Selling Priorities in Space Science: The Power of Scientific Community Consensus

Objective This article examines the characteristics of the decadal strategy surveys in the space sciences that have made them so successful, the ways in which that success has been manifested, and the extent to which the process might be adopted by other scientific fields. Methods The research draws on available documents (including both contemporary and archival records as well as the author.s personal notes for the period 1980.2012). A key aspect of the research utilizes interviews with approximately 50 current and former government officials and nongovernment scientists who played key roles in the decadal survey process from the 1970s to the present. Results There is probably no space science advisory product that has earned the attention and reputation, year after year, or had an impact to rival that of the National Research Council decadal science strategy surveys. Both government officials and members of the scientific community view those advisory studies as the premier mechanisms for gaining insight into strategic priorities for their fields. Conclusions The success of the decadal surveys in selling priorities for the space sciences to both the executive branch and Congress has been mainly due to four factors: (1) broad community participation and consensus, (2) a foundation built on fundamental scientific goals, (3) translation of the goals into rank†ordered program priorities, and (4) consideration of strategic approaches for dealing with unforeseen problems. Other agencies and scientific communities outside the space sciences would need to be willing and able to commit the time, energy, and resources to embrace all four attributes if they wish to successfully adopt the decadal survey process.