GRIs in the United States: Policy Directions Old and New

The United States National Innovation system has many distinctive aspects and its government research institutes (GRI's) play a variety of important roles within the overall system. This paper reviews issues pertaining to U.S. GRI's but within the broader concept of US science and technology policy. After presenting an overview of the GRI's in this broader context, the paper presents a brief historical analysis of changes in the roles and deployment of U.S. GRI's. After identifying unique features of GRI's (ones that separate the U.S. GRI's from other nations) the paper concludes by identifying the ways in which the U.S. experience may be relevant to other nations such as Korea. The lessons include the competition-cooperation with large-scale and multidisciplinary university research centers, the use of GRI's to promote sharing and efficiencies in fundamental scientific equipment and resources, and the ability of GRI's to accelerate the development of science and technology.