The authors of this planning review claim that educational research and development has been underfunded, has had less than distinguished standing in the scholarly and scientific community, and has had little national leadership. They assert that the National Institute of Education (NIE) is intended to bring about an improvement on all three counts. Consideration is given to some of the problems that must be confronted if NIE is to have a substantial influence on the conduct of American education. Proposals are made for the initial incorporation of six components felt to be essential in the organization of NIE: R & D Centers and Regional Laboratories; a National Educational Laboratory; extramural R & D, supporting investigator-initiated grants and programmatic research; research manpower training; institutional development for research; and functions specifically transferred from OE. Assuming an initial funding of 125 million dollars, the authors have prepared an approximate budget suggesting the appropriate emphasis for each of these components. (Author)