Other Professional Development Programs

In the orientation program for new Foreign Service Officers, the increasing impact of S&T in contemporary diplomatic practice is emphasized, and the science reporting function normally is introduced as part of the presentation on economic reporting. Senior officers participating in the ten-month Senior Seminar on National and International Affairs examine the effect of scientific and technological developments on domestic and international economic and military questions. The Foreign Affairs

Interdepartmental Seminar also includes units on the scientific and technological aspects of international affairs and U.S. foreign policy-making.

Science Conference Series

The FSI Center for the Study of Foreign Affairs continued sponsorship of a special S&T conference series that brings together public and private sector experts to discuss contemporary international issues. Since the inception of the series in

mid-1983, the Center has organized fourteen S&T conferences. Topics in this series during FY-1986 were:

1. Strategic Defense in the 21st Century, October 16, 1985;

2. Controlling Technology Transfers to the USSR, December 10, 1985;

3. The GATT and Intellectual Property, March 25, 1986; and

4. New Techniques in Language Teaching: Focusing on the Computer, September 17 through 18, 1986.

The Center now has published four books based on the discussions that took place during the science conference series. The following titles are on sale to the general public through the U.S. Government Printing Office:

"Science, Technology and Foreign Affairs: Climate, Scientific Dialogue and Health,"

"Science, Technology and Foreign Affairs: Global Environment, Communications and Agriculture,"

"Robotics and Foreign Affairs," and

"Strategic Defense and the 21st Century."

In addition, the Center has produced a video tape of its symposium entitled "How Can Science and Technology Help Africa Feed Itself?" The tape has been distributed to U.S. missions in Africa. Currently, the Center is planning a conference tentatively entitled "Acid Rain: Its Impact on Foreign Relations."

Regional Resource Officer Training

The FSI annually arranges a course for two to four Foreign Service Officers who will assume significant minerals resources reporting responsibilities. The course, given in cooperation with the Department of the Interior, involves consultations with USGS and the Bureau of Mines at Washington and one week of training at regional offices of the Department of the Interior.

Energy Training

Through DOE, FSI annually arranges a one-week course on petroleum matters including supply, physical limits, and petroleum engineering for Foreign Service officers who will assume petroleum reporting responsibilities.

Officers also are encouraged to enroll in the DOE course on The Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Technical Aspects of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation. Science and Technology Officers have made frequent use of this opportunity to inform themselves before proceeding to post.

Other FSI courses include substantial discussions of S&T issues. The 26-week Foreign Service Economics and Commercial Studies Program includes units on quantitative analysis and computer applications to economics. When S&T issues are important to bilateral and regional affairs, they are considered in the FSI Area Studies courses.

S&T Conferences

A

The Office of Naval Research in London (ONRL) sponsored a conference in January, 1986 to acquaint Embassy S&T Officers in Western Europe and the Middle East with ONRL activities. Nine Science and Technology Officers attended the three day conference that consisted of lectures, seminars, and discussion sessions. primary impact of better cooperation and exchange of S&T information between the Embassies and ONRL will be a decrease in expenses incurred through duplicated efforts. It was agreed that there would be an increase in visits to the Embassies of ONRL liason officials and scientists, and more routine exchange of S&T information. ONRL will be added as a routine recipient of S&T reporting documents prepared by Embassy S&T Officers in Western Europe and the Middle East.

S&T Reporting

Factoring S&T reporting into the annual reporting plans for foreign posts continued to receive a high priority during 1986. Special attention was given to ensuring that reporting on foreign S&T developments reaches end-users in industry and academia on a timely basis. The high priority placed on reporting on developments that may improve the competitive position of U.S. industry was highlighted in a joint State-Commerce message to Embassies.

Support

Back-stopping the S&T officers is the primary function of the Office of Science and Technology Support (STS). In addition to providing responses to a wide variety of requests for information, STS provides regular mailings to S&T officers of recent publications received from technical agencies and non-governmental scientific bodies. During the year, the office scheduled briefings with technical agencies and within the Department for 15 to 20 S&T officers on home leave or preparing for new assignments.

Resources

A September, 1986 review indicated that 52 officers are serving full-time in S&T positions in U.S. embassies; forty are directly funded State Department positions. The remainder are funded by technical agencies. In addition, responses to an inquiry carried out early in 1986 showed that at 30 additional posts abroad a part-time officer spent at least 20 percent of a work year dealing with S&T issues. The outstanding reporting by part-time officers at our Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Consulate General in Stuttgart demonstrate the effectiveness of the "20 percent club." The total cost for full-and part-time State Department positions is estimated at $5.0 million.

Science Counselors and Attaches

Below is a list of Science Counselors and Attaches as of October 1, 1986:

Department of State Domestic S&T Activities

The largest share of the Department of State's domestic Science and Technology activities is carried out and funded by the OES Bureau. Below is a summary of OES personnel positions and the OES budget.

Note: In addition to the funding above, a sum of $1,914,000 was appropriated in FY 1986 to fund a one-year extension of the existing United States-Yugoslavia S&T Agreement pending completion of negotiations leading to a new five-year agreement. Similarly, $1,900,000 was appropriated in FY 1987 to fund a further one-year extension of the existing United States-Yugoslavia S&T agreement since negotiations leading to a new five-year agreement have not been completed.

To fund U.S. participation in activities of thirteen international fishery commissions funded through the OES-managed International Fisheries Commissions appropriation, $10,814,000 was appropriated in FY 1986 and $10,800,000 was appropriated for FY 1987.

The U.S. continues to participate actively in a number of multilateral science institutions, including the NATO Science Committee, the OECD Committee on Science and Technology Policy (CSTP), the Senior Advisors on Science and Technology of the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), and the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). U.S. contributions during FY 1986 to selected international organizations are shown in Appendix III.

In 1985, the Department of State began a critical examination of the extent to which such international institutions contribute to U.S. foreign policy and/or S&T interests. A number of questions were raised about the work of the institutions, and the fact that some of their mandates have not changed for many years. This effort continued in 1986 with attempts to stimulate discussion within institutions on what their future roles should be and how they best could focus their efforts. Such discussions have advanced considerably in the OECD, mainly because the CSTP is preparing for a ministerial level meeting of the Committee in 1987, and many member states share U.S. interest in looking at fundamental questions in that context.

Some

The Department of State also continued efforts initiated last year to reform and revitalize COPUOS and the ECE Senior Advisers on S&T, two of the more political multilateral bodies. The U.S., in close consultation with Western Allies, is seeking to re-orient these bodies away from extraneous and polemical debate and toward balanced and focused discussion of S&T issues and activities. discernible progress was made. For example, the U.S. succeeded in negotiating the addition of two new items, planetary exploration and astronomy, to the agenda of the S&T Subcommittee of COPUOS. Similarly, the U.S. obtained agreement in the ECE to include in the 1987 session of the Senior Advisers a proposal to hold a debate on policies aimed at encouraging innovation by member states having different economic systems. While the changes are important steps in the right direction, much work remains to be done to make these bodies function effectively and responsively to significant interests and concerns.

Economic Summit Science and Technology Initiative

The Economic Summit Science and Technology Initiative formally finished its mandated task in FY 1986. At the 1982 Versailles Economic Summit, leaders of the U.S., Canada, France, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom (U.K.), acknowledged that S&T were fundamental components of international economic relations, and established the "Technology, Growth and Employment (TG&E) Working Group". This group issued reports and recommendations on the relationship between technology and economic growth for each subsequent Economic Summit. The 1982 Summit also started 18 projects to evaluate designated technical areas having high potential for multilateral cooperation. The U.S. led or co-led six projects covering solar system exploration, remote sensing from space, high energy physics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, fast breeder reactor design, and advanced materials and standards. The U.S. participated in six other projects in advanced robotics, biologic sciences, impact of new technologies on mature industries, public acceptance of new technologies, photosynthesis, and aquaculture.