Archive
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Document Name: Research & Academic Comm. (8 of 23)
Date: 09/01/94
Owner: National Performance Review
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Title: Standards for Our Customers: Research & Academic Comm. (8 of 23)
Author: Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review
Date: September, 1994
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CUSTOMER GROUP: The Research and Academic Community
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David Emmit's students have a new tool for studying the earth. In
fact, they helped develop a sophisticated computer system that allows
researchers to get images of the earth via the information
superhighway. Years of data are available from several satellites,
and the system can even generate composite images. Researchers who
want a specific image can mark it on the computer for order. These
on-line data are a powerful tool in earth science research -- and in
education, Emmit notes: "Students sign on to Internet and get the
same information that scientists are using."
Emmit is a research professor in the Department of Environmental
Sciences at the University of Virginia. He is also a businessman -- a
senior scientist at Simpson-Wether Associates in Charlottesville,
Virginia. Michael Keeler teaches earth sciences at Gonzaga College
High School in Washington, D.C. They both serve as customer advisers
for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's project to
develop an information system that will make earth science data
widely available. The goal is one-stop shopping for earth science
information for anyone in the world. Says Keeler, "The people who
manage the databases have been incredibly responsive to what we need
and what our students need."
Today, NASA system designers are totally committed to consulting
users. "We've actually had users slog through the design process with
early mock-up screens," says Gail McConnehy, senior earth scientist
at NASA. "The rule was always ask the users first how it looks,
feels, and works. It's gratifying to see that our process is working;
a lot of users seem comfortable with it and have responded very
positively."
NASA has a presence in every state through the NASA Teacher Research
Center Network, which is designed to help science teachers. NASA
Television offers a front-row seat for launches and missions,
informa-tional and educational programming, historical documentaries,
and updates on the latest developments. The NASA Education Satellite
Videoconference Series provides educational programs and allows
interaction with astronauts and scientists. NASA Spacelink
electronically sends educational material, NASA news, reference data
on aeronautics and space exploration, and announcements on activities
and programs available at NASA field centers.
U.S. R&D -- The Best, Bar None
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The federal budget for research and development was over $70 billion
for FY 1994. Over $11 billion was earmarked for supporting university
researchers. Civilian research efforts totaled about $30 billion,
with the balance for defense research. Research is funded in diverse
areas: promising new energy sources, environmental cleanup, housing
technology, weather, space, medicine, mental health, transportation,
information technology, and military needs. In fields such as high-
energy physics, biomedical science, and aeronautics, the national
laboratories provide facilities for researchers from universities,
industry, and government.
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Highlights from Customer Service Standards:
NASA's Earth Observing System
The Earth Observing System Distributed Information System will
collect, process, validate, and make available data on upper
atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, ocean circulation and
productivity, ozone change, land surface characteristics, sea ice
dynamics, and polar ice sheet mapping. Customer service standards
are:
--- In July, 1994, the prototype of the EOSDIS, Version 0, became
available with some operational elements.
--- When fully operational, EOSDIS will fill 95 percent of user
requests to the system within 72 hours.
--- Provide for continuous production of geophysical and biophysical
data products flowing from EOS by the year 2004.
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The National Science Foundation, a major source of funding for
university and nonprofit research activities, supports education and
development of human resources in science, mathematics, and
engineering. It initiates and supports fundamental, long-term, merit-
selected research through grants, contracts, and other agreements
awarded to universities, university consortia, and other research
organizations. The agency's customer service standards focus on the
research funding process and involve commitments to clarity,
fairness, timing and openness.
The Department of Energy manages the system of national laboratories,
sites of some of the most sophisticated research and development
capabilities in the world. The labs conduct a world-class program in
basic and applied science that supports energy, environmental,
national security, and industrial competitive missions. Recent
breakthroughs from the laboratories include the world's record in
photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency at the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, the world's record for fusion power levels
produced at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the world's
most powerful "soft" x-rays at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. In
the past few years, the national labs turned up the heat on
transferring their technology to the private sector. The result is a
big increase in joint projects with the private sector.
The Department of Education serves the academic community in a
variety of ways. The department worked with state governors and
lawmakers, school adminis-trators, teachers, and parents to develop
and enact the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Goals 2000 sets
challenging standards of academic and occupational achievement that
will benefit the department's ultimate customer, learners of all
ages. (Examples of Education's customer service standards appear in
the section on "States, Localities, and Other Partners.")
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Highlights from Customer Service Standards:
National Science Foundation
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Some of the NSF standards being published for customers seeking
research funding are:
--- Disseminate timely information about programs.
--- State clear guidelines for proposals, criteria, and selection.
--- Conduct fair reviews of proposals, including reconsideration, if
requested.
--- Inform applicants of decisions within six months of the NSF's
receipt of the proposal.
--- Provide information that explains the final funding decision for
the proposal.
National Technical Information Service
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FedWorld, an on-line information network established by the National
Technical Information Service, offers a user-friendly, central
resource for government information in electronic formats. FedWorld
provides dial-up and Internet access and serves as a gateway to 130
other government systems, provides on-line order taking using major
credit cards, and provides for subscription services. FedWorld has
established the following customer service standards:
--- Access to FedWorld will continue to be provided at no charge.
--- Downloadable products ordered by credit card will be delivered
within 30 seconds.
--- Calls to the Help Desk will be answered by a person, not a
recording, 24 hours a day.
--- Information will continue to be made accessible in whatever
electronic formats meet our customers' needs.
National Archives and Records Administration
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The National Archives and Records Administration keeps the
historically valuable records of the U.S. Government, dating from the
Revolutionary War era to the recent past. Most records of nationwide
significance are kept in Washington, D.C., but holdings of regional
and local interest are maintained in 12 regional centers. Some of the
National Archives customer service standards are:
--- If you write to us about our holdings, you will receive a
response within 10 work days.
--- If you visit our Exhibition Hall in Washington, D.C., you will
find us open to serve you with knowledgeable staff or volunteers 364
days per year (closed only on December 25).
--- If you visit one of our Presidential Library Museums, you will
find us open 362 days (closed only on Thanksgiving Day, December 25,
and January 1).
--- If you need information about the National Archives, you can
obtain timely and up-to-date information through Internet and other
on-line services, our fax-on-demand service, through printed
publications, or by contacting one of our offices.
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The Federal Information Exchange, or FEDIX -- a customer service
funded by user agencies such as Energy, Defense, Agriculture, Housing
and Urban Development, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and
the Agency for International Development -- delivers on-line
information on research and educa-tional opportunities, program
contacts, scholarships, research equipment, and minority
opportunities. An electronic mail feature lets users go directly to
systems operators with ideas and questions. FEDIX is free and easy to
use.
The federal government also has a major responsibility to share
research and other records held in trust for the nation. Across the
board, agencies are using information technology to make records and
data more accessible. Libraries and research centers, like the
Library of Congress and the Library of Medicine, also continue to
serve their customers with more traditional formats.
The National Archives and Records Administration serves over 2
million customers looking for historical information each year. Its
standards reflect the variety of ways that customers contact them.
One of Archives' customer service stars is the 30-person Federal
Research Center in Waltham, Massachusetts. The center surveyed its
customers, hosted open houses to get to know them, and redesigned its
systems to please them -- and it's working. As one customer wrote: "I
never receive anything but outstanding service. Paul, Bob -- all have
been great. Marvin goes out of his way to accommodate our crazy
demands. Thank you all."
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Your Standards
These agencies and offices are publishing customer service standards
for researchers. The standards appear in the "Research and Academic
Community" section of Appendix B.
Department of Agriculture
Economic Agencies
Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Bureau of the Census
Economics and Statistics Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Technical Information Service
Patent and Trademark Office
Department of Education
Goals 2000: Educate America Act
Impact Aid
Office for Civil Rights
Student Financial Assistance Program
Department of Energy
Industrial Competitiveness
Science and Technology
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Policy Development and Research
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Mines
National Biological Survey
U.S. Geological Survey
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Education and Materials Services
Mission to Planet Earth
National Archives and Records Administration
National Science Foundation
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