Federal support for research on poverty is discussed, and principal funding agencies are identified. The value of research on poverty for policy making is discussed and evaluated, with particular attention to the work of the Institute for Research on Poverty. The report recommends that the system for funding the Institute be improved, that communications between it and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare be strengthened, that the Institute exercise a greater leadership role in poverty research, that disciplines currently neglected receive greater attention by the Institute, and that there be an increase of minority researchers on the Institute's staff. Included are a bibliography and appendices reviewing Federal programs and listing organizations involved in poverty research. (Author/WP)