Editing Science policy (section)

==History==
{{main|History of science policy}}

[[State (polity)|State]] [[policy]] has influenced the funding of [[public works]] and science for thousands of years, dating at least from the time of the [[Mohists]], who inspired the study of logic during the period of the [[Hundred Schools of Thought]], and the study of defensive fortifications during the [[Warring States period]] in China. General levies of labor and grain were collected to fund great public works in China, including the accumulation of grain for distribution in times of famine,<ref>Francesca Bray (1984), ''[[Science and Civilisation in China]]'' '''VI.2''' '''''Agriculture'''''</ref> for the building of levees to control flooding by the great rivers of China, for the building of canals and locks to connect rivers of China, some of which flowed in opposite directions to each other,<ref>[[Joseph Needham]], ''[[Science and Civilisation in China]]''</ref> and for  the building of bridges across these rivers. These projects required a [[civil service]], the [[Scholar-bureaucrats|scholars]], some of whom demonstrated great mastery of [[hydraulics]].

In Italy, Galileo noted that individual taxation of minute amounts could fund large sums to the State, which could then fund his research on the trajectory of cannonballs, noting that "each individual soldier was being paid from coin collected by a general tax of pennies and farthings, while even a million of gold would not suffice to pay the entire army."<ref>[[Galileo]] (1638) [http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=753&chapter=109891&layout=html&Itemid=27 Two New Sciences], Salviati, first day of the dialogs</ref>

In [[Great Britain]], [[Lord Chancellor]] [[Sir Francis Bacon]] had a formative effect on science policy with his identification of "experiments of ... light, more penetrating into nature [than what others know]",<ref>[[Sir Francis Bacon]] (1624). ''[[New Atlantis]]''</ref> which today we call the [[crucial experiment]].  Governmental approval of [[the Royal Society]] recognized a [[scientific community]] which exists to this day. British prizes for research spurred the development of an accurate, portable [[Marine chronometer|chronometer]], which directly enabled reliable navigation and sailing on the high seas, and also funded [[Charles Babbage|Babbage]]'s computer.

The [[professionalization]] of science, begun in the nineteenth century, was partly enabled by the creation of scientific organizations such as the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]], the [[Kaiser Wilhelm Institute]], and State funding of universities of their respective nations. In the United States, a member of the National Academy of Sciences can sponsor a Direct Submission for publication in the ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]''.<ref>[http://www.pnas.org/site/misc/iforc.shtml#submission PNAS Submission Guidelines]</ref> ''PNAS'' serves as a channel to recognize research of importance to at least one member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]].

Public policy can directly affect the funding of [[capital equipment]], intellectual infrastructure for industrial research, by providing [[tax incentive]]s to those organizations who fund research. [[Vannevar Bush]], director of the office of scientific research and development for the U.S. government in July 1945, wrote "Science is a proper concern of government"<ref>[https://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/nsf50/vbush1945.htm Vannevar Bush (July 1945), "Science, the Endless Frontier"]</ref>  Vannevar Bush directed the forerunner of the [[National Science Foundation]], and his writings directly inspired researchers to invent the [[hyperlink]] and the [[computer mouse]].  The [[DARPA]] initiative to support computing was the impetus for the [[Internet Protocol]] stack. In the same way that scientific consortiums like [[CERN]] for [[high-energy physics]] have a commitment to public knowledge, access to this public knowledge in physics led directly to CERN's sponsorship of development of the [[World Wide Web]] and standard Internet access for all.