, and they plan to clarify this process in future policies.
At NOAA, we estimate that 17 percent of researchers are aware of the
agency's appeals process. NOAA managers told us that the agency's
policies do not include an appeals process. The managers said that if a
dispute arose, they expect the researcher to appeal the decision
through the chain of command or use the agency's alternative dispute
resolution process, which involves mediation of the dispute by a
neutral third party, often from another NOAA program office.
Six Percent of Researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA Had Dissemination
Requests Denied, and Many Believe That Their Agencies Are Less
Supportive of Media Interviews than Other Dissemination Methods:
On the basis of our survey, we estimate that across NASA, NIST, and
NOAA, 6 percent of researchers were denied the opportunity to
disseminate their research results in the past 5 years, sometimes, they
believe, without explanation. In general, however, most researchers at
these agencies believe that their agency either insists on or
encourages dissemination of research results. At the same time,
significantly more researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA believe that
their agency supports dissemination through publications and
presentations rather than interviews with the media. Finally, most
researchers at NIST and NOAA believe that their agencies consistently
applied the dissemination policies across all routes of dissemination.
In contrast, many researchers at NASA believe that policies for press
releases and media interviews are not applied as consistently as its
policies for publications.
Some Researchers at Each Agency Who Were Denied Approval to Disseminate
Their Results Believe They Were Not Provided with an Adequate
Explanation:
Six percent of the approximately 5,000 researchers, or about 200,
across the three agencies have had their requests for dissemination
denied for reasons other than those stemming from standard technical
review. According to our survey, we estimate that 7 percent of NASA's
1,794 researchers, 4 percent of NIST's 1,337 researchers, and 6 percent
of NOAA's 1,815 researchers have in the past 5 years been denied the
opportunity to disseminate their research.[Footnote 14] The denials
involved a wide range of research topics and occurred across all routes
of dissemination, within each NOAA branch office, and within nearly all
of the NASA centers and NIST laboratories included in our
survey.[Footnote 15]
Researchers at each agency were given a variety of reasons for the
denials, but some indicated that they were given no reason. For NASA
researchers, representing a variety of areas, including aeronautics;
biological or life sciences; and climate, environment, or atmosphere
research, among the most common reasons reported for denials was that
the information was restricted or that the topic discussed or results
presented were sensitive. The subject of some restricted research
involved government classified information, or results that were
covered by export control regulations. For example, one researcher
reported his request for dissemination of research was denied because
of restrictions on dissemination of high frequency communications
technology. As a result of agency denials, most of these NASA
researchers gave up trying to disseminate these particular results,
although some subsequently disseminated the results of their work using
a different dissemination route.
Researchers at NIST who had their requests denied also represented a
range of research areas, including information technology, electrical
engineering, and physical or chemical sciences. Many of these
researchers responded that they either were not given a reason for the
denial or did not know the reason. In these situations, most
researchers either found another route to disseminate these particular
research results or gave up trying. Other researchers who had requests
denied at NIST reported that the reasons given for the denial included
that the results or topic was sensitive or that there was a question
about the scientific merit of the results. In some of these cases, the
researchers were able to disseminate their results once they added a
disclaimer that the opinions expressed in the research results did not
reflect the views of the agency.
At NOAA, researchers who had requests denied represented a diverse
cadre of research areas, including climate, environment, or atmosphere;
oceans and coasts; and fisheries and ecosystems. Among the most common
reasons that researchers reported for the denial of their requests to
disseminate research were that the topic or results were sensitive and
that resources, such as money for travel, were limited. For example,
one researcher reported that his request was denied because there was
concern that the results might be misinterpreted in light of recent
hurricane events. In addition, like NIST researchers, many NOAA
researchers reported that they were not given a reason for the denial
or did not know the reason. Those who indicated they were denied for
budgetary reasons had requested funding to travel to a conference, and
reported that after the denial they disseminated their work through
another route. Those who said their requests were denied because their
results were considered sensitive took various steps to obtain
subsequent approval to disseminate their results, including
resubmitting the same or a similar document or seeking an alternative
dissemination route. Of the researchers who either did not know the
reason for denial or were not given one, most gave up trying to
disseminate these particular results.
Researchers Believe That Their Agencies Provide Greater Support for
Dissemination of Research through Publications and Presentations than
through Press Releases and Media Interviews:
While researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA believe that, overall, their
agencies support dissemination of research results, many believe that
their agency is more supportive of some dissemination routes than
others. We estimate that at least 85 percent of researchers at each
agency believe that, overall, their agency either encourages
researchers to disseminate their research results or insists that they
do so. However, we also found that researchers believe that their
agency is more supportive of sharing results within the scientific
community through publications, such as peer-reviewed journals, and
presentations, than sharing results with the general public through
media interviews or press releases. Specifically, we estimate that 91
percent of researchers at NASA and NOAA and 97 percent of researchers
at NIST believe that their agency supports dissemination of research
results through publications. However, significantly fewer researchers
at each agency believe their agency supports dissemination through
press releases, ranging from 73 percent of researchers at NOAA to 87
percent at NIST. (See fig. 4.) Similarly, regarding dissemination
through media interviews, significantly fewer researchers, ranging from
54 percent at NOAA to 68 percent at NIST, believe that their agency is
supportive of this dissemination route.
Figure 4: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Believe That Their
Agency Supports Dissemination, by Dissemination Route:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
Researchers echoed these sentiments in their comments on ways the
dissemination of research results works well and how it could be
improved. Many researchers responded that agency support for
dissemination was good, particularly for scientific publications and
presentations, but could be improved for press releases and media
interviews. For example, one NIST researcher commented that the agency
has a strong cultural belief in the technical integrity of peer-
reviewed journals compared with general news media outlets. A NOAA
researcher said that although his division supported and encouraged
original, cutting-edge research and dissemination through scientific
literature, he did not believe that NOAA or Commerce effectively
disseminate research results to the public or the Congress. Moreover, a
representative of a NOAA laboratory told us that although the
laboratory issues over 100 peer-reviewed articles every year, only a
few are publicized through press releases. In addition, representatives
of one NASA center believe that the role of public affairs has shifted
from help to hindrance, and that some requests for press releases
announcing contentious research results had not been approved by
headquarters, sometimes without explanation. In addition, several
agency managers told us that support for dissemination depends on the
tone set by senior managers. More specifically, one manager said that
without commitment and support from agency leaders, even good policies
will not ensure that important research gets disseminated.
Most Researchers Generally Believe That Dissemination Policies Are
Consistently Applied:
According to our survey, over 72 percent of researchers at NIST and
NOAA believe that their agency consistently applies its dissemination
policies across all dissemination routes. In contrast, more researchers
at NASA believe that the agency consistently applies its policies for
publications than believe the agency consistently applies its policies
for press releases and media interviews. We estimate that only 67
percent and 57 percent of researchers believe NASA consistently applies
its press release and media interview dissemination policies,
respectively, as opposed to 84 percent and 74 percent, respectively, of
researchers who believe the agency consistently applies its policy for
publications and presentations.[Footnote 16] (See fig. 5.)
In contrast, most researchers at NIST and NOAA believe their agencies
consistently apply all of their dissemination policies. According to
our survey, over 85 percent of the researchers within NIST and
approximately 75 percent of the researchers at NOAA believe their
agencies consistently apply their dissemination policies for
publications, presentations, press releases, and media interviews.
Figure 5: Estimated Percentage of Researchers Who Believe That Their
Agency Consistently Applies Policies, by Dissemination Route:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO survey.
[End of figure]
OSTP Provides Indirect Oversight of Agencies' Dissemination Policies:
According to OSTP, the office does not conduct any scientific research
on its own nor does it formulate or directly oversee the development of
dissemination policies or decisions at individual agencies. However,
OSTP told us that it has affirmed to agency leaders the value of
science as the basis for effective federal action and recognizes the
importance of timely, complete, and accurate communication of
scientific information. According to OSTP, the director of the office
has on several occasions asked the leaders and chief scientists of
federal agencies to develop, revise, or reemphasize their dissemination
policies and to ensure that both employees and managers understand
their rights and obligations under the policies. For example, in an
April 2006 letter that transmitted copies of NASA's policy to agency
chief scientists, the director praised NASA's media policy as a model
and cited the Frequently Asked Questions supplement as a best practice.
In addition, according to OSTP, the director instructed agencies that
federal scientists, like federal employees generally, are obliged to
distinguish their personal views from the official positions of their
agencies but are in no way to be restricted in their ability to openly
communicate their scientific findings.
With regard to disseminating the results of interagency research, OSTP
sometimes plays a role in notifying agencies when research reports of
interest are published by another agency, and it will disseminate
research results to members of various National Science and Technology
Council committees, subcommittees, and working groups, according to
OSTP officials. For example, to ensure accuracy and readability, OSTP
reviews interagency reports on the scale, quality, and effectiveness of
the federal science and technology effort as well as all reports from
interagency working groups and task forces. In addition, OSTP may, at
its own initiative or in response to an agency's request, review
presentations developed by individual agencies that are based on
interagency reports. According to OSTP, the office is part of the
interagency review process when federal scientists testify before
Congress, and, accordingly, OSTP officials review all of the statements
prepared by federal scientists who are testifying in their official
capacities. Regarding presentations and articles prepared by OSTP
employees, OSTP officials told us that the office has a process by
which these presentations and articles are reviewed and for making
decisions about whether its employees can participate in policy-related
media interviews.
In discussing OSTP's role with NASA, NIST, and NOAA public affairs
officials, we found that some of these agencies may inform OSTP of
certain dissemination events, but their policies do not call for
routine OSTP review or approval. For example, Commerce and NOAA public
affairs officials told us that OSTP often receives informational copies
of press releases that are particularly sensitive or involve regulatory
issues.
Conclusions:
More and more of the major policy debates of the day hinge on the
results of scientific research. Therefore, timely and thorough
dissemination of research results within the research community and to
the public at large is crucial. To help ensure that this kind of
dissemination is taking place, NASA, NIST, and NOAA have each taken
some steps to develop policies to guide the dissemination of research
through publications and presentations for the scientific community.
However, the lack of clarity and consistency in the application of
agency-level policies for requests to disseminate research to the
public through press releases and media interviews continues to
generate significant concern among some agency researchers, such as
those at NASA. For researchers at NIST and NOAA, this situation is
further exacerbated because they must comply with Commerce's outdated
and unrealistic department-level policies, which can further impede the
dissemination of research results through media interviews and press
releases. Moreover, when disputes arise about an agency's decision
regarding a dissemination request, few researchers are aware of the
dispute resolution processes that exist within their agency. To some
extent, this situation may have been partly caused by a lack of formal
training provided by the agencies on the dissemination and dispute
resolution policies to their research staff. Instead most researchers
at these agencies learn about their agency's policies through informal
means and, therefore, are not particularly confident that they know how
to comply with all of them.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To ensure that the policies to guide researchers and public affairs
officials in their efforts to disseminate research to the scientific
community and the public are clear, transparent, consistently applied,
and completely understood, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce
and the NOAA Administrator each take the following action:
* Clarify their policies for disseminating research results via press
releases and media interviews.
To ensure that (1) researchers have a clear process to follow for
appealing decisions regarding dissemination of research results and (2)
all researchers are aware of and understand how to comply with their
agencies' policies for disseminating research, we recommend that the
Secretary of Commerce, the NASA Administrator, the NIST Director, and
the NOAA Administrator each take the following two actions:
* Review their dissemination policies and ensure that they clearly
identify a process by which researchers can appeal dissemination
decisions.
* Provide formal training to inform, reinforce, and update managers,
researchers, and public affairs staff on these policies.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided Commerce, NASA, NIST, NOAA, and OSTP with a copy of this
report for review and comment. Commerce, on behalf of NIST, NOAA, and
itself, generally concurred with our findings and recommendations. In
its letter, Commerce noted that the draft report highlighted some
ongoing challenges for the department, NIST, and NOAA that they will
address. Furthermore, in an addendum from NOAA, the agency stated that
it is updating its public communications policies to ensure consistent
understanding by researchers and public affairs officials. In addition,
NIST suggested some technical changes that we have incorporated in this
report as appropriate. NASA also concurred with the recommendations we
made to the agency. In its letter, NASA stated that it plans to direct
the Chief of Strategic Communications and the Assistant Administrator
for Public Affairs to, among other things, review its current
dissemination policies to ensure they clearly identify a process for
appealing dissemination decisions and to provide biannual training to
reinforce dissemination guidelines. Finally, OSTP generally agreed with
the report's recommendations made to Commerce, NASA, NIST, and NOAA.
The office commented that the report is fair and accurately describes
OSTP and its role in this area. The comment letters from Commerce,
NASA, and OSTP appear in appendixes III through V.
As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce the contents
of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days
from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to interested
congressional committees and Members of Congress, the Secretary of
Commerce, the NASA Administrator, the NIST Director, and the NOAA
Administrator. We also will make copies available to others upon
request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the
GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have questions about this report, please contact
me at (202) 512-3841 or mittala@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices
of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this
report are listed in appendix VI.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
Ms. Anu K. Mittal:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Our objectives for this review were to (1) identify and evaluate the
policies that guide the dissemination of federal research results at
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); (2) determine how effectively
the dissemination and dispute resolution policies of these agencies
have been communicated to researchers; (3) determine the extent to
which researchers at these agencies have experienced restrictions on
the dissemination of their research results, and (4) provide an
overview of the role of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP) in helping agencies develop and implement policies related to
the dissemination of research results.
To identify and evaluate the policies that guide the dissemination of
federally funded research results at NASA, NIST, and NOAA, we obtained,
reviewed, and analyzed the dissemination policies for these agencies,
in addition to relevant policies from the Department of Commerce. In
addition, we spoke with managers and researchers at NASA, NIST, and
NOAA as well as public affairs officials at each of these agencies and
Commerce. Specifically, at NASA, we spoke with managers at each of nine
research, space, and space flight centers, public affairs officials
from NASA headquarters and the four largest centers in terms of
researchers who would be in a position to disseminate research, and the
agency's Chief of Staff.[Footnote 17] At NIST, we spoke with agency
officials, including the Chief of Staff, the program office director,
and the director of the public and business affairs office. At NOAA, we
spoke with managers in each of the NOAA program offices, as well as
each of the laboratories in the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
program office and each of the National Marine Fisheries Service
fisheries science centers.[Footnote 18] We also spoke with public
affairs officials in each of the NOAA program offices. We followed a
standard set of questions for each of these interviews, confirmed that
we had copies of the relevant dissemination policies, and discussed at
length the ways in which these policies were put into practice.
To determine how effectively the dissemination and dispute resolution
policies have been communicated to researchers and to determine the
extent to which researchers at these agencies had experienced
restrictions on the dissemination of their research, we conducted a Web-
based survey of a stratified random sample of 1,811 researchers across
scientific and engineering disciplines at NASA, NIST, and NOAA. This
sample included 578 NASA researchers, 699 NIST researchers, and 534
NOAA researchers. We selected these researchers from among the 1,794
researchers at NASA, 1,337 researchers at NIST, and 1,815 researchers
at NOAA. Overall, we received a 66 percent response rate to our survey,
for a total of 1,177 respondents. We stratified by agency subcomponent--
such as the NASA center, NIST laboratory, and NOAA program office--and
produced estimates at the agency level. Each subcomponent has a known
nonzero probability of being selected, and each subcomponent is
weighted in the analysis to account statistically for all subcomponents
in the population, including those that were not selected. We sought
the researchers' views on their agency's research dissemination
policies, the level of agency support for dissemination, and their
experiences with dissemination. In addition, we asked the researchers
to provide examples of ways in which dissemination of results works
well and ways in which it could be improved. We defined researchers to
be included in our population as federally employed scientists,
engineers, or other researchers who are in a position to disseminate
their research results to a wider audience. To identify these names, we
asked center or program managers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA to provide a
list of researchers in their organization who would meet our defined
criterion. We cross-referenced this list with other published lists of
researchers in each facility, where available. We further refined the
list by sending out notification e-mails that allowed recipients who
did not meet our criteria to notify us prior to issuing the survey.
Information about accessing the survey was provided via e-mail for all
survey participants. The survey was activated, and researchers were
informed of its availability on November 16, 2006; it was available
through December 31, 2006. To ensure security and data integrity, we
provided all participants with a user name and a personal password that
allowed them to access and complete the survey. No one else could
access that survey or edit its data. To reduce survey nonresponse, we
sent out e-mail reminder messages and a contractor was used to make
follow-up telephone calls to all nonrespondants to encourage them to
complete the survey. From the initial notification, we identified 21
individuals who were outside the target population. For example, some
individuals had retired from the agency. In all, we received a 66
percent response rate. Response rates for our survey population by
agency were as follows: NASA, 63.6 percent; NIST, 61.5 percent; and
NOAA, 73.7 percent.
All sample surveys are subject to sampling error--that is, the extent
to which the survey results differ from what would have been obtained
if the whole population had been observed. Measures of sampling error
are defined by two elements, the width of the confidence intervals
around the estimate (sometimes called the precision of the estimate)
and the confidence level at which the intervals are computed. Because
we followed a probability procedure based on random selections, our
sample is only one of a large number of samples that we might have
drawn. Because each sample could have provided different estimates, we
expressed our confidence in the precision of our particular sample's
results as a 95 percent confidence interval. This is the interval that
would contain the actual population value for 95 percent of the samples
we could have drawn. As a result, we are 95 percent confident that each
of the confidence intervals based on the survey includes the true
values in the sample population. Unless otherwise noted, all percentage
estimates have a 95 percent confidence interval within plus or minus 8
percentage points. The 95 percent confidence intervals for numeric
estimates are presented along with those estimates in the body of the
report. In addition, any comparison between point estimates is
statistically significant at the 0.05 level, unless otherwise noted. In
some instances, we used general modifiers (i.e., few, some, many, and
most) to characterize percentage point estimates or to indicate the
number of center or office managers who made a particular statement. We
used the following method to assign these modifiers to our statements:
"few" represents less than 10 percent of respondents or managers
representing centers or offices, "some" or "many" represents 10 to 50
percent of respondents or managers representing centers or offices, and
"most" represents over 50 percent of respondents or managers
representing centers or offices. These ranges do not represent a
standard; rather, we assigned these numeric ranges on the basis of
natural breaks in our data. In all cases where we use these modifiers
to characterize point estimates from our survey, their use implies
statistical significance. For example, where we use the term "most,"
the lower bound of the confidence interval of the point estimate is
greater than 50 percent.
Regarding the survey data on instances in which researchers were denied
the opportunity to disseminate, the percentage of researchers reporting
such instances can be generalized to the population. However, because
the number of denials is small, the details concerning the reason for
denial, the researcher's primary field of research, and the actions
taken in response to the denial cannot be generalized. Because the
issue of a researcher being denied is a salient piece of our analysis,
we included this nongeneralizable information to provide context to
this important issue. To analyze select, open-ended questions on our
survey, including those given as the reason researchers said they were
denied, we conducted a content analysis to develop our agreement
statistics. Reviewers (two per question) collaboratively developed
content categories based on survey responses, and then independently
assessed and coded each survey response into those categories.
Intercoder reliability (agreement) statistics were electronically
generated in the coding process, and agreement statistics for all
categories were 90 percent or above. Coding disagreements were resolved
through reviewer discussion or a third-party arbiter.
In addition to the reported sampling errors, as previously indicated,
the practical difficulties of conducting any survey may introduce
errors, commonly referred to as "nonsampling errors." For example,
differences in how a particular question is interpreted, the
information sources available to respondents, or the types of sample
members who do not respond can introduce unwanted variability into the
survey results. Our estimation method assumes that nonrespondents are
missing at random. If characteristics of respondents are different than
nonrespondents on key items, it could introduce a bias not accounted
for in our analysis. We took extensive steps in questionnaire
development, data collection, and the editing and analysis of the
survey data to minimize nonsampling errors. For example, the survey was
developed by a GAO survey specialist in conjunction with subject matter
experts, and then reviewed by a second, independent survey specialist.
In addition, we pretested the survey by telephone with researchers from
all three agencies. During these pretests, we asked each researcher to
complete the survey as they would when they received it. We then
interviewed the respondents to ensure that (1) the questions were clear
and unambiguous, (2) the terms used were precise, (3) the survey did
not place an undue burden on the researchers completing it, and (4) the
survey was independent and unbiased. On the basis of the feedback from
the pretests, we revised the questions, as appropriate. The SAS and
SUDAAN programs that produced our survey estimates, including estimates
of categories derived from content analysis, were reviewed by a second,
independent programmer to ensure accuracy in the logic and syntax of
the program.
To determine OSTP's role in helping agencies develop and implement
policies for the dissemination of research results, we submitted
written questions. They subsequently replied to these questions in
writing.
We conducted our work from June 2006 through March 2007 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Selected Survey Results for NASA, NIST, and NOAA:
The following tables contain summary results of selected questions from
our survey of researchers at NASA, NIST, and NOAA. For each question
reported below, the estimated percentage is presented along with its 95
percent confidence interval. These tables do not include summary-level
data for the demographic questions and do not include the results from
any open-ended questions.
Q8. Overall, how familiar or unfamiliar are you with the policies that
your agency currently has in place regarding the dissemination of
research results outside of the agency?
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 87.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 84.9-89.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 12.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.8-15.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 91.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.4-94.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 8.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.7-11.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 85.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 81.8-88.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 14.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.6-18.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 83.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 78.6-87.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Familiar;
Estimated Percentage: 16.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.3-21.4.
[End of table]
Q9. Has your agency used any of the following means to help you
understand how to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination
of research results outside of the agency?
a. Formal training sessions:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 21.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.3-24.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 61.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 58.6-64.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 16.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.5-19.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 32.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 27.3-37.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 49.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 44.2-54.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 18.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.6-23.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 23.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.0-27.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 54.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 50.3-59.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 21.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.1-25.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 9.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.7-13.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 79.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.5-83.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 11.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.0-16.6.
[End of table]
Q9. Has your agency used any of the following means to help you
understand how to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination
of research results outside of the agency?
b. On-the-job training (including mentoring):
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 67.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 64.8-70.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 24.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.7-27.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 7.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-9.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 69.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 64.1-73.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 21.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.8-26.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.4-12.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 78.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 74.8-82.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 13.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.6-16.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 8.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.8-10.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 58.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 52.3-64.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 35.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 29.5-41.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 6.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.8-10.2.
[End of table]
Q9. Has your agency used any of the following means to help you
understand how to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination
of research results outside of the agency?
c. Staff or town hall meetings:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 40.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 37.8-43.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 43.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 40.2-46.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 16.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.7-18.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 48.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 42.9-53.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 34.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 29.5-39.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 17.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.7-22.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 49.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 44.7-53.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 32.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 28.2-36.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 18.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.4-22.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 26.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.0-32.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 60.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 54.4-66.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 12.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.8-17.6.
[End of table]
Q9. Has your agency used any of the following means to help you
understand how to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination
of research results outside of the agency?
d. E-mails or other correspondence from [AGENCY] Administrator-level
offices sent to all staff:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 65.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.2-68.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 19.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 16.9-21.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 15.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.2-17.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 62.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 57.3-67.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 21.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.7-26.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 15.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.2-20.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 66.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 61.7-70.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 17.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.7-21.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 16.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.1-19.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 67.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 61.6-73.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 17.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.6-23.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 14.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.5-19.6.
[End of table]
Q9. Has your agency used any of the following means to help you
understand how to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination
of research results outside of the agency?
e. E-mails or other correspondence from Center or Office management
sent to all Center or Office staff:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 70.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 68.2-73.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 14.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.8-16.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 14.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.4-16.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 78.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 74.0-82.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 11.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.0-14.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.1-13.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 54.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 50.2-59.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 21.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.2-25.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 23.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.1-27.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 74.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 69.3-79.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 13.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.6-17.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 12.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.9-16.6.
[End of table]
Q9. Has your agency used any of the following means to help you
understand how to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination
of research results outside of the agency?
f. Notifications on internal agency websites:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 47.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 44.0-50.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 26.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 23.3-29.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 26.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 24.0-29.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 50.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 45.3-56.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 22.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.1-26.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 27.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.8-32.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 55.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 51.3-60.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 20.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.1-24.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 23.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.0-27.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 37.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.2-43.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 34.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 28.6-40.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 28.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 23.2-34.3.
[End of table]
Q9. Has your agency used any of the following means to help you
understand how to comply with its policies regarding the dissemination
of research results outside of the agency?
g. Other - Please specify below.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 18.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.3-22.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 44.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.2-50.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 37.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.6-42.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 22.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.2-31.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 40.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 32.1-49.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 37.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 28.6-47.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 18.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.3-25.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 42.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 35.1-50.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 38.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.7-46.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 13.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.8-22.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 51.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.8-62.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 35.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 25.1-46.8.
[End of table]
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have your agency's efforts
been to help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding
dissemination of research results though each of the following routes?
a. Publications (such as peer reviewed publications or non-peer
reviewed publications):
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 91.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 90.1-93.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 8.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.7-9.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 90.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 87.2-93.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 9.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.9-12.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 93.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 91.1-95.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 6.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.4-8.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 91.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.5-94.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 8.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.6-11.5.
[End of table]
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have your agency's efforts
been to help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding
dissemination of research results though each of the following routes?
b. Presentations (such as keynote addresses, conferences, workshops,
symposia, professional society meetings, or Congressional hearings):
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 86.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 83.9-88.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 13.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.5-16.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 88.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 84.1-91.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 12.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.0-15.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 88.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 85.2-91.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 11.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.7-14.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 83.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 78.0-87.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 16.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.6-22.0.
[End of table]
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have your agency's efforts
been to help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding
dissemination of research results though each of the following routes?
c. Agency releases (such as press releases, web posting on an agency
website, or agency reports or fact sheets):
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 82.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 80.1-85.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 17.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.6-19.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 80.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 75.4-85.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 19.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.8-24.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 84.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 80.8-88.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 15.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.9-19.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 83.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 78.3-87.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 16.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.4-21.7.
[End of table]
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have your agency's efforts
been to help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding
dissemination of research results though each of the following routes?
d. Media interviews:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 78.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 75.4-81.7.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 21.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.3-24.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 73.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 66.8-78.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 27.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.6-33.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 85.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 80.8-88.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 15.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.5-19.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 79.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 72.9-84.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 21.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.9-27.1.
[End of table]
Q10. Overall, how effective or ineffective have your agency's efforts
been to help you understand how to comply with its policies regarding
dissemination of research results though each of the following routes?
e. Other - Please specify below.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 62.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 43.9-78.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 37.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.4-56.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 61.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.3-84.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 38.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.5-68.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 90.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 61.5-98.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 9.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.9-38.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 38.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.3-67.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 61.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 32.3-84.7.
[End of table]
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective your agency's efforts
have been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand your
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
a. Publications:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 89.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 87.7-91.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 10.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.5-12.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 90.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 86.8-93.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 9.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.0-13.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 91.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.8-93.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 8.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.1-11.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 87.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 83.4-91.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 12.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.9-16.6.
[End of table]
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective your agency's efforts
have been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand your
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
b. Presentations:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 85.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 83.3-88.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 14.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.0-16.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 88.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 84.4-91.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 11.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.6-15.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 88.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 85.0-91.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 11.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.0-15.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 81.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 76.0-85.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 18.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.1-24.0.
[End of table]
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective your agency's efforts
have been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand your
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
c. Agency releases:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 66.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.8-69.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 33.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 30.5-37.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 60.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 54.9-66.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 39.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 33.4-45.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 75.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 70.6-79.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 24.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.9-29.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 64.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 58.3-70.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 35.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 29.3-41.7.
[End of table]
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective your agency's efforts
have been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand your
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
d. Media interviews:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 63.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 59.6-66.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 36.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 33.5-40.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 55.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 49.0-61.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 44.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.0-51.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 74.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 70.1-78.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 25.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.3-29.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 62.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 55.8-68.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 37.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.4-44.2.
[End of table]
Q11. Regardless of how effective or ineffective your agency's efforts
have been, how confident, if at all, are you that you understand your
agency's policies regarding the dissemination of research results
through each of the following routes well enough to follow them?
e. Other - Please specify below.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 54.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 35.6-72.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 45.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 27.8-64.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 32.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.3-66.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 67.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 33.7-89.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 63.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 35.9-84.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 36.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.8-64.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately confident;
Estimated Percentage: 67.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 30.9-90.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at all confident;
Estimated Percentage: 32.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.3-69.1.
[End of table]
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center, NIST Laboratory, or NOAA Branch/Line Office apply its
policies regarding the dissemination of research results through each
of the following routes?
a.Publications:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 90.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.2-92.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 3.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.4-4.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 6.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.6-8.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 91.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.1-93.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 3.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.8-5.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 5.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.5-8.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 95.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 93.2-97.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 1.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.7-2.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 2.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.6-5.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 85.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 80.3-89.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 5.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.0-9.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 9.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.1-13.8.
[End of table]
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center, NIST Laboratory, or NOAA Branch/Line Office apply its
policies regarding the dissemination of research results through each
of the following routes?
b. Presentations:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 80.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 77.6-83.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.7-13.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 8.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.1-11.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 80.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 75.6-84.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 9.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.4-12.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.7-14.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 85.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 82.2-88.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.6-13.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 4.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.4-6.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 76.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 70.8-82.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 12.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.9-18.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.0-15.0.
[End of table]
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center, NIST Laboratory, or NOAA Branch/Line Office apply its
policies regarding the dissemination of research results through each
of the following routes?
c. Agency releases:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 80.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 77.4-83.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.1-13.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 8.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.7-11.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 71.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 64.4-77.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 15.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.3-21.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 12.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.6-18.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 94.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 91.4-96.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 2.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.5-5.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 2.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.4-5.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 80.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.9-84.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.1-16.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 9.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-13.2.
[End of table]
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center, NIST Laboratory, or NOAA Branch/Line Office apply its
policies regarding the dissemination of research results through each
of the following routes?
d. Media interviews:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 74.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 71.0-78.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 12.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.9-15.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 12.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.1-15.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 62.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 54.9-69.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 16.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.5-21.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 21.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 16.1-28.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 89.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 85.5-92.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 6.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.3-10.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 3.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.0-6.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 75.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 68.6-81.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 13.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.9-19.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 11.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.6-16.7.
[End of table]
Q12. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
your NASA Center, NIST Laboratory, or NOAA Branch/Line Office apply its
policies regarding the dissemination of research results through each
of the following routes?
e. Other - Please specify below.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 56.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 36.9-73.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-42.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 34.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.9-51.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 50.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.6-80.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 21.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.7-66.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 27.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.4-58.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 71.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 46.3-88.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 28.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.7-53.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 44.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.4-72.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 55.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 27.1-80.6.
[End of table]
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
[AGENCY] as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
a. Publications:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 85.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 82.8-88.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 5.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.7-6.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 9.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.4-11.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 83.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 79.1-87.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 4.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.5-7.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 11.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.6-16.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 95.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 92.4-96.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 1.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.5-2.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 3.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.1-6.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 78.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 72.4-84.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 9.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.4-14.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 11.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.4-16.9.
[End of table]
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
[AGENCY] as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
b. Presentations:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 77.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 74.0-80.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 11.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.6-14.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 11.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.9-13.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 73.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 68.0-78.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 12.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.8-16.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 14.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.5-19.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 86.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 82.3-89.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.6-13.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 3.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.3-6.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 74.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 67.3-79.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 12.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.5-17.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 13.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.3-19.2.
[End of table]
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
[AGENCY] as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
c. Agency releases:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 76.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 72.9-80.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 8.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.8-11.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 14.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.6-17.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 66.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 59.7-73.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.0-16.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 22.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 16.8-28.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 93.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 90.1-95.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 4.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.7-7.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 2.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.0-4.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 72.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 65.3-79.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 10.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.0-15.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 16.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.6-23.4.
[End of table]
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
[AGENCY] as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
d. Media interviews:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 73.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 69.5-77.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 8.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.3-10.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 18.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.2-22.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 57.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 49.5-64.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 12.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.0-18.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 30.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 24.2-38.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 89.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 84.7-92.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 7.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.1-11.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 3.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-6.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 76.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 70.0-82.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Consistent Nor Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 4.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.0-7.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 18.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.2-25.1.
[End of table]
Q13. Overall, in your opinion, how consistently or inconsistently does
[AGENCY] as a whole apply its policies regarding the dissemination of
research results through each of the following routes?
e. Other - Please specify below.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 60.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 38.4-79.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 39.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.9-61.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 26.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.2-74.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 73.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 25.4-95.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 92.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.8-98.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 7.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.6-26.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Consistent;
Estimated Percentage: 32.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.0-64.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Inconsistent;
Estimated Percentage: 67.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 35.4-89.0.
[End of table]
Q14. Overall, do you believe your agency's dissemination policies are
effective or ineffective in ensuring access to the results of research
conducted at your agency?
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 90.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 87.7-91.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 10.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.2-12.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 88.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 85.1-91.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 11.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.4-14.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 95.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 93.4-97.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 4.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.6-6.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Extremely to Moderately Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 87.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 82.1-90.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 13.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.3-17.9.
[End of table]
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is your agency toward disseminating
research results through each of the following routes?
a. Through publications such as peer reviewed journals, or non-peer
reviewed journals:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 92.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 90.7-94.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 7.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.8-9.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 91.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 87.6-93.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 8.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-12.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 97.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 95.3-98.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 2.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-4.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 91.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 87.0-93.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 9.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.1-13.0.
[End of table]
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is your agency toward disseminating
research results through each of the following routes?
b. Through presentations, such as at conferences or at congressional
hearings:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 92.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 90.0-93.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 7.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-10.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 91.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.1-94.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 8.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.8-11.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 96.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 94.0-97.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 3.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.5-6.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 89.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 85.1-93.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 10.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.0-14.9.
[End of table]
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is your agency toward disseminating
research results through each of the following routes?
c. Through agency releases, such as press releases, web postings, and
agency reports and fact sheets:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 77.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 74.3-80.7.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 22.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.3-25.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 75.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 69.6-80.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 24.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.5-30.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 87.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 83.1-90.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 13.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.9-16.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 73.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 66.4-78.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 27.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.3-33.6.
[End of table]
Q15. How supportive, if at all, is your agency toward disseminating
research results through each of the following routes?
d. Through interviews with media:
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 60.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 56.0-64.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 39.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 35.7-44.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 61.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 54.8-68.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 38.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.7-45.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 68.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.4-73.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 31.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 26.5-37.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Moderately Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 54.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 46.6-61.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Slightly or Not at All Supportive;
Estimated Percentage: 45.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 38.4-53.4.
[End of table]
Q16. Overall, which one of the following statements best characterizes
the extent to which your agency supports the dissemination of research
results?
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Insists on / Encourages Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 89.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 86.8-90.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Encourages nor Discourages;
Estimated Percentage: 7.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-9.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Discourages / Does Not Allow Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 1.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.9-2.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 1.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.0-2.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Insists on / Encourages Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 88.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 84.8-91.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Encourages nor Discourages;
Estimated Percentage: 9.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.7-13.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Discourages / Does Not Allow Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 1.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.7-2.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.2-2.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Insists on / Encourages Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 95.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 93.7-97.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Encourages nor Discourages;
Estimated Percentage: 1.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.0-3.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Discourages / Does Not Allow Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 2.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.3-4.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Insists on / Encourages Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 84.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 79.8-88.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Encourages nor Discourages;
Estimated Percentage: 10.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.3-14.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Discourages / Does Not Allow Dissemination;
Estimated Percentage: 3.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.3-6.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 2.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.0-5.0.
[End of table]
Q17. Does your area of research have the potential to impact federal
policy decisions?
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 38.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 36.0-41.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 37.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 34.8-40.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 23.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.3-26.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 25.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.0-30.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 48.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 43.6-53.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 26.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.6-31.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 22.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.1-26.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 44.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.8-48.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 33.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 29.5-37.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 64.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 59.3-70.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 20.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 16.8-25.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 14.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.6-18.7.
[End of table]
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent your agency's position on discussing these
research results?
a. I can discuss research results with potential policy implications
when the results are consistent with the agency's policy or position
statements.
[If Question 17 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 68.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 63.2-74.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 12.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.9-16.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 18.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.5-23.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 71.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 60.4-80.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 11.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-21.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 17.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.1-27.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 67.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 58.0-76.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 7.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.9-14.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 24.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.0-34.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 68.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 60.1-75.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 13.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.9-20.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 18.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.4-25.5.
[End of table]
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent your agency's position on discussing these
research results?
b. I can discuss research results with potential policy implications
when the results differ from the agency's policy or position
statements.
[If Question 17 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 37.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.9-43.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 22.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.3-27.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 40.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 34.4-45.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 35.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 25.8-45.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 29.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.8-40.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 35.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 26.0-46.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 32.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 23.7-41.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 22.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.8-32.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 45.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 35.4-54.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 39.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.9-47.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 19.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.4-26.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 40.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 32.8-48.9.
[End of table]
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent your agency's position on discussing these
research results?
c. I can discuss research results with potential policy implications on
issues for which my agency does not have a policy or position
statement.
[If Question 17 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 53.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 48.1-59.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 10.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.5-14.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 35.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 30.2-41.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 61.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 50.3-70.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 10.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.1-20.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 28.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.0-39.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 47.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 38.1-57.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 11.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.8-19.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 40.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.3-50.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 52.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 44.4-60.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 10.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.3-16.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 37.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 29.5-45.5.
[End of table]
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent your agency's position on discussing these
research results?
d. I can discuss potential policy implications of research results
provided that I state the policy implications as my personal views and
not those of the agency.
[If Question 17 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 40.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 34.8-46.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 17.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.3-22.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 42.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 36.8-48.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 48.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 38.4-59.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 11.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.8-18.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 39.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 30.0-50.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 24.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.1-33.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 26.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.1-36.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 48.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.1-58.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 40.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 33.2-49.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 17.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.7-24.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 42.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 34.1-50.3.
[End of table]
Q18. When disseminating research results that have potential federal
policy implications, does each of the following statements correctly or
not correctly represent your agency's position on discussing these
research results?
e. I am not allowed to discuss the potential policy implications of
research results.
[If Question 17 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 10.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.2-15.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 50.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 44.4-56.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 39.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 33.6-45.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 3.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.2-9.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 57.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 46.9-67.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 38.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 29.0-49.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 11.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.4-20.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 46.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 36.6-56.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 42.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 32.8-52.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Represents Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 13.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.2-20.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Statement Does NOT Represent Policy;
Estimated Percentage: 48.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.9-56.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 38.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 30.7-47.4.
[End of table]
Q19. In the past 5 years, have you sought to disseminate the results of
your own scientific research outside of the agency?
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 86.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 83.6-88.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 13.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.8-16.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 90.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 87.1-93.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 9.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.8-12.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 88.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 84.8-90.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 11.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.2-15.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 80.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 74.4-84.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 20.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.4-25.6.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency?
a. I don't conduct research that requires dissemination:
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 19.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.9-27.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 80.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 72.6-87.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 15.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.9-33.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 85.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 66.7-94.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 15.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.5-27.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 84.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 72.5-91.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 22.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.0-36.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 77.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 63.9-87.0.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency:
b. I don't conduct my own research:
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 25.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.7-34.7.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 74.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 65.3-81.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 14.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.6-26.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 85.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.7-92.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 18.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.2-29.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 81.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 70.1-88.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 34.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.3-49.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 65.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 51.0-77.7.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency?
c. Someone else disseminates research results on my behalf:
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 18.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.3-26.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 81.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.5-87.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 32.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.2-51.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 67.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 49.0-81.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 19.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.1-32.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 80.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 67.3-88.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 10.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.7-23.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 89.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 77.0-95.3.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency?
d. I sought to disseminate results in the past and was not allowed to:
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 2.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.8-7.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 97.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 92.8-99.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 5.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.8-26.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 94.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.8-99.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 2.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.5-11.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 97.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.3-99.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 1.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.2-4.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 99.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 95.2-99.8.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency?
e. My research is ongoing and is not ready to be released:
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 24.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.3-32.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 75.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 67.2-82.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 24.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.6-40.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 75.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 59.1-86.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 27.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 16.9-40.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 72.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 59.4-83.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 22.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.6-37.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 77.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.9-87.4.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency?
f. My research is not eligible for public dissemination:
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 5.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.5-11.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 94.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 88.8-97.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 19.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.7-37.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 80.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.7-91.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 100.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 1.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.2-4.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 99.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 95.2-99.8.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency?
g. Agency policies did not allow me to disseminate:
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 5.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.2-13.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 94.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 86.9-97.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 7.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-24.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 93.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 75.4-98.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 1.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.4-6.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 98.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 93.6-99.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 6.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.8-21.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 93.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 78.9-98.2.
[End of table]
Q20. Which of the following reasons describe why in the past 5 years
you have not sought to disseminate the results of your scientific
research outside the agency?
h. Other Please specify below.
[If Question 19 is No]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 12.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.7-18.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 88.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 81.9-92.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 12.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.8-25.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 87.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 74.4-94.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 19.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.5-33.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 80.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 66.8-89.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 8.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.6-18.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 91.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 81.6-96.4.
[End of table]
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
a. Publications (such as peer reviewed publications or non-peer
reviewed publications):
[If Question 19 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 97.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 95.7-97.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 3.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.1-4.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.0-0.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 96.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 94.3-98.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 3.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.8-5.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 97.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 95.5-98.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 2.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.4-4.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.1-1.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 96.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 94.1-98.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 3.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-5.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
[End of table]
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
b. Presentations (such as keynote addresses, conferences, workshops,
symposia, professional society meetings, or Congressional hearings):
[If Question 19 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 96.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 95.1-97.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 3.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.1-4.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 97.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 95.1-98.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 2.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-4.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 98.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 96.6-99.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 1.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.6-3.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 95.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 90.1-97.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 5.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.5-9.9.
[End of table]
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
c. Agency releases (such as press releases, web posting on an agency
website, or agency reports or fact sheets):
[If Question 19 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 46.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 43.1-49.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 48.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 45.1-52.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 5.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.7-6.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 40.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 35.6-46.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 51.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 45.5-56.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 8.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.5-12.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 54.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 50.0-59.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 40.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 36.2-45.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 4.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.9-7.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 46.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.4-53.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 52.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 45.2-58.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 1.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.6-4.5.
[End of table]
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
d. Media interviews:
[If Question 19 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 27.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 24.9-30.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 65.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 61.8-68.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 7.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.6-9.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 27.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 23.5-32.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 61.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 55.9-66.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 11.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.9-15.3.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 25.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 21.6-29.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 68.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 63.7-72.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 6.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.3-9.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 29.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 24.0-36.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 66.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 60.3-72.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 3.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-7.0.
[End of table]
Q21. Over the past 5 years, through which methods did you seek to
disseminate your research results?
e. Other - Please specify below.
[If Question 19 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 18.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.9-25.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 55.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 48.1-62.7.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 25.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.5-32.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 18.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.8-30.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 53.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 41.1-64.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 28.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.4-40.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 18.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.2-26.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 61.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 51.3-69.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 20.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.9-30.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 20.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.9-34.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 52.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 37.3-68.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 26.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.8-43.5.
[End of table]
Q22. Other than for standard technical review reasons, over the past 5
years, have you ever encountered a situation when your agency did not
allow you to disseminate your research results?
[If Question 19 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 5.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.5-7.8.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 94.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 92.2-95.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 7.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 4.6-10.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 93.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 89.6-95.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 3.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.3-5.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 96.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 94.1-97.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 6.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.8-10.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 93.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 89.3-96.2.
[End of table]
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
a. Publication (such as peer reviewed publications or non-peer reviewed
publications):
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 43.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 30.4-58.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 56.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 41.7-69.6.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 53.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 33.3-73.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 46.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 27.0-66.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 36.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 18.3-60.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 63.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.8-81.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 34.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.1-63.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 65.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 36.2-86.9.
[End of table]
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
b. Presentations (such as keynote addresses, conferences, workshops,
symposia, professional society meetings, or Congressional hearings):
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 38.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 26.0-53.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 61.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 46.5-74.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 39.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.5-60.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 60.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 39.8-77.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 29.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 12.1-57.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 70.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 42.9-87.9.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 41.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 19.1-68.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 58.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 31.3-80.9.
[End of table]
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
c. Agency releases (including press releases, web posting on an agency
website, or agency reports or fact sheets):
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 21.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.1-33.2.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 78.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 66.8-86.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 21.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.3-42.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 78.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 57.3-90.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 31.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.3-55.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 68.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 44.9-85.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 16.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.6-32.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 83.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 67.5-92.4.
[End of table]
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
d. Media interviews:
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 15.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.9-26.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 85.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.5-92.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 12.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.5-37.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 87.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.9-96.5.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 24.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.6-48.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 76.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 51.6-90.4.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 13.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.5-29.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 86.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 70.4-94.5.
[End of table]
Q23. Through which method(s) were you seeking to disseminate your
research results when you were denied agency approval?
e. Other - Please specify below.
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 2.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.2-6.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 97.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 93.6-98.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 100.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 100.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Checked;
Estimated Percentage: 7.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.0-18.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not checked;
Estimated Percentage: 92.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 81.2-97.0.
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
a. Appealed the decision using established procedures:
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 29.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.1-46.3.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 67.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 50.8-80.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 3.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.0-10.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 20.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.5-39.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 79.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 60.1-90.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 7.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.6-29.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 82.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 56.6-94.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.9-38.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 50.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 24.8-75.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 45.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.1-71.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 4.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.8-19.5.
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
b. Disseminated the results anyway:
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 15.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-34.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 79.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.6-90.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 4.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-10.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 4.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.8-18.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 95.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 81.5-99.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 90.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 61.8-98.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.9-38.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 35.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.2-66.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 58.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 29.9-82.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 6.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.0-18.6.
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
c. Disseminated the results through a different route:
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 36.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.6-51.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 61.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 45.5-74.7.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 2.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.9-9.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 17.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.0-35.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 83.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 64.3-93.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 43.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.6-67.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 47.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 25.7-70.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.8-36.0.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 53.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 28.0-77.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 43.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.1-69.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 3.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.7-13.7.
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
d. Added a disclaimer that the opinions expressed in the research
results do not reflect the views of the agency:
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 8.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.8-16.7.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 90.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 80.7-95.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 1.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.4-9.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 5.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.9-25.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 94.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 74.8-99.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 15.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.1-38.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 74.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 49.5-89.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.9-38.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 7.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.5-22.7.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 92.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 77.3-97.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
e. Resubmitted the same or similar document:
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 16.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.2-35.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 82.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 63.4-92.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 1.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.4-9.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 3.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.7-16.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 96.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 83.1-99.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 7.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.6-29.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 82.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 56.6-94.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.9-38.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 39.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.7-72.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 60.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 27.2-86.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
f. Gave up trying:
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 66.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 51.5-78.7.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 28.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 17.4-44.0.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 4.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.8-11.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 70.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 47.7-85.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 29.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 14.1-52.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 46.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 25.2-69.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 35.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 16.1-60.2.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 18.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.9-44.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 72.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 42.3-90.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 24.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.8-55.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 3.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.7-14.2.
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
g. Received approval following other types of revisions - Please
specify below.
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 7.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.0-15.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 89.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 79.6-94.4.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 4.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.5-10.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 9.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.6-26.8.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 91.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 73.2-97.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 7.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.6-29.9.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 82.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 56.6-94.4.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 9.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.9-38.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 3.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 0.8-16.8.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 89.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 75.4-96.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 6.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.0-17.8.
[End of table]
Q25. Did you take any of the following actions when you did not receive
approval to disseminate your research results?
h. Other - Please specify below.
[If Question 19 is Yes and Question 22 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 24.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.5-50.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 52.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 27.8-76.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 22.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.2-51.7.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 51.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.8-90.9.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 48.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 9.1-90.2.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 69.7;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 22.7-94.8.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 30.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.2-77.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes;
Estimated Percentage: 33.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 10.1-69.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 40.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.4-75.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 25.9;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.3-68.7.
[End of table]
Q26. To the best of your knowledge, does your agency have a process or
procedure in place to appeal decisions made regarding the dissemination
of research results?
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes, familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 7.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.9-9.1.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Yes, but not familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 18.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.7-20.5.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 17.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.0-19.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 57.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 54.2-60.4.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes, familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 8.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 5.6-11.5.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Yes, but not familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 25.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 20.9-30.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 15.3;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 11.9-19.3.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 51.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 46.3-56.7.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes, familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 9.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 7.3-12.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Yes, but not familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 16.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.7-20.1.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 16.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 13.5-20.0.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 57.2;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 52.8-61.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes, familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 5.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.0-8.3.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Yes, but not familiar with it;
Estimated Percentage: 11.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 8.1-16.1.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: No;
Estimated Percentage: 20.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 15.5-25.6.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Not sure;
Estimated Percentage: 63.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 57.3-69.2.
[End of table]
Q27. In your opinion, how effective or ineffective is this appeals
process or procedure in terms of its ability to resolve dissemination
issues in a fair and reasonable manner?
[If Question 26 is Yes]
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 87.5;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 78.8-92.9.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Neither Effective Nor Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 5.1;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 2.4-10.6.
Agency: Total;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 7.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.3-16.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 78.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 62.5-89.0.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Neither Effective Nor Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 5.8;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 1.7-18.1.
Agency: NASA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 15.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 6.9-31.6.
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 100.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Neither Effective Nor Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NIST;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Effective;
Estimated Percentage: 90.6;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 78.5-96.2.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Neither Effective Nor Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 9.4;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: 3.8-21.5.
Agency: NOAA;
Question Choices: Very or Somewhat Ineffective;
Estimated Percentage: 0.0;
95 Percent Confidence Interval: [Empty].
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Commerce:
The Deputy Secretary Of Commerce:
Washington, D.C. 20230:
April 20, 2007:
Ms. Anu K. Mittal:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20548:
Dear Ms. Mittal:
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the Government
Accountability Office's draft report entitled Federal Research:
Policies Guiding the Dissemination of Scientific Research From Selected
Agencies Should Be Careful and Better Communicated (GAO 07-653).
The Department of Commerce (DOC) believes that scientific progress
relies on the broad and open dissemination of research results. An open
exchange of scientific ideas, information, and research achieves the
Department's vision for an informed society that uses objective and
factual information to make the best decisions. Every week, thousands
of DOC employees in agencies as diverse as the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (KIST), the International Trade Administration, the
Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Census Bureau, among others,
participate in gathering, compiling, and releasing scientific,
economic, and demographic information that is critical to our
understanding and improving America and the world we live in. Indeed,
NOAA scientists have dedicated their careers to the mission of
understanding and predicting changes in the Earth's environment and
conserving and managing coastal and marine resources to meet our
Nation's economic, social, and environmental needs. The information
produced by NIST scientists and engineers is key to promoting U.S.
innovation and competitiveness. It has been, and will continue to be
the Secretary's policy and that of his leadership team to encourage and
support open communication of scientific research and findings.
In reviewing the various policies that the Department, NIST, and NOAA
have in place to promote these goals, the GAO report generally confirms
that our scientists and researchers believe that they have the
independence and ability to disseminate their research results.
According to the report, the overwhelming majority of researchers are
confident that they understand the policies for publications,
presentation, press release, and media interviews.
The GAO report nonetheless highlights some ongoing challenges for the
Department, NIST, and NOAA that we will move to address. If, as the GAO
report shows, approximately one out of seven researchers at NIST and
NOAA are "slightly or not at all familiar" with the policies regarding
dissemination of research results outside of the agency (and more
specifically, an average of one out of ten NOAA/NIST researchers are
"slightly or not at all familiar" with the policies regarding
dissemination of research to publications, such as scholarly journals),
then clearly both management and employees share a responsibility for
this and need to do more to expand awareness. We especially need to
ensure that our employees are aware of their rights to appeal decisions
about information dissemination.
GAO's report is right when it says that previous Departmental policies
were outdated and inadequate, and therefore could potentially hinder
communications to the press. We have acknowledged this. It is a primary
reason that the Department worked to revise and revamp our public
communications policies. We believe that the unprecedented effort the
Department undertook in three rounds of employee input contributed to a
new policy that fully addresses the issues raised in the GAO report.
This new policy was released on March 29 and will take effect in mid-
May following the requisite training for our public affairs and
management teams.
We appreciate the recommendations the GAO report makes, but it is worth
noting that the Department has already acted on many of the
recommendations or is in the process of doing so. In developing the new
public communications policy and gathering input from stakeholders, we
have clarified the policy on the dissemination of research results and
have clearly identified the appeals process for decisions on
dissemination. Further, we have released the new public communications
policy publicly and have begun the training phase of the policy's
rollout. Training will occur at the departmental level as well as at
the bureau and field office level, as appropriate, to ensure that the
policy is understood and that an open line of communication continues
as the policy is put into action.
The Department appreciates the effort that GAO staffers undertook to
hear all sides, and the professional, collegial and open manner in
which they conducted their review. I enclose comments on the draft
report from NOAA and NIST, and I look forward to reading the final
version.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
David A. Sampson:
Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Comments on the Draft GAO Report entitled "Federal
Research: Policies Guiding the Dissemination of Scientific Research
from Selected Agencies Should Be Clarified and Better Communicated"
(GAO-07-653/May 2007):
General Comments:
The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring full
and open discussion of scientific research, and we are updating our
public communications policies to ensure consistent understanding by
our researchers and public affairs professionals. To this end, we have
taken a number of specific actions:
DOC has developed a new public communications policy that clearly
reaffirms its commitment to open and transparent public dissemination
of scientific research. This policy was developed through an open,
consultative process involving input from managers, scientists and
public affairs officers in NOAA and DOC. This policy includes
procedures for communication of fundamental research and provides for
appeals of adverse determinations about requests to publicize research.
To ensure the policy and implementing procedures are fully understood
by managers, scientists, and public affairs officers across the
Department, DOC is providing sufficient time to enable procedures and
training to be put into place before final implementation of the new
policy.
NOAA realigned its media and public affairs resources and established
an Office of Communications. That Office is responsible for
establishing policies and procedures governing media relations and
ensuring consistent implementation of these procedures across NOAA's
public affairs officers.
NOAA, through its Office of Communications, is revising its current
media policy to ensure consistency between NOAA's policy and the
recently issued DOC public communications policy. NOAA's revised policy
will simplify procedures for clearing interview requests and provide
for an expedited approval process for press releases.
Several programmatic areas in NOAA, including fisheries, coastal zone
management, and marine protected area management, are responsible for
protection and regulation of natural resources. NOAA notes the
importance of separating NOAA's science from its management and
regulatory responsibilities. This separation is important to enable
NOAA scientists to provide unconflicted, objective scientific advice
and conclusions that may be the basis of natural resource management
actions required to meet statutory requirements.
NOAA recognizes the importance of the boundary between science and
advocacy, and the obligation to ensure agency scientists are not
perceived as advocates for any particular management option or
political position, but are viewed as impartial analysts of the science
underpinning these options or positions. As such, NOAA scientists are
encouraged to engage in discussions but not to advocate for any
particular solution. This is the purview of other federal management
entities, but not the science or research community within the agency.
NOAA Response to GAO Recommendations:
The draft GAO report recommends the following Executive Actions by the
Secretary of Commerce and the NOAA Administrator:
Recommendation 1: "To ensure that the policies to guide researchers and
public affairs officials in their efforts to disseminate research to
the scientific community and the public are clear, transparent,
consistently applied, and completely understood, we are recommending
that the Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator, NOAA, clarify
their policies for disseminating research results via press releases
and media interviews."
NOAA Response: NOAA agrees with this recommendation, and has already
taken significant steps to reach this goal. As outlined above, NOAA has
established an Office of Communications, and is revising its existing
media policy to ensure consistency with the new DOC public
communications policy.
Recommendation 2: "To ensure that researchers have a clear process to
follow for appealing decisions regarding dissemination of research
results, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce; Administrator,
NASA; Director, NIST; and Administrator, NOAA, review their
dissemination policies and ensure that they clearly identify a process
by which researchers can appeal dissemination decisions."
NOAA Response: NOAA agrees with this recommendation. Section 12 of the
revised DOC public communications policy gives an employee the right to
appeal the non-approval of a fundamental research communication. As
stated above, NOAA is revising its existing media policy to ensure
consistency with the new DOC public communications policy. NOAA will
ensure the process by which researchers can appeal dissemination
decisions is clearly stated in its revised media policy.
Recommendation 3: "To ensure that all researchers are aware of and
understand how to comply with their agency's policies for disseminating
research, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce; Administrator,
NASA; Director, NIST; and Administrator, NOAA, provide formal training
to inform, reinforce, and update managers, researchers, and public
affairs staff, on these policies."
NOAA Response: NOAA agrees with this recommendation. DOC and NOAA are
following a 45-day delayed implementation of the DOC public
communications policy in order to conduct internal training on that new
policy. NOAA training will also cover how the revised NOAA
communications policy fits within the revised Departmental policy and
how the two efficiently work together.
Additional Editorial Comments from the Department of Commerce's
National Institute of Standards and Technology:
1) GAO Highlights page: correct to read National Institute "of
Standards and Technology" rather than "for Standards and Technology."
2) Page 4, 2nd bullet: change to "Because of the potentially high
volume of requests, sometimes in the dozens after a large event"
3) Page 9: correct statement of NIST mission is: "to promote U.S.
innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement
science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic
security and improve our quality of life." GAO draft uses an earlier
mission statement.
4) Page 35: delete "acting" before "program office director".
[End of section]
Appendix IV: Comments from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
Office of the Administrator:
Washington, DC 20546-0001:
April 16, 2007:
Ms. Anu Mittal:
Director:
Natural Resources and Environment:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Ms. Mittal:
NASA appreciates the opportunity to comment on your draft report
entitled, "Federal Research: Policies Guiding the Dissemination of
Scientific Research from Selected Agencies Should Be Clarified and
Better Communicated" (GAO-07-653).
In the draft report, GAO makes three recommendations regarding the
dissemination of scientific research, two of which are addressed to the
NASA Administrator.
Recommendation 2: To ensure that researchers have a clear process to
follow for appealing decisions regarding dissemination of research
results, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce; Administrator,
NASA; Director, National Institute of Science and Technology (KIST);
and the Administrator, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), review their dissemination policies and ensure
that they clearly identify a process by which researchers can appeal
dissemination decisions.
Response: NASA concurs with this recommendation. The NASA Administrator
will direct the Chief of Strategic Communications and the Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs to review the Agency's dissemination
policies to ensure that those policies clearly identify the process by
which researchers can appeal dissemination decisions.
Recommendation 3: To ensure that all researchers are aware of and
understand how to comply with their agency's policies for disseminating
research, we recommend that the Secretary of Commerce; Administrator,
NASA; Director, NIST; and Administrator NOAA, provide formal training
to inform, reinforce, and update managers, researchers, and public
affairs staff, in these policies.
Response: NASA concurs with this recommendation. The NASA Administrator
will direct the Chief of Strategic Communications and the Assistant
Administrator for Public Affairs to conduct orientation with new
employees regarding the current communications policies and procedures
and NASA's commitment to openness. The communications policies will be
reviewed annually and updated as necessary. Also, senior communications
leadership will provide formal and ongoing training in the form of bi-
annual sessions to reinforce guidelines and benchmark the effectiveness
of existing policies and procedures.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this draft
report and for the critical insight it provides. If you have any
questions, please contact David Mould on (202) 358-1898.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Shana Dale:
Deputy Administrator:
[End of section]
Appendix V: Comments from the Office of Science and Technology Policy:
Executive Office Of The President:
Office Of Science And Technology Policy:
Washington, D.C. 20502:
April 25, 2007:
Ms. Anu Mittal:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Ms. Mittal:
Thank you for your letter of April 4, 2007, transmitting a copy of the
GAO's proposed report entitled Federal Research: Policies Guiding the
Dissemination of Scientific Research from Selected Agencies Should Be
Clarified and Better Communicated (GAO-07-653). I appreciate the Office
of Science of Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive Office of the
President, receiving an opportunity to review and comment on this
proposed report.
From OSTP's perspective, the report comprehensively considers the
issues and agency policies being reviewed. The report is fair, and
accurately describes OSTP and its role in this area. As the report
notes, OSTP shares the concern that policies guiding the dissemination
of scientific research be clear and well-communicated, and OSTP
generally agrees with the report's recommendations.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
John H. Marburger, III:
Director:
[End of section]
Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Ms. Anu Mittal, 202-512-3841 or mittala@gao.gov:
Staff Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact person named above, Cheryl Williams
(Assistant Director), Allen Chan, Nancy Crothers, Elizabeth Erdmann,
Stuart Kaufman, Matthew LaTour, Grant Mallie, Lisa Mirel, and Rebecca
Shea made key contributions to this report.
FOOTNOTES
[1] GAO, Data Quality: Expanded Use of Key Dissemination Practices
Would Further Safeguard the Integrity of Federal Statistical Data, GAO-
06-607 (Washington, D.C.: May 31, 2006); and Bureau of Justice
Statistics: Quality Guidelines Generally Followed for Police-Public
Contact Surveys, but Opportunities Exist to Help Assure Agency
Independence, GAO-07-340 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 30, 2007).
[2] Although these 13 entities are typically bureaus or
administrations, for the purposes of this report we refer to them as
"agencies."
[3] These program offices are also referred to as "line offices" and
include the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; the National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; the National
Marine and Aviation Operations; the National Marine Fisheries Service;
the National Ocean Service; the National Weather Service; and the
Office of Program Planning and Integration.
[4] NOAA's public affairs office, previously called the "Office of
Public, Constituent, and Intergovernmental Affairs," was renamed the
"Office of Communications" in January 2007.
[5] These guidelines implement section 515 of the Treasury and General
Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001. Section 515 directs
OMB to issue governmentwide guidelines that "provide policy and
procedural guidance to Federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including
statistical information) disseminated by Federal agencies." Within 1
year after OMB issued these guidelines, agencies were to issue their
own implementing guidelines. Pub. L. No. 106-554 § 515, 114 Stat. 2763A-
154 (2000).
[6] Commerce issued its information quality guidelines in October 2002.
In addition, in light of the diversity of the department's mission,
these guidelines directed each of the department's operating units to
issue their own guidelines.
[7] NASA, "Requirements for Documentation, Approval, and Dissemination
of NASA Scientific and Technical Information," NPR 2200.2B, March 25,
2005.
[8] NASA, "NASA Policy on the Release of Information to News and
Information Media," 14 C.F.R. Part 1213.
[9] NOAA, "Scientific and Technical Publications," NAO 201-32G, January
27, 1993.
[10] National Weather Service, "Clearances for NWS Employee Papers,"
National Weather Service Policy Directive 100-1, December 10, 2002 and
"Science Review and Approval," National Weather Service Policy
Directive 80-5, April 8, 2004.
[11] Department of Commerce, "Outside Writing and Speaking;
Departmental Approval," DAO 219-1, April 1, 1982; and "Release of News,
Clearance of Speeches and Publications, and Media Coverage," DAO 19-2,
November 3, 1980.
[12] NOAA, "NOAA Media Policy," NAO 219-6, June 22, 2004.
[13] Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") and International
Traffic In Arms Regulations ("ITAR") control the export of, among other
things, certain technology and technical data to foreign countries.
[14] The number of researchers listed for each agency represents those
who met our criterion of being federally employed scientists,
engineers, or other researchers who are in a position to disseminate
their research results to a wider audience. We estimate with 95 percent
confidence that the total estimated number of researchers across all
three agencies who were denied is 5.9 percent, or 214 researchers, with
a confidence interval of 4.5 percent (162 researchers) to 7.8 percent
(282 researchers). At NASA, the estimated number of researchers denied
is 7.0 percent (102 researchers), with a confidence interval of 4.6
percent (68 researchers) to 10.4 percent (151 researchers). At NIST,
the estimated number of researchers denied is 3.7 percent (37
researchers), with a confidence interval of 2.3 percent (23
researchers) to 5.9 percent (58 researchers). At NOAA, the estimated
number of researchers denied is 6.4 percent (76 researchers), with a
confidence interval of 3.8 percent (45 researchers) to 10.7 percent
(127 researchers). For additional details on our survey methodology,
see appendix I.
[15] While the number of denials can be generalized to the population,
the reasons provided for the denial, the actions taken as a result, and
the field of research cannot be generalized to the population. Where we
describe the reasons for the denials and actions taken as a result in
this section, the information only represents the sentiments of
individual respondents and not the population of the researchers across
the three agencies.
[16] There was no statistical difference between presentations and
press releases.
[17] The NASA centers included in this review were the Ames Research
Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Goddard
Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center,
Langley Research Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Stennis
Space Center. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the 10th NASA center, was
scoped out of this review because research at this center is primarily
performed by contract researchers.
[18] The NOAA program offices we spoke with and included in our scope
were the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; the National
Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; the National
Marine Fisheries Service; the National Ocean Service; and the National
Weather Service. We also spoke with managers in the NOAA Office of
Marine and Aviation Operations and the Office of Program Planning and
Integration, but these offices were removed from our scope because they
did not have researchers who would be in a position to disseminate
research.
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