This paper explores some of the conditions currently affecting research and development in education and examines their implication for management. These conditions are: (1) the public expectation of quick and sure responses from the R and D effort, and (2) the genuine wish for increased democratization in society and increased responsiveness on the part of its institutions. For management this will mean: (1) the need to increase the scope of involvement and the human sensitivity of the planning and decision-making processes in the R and D policy and priority setting sector; (2) new mechanisms for evoking responsive corporate behavior to achieve desirable collegial and group productivity; and (3) increased clarity in communications and differentiated products if better practices based on research knowledge are to find their way into the schools and improve learning environments. The paper also reviews federal involvement in educational research, comparative expenditures in different areas for research, the need for more research, development, and training in administration and management, the proposal for the creation of a National Institute of Education, the kind of climate that must be created to encourage potentially effective R and D, and the skills a manager of R and D will need. (AF)