National Research Initiative - Appendix D

Appendix D: Examples of Successful Research-Policy or
Research-Services Linkages Submitted by Agencies


Bureau of the Census/Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Research-Policy Linkages

Research-Services Linkages

Consumer Product Safety Commission

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for every age 5-27. Below are several illustrations of how research conducted under the auspices of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has influenced and directed policy decisions and service delivery.

Research-Policy Linkages

Research-Services Linkages

National Institutes of Health - National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

National Institutes of Heath - National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

U.S. Department of Agriculture

USDA is the Federal Government's lead agency for human nutrition research, and is responsible for assuring and monitoring the nutritional health of all Americans through nutrition research. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area of USDA conducts an integrated program of human nutrition research that provides a vital link to the interdisciplinary food and agricultural sciences programs of REE agencies. The ARS has six Human Nutrition Research Centers nationwide, staffed by a cadre of renowned scientists with expertise in nutrition, in areas that cover the spectrum of the human life cycle. Two of these centers are targeted to research on the specific needs of children: the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, and the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Research Center in Little Rock.

The ARS also serves as the USDA leader and liaison for the mandatory review every five years of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Federal policy document for all nutrition information and education materials produced by the Federal Government. ARS research is critical to the development of these guidelines. ARS also conducts nationwide surveys of food consumption by Americans, the data from which are used to support development of food and nutrition policies within USDA. Food consumption data is also used by other Federal agencies that form policy. These agencies include EPA and HHS.

USDA relies heavily on scientific research to formulate policy related to providing Americans with a healthful and abundant food supply; in other words, research affects USDA's food and nutrition policies. In December 1994, the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) was created to facilitate the link between research and the dietary and socioeconomic needs of the consumer. CNPP has used research in the following ways:

Research related to food assistance and other nutrition programs also results in policy evaluation, often leading to much-needed improvements. For example, CNPP is responsible for the development of USDA food plans, including the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which serves as the nutritional basis for Food Stamp benefit level. TFP specifies quantities of different types of food that households may use to provide nutritious meals and snacks at relatively low cost. State-of-the-art nutrition and economic modeling is used periodically to revise the TFP, which affects millions of American adults and their children.

U.S. Department of Education

Research-Services Linkages

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS (OSEP)

Over time, researchers have demonstrated not only how to assess the progress of individual students, but also how to analyze each student's learning environment (e.g., factors at school, in the home, and in the community) that can significantly influence educational outcomes. These and other advances in research have contributed to development and validation of innovative approaches to education that result in improved learning and increased independence among infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.

Research-Policy Linkages

Research-Services Linkages

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)