EVALUATING SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR BIOLOGICAL CONTROL: A CALIFORNIA STUDY AS A MODEL REGIONAL NETWORK ASSESSMENT

Assessing scientific institutional capacity investigates the ability of scientists and their organizations to achieve their goals. This can be measured using social science metrics, including publications, funding, scientist-years (SYs), and research projects. We report a 3-year long capacity assessment of the 8 regional institutions engaged in arthropod biological control in California 1962-2006. Biological control in California has a strong reputation, but this reputation was established by researchers at the University of California, which does not currently provide support at historical levels. The most significant consequence of this has been a marked decline in the number of dedicated biological control scientists: entomologists dedicated to applied research without responsibilities for administration or undergraduate teaching. Other factors affecting this decline are: changes in organization of entomology departments; new configurations of entomology faculty positions; and the broader forces restructuring the practice of biological control science itself. The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Biological Control Program has assumed a somewhat greater role, but it cannot compensate for the losses at UC, and it has suffered serious budget cuts as well. The state biological control program hosts scientists dedicated to biological control research and practice. We recommend methods for conducting institutional capacity analysis in other regions.