Framework for the Review of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - Agriculture Forestry and Fishing Research at NIOSH - page 223

program for impact of the program in the workplace. Impact may be
assessed directly or, as necessary, using intermediate outcomes to esti-
mate impact. Qualitative narrative evaluations may also be appropriate
under certain circumstances.

2. Evaluation committee assessment of progress in targeting new research

to the areas of occupational safety and health most relevant to future
improvements in workplace protection.

3. Evaluation committee identification of significant emerging research

areas which appear especially important in terms of their relevance to
the mission of NIOSH.

Those three charges constitute the scope of work of the individually appointed,
independent ECs formed by the National Academies.

I.A. NIOSH Strategic Goals and Operational Plan

As a prelude to understanding the NIOSH strategic goals and operational plan,
NIOSH research efforts should be understood in the context of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSHAct) under which it was created. The OSHAct identi-
fies workplace safety and health to be a national priority and gives employers the
responsibility for controlling hazards and preventing workplace injury and illness.
The act creates an organizational framework for doing this, with complementary
roles and responsibilities assigned to employers and employees, OSHA, the States,
the OSH Review Commission, and NIOSH. As one component of a national
strategy the act recognizes NIOSH's roles and responsibilities to be supportive and
indirect—NIOSH's research, training programs, criteria and recommendations are
all intended to be used to inform and assist those actually responsible for hazard
control (OSHAct Section 2b and Sections 20 and 22).
Section 2b of the OSHAct describes thirteen interdependent means of accom-
plishing the national goal, one of which is “by providing for research . . . and by
developing innovative methods . . . for dealing with occupational safety and health
problems.” Sections 20 and 22 give the responsibility for this research to NIOSH.
In addition, NIOSH is given related responsibilities including: the development
of criteria to guide prevention of work-related injury or illness, development of
regulations reporting on the employee exposures to harmful agents, the establish-
ment of medical examinations programs or tests to determine illness incidence and
susceptibility, publication of a list of all known toxic substances, the assessment
of potentially toxic effects or risk associated with workplace exposures in specific
settings, the conduct of education programs for relevant professionals to carry out