Many federal research and development (R&D) funding agencies experienced unparalleled one-time budget infusions from the 2009 American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA). Only two years later and faced with the possibility of substantial budget cuts, federal agencies must now make high stakes decisions about program funding that will have long-term ramifications not only for science and technology research, but also for innovation, the economy, and the future of US competitiveness. Congress and the public are demanding high quality, rapid reporting, greater transparency in funding decisions and disbursements, and evidence that the nation's investment in science spurs innovation and job growth. Given that many years often elapse before federal R&D investments produce measurable economic and societal outcomes, how do agencies provide policy-makers with the most useful evaluations on which to base crucial science policy decisions during a period of fiscal restraint?

Critical stakeholders from the legislative and executive branches of government, academia, and the private sector will gather at the American Association for the Advancement of Science for a one-day conference to discuss "Science Policy on a Budget."

A series of panel discussions and interactive forums will cover:

• The new culture of transparency and how collaboration between government, industry, and academia is generating a vast array of new data-gathering and analysis tools.
• The evaluation of ARRA-funded R&D programs, including the emerging data on short-term outcomes and important lessons learned.
• The perspective of various agencies and how they are using these new tools to make evidence-based science policy decisions in an era of uncertain budgets.