919 



TABLE 8.— NSF, INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION EXCHANGE OR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE 



ACTIVITIES, OBLIGATIONS 



Source: Data for fiscal years 1953-65 from: U.S. Congress, House, Committeeon Science and Astronautics, "The Na- 

 tional Science Foundation: A General Review of Its First 15 Years: Report," 1965, p. 185. Data for fiscal years 1966-73 from 

 annual reports and authorization hearings. 



During the mid-1960's both the Congress and the Foundation gave 

 critical attention to further expansion of the agency's mandate. 

 Three areas received major concern: social science research, applied 

 research, and international science. Three major issues were addressed 

 with respect to international science : 



Firsty fragmentation of administration, support, and governance. 

 John T. Wilson, a deputy director of the NSF, described this fragmen- 

 tation in testimony before the Research and Technical Programs 

 Subcommittee, House Committee on Government Operations, in 

 1966: 



Almost all units of the Foundation are to some extent involved in international 

 activities, [which] include research support for individual scientists in foreign 

 institutions, support of international cooperative research programs, support to 

 U.S. institutions and indixdduals for foreign related science activities (research, 

 science education . . . , international meetings and foreign travel, studies of 

 foreign science resources, etc.) ; support of scientific information activities abroad, 

 and support of science education projects in developing countries . . . i^s 



Second, the need for NSF to free justification for international 

 science from its support of the domestic science mission. For example, 

 in a special study prepared in 1965 evaluating issues relating to the 

 Foundation's support of international science, the National Science 

 Board, the policy advisory group of the NSF, described the Agency's 

 limited mandate and mission as follows: 



The basic intent underlying the stated purpose of the NSF Act is to promote 

 and strengthen science and science education in the United States. International 

 activities carried out with funds appropriated to NSF must therefore be justified 

 by their contribution toward strengthening science in the United States, or as 

 efforts to determine what should be recommended as national policy to promote 

 basic research and education in the sciences. '^^ 



Justification of these activities in terms of strengthening domestic 

 science was no longer sufficient in a world increasingly transformed 

 and challenged by science and technology. ^^° "A review of past and 

 current international activities and interests," the report continued, 

 "points up the need for the Foundation to focus more clearly on policy 

 issues central to the current and future role of NSF in international 

 matters." ^^^ 



>2« Federal Foreign Research Spending and the Dollar Drain: Hearings, op. cit., p. 35. 

 »» U.S., National Science Foundation, International Science, "Activities and Policy Issues," typed in- 

 house report (May 1965), p. 1. 

 wo Ibid., pp. 4-5. 

 i»i Ibid., p. 5. 



