Getting It Off The Shelf

Concentrating on the case of energy-saving technology, the authors explain the high frequency of implementation failure by examining the reward structure of federal R&D agencies and the limits of current methods of program planning and technology assessment. In 1976, the federal government spent over $10 billion on civilian research, development, and demonstration projects. The vast majority of these dollars were spent for applied research—research from which it is reasonable to expect a payoff in implementation, commercialization, or problem solving. In all too many cases, that payoff has not been for