Effective science and technology assessment advice for congress: Comparing options

Abstract

Effective science and technology (S&T) assessment capabilities providing advice for Congress must be both credible and suitable to congressional needs. To be credible, from the perspective of those who will use the advice, its provision must be (1) authoritative, (2) objective, and (3) independent. To be suitable, the advice must be (4) relevant, (5) useful, and (6) timely. For S&T advice today, Congress draws on many sources but four traditional options stand out as having been used most frequently: (1) The National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, (2) The Congressional Research Service, (3) the former Office of Technology Assessment, and (4) the Government Accountability Office. This article chronicles the evolution of these four organizations and evaluates their relative strengths and weaknesses in terms of the six defined key characteristics for providing effective S&T advice for Congress, drawing conclusions for organizational improvements.