<P> The National Security Resources Board was a United States government agency created by the National Security Act of 1947 whose purpose was to advise the President, in times of war, on how to mobilize natural resources, manpower, and the scientific establishment to meet the demands of the Department of Defense . </P> <P> Ultimately, the goal was to do long - range and continuous planning to prepare the United States for adequate industrial and economic mobilization . The board was originally very ineffective, perhaps because authority was shared by all eight members of the board rather than any single point person . In 1949, this was changed on the recommendation of the Hoover Commission . All power was vested in the chairman alone, and the board was moved to be part of the Department of Defense . Later, it was shifted to the Executive Office of the President . Its role was later eliminated when its responsibilities were transferred to the Office of Defense Mobilization in June 1953 . </P>

What was the purpose of the national resources planning board