Technical Reports: Technology & Governement Policy
Technical reports are reports from academic departments, government agencies and corporations that describe projects, research and activities of the organization.
Related Research Guides
Research Strategy
Government policy can influence technological development by:
- Promoting certain industries or development strategies
- Providing public money or grants for technological development
- Offering tax incentives for technological development.
A good research strategy for government information is:
- Find background information using the "CQ Researcher" database
- Legislative Branch: Congressional hearings are an especially good source to learn aboutpolicy debates
- Executive Branch: Identify which specific government agencies care about technology development and explore the websites of those agen
- Use the Science.gov search engine and other technical report servers to locate government funded scientific research reports
- USA.govA search engine for U.S. Federal and State government information on the Web
- Congressional Hearings on FDSys Federal Digital SystemCongressional Hearings are especially useful for pro/con arguments because stakeholders on both sides of an issue are trying to persuade members of congress to vote in their favor.
To search in Congressional Hearings:
>Advanced Search
Available Collections> Congressional Hearings > Add>> - Government Accountability OfficeOften called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.
- Office of Management and BudgetThe core mission of OMB is to serve the President of the United States in implementing his vision across the Executive Branch.
- Whitehouse.govExecutive Branch policies aren't always supported by Legislative Branch policies (and vice versa)
Government Sponsored Research
Federal Government grants and funding support a huge body of scientific research.
- National Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…"
- National Center for Science and Engineering StatisticsNSF collects data about science and engineering funding, education and workforce.
- National AcademiesThe National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council are private, nonprofit institutions.
Public comment
Lobbyists, advocacy groups, think tanks and members of teh public offer inbupt into policy making. a good staategy is to find information from stakeholders who advocate different positions on an issue. Some good stategies to find commentary are:
- Congresional Hearings
- Public comments in Environmental Impact statemnets
- Publications from think tanks and advocacy groups.
Examples:
- Estimating U.S. Government Subsidies to Energy Sources: 2002-2008Environmental Law Institute (
- Sierra ClubEnvironmental advocacy
Subject Specialist
Shane Wallace
he/him/his
