Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
interagency committees of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, such as
the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (OSTP
2012). In that setting, agencies that are engaged in science that is relevant to
EPA's needs come together to exchange information, identify priorities, and
plan joint efforts to address key science needs. But the mechanism falls short of
what is needed to organize and conduct sustained and successful collaborative
efforts, especially in the face of increasing budget constraints and emerging en-
vironmental and public health challenges. Furthermore, agencies operate under
different, sometimes conflicting statutes, and have varied standards of evidence
and scientific needs, which can lead to additional barriers to collaboration. EPA
participates in a number of collaborative research efforts with other agencies,
such as children's health initiatives with the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences and the National Nanotechnology Initiative, but future envi-
ronmental challenges will require much more aggressive efforts to establish and
support collaboration. Productive external collaboration should involve a set of
proactive steps that include clear mandates from it and other agency leaders and
a willingness to understand the regulatory frameworks, strengths, and resource
limitations that other agencies face.
Sharing Experiences with Others
EPA maintains world-class laboratories that can serve as a vehicle to in-
duce leading scientists from outside the agency to collaborate with scientists in
EPA. EPA also can gain valuable experience and knowledge if its scientists
have the ability to work in the research programs and specialized laboratories of
other leading research organizations. Such collaborations in either direction can
be facilitated through individual arrangements, but it is also important for the
agency to continue to support and encourage fellowships that allow outsiders to
work with it, university adjunct appointments that allow agency scientists to
maintain substantive associations with leading research universities, and a vari-
ety of similar programs. That is especially important in addressing problems in
which the agency does not have all of the relevant expertise. It will also be im-
portant to establish formal mechanisms by which the insights from these col-
laborations can be shared and infused throughout the agency.
Supporting International Collaboration
As globalization intensifies, domestic action alone will not be enough to
address environmental concerns fully, and how other countries protect their en-
vironment has an important effect not only domestically but around the world.
For example, air pollution, persistent organic pollutants, and mitigating climate
change are major challenges that the entire global community faces in the 21st
century. They are long-range, transboundary issues; no single nation can solve
the problems, and no nation can escape the consequences. Nations have come to
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