1020 



U.S. PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL S&T COOPERATION 7 



arranged privately by individuals to large multinational projects or 

 programs funded and arranged either directly by governments or 

 through international organizations on their behalf. 



The form of cooperation best suited for any particular S&T initia- 

 tive is determined by a wide range of factors, often varying according 

 to the nature and historical traditions of the scientific field, prevailing 

 economic and/or political constraints, and other factors. Among the 

 considerations that are involved are the following: (1) the nature and 

 frequency of the information to be exchanged, (2) the length of time 

 for which cooperating scientific personnel must interact, (3) the extent 

 to which the problem lends itself to a division of labor and the relative 

 scientific strength of the cooperating partners, (4) the relative eco- 

 nomic strength of the cooperating partners, (5) the type and cost of 

 facilities involved, (6) the degree to which global coordination is re- 

 quired (e.g., the model of the International Geophysical Year), and (7) 

 the extent to which national security or proprietary concerns or other 

 sovereign prerogatives are involved.' The form of a particular cooper- 

 ative activity evolves as the result of discussion, consultation, and the 

 historical pattern of collaboration among interested parties. 



The type of international cooperation favored in one discipline may 

 be quite different from that favored by another. A survey of National 

 Science Foundation (NSF) program managers found, for example, 

 that certain modes of cooperation were cited with greater frequency in 

 some disciplines than in others. The results of the survey are summa- 

 rized in Table 1. 



Scheinman^ has noted that the overall record of international coop- 

 eration among technologically advanced countries appears to favor 

 bilateral channels, especially when something more than the exchange 

 of personnel and information is involved. On the other hand, multila- 

 teral channels seem to be favored for agreements emphasizing infor- 

 mation exchange. This latter category also includes nongovernmental 

 contacts such as those initiated through the International Council of 

 Scientific Unions (ICSU) and its disciplinary member unions. 



The motivations for intergovernmental cooperation are extremely 

 diverse. On the most general level of national policy, international 

 S&T cooperation is supported in pursuit of both symbolic and utilitar- 

 ian goals. Symbolic goals are essentially political, involving consider- 

 ations of prestige, political influence, propaganda, and national secu- 

 rity, while utilitarian goals are usually focused on economic and/or 

 technological objectives.^ At a more functional policy level, interna- 

 tional S&T cooperation in a particular field may be attractive for 

 some or all of the following reasons:^^ 



