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domestic one. We have accepted this advice and implemented the key recom- 

 mendations including early consultation with prospective collaborators and 

 the development of a Program Plan which explicitly addresses the role of 

 international collaboration- 

 Over the years, there has been a significant evolution in the nature of the 

 topics for collaboration. Initially, the collaboration was in areas which 

 had technical validity but were considered "on the margin" in terms of 

 priority. There was reluctance on all sides to place dependence upon others 

 in areas regarded as essential. Now collaborations are being considered and 

 started in areas which have high priority for our program. This evolution 

 is a result of increasing budget stringency and a largely successful record 

 of international cooperation. The Department strongly supports collabora- 

 tion in high priority areas in recognition of the fact that it may be the 

 key to achievement of common goals in the face of limited resources. 



I believe an essential element of collaboration in fusion deals with the 

 policy-making process. Each of the fusion programs in the U.S., EC and 

 Japan is structured differently. The governmental funding process, program 

 management, the institutional arrangements, and the underlying perceptions 

 of urgency are all different. Furthermore, what constitutes success for a 

 program is not necessarily the same for the institutions involved. Given 

 these non-technical factors, successful collaboration requires policy-level 

 commitment over an extended period. In addition, success with new initia- 

 tives for collaboration on large facilities will require early encouragement 

 of joint planning. Over the last several years, the Administration has 



