III. CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT
At the same time, assessing the value of mathematics by measuring the return
on public investment cannot be done by simply comparing the amount of
expenditure on mathematics with the amount of wealth created. The
"effects" of mathematics may not be immediate, or direct, or
attributable to a single funded program. A more accurate assessment of the
field requires one to accept the consensus view of all branches of science and
technology -- that support for mathematics is essential -- and to ask whether
that support is producing health within mathematics and a valued impact outside
it.
The Panel concluded that the most accurate way to measure the impact of
academic mathematics is to examine the three primary activities of
mathematicians: