Environmental research has driven landmark improvements that led to the protection of human and ecosystem health. Recognizing the value of knowledge generated by environmental research and the ingenuity within academic and nonprofit institutions, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created a program known as Science to Achieve Results, or STAR, in 1995. STAR is EPA's primary competitive extramural grants program.

A Review of the Environmental Protection Agency's Science to Achieve Results Research Program assesses the program's scientific merit, public benefits, and overall contributions in the context of other relevant research and recommends ways to enhance those aspects of the program. This report also considers the conclusions and recommendations of a prior National Research Council review of the STAR program (2003), the STAR program's research priorities in light of the nation's environmental challenges, and the effects of recent STAR funding trends on obtaining scientific information needed to protect public health and the environment.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE ON THE REVIEW OF EPA'S SCIENCE TO ACHIEVE RESULTS RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM
• BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
• Preface
• Summary
  • THE COMMITTEE'S REVIEW
  • SCIENTIFIC MERIT
  • PUBLIC BENEFITS
  • ADDRESSING EPA'S PRIORITY SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS
  • CONCLUSIONS
• 1. Introduction
  • FUNDING OF THE SCIENCE TO ACHIEVE RESULTS PROGRAM
  • THE COMPONENTS OF THE SCIENCE TO ACHIEVE RESULTS PROGRAM
  • SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS REVIEWS OF THE SCIENCE TO ACHIEVE RESULTS PROGRAM
  • THE CURRENT REVIEW
  • THE COMMITTEE'S APPROACH
  • REFERENCES
• 2. The Scientific Merit of the Science to Achieve Results Program
  • PRIORITY-SETTING
  • FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENTS
  • PROPOSAL REVIEW AND AWARDING OF GRANTS
  • GRANT AWARD RATE
  • MANAGEMENT
  • COMMITTEE'S EVALUATION
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Public Benefits of the Science to Achieve Results Program
  • METRICS
  • COMMITTEE'S EVALUATION
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Research for Addressing the Environmental Protection Agency's Priority Scientific Questions
  • DISTINCTIVE NATURE OF SCIENCE TO ACHIEVE RESULTS RESEARCH
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Findings and Recommendations
  • SCIENTIFIC MERIT
  • PUBLIC BENEFITS
  • RESEARCH PRIORITIES
  • CONCLUSIONS
  • REFERENCES
• APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A. Biographical Information of the Committee on the Review of EPA's Science to Achieve Results Research Grants Program
  • Appendix B. Summary of the Previous Reviews of the Science to Achieve Results Program
  • Appendix C. Assignment of Science to Achieve Results Request for Applications to Scientific Domains
  • Appendix D. Assignment of Highly Cited Science to Achieve Results–Funded Papers to Scientific Domains

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. A Review of the Environmental Protection Agency's Science to Achieve Results Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24757.