917 



When the NSF was estabhshed in 1950 it was given limited au- 

 thority for international scientific activities, but only to support the 

 growth of the domestic science mission. The bulk of the Foundation's, 

 international activities was initiated before 1968, when the agency's 

 authority was expanded to support "international science policies" 

 on their own merits (P.L. 90-407) . As a result of this delay, program 

 operations, administrative arrangements, and policies for governing 

 international programs were shaped not b}^ clear-cut and explicit 

 legislative goals or Agency objectives, either scientific or political, 

 but by the pace of events: such as international and foreign political 

 opportunities and initiatives, Presidential directives, recommend ations- 

 of the Bureau of the Budget, and the Federal Council for Science and 

 Technology, and internal program developments. 



The Foundation created an office for international activities in 1955; 

 but even today this office administers only about 5 percent of NSF's. 

 international science related activities. The rest of the Foundation's 

 programs in this area, many of which involve exchanges of nongovern- 

 mental personnel, are scattered throughout the Agency. Consistently 

 categorized annual data on these programs are scarce^ obscuring a 

 comprehensive description of their evolution and impact. There 

 appears to be little intra-agency coordination and liaison of these 

 activities, a situation which evokes questions as to the effectiveness of 

 steps the agency is taking to develop "international science policies." 



A second issue is that exchange activities are shaped to meet criteria, 

 imposed by the Foundation's tradition of maintaining the integrity of 

 science, insulating it from undue political or governmental inter- 

 ference. While obliged to report on scientific aspects of NSF-funded 

 programs, grantees are rarely required to report on the special con- 

 ditions of conducting foreign and international research and travel. 

 Nor are they uniformly required to meet language or cultural 

 criteria. While the Agency's programs meet exacting scientific cri- 

 teria, there seems to be little attempt to evaluate systematically their 

 impacts on foreign policy. Annual reports are required of some pro- 

 grams, but not others; some programs are coordinated closely with the 

 Department of State, others are not. The growing size and scope of the 

 Foundation's international science programs raises the issue of 

 whether NSF organization and administration, as now constituted 

 for international science and scientific exchange activities, effectively 

 meet these increasing mission responsibilities. 



The importance of this issue was underscored when, on July 1, 1973, 

 President Nixon, in accordance with Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 

 1973, designated the Director of the NSF as his Science Adviser. In 

 this capacity the Director was given responsibility for "international 

 and scientific and technical activities [previously! performed by the 

 Office of Science and Technology." The Director's chief "support for 

 carrying out this responsibility will come from the Assistant Director 

 for National and International Programs," "' under whose jurisdiction 

 fall many of the programs discussed in this chapter. 



The next section of tliis chapter deals with the evolution of NSF's 

 authority and programs for international science and the impacts of 

 this history on the organization of programs for scientific exchange. 



»' Letter included in Statement of H. Guyford Stever, Director, NSF, before the Committee on Science- 

 and Astronautics, House of Representatives, July 17, 1973. Additional information on precise duties and 

 support comes from: U.S., National Science Foundation, "Staff Memorandum, Subject: Responsibility 

 for International Scientific and Technical Activities Performed by OST," O/D 73-22,.Jane 30( 1973. 



