Executive Order 9912—Establishing the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and Development

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and statutes, and as Commander in Chief, and in order to further the most effective administration of Federal scientific research and development activities, it is hereby ordered, in the interest of the internal management of the Government, as follows: 1. There is hereby established the Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific Research and Development, hereinafter referred to as the Committee. The head of each of the following agencies and of such other agencies as the President may hereafter determine (and in the case of a commission, board, or committee, the chairman thereof) shall designate an officer or employee of his agency as a member of the Committee, namely, the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, Army, Navy, and Air Force, the National Military Establishment, the Federal Security Agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Advisory committee for Aeronautics, the Veterans Administration, and the Smithsonian Institution. 2. The Chairman of the Committee shall be designated annually by the President. The Chairman may from time to time establish subcommittees, which may include as members persons not employed by the Federal Government, or for limited periods of time representatives of agencies not designated as members of the Committee, which shall conduct and report upon specific studies as directed by the Committee. 3. The duties of the Committee shall be to: (1) Recommend steps to make the research and development programs of the Federal Government most effective in the promotion of the national welfare. (b) Study or proposed studies and recommend changes in administrative policies and procedures, including personnel policies, designed to increase the efficiency of the Federal research and development program. (c) Study and report upon current policies and Federal administrative practices relating to Federal support for research, such as grants and contracts for basic research. (d) Obtain the advice of persons not employed by the Federal government with respect to matters of concern to the Committee. (e) Encourage collaboration among Federal agencies engaged in related scientific research and development. (f) Propose means by which information relating to the status and results of scientific research and development undertaken or supported by Federal agencies can be most effectively disseminated. (g) Perform such other duties as shall be prescribed from time to time by the President. 4. The reports and recommendations of the Committee shall be submitted to the several departments and agencies or to the President as may be appropriate. 5. Federal agencies, to the extent permitted by law, are requested to furnish the Committee assistance and such information relating to their affairs as it may require. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, December 24, 1947