630 



4 



AGREEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION 



The two preceeding chapters argue that incentives for a greater level 

 of international cooperation outweigh the constraints and that there 

 are many technical needs suitable for cooperation. It remains to 

 examine those factors that will shape actual agreements for 

 cooperation. Timing j compatibility of goals among prospective 

 partners, stability in the partnership, and handling of technology 

 transfer certainly rank high in importance. The list must also 

 include net flow of funds from each partner into the cooperative 

 projects, equitable sharing of benefits generated, suitability of the 

 institutional framework, and workability of the actual management 

 arrangements. Successful implementation of cooperative agreements 

 will depend on the skill with which these factors are treated. Prior 

 experience in many international cooperative enterprises shows that 

 success can often be attained. 



If the time is not appropriate for some aspect of international 

 cooperation, then it is unlikely to occur. There are stages, as 

 national programs of research and development go on, at which 

 particular collaborative efforts would be useful and appropriate. If 

 the opportunities are missed and the programs get out of phase for 

 such collaboration, at least one of the potential collaborators will 

 find the prospect much less attractive. 



A favorable opportunity for cooperation exists now because the 

 three major world programs are at a stage of approximate technical 

 parity, they face similar technical and budgetary problems for the 

 next stage of development, competitive commercial rivalries are far in 

 the future, and there is receptivity to cooperation at the political 

 level. 



More specifically, the time at which international cooperation on a 

 specific project should be initiated depends upon the extent of the 

 international cooperation. On the one hand, for a national project in 



