The President's Scientists: Understanding the Role and Impact of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is a federal advisory committee consisting of roughly 20 scientists, engineers, and industry leaders appointed by the president. This project examines PCAST and its impact on U.S. federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) policy through the lens of its membership. The research team is building and analyzing a repository of materials related to PCAST - personal communications and archival collections - and conducting and publishing oral history interviews with PCAST members. This data will be used to develop policy recommendations for future White House STEM advisory bodies, determine best practices, identify areas of improvements, and raise overall awareness of PCAST's role and, more broadly, the role of STEM in developing public policy. The data and research products will be assembled into a comprehensive, publicly accessible library of PCAST materials to inform policymakers, science historians and sociologists, the STEM research community, and the broader public. PCAST is led by the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), commonly referred to as the president's "science advisor," and up to two other non-federal members from the STEM community. Created in 1990 under President George H.W. Bush, PCAST advises the president on a broad range of issues related to STEM including national and domestic security, workforce and the economy, energy and the environment, and public health and medicine. The council, with its high-profile membership and proximity to the president, has historically played a central role in shaping federal STEM policy and maintaining the overall health of the nation's STEM enterprise. However, determining the full impact of PCAST across the broad spectrum of policy issues related to STEM is challenging from the public record alone. The President's Scientists compiles and analyzes data beyond PCAST's public reports, including all White House communications regarding PCAST; transcripts and minutes from PCAST meetings; and any available other relevant materials concerning PCAST from presidential archives and collections of science advisors. In addition, the team is conducting a series of oral history interviews with select former PCAST members, chosen based on their demographics, areas of expertise, and the administration they served, to have an inclusive and diverse sample. The interviews will highlight members' perspectives on PCAST, as well as their personal histories in STEM before and after their tenure on the council. The goal is to understand the full extent of PCAST's influence, how it has been utilized under each president and shifting political conditions, and how it interfaces with other policy bodies across the government and in the broader STEM community to build consensus and promote its recommendations. This research will result in a comprehensive, publicly-accessible documentation of PCAST, as well as best practices and policy recommendations for PCAST and other future White House STEM advisory councils. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.