The assumption underlying the value of peer re view is that the quality of work is substantiated or improved through critiques by individuals who are independent, objective, and have specialized knowledge in the subject matter. One of the authors (Dr. Lyons) has had firsthand experience with such reviews. Some time ago, while in the private sector, he was asked to serve on a National Research Council (NRC) ad hoc committee of external, independent experts to review the fire research program at the National Bureau of Standards (N BS). The committee found the program s to be fragmented and deficient in basic research, and made a number of recommendations on how to improve them. (For more on how such a committee operates, see the discussion of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in chapter 3.) The result was the creation of a newly focused organization with a strengthened scientific knowledge base. These reforms helped NBS become a world leader in the field of fire research.