Donna Fossum

Assesses the size and adequacy of the federal workforce for carrying out scientific, technical, engineering, and math-related activities Experts both inside and outside of government have voiced fears that federal the workforce for carrying out scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities is aging and may soon face a dwindling labor pool. The authors assess the condition of this workforce, focusing on three main areas: trends in the U.S. STEM workforce overall that might affect the federal STEM workforce, workforce-shaping activities in the federal STEM workforce, and legislative and programmatic mechanisms for influencing that workforce.

Summarizes the results of a survey of a 50-state survey of systems for reporting adverse medical events that took place in 2004. The report documents the consistency of information that states collect, identifies issues relating to establishing a national patient safety repository, and presents a plan for implementing a standardized national system.

Assesses current systems for tracking health resource flows to and within developing countries to determine what would constitute a truly global tracking system able to address both the needs of potential users and the current systems' limitations. The RAND Corporation conducted interviews, consulted with experts, and carried out detailed analyses of existing tracking systems that focus on health resources flowing to and within developing countries, the objective being to determine how to provide a truly global health resource tracking system that will provide comprehensive, accurate, up-to-date data for policymakers and other users and will address the current systems' limitations.

Provides results of an analysis based on RAND Corporation's RaDiUS (Research and Development in the United States) database that shows state-by-state trends in federal R&D funding of U.S. universities and colleges from FY 1996 through FY 2002 and the amounts of federal R&D funding going to individual universities and colleges in FY 2002. The federal government's investment in research and development (R&D) at the nation's universities which is pivotal to the U.S. innovation system has grown considerably. This report assesses that investment and presents a detailed analysis of the federal funds received for the conduct of R&D by state and by individual universities and colleges.