Overview of Accomplishments

   The U.S. Congress passed the Freedom Support Act of 1992 in response to the declining state of science and engineering in the newly independent states of the FSU, the resultant brain drain to other professions and countries, and in particular the plight of former Soviet defense scientists. The Freedom Support Act (P.L. 102-511) authorized the establishment of the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation for the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (CRDF) as a non-governmental, non-profit foundation with three goals:

Scientific Cooperation
To provide scientists and engineers in the FSU with productive R&D opportunities that offer professional alternatives to emigration and thereby help to prevent further weakening of the scientific and technological infrastructure in those countries.

Defense Conversion
To promote the transition of FSU research institutes, scientists, and engineers from defense-oriented activities to civilian research.

Economic Benefit
To assist in the establishment of a market economy in the countries of the FSU; to provide mechanisms for FSU scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to better understand commercial business practices; and to provide access for U.S. com-panies to technologies, talent, and markets in the FSU.

   The CRDF was authorized by its 1992 founding legislation to accept donations from public and private sources, both foreign and domestic. Three years later, philanthropist George Soros channeled a $5 million gift to the CRDF through the NSF, and the Department of Defense made a matching contribution from Nunn-Lugar funds to promote nonproliferation. With that start-up budget of $10 million, the CRDF became a reality.

   The CRDF Board of Directors quickly launched three inaugural programs that began in 1995 and continued into 1997:

• The Cooperative Grants Program to support teams of U.S. and FSU scientists and engineers conducting joint research across a broad range of basic and applied fields. That program awarded a total of $11.6 million to 281 projects, including FSU country cost-shares and financial contributions from several donors. In late 1997 the Foundation announced the availability of supplementary funds for travel by young Russian and American participants in Cooperative Grants Program projects. The competitive supplements will be funded by the NSF ($462,000) with matching support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR).

• The $1.15 million Regional Experimental Support Centers (RESC) Program to place major research equipment and instrumentation in selected FSU laboratories and institutes to enhance their capacity for technological research. Six laboratories in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine received awards, and all equipment was in place by the end of 1997.

• And the Travel Grant Program to enable FSU researchers to attend meetings of scientific societies and industrial associations in the United States. The Foundation awarded $470,000 to 193 travel grantees from 9 FSU countries.

   The CRDF followed the establishment of those successful programs by a new competition, Collaborations in Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences, undertaken at the request of the NIH. The $1.95 million competition was largely funded by a $1.3 million contribution from the NIH. Other funds were derived from the CRDF's general budget and a $100,000 contribution from the government of Ukraine. Under the Collaborations in Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences Program, the Foundation made 20 program development grants and 43 major research grants. An additional $210,000 contributed by the Department of State has been allocated to projects involving scientists from Kazakhstan's Stepnogorsk defense biological research facility.

   With subsequent general budget contributions from the NSF and the Department of Defense, the CRDF began two additional initiatives:

• The $1.3 million Next Steps to the Market Program to support joint projects between FSU scientists and American companies to advance research results toward commercialization in the marketplace. Three U.S./Ukrainian partnerships received awards in 1997. Other proposals are in review.

• And the $400,000 Closed Cities Program to support collaborative civilian research between U.S. companies and FSU scientists and engineers who work in restricted, formerly secret facilities engaged in research on weapons of mass destruction. This program is part of a broad international effort directed toward non-proliferation. Six awards were made in 1997. The program is open to additional proposals.

   By the end of 1997, the CRDF's total budget reached nearly $26.4 million. Some of the contributed funds were targeted toward special projects that further the assistance goals of the funding organizations:

• The Alaska Fisheries Science Center Project, a joint research effort between the Alaska Fisheries Science Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Russia's Pacific Fisheries Research Center (TINRO) to survey the pollock population in the Bering Sea. At NOAA's request, the CRDF developed a program for implementing the research project, for re-outfitting a Russian vessel, and for managing the project's finances. ($927,000)

• The Higher Education Initiative, a potential new program recommended in a 1997 study conducted by the CRDF for the MacArthur Foundation that examined opportunities for support of basic research in the FSU. When fully funded, it is envisioned that the initiative will consist of major awards to selected Russian university-based centers of excellence as well as grants to exceptional young university investigators. The CRDF is developing an implementation plan and managing a demonstration project, jointly funded by the MacArthur Foundation ($250,000) and the Russian Ministry of General and Professional Education, in preparation for full realization of the initiative.

• The National Foundation of Science and Advanced Technologies (NFSAT), a new, independent Armenian research agency. At the request of the Department of State/Agency for International Development, the CRDF is providing training in grant and foundation management for key NFSAT officials, support for start-up administrative expenses, and help in conducting a targeted competition for research grants. ($500,000)

• The International Geodynamics Research Center in Kyrgyzstan, a project funded by the Department of State/Agency for International Development ($250,000), with contributions from the Russian and Kyrgyz governments. ($55,000 total). The CRDF is assisting the Kyrgyz Institute of Seismology and the Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences to set up the new center as a shared facility available to visiting researchers from other countries.

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   In its first two full years of operation, the CRDF has established strong programs that address a range of scientific and technological needs in the FSU. The Foundation's successes have attracted new donors and resulted in requests from other organizations for assistance in developing and managing their FSU programs. Because of its special status as a private foundation chartered by the federal government, the CRDF has been able to respond quickly and with flexibility to opportunities. Due to its close relationship with FSU science officials and its tax-free status in its partner countries, the CRDF has delivered aid directly to scientists in a time frame that met their needs. In all its activities, the CRDF has operated with minimal overhead costs so that the maximum percentage of contributed funds has flowed into direct programmatic uses.

   In promoting the health of the scientific enterprises of Russia and the other FSU countries, the CRDF has helped to ensure their continued participation in global scientific progress. By assisting defense scientists to apply their expertise to civilian research and by encouraging the establishment of merit-based, market-oriented R&D management practices and institutions, the CRDF has supported American interests in making the international political environment more stable and peaceful.

   Figures 1-4 illustrate the sources of CRDF budget funds and the distribution of expenditures by category of expense, by program, and among FSU countries.
(To enlarge, click on each individual figure.)

Looking Ahead to 1998

   During its first two full years of operation, the CRDF supported scientific collaboration in all fields and developed approaches that are now the basis for focused programs.

   A major program thrust during 1998 will be applied research and market-oriented activities. The Foundation will award additional grants under the experimental Next Steps to the Market Program that are direct outgrowths of industrially oriented Cooperative Grants Program awards and CRDF travel grants. The Foundation will also enlist the assistance of American companies in new projects to increase understanding among FSU researchers about technology commercialization and Western business practices. The Commercialization and Technology Management Workshop to be held in Uzbekistan will be one model for such activities. Industry will also play the central role in new Closed Cities projects aimed at helping FSU defense researchers make the transition to civilian research in fields with commercial potential.

   A second thrust of the CRDF in 1998 will be targeted activities directed toward scientific infrastructure building in the countries of the FSU. For the MacArthur Foundation, the CRDF will establish a program plan for a potential Higher Education Initiative to strengthen basic research in FSU universities. With funds from the Department of State/Agency for International Development, the Foundation will continue its efforts in two other targeted infrastructure projects begun in 1997: development of the National Foundation of Science and Advanced Technologies in Armenia; and establishment of the International Geodynamics Research Center in Kyrgyzstan.

   The CRDF's third principal activity in 1998 will be the Grant Assistance Program (GAP), a successor to a similar ISF program. Through GAP, the Foundation will assist both public and private organizations to transfer funds and equipment for non-profit, humanitarian support to the FSU free of customs duties and taxes. The Foundation will also act as a liaison for those organizations in coordinating their programs with FSU government agencies and research institutions.

   The independent countries of the former Soviet Union continue to require assistance in modernizing their research base. Science and technology are not effectively supporting FSU economic growth. However, because of many urgent economic and social needs, science ranks low among government budget priorities in those countries. During the years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, reorganization and redirection of civilian and defense scientific institutions has progressed slowly, and the research plant has become increasingly obsolete. Too many talented scientists are still emigrating or switching to more lucrative careers outside science, and as a result, young people are discouraged from working in science.

   With the persistence of such problems in the FSU, the original rationale of the U.S. Congress in establishing the CRDF remains valid. In the upcoming year, the CRDF will continue to work toward the goals of its legislative mandate and will seek new contributions from public and private sources to build on the success of previous programs.