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OPTIONS TO INCREASE TECHNICAL LITERACY 



One possible approach might be to examine incoming candidates to 

 the Foreign Service for their basic skills and general familiarity with 

 phases of science, science policy, and technological development. 

 Another approach might be to motivate middle-level FSOs to seek 

 further inhouse training in science policy, and perhaps to introduce 

 courses in the Foreign Service Institute along the lines of the War 

 College cas3 studies on strategic problems.^'" Exchanges of personnel 

 might be initiated or increased between OES and other departmental 

 bureaus, between State Department personnel and other agencies 

 with international technical functions. Departmental personnel, 

 OES or other, might serve internships on congressional committee 

 staffs concerned with science, technology, or diplomacy. Of particular 

 value would be an OES exchange arrangement with the Office of 

 Management and Budget. Another important purpose might be served 

 by detailing to 10 people wdth budget and management experience 

 related to such U.N. agencies as the World Health Organization, the 

 Food and Agriculture Organization, and UNESCO. 



STRENGTHENING FIELD STAFFS 



The problem with strengthening the field organization for science 

 and technology — the scientific attaches deployed in U.S. Embassies 

 abroad — raises a number of interesting organizational questions. 

 Attaches apparently serve three masters: the Ambassador at the 

 Embassy, the regional bureau to which that Embassy reports, and the 

 State science office that coordinates the work of all scientific attaches. 

 Field science offices must compete with political, economic, and 

 other offices for the limited billets in Embassies. Their function is 

 judged for utility to the regional bureau in competition with the 

 products of political and economic officers. The science office itself 

 has the two-sided problem of winning billets for scientific attaches 

 and their supporting staff and also of recruiting qualified candidates. 

 Invariably, some posts remain unfilled. Despite these obstacles, it 

 would seem useful to maintain a full complement of technologically 

 knowledgeable analyst-observers at all Embassies in countries where 

 technological advances are of consequence to the United States. A 

 suggested alternative might be the establishment of a number of 

 strong regional observation posts each covering a number of countries. 



The attempt by Herman Pollack to designate ''science officers" 

 in Embassies without scientific attaches seems not to have worked 

 very consistently, but perhaps it might be tried again, on a more 

 modest basis but with more attention to the motivation and interests 

 of the persons designated for this assignment. Another possible experi- 

 ment would be the assignment of interns with graduate degrees in, 

 science policy to Embassies to report on significant technological 

 developments. (An increasing number of universities in the United 

 States give advanced degrees in this field.) 



-'"' In a personal communication Professor Riislv writes : 



I am sure that Foreign Service Officers will become more and more competent 

 In science and technology because of sheer necessity. However. I think we can 

 speed up the process by seeking out more science-trained young people for the 

 Foreign Service and arrange a considerable number of study leaves for con- 

 centrated work on what science and technology are all about. Special courses 

 of study might be arranged at the FSI or in universities — somewhat like the 

 Nieman Fellowship for journalists at Harvard. 



(Dean Rusk to Franklin Huddle, March 18, 1975.) 



