December 2, 1963

Dr. R. C. Backus, Chief

Extranural Programs

National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health

Bethesda 14, Maryland

Deer Or. Backus:

Your letter of November 12 was most welcome. in spite of its grave substantive
news, your frank expression of a problem Is a refreshing change from much of
the bureaucratic nonsense to which we have been recently exposed. ! understand
the implications of this remark; and | hope you will take it as a real measure
of the exasperation to which we (and | think | do speak for many Investigators)
have been driven by recent events. | think it Is important that we return to

a comnon purpose In meeting these responsibilities and understanding of the
underlying problems.

Needless to say, you wlll have my full cooperation. Actually, | am personally
conservative about the value of foreign travel, and have not encouraged this
except where there are substantial needs to communicate with people doing

closely related work. In past years (happily much less, more recently) | have
had some occasions for foreign travel, but you might be interested that grant
funds have been used for only a minor portion of any trip. Regardless of my
personal bias, however, | would be most reluctant to Impose an arbitrary regime
either upon myself or upon my colleagues that excluded reasonable and sympathetic
consideration of each case.

tn the course of time 1 belleve it may be possible to restore the mutual con-
fidence to remotivate an urgent sense of responsibil lity on the part of investi-
gators to insure the most prudent use of public funds, with a corresponding
reposition of confidence In investigators. That there has been a breakdown

in such confidence is doubly unfortunate; In many Instances rigorous compliance
with NIH regulations enforces wasteful expenditure of funds. Insofar as the
system does not confide In the use of my conscientious Judgment, the responsible
administration of a project demands a more mechanIstic provision in advance for
the iInnumbeable contingencies that Invarlably arise in the prosecution of
research. To that extent an over-regulated system will lead to considerable
waste, even In purely fiscal terms, not to mention the waste of effort which

is entailed in the preoccupation of people with myself on matters for which

we are less than ideally qualified. ‘

| an not being at all tronic in reacting that [| aa delighted at your policy
position that the Institute will handle exigent requests for forelgn travel
on a day-to-day basis. fF we could be sure of proanpt reaction to real needs
Dr. R. C. Backus December 2, 1963
Page 2

as they arise, we should encourage budgets and expenditures to be formulated
in the most flexible manner possible to allow for the realities of sclentific
research, namely the occurrence of the unpredictable. Real requlrements for
accountabl lity can then be met by timely consultation along the lines you
suggest. What Is so frustrating about the present situation fs not the basic
need for administrative regulation, with the alm of preventing the unhappy
abuses that can creep Into any system, but the administrative framework which
results In such long delays in order to make any modification In our program.
In the matter of equipment, for example, we are thus caught between the
requirement to specify as long as a year In advance what specific Instruments
will be needed In order to meet observations that have not yet been made, and
the realities of sclentific life that the most Interesting dIiscovertes are
precisely the unpredictable ones. A solution would be the construction of a
grant as an allowance of a general framework of expenditure in relation to the
assessed values of the Indicated work. This should comprise just as accurate
@ prediction as the Investigator Is able to offer as to his continuing needs,
but be revised subject to your prompt specification and approval as these needs
materialize during the budget year.

Nothing would delight me more than the opportunity to compete with other claims
upon avallable funds on the basis of the Immediate legitimacy of our require-
ments and the significance of our work, rather than the afficlency with which
we do our paper work and how well we act out our fantasies as to our require=-
ments so many months away.

Cordially,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics