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Value of Knowledge to the Cleanup-Stewardship Program of the U.S. Department of Energy

The scientific and technical (S and T) activities of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE/EM) provide solutions to DOE/EM remediation problems. In many cases, the solution of choice eventually involves deploying a new process or piece of equipment. There has been intensive scrutiny of such deployments over the last few years, and DOE/EM is now in the position of being able to track and depict its progress and plans regarding these solutions. In addition to the well-recognized hardware solutions, many DOE/EM S and T activities result in improved knowledge or understanding of a particular situation or phenomenon that does not lead to a deployment but which nevertheless has proven to be very valuable. However, in many cases, the value of knowledge (VOK) is unrecognized, and it is certain that some key decision makers do not fully appreciate the VOK. The need to inform others concerning the VOK resulted in the preparation of this paper, the purposes of which are to provide conceptual background on the definition of VOK and why it is valuable to DOE/EM, cite examples of how knowledge has benefited and will benefit DOE/EM, and provide recommendations on the actions that the DOE/EM Office of Science and Technology (OST) should undertake to ensure that DOE/EM's VOK contributions are routinely recognized in the future.