How can U.S. institutions tap into growing experiences and capabilities around the world? Could new approaches to international collaboration, both at the governmental and private sector levels, contribute to better leveraging the efforts of individual nations to address global problems? What are the ramifications for national science and technology strategies of an increasingly global research and development enterprise?

The Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) organized an international symposium on National Science and Technology Strategies in a Global Context to explore these issues. The symposium, which was held May 7, 1997 in Washington, D.C., brought together a wide range of U.S. and international expertise (see Appendix A for agenda and roster). GUIRR Chair Richard Celeste presided at the session, just prior to his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to India.

This report was prepared as a record of the discussions and background materials. The chapters on National Science and Technology Strategies (Overview), Examples of "Effective Practice" in Research Support and Performance, Implementing and Evaluating Science and Technology Strategies, and Issues and New Approaches to International Cooperation reflect the structure of the symposium. The draft was reviewed by workshop participants and their comments were incorporated. In addition to the symposium, several preparatory issues discussions were held with U.S. government officials, industry, and private sector experts, and officials from a number of foreign embassies. An address by Japan's former Minister of State for Science and Technology, Hidenao Nakagawa, was held August 8, 1996 under the auspices of this activity (see Appendix B for a timeline of related activities). The symposium and related events reflect GUIRR's continued interest in international issues affecting the future of the U.S. research and innovation enterprise.¹