largely solved these problems. They developed a number of arrangements for coping with the realities of scientific and institutional activities that cross the boundaries of discipline and function. Achieving a balance among monitoring, modeling, empirical studies, and process studies required unprecedented cooperation among NOAA, NSF and other federal agencies when reviewing funding proposals and when filling crucial gaps during the implementation phase of the program. At the same time, meteorologists and oceanographers at universities and federal laboratories took a more active role in providing balanced scientific advice to the relevant federal agencies through the National Research Council's TOGA Panel and other structures. The coincidence of scientific interests and national priorities may allow the interdisciplinary collaborations developed during the TOGA Program to persist, and may help to define more clearly the relationship between climate research and societal needs. The development of the ability to predict seasonal-to-interannual climate variations has changed the ways in which many scientists think about their work and their obligations.