880 



abroad by an American may be financed b}^ a university or foundation 

 grant, or a Federal science education or cultural exchange program. 

 U.S. scientists and technicians also travel abroad as members of 

 technical assistance teams, sponsored variously by religious organi- 

 zations, nonprofit foundations, international organizations, the 

 Agency for International Development (AID), and the National 

 Science Foundation. In addition, the American industrial sector, 

 educational foundations, and ad hoc private groups send scientists, 

 engineers, and technicians abroad for varying lengths of time on a 

 variety of missions. 



The Scope and Importance oj Nongovernmental Scientific Exchange 

 Programs 



Although U.S. programs for civilian scientific and technical per- 

 sonnel abroad are not grounded in a deliberately formulated set of 

 programs and policies, scientific exchange programs constitute the bulk 

 and perhaps the most important part of Government-sponsored civilian 

 exchange activities. 



During the fiscal year 1970, Government agencies supported cul- 

 tural, educational, and scientific activities of civilians abroad in 109 

 countries and six multistate regions. Sixty-six percent of these indi- 

 viduals were scientific and technical personnel. " More important 

 perhaps, is the fact that scientific and technical personnel comprised 

 50 percent or more of the U.S. civilian exchange group in each of 75 

 percent of the countries in which Americans were represented, and 

 75 percent or more of the U.S. representation in each of more than 

 half of the countries where Government-sponsored Americans were 

 present. (See Table 1.) 



These data, derived from the 1971 State Department Exchanges 

 Study, ^ indicate, however, that while scientific and technical activities 

 abroad are widespread, their scope varies with country, subject, and 

 agency. For instance, while scientific and technical personnel were 

 sponsored in 10 geographic areas, more than a third of all these 

 personnel conducted their activities in Europe. The majority of 

 scientific and technical activities were conducted in the developed 

 countries, especially in Europe, but also in Japan, Israel, and Australia. 

 (The majority of scientific and technical personnel sponsored by the 

 Atomic Energy Commission, the Public Health Service, and the 

 National Bureau of Standards, primarily agency staff, a group not 

 studied in this report, carry out their scientific activities in Western 

 Europe.) The developing countries, with the exception of South 

 America, generally host more cultural and economic than scientific 

 exchanges. Personnel sponsored by NSF and the Department of 

 State are the most widely distributed of all agencies included in the 

 survey.^ 



' Extrapolated from International Exchange Study Data Bank, 1971, op. cit. The length of time spent on 

 these visits was not considered in reaching these conclusions. 



' See page 6, above. 



« In support of this study the author gathered and graphically arrayed data from the State Department 

 study to illustrate the following trends: duration by agency and country; number by agency and country; 

 duration by subject and country; and number by subject and country. The agencies included are: Depart- 

 ment of State, NSF, National Bureau of Standards, Public Health Service, Atomic Energy Commission, 

 and Departments of Agriculture and the Interior. Subject breakdowns are: social science, physics, chemistry, 

 biology, architecture/engineering, geology, health/medicine, agriculture, meteorology, and computer/com- 

 munications. Details of this analysis are available from the author. 



