This report documents our conclusion that international collaboration in science and technology is a fundamental paradigm for advancing knowledge and solving global problems. It urges the United States to take a leadership role in advancing international collaboration, and presents new models to achieve this mission.

In the United States, the Administration and Congress clearly support international collaboration in science and technology. International collaboration is viewed as a good way to leverage U.S. investment in science and technology, to position U.S. industry to capitalize on research breakthroughs, and to train U.S. researchers to collaborate with foreign colleagues to solve global problems. Further, the free exchange of ideas is viewed as a positive force for democratic change.

A clear and visionary plan of action regarding international collaboration in science and technology can be an essential component of national policy to address physical issues (e.g., global warming) and socio-political issues (e.g., drug trafficking, increase of democratic governments). International collaboration in computer science and engineering must be an essential component of this plan.

Advances in computer science and engineering, more than any other discipline, are responsible for the internationalization of science. Advances in these areas have created a global information network that supports distributed computing and collaboration. Future advances will reduce or eliminate remaining barriers to collaboration due to time, space and language, and support a global scientific enterprise. Quite simply, the disciplines of computer science and engineering are central to international collaboration. They are creating and advancing the essential infrastructure that is used to conduct the business of science.

The benefits of international collaboration justify extraordinary efforts to increase and sustain international research projects. The main benefits of these projects are: (a) the creation of new knowledge and technologies; and, (b) their application to global problems that threaten health, peace and prosperity. The main barriers to international collaboration are the lack of coherent and consistent policies and plans to promote and support such activities.

The report concludes that the U.S. must take a leadership position in creating mechanisms for international collaboration in science and technology. This would be a significant step toward achieving many national goals. Specifically it would contribute to: a) developing a more secure, healthier, prosperous and better-educated citizenry; b) advancing scientific knowledge; and c) finding solutions to global problems.

The United States has one key agency that is well positioned to lead this effort. It is the National Science Foundation. We conclude that the computer science and engineering community should be challenged to work with the NSF, to form bridges from it to other agencies, and to create programs leading to increased international cooperation on science and technology projects.

Among other recommendations, the report proposes several models to stimulate and sustain international cooperation in science and technology, namely:

International Science Foundation
The research community and NSF should work to establish an International Science Foundation with participation by all nations. The new institution should have as its main goal advancing knowledge and developing technologies to solve global problems. A single organization with this mission can help remove many of the current barriers to international collaboration inherent in bilateral relationships, and develop standard procedures to initiate and sustain multinational projects.

The National Science Foundation should establish new programs within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) to support international collaboration. New initiatives with substantial resources are needed to underscore a national commitment to a world-orientation in building computer and intellectual infrastructure. Programs should ensure a focus on significant international goals where achievements are possible due to advances in computer networking. CISE is the appropriate directorate for new programs because computer science plays an essential role in developing the infrastructure and tools that support the global scientific enterprise.

International Super Centers
International Super Centers should be formed to solve specific global problems. These would be virtual collaboratives linking physical centers of excellence. Associates would use high bandwidth networks to communicate. New technology will be in place here to enable the world's best scientists and engineers to work together to solve global problems. Super Centers will provide computer scientists and engineers an invaluable testbed for design and test of distributed networks; distributed computing; and, collaboration technologies.

Develop Next Generation Infrastructure and Tools
Fund explorations to advance the tools and infrastructure for international collaboration. With regard to this, it is noted that international projects provide the best possible environment for computer scientists to propose and evaluate advances in distributed computing, communication and collaboration.

Expand Existing Programs in Latin America and Elsewhere
Increase the amounts for, and durations of, collaborative research projects. In developing and economically depressed countries, the U.S. should subsidize joint research projects. Move current NSF funding for joint research projects from modest levels, designed to stimulate initiation of collaborative research projects in new areas, to more substantial efforts. To attract the best researchers in the U.S. and other nations these programs must include follow-on funding with a joint review scheme to sift out the most successful projects.

The past decade's radical changes in information and communication are having profound effects on the way ordinary people learn about and interact with the world. Moreover the conduct of business and scientific/engineering enterprises has also changed. We are moving rapidly towards a single global economy and a single global scientific enterprise.

Although professional and national competition is vital, cooperation and shared goals are needed in many domains. Evidence shows that international scientific collaboration leverages national investment and can produce great benefits. International efforts to protect ecosystems and the natural environment recognize and underscore the importance of setting objectives higher than individual gain in order to provide for societal gains. The range of international cooperation activities includes common markets, trade agreements, stronger international recognition of intellectual property rights, and world interest in educational reform.

The Administration has emphasized the importance of international collaboration in recent policy statements. In his address to the United Nations on October 12, 1998, Vice President Gore proposed five new challenges in a "Declaration of Interdependence". He challenged the world community to:

• improve access to technology so everyone on the planet is within walking distance of basic telecommunication services by the year 2005;
• bridge language barriers by developing technologies with real-time digital translation so anyone on the planet can talk to anyone else;
• create a global knowledge network of people working to improve the delivery of education, health care, agricultural resources, and sustainable development, and to ensure public safety;
• ensure that communications technology protects the free-flow of ideas and supports democracy and free speech; and
• create networks that allow every micro-entrepreneur in the world to advertise, market, and sell products directly to the world market.

Today we can only glimpse the changes that advances in information and communication technologies will bring. As scientists involved in developing these technologies, we chose to look ahead to create frameworks to successfully guide and manage these changes. We sought to harness their potential to advance science to meet global objectives.

While the United States maintains a leadership position in many areas of information and communication technologies, federal agencies supporting computer science and engineering research have been slow to consider and implement new policies to support international collaboration. Given the global changes in communication, commerce and collaboration driven by the growth of the Internet, we considered whether new policies are necessary. Likewise, we examined the issues that an integrated comprehensive policy must address.

As a start toward understanding the internationalization of science and technology, and specifically of research on computer, communication and information science and engineering, the NSF funded a Workshop on International Collaboration in Computer Science (WICCS-97). The goal of the workshop organizers and participants was to arrive at a deeper understanding of the benefits of international collaboration, the costs and risks associated with these activities, and to recommend ways to increase opportunities and optimize future benefits.

• What are the main benefits, barriers and risks associated with international scientific collaboration with respect to individual investigators, to the interests of the U.S., and to the global community?
• What does the global landscape of international collaboration look like today, and what might we anticipate in the future?
• What are the existing opportunities for U.S. scientists? What is the special role of computer science and engineering in international collaboration?
• What steps should the community in general, and the NSF in particular, take to guide rather than be swept up (or aside) by the forces of globalization?

This report summarizes the main insights and recommendations of the workshop. It also responds to recent developments subsequent to the workshop including new international initiatives, and recent activities of the U.S. Congress and White House. The report also includes many beneficial contributions by members of the research community who did not attend the workshop.

The main conclusion of this report is that international collaboration in computer science is vital to our national interest. This is so because international participation is required for solutions to global problems that threaten our welfare and security. Indeed some global problems could even impact the long-term survival of humanity.

Moreover, computer and information science and engineering provide infrastructure necessary to conduct the business of science. Computing and communications are essential means to enable cooperation among diverse international workers. The report recommends that the CISE community be challenged and given means to take leadership in promoting international collaboration in computer science and engineering. International CISE collaboration must include sufficient investigators to positively address those global problems whose solutions depend on advanced CISE technologies.

Progress toward these goals can be materially advanced by NSF activity. That could be a simple programmatic assertion that international CISE collaboration is of highest priority. Similarly, the process of supporting international interaction would benefit greatly from definite standards, new research funding initiatives, and significant programs at the level of major NSF divisions. These should be focused on CISE topics, and oriented to stimulating and supporting international collaborative CISE research.

The remainder of this report is organized as follows. Next, we briefly review the changing landscape of U.S policy regarding international collaboration in science and technology, and the nature of the NSF’s participation in support of international collaboration in CISE. In the following section, we explore the many benefits of international collaboration in CISE, as well as the barriers. In the final section, we submit a set of recommendations for increasing and optimizing international collaboration.

Until quite recently, science and technology policy in the United States was driven by national security needs. The critical role of science and technology in winning World War II underscored the importance of national investment in science and technology. In a 1993 report, the House Committee on Science provides this summary:

During the cold war years, the U.S. research agenda in most areas of CISE was heavily influenced by DARPA, and reflected the needs of the defense establishment. Until quite recently, DARPA was the only federal agency with sufficient resources to support large multi-site programs in computer science with ambitious, long-term goals. These programs have provided both a stimulus and a model for programs in other countries. For example, DARPA sponsored programs in speech and natural language research with results evaluated in international competitions run by NIST. These competitions engaged international research communities in common research and system development efforts. This was a form of international collaboration; it amplified a national effort to achieve some world-relevant U.S. scientific goals.

In 1997, the Speaker of the House of Representatives charged the House Committee on Science to develop a new science and technology policy for the U.S. The letter included the following motivation for this task:

Changing national priorities have impacted the National Science Foundation and the U.S computer science community. In the past two years, the NSF’s funding of computer science related research has increased dramatically, with major initiatives such as the $68 million Knowledge and Distributed Information initiative. For the first time, the NSF funding of basic research in computer science and engineering exceeded funding by DARPA. Moreover, the NSF has sponsored an increasing number of programs encouraging interdisciplinary efforts, multiple institutions, and technology transfer from laboratories to classrooms. These programs reflect changing national priorities and the growing realization that advances in computer science and engineering are vital to our national interest. New initiatives and programs have not included an international component.

In Computer Science and Engineering, the vast majority of international collaboration occurs at the level of individual investigators, or through collaborative relationships between research laboratories or academic institutions. International collaboration is also stimulated by the large population of foreign graduate students trained in U.S. universities.

The NSF's INT division provides a vital role in stimulating and supporting international collaboration in computer science. The focus is on exploring collaborative opportunities through workshops and visits, and stimulating collaborative research projects through seed grants. Joint research projects are typically supported for two to three years at the level of individual investigator awards. Activities supported by INT require direct cooperation between U.S. scientists and foreign scientists through their respective institutions, and cost sharing by each side. The exact requirements of joint research projects depend upon bilateral agreements between the U.S and its partner countries.

The United States and European Union (EU) are currently working together through joint efforts to support international collaboration in digital libraries and multilingual information management. Both the U.S. and EU support substantial research efforts in these areas, and are seeking to accelerate progress by leveraging on existing work and the many benefits of international collaboration.

New initiatives are also underway between the U.S. and Latin America. International workshops in Brazil and Mexico, sponsored in part by the NSF, have led to joint research programs with these countries to support international collaboration in computer science. The joint research program between the NSF and Mexico's CONACyT has resulted in a dramatic increase in funding of computer science research in Mexico. International collaboration between the U.S and Brazil is now supported through a joint initiative of the NSF and Brazil's CNPq, providing up to $200k for U.S. researchers to collaborate on joint research projects with their Brazilian colleagues.

The White House and Congress have identified international collaboration in science and technology as a national priority. The research community should be involved to help identify new opportunities and models for international collaboration. This report is a first step in that direction.

The applicability of CISE research to monitoring and managing global weather follows from the need to collect, process, understand, predict and evaluate (enormous amounts of) information at large numbers of world sites where unique resources (people, laboratories, sensors, computers, actuators, etc.) are located. The following lists ten sample areas of CISE research essential to world weather and other global tasks:

1. World-level networking. Size, heterogeneity, software demands and hardware requirements of large global networks present unique CISE research problems. (This is needed to enable seamless access to weather information across the world from both sensors and databases.)
2. Archiving and processing massive amounts of data. Coping with real-time data collection rates. (Processing accumulations of weather data is needed to address global warming, climate trends.)
3. Intelligent data retrieval. Means to support timely selection and distribution of data. (Obtaining weather information and directing it to the people and locations where it is needed.)
4. Distributed processing of information. Means to enable local processing and global sharing and analysis of data. (Weather information and its analyses possess value apart from its geographic source.)
5. High-performance computing. Means to provide the necessary computational power for detailed simulation beyond the ability of any existing supercomputer. (Needed for weather simulations across the world.)
6. Knowledge understanding and data mining. Methods to search, detect and explain phenomena from aggregated data sources. (Weather-relevant issues are present in the massive resources present in existing databases.)
7. Computer interfaces and language translation. Technology to allow people of varied cultures and languages to work and collaborate effectively. (This is essential to create world weather management infrastructure, and to support more effective air traffic control.)
8. Software engineering. Standards to enable worldwide software development. (Practices to support interfacing software modules developed in different countries, particularly for issues that bridge political borders, e.g. weather, natural resources, and biology.)
9. Network-based machine operation. Means to support remote operation of sensors, actuators and instrumentation from anywhere in the world. (Seismological and weather measurements require new network modalities.)
10. Intelligent sensor and instrumentation technology. Means to allow data to be collected anywhere and anytime. The range of such technology goes from the extremely small (nanomachines) to the uniquely large (e.g. arrays of large antennas and satellites) and encompasses a multitude of CISE topics. (As in 9., weather and other issues require new modalities.)

The above contains central CISE topics. Research activities on these themes are underway in universities, industries and national research laboratories around the world. However, global warming presents problems of unprecedented scale. The complexity of coordinating, managing, maintaining and programming many millions of information sources networked across the world dwarfs that of any system in existence today. To collect, store, process and manage these data requires infrastructure involving large constituencies and capable of surviving geopolitical phenomena. Global problems can be solved only through novel structures ensuring world participation of specialists in computer and information science.

Major scientific countries, the United States, the European Union, Japan, Korea, the nations of the former Soviet Union, have invested billions of dollars in information and communication technologies through their governmental and industrial organizations. Researchers educated in computer science and engineering there and elsewhere are an existing resource. International collaboration can leverage this investment, building upon it to cause new technologies to serve groups of nations and the world community.

The basis of the economic growth in many world areas has been highly educated population. Israel, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other nations have moved forward through focused investment to develop and use an existing pool of knowledgeable workers. Whether through institutional means (Binational Science Foundation, International Information Science Foundation) or due to immigration or other population movement, and informal connections to the United States, trained personnel have been the basis of new industries, many centered on computer and information technology.

International collaboration builds upon the education, training and experience of tens of thousands of engineers and computer scientists, the lessons they have learned, and the discoveries they have made. The diversity of the talent pool produces synergistic results: Scientists from different countries approach problems with diverse skills, attitudes and perspectives that stimulate novel approaches and creative breakthroughs. Providing scientists from different countries the opportunity to work together not only increases the talent pool, but also changes and enhances it. The potential synergy of the hybrid talent pool could greatly accelerate the advancement of knowledge, the creation of new technologies, and the solutions to global problems.

Current NSF CISE initiatives, such as Digital Libraries, Educational Innovation and Knowledge and Distributed Information (KDI), will create new technologies, tools and paradigms for scientific collaboration and discovery. International collaboration extends the scope of these activities to overcome challenges of physical distance, time zones, languages, cultures, computing environments, etc. Scientists in different countries who collaborate to solve global problems test the effectiveness of new tools and technologies. International collaboration is a valuable laboratory for research, development and evaluation. It will lead to new paradigms for scientific discovery and collaboration.

Computer scientists and engineers play a special role in science and technology: they provide the infrastructure used by the scientific community to conduct research and advance knowledge. This includes the tools used by the international community to collaborate and solve global problems. Better tools, infrastructure and focus can greatly improve our chances of understanding and solving global problems.

New paradigms for collaboration will require new infrastructure. Understanding these infrastructure needs and defining the best implementation strategy is itself a major research challenge in part due to the rapid change in computer and information technology. It is both inefficient and risky to address related problems locally and hope that these solutions generalize to support international collaboration. Similarly, in disciplines other than computer science, it is equally inefficient to develop international cooperation mechanisms and policies without any involvement by the CISE community and hope that they are the most efficient in leveraging information processing and communication techniques.

If the U.S. is to maintain world leadership in information and communication industry it must train students to work and compete in a global arena. Projects requiring international collaboration provide valuable experience for scientists, engineers and managers to function in an increasingly global marketplace. Graduate students participating in global projects will gain competitive advantage, for themselves and the companies that will employ them: in distributed virtual environments; working with people in other cultures; and via discovery of new technology commercialization opportunities.

A main tenet of U.S. international science and technology policy is to promote our economic well being. "While we must remain ever vigilant and militarily strong, the need to maintain economic strength has taken on primary importance today." (1998 House Report, page 4)

In the past five years the high technology sector has contributed the largest share to our national growth, about double the national average. Growth in high technology is perhaps the most prominent factor contributing to recent U.S. economic prosperity.

The Asian financial crisis underscores the extent to which the economies of individual nations are interrelated. International collaboration in computers (science, information, and engineering) would support global financial stability. It would enable developing nations to participate in this fast-changing field. As a result their citizens would become both consumers and producers of high technology.

Support to foreign research can serve U.S. policy abroad. Supporting research and education in developing countries is an efficient means of foreign aid. Such support reaches respected and influential people in targeted nations, provides them means to collaborate with U.S. researchers; it contributes to U.S.-friendly leaders. Direct research support could help less developed countries build centers of excellence, computing infrastructure and industries. It would help bring developing countries into the information age. This aid can take the form of computing equipment and software produced by U.S. companies. It would thereby establish markets for the U.S., and provide motivation for industrial participation in foreign research initiatives.

Investment in foreign research increases the hybrid talent pool, builds lasting professional relationships and earns good will for the U.S. while producing advances in science and technology. U.S. support of research in other countries (under international collaboration activity) would benefit highly capable and motivated scientists and students there who otherwise lack the resources to achieve their potential. Scientists in these countries could participate in large international projects only if needed infrastructure, tools and training become available. The ever-decreasing costs of computers, and the ability to collaborate over long distances using computer networks, mean that relatively small investments in foreign research can produce enormous returns. In cooperation with U.S. colleagues, scientists in these countries could be helpful participants in multinational projects.

The trend toward a global information society brings with it an urgent need for engineering leadership in the definition of standards, international protocols and mechanisms for trade, commerce, intellectual and cultural exchanges. The U.S. should provide this leadership. It involves a unique historical opportunity and multiple benefits to the participants.

Information technologies have led to new modes of interaction via publicly accessible infrastructures. This is the key paradigm of CISE technology. To lead the technology deployment it is essential to be involved in early development stages. This produces a strong argument for involvement of U.S. scientists in international CISE research efforts.

The Workshop on International Collaboration in Computer Science began with a session entitled "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Participants shared feelings and stories about international collaboration. A clear consensus emerged from our work that the benefits of international collaboration outweigh the difficulties and hardships often encountered. U.S. researchers' motivations range from the desire to collaborate with the best people in the world, to the desire to help talented colleagues in less prosperous countries who cannot realize their creative potential because of insufficient resources.

The benefits described in this section indicate an urgent and vital need to accelerate international collaboration in computer science, computer information, and computer engineering. Providing the means and motivation for scientists to collaborate effectively across national and political boundaries would create infrastructure and synergies needed to advance knowledge, create new and improved technologies and provide solutions to coordinated global problems that cannot be solved locally. In addition, international collaboration will train U.S. researchers to participate in global projects, and position U.S. industry to both provide and participate in the development of new technologies to support international efforts.

The main barrier to international collaboration in computer science and engineering is lack of U.S. policy to promote and support it. Although international collaboration is now identified as a national priority, policies and programs have not yet been put in place to translate this priority into a plan of action. For example, within the National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering (NSF CISE) directorate, procedures for funding international collaboration differ from country to country, when such opportunities exist at all.

International collaboration in science and technology is the province of the Department of State. Congressional testimony by several experts noted that State is poorly provisioned to promote international collaboration or take advantage of opportunities that arise. According to Congressional testimony, the Department of State has failed to provide the necessary vision, leadership and support for international collaboration in computer science. The 1998 House Report cites testimony that "scientific expertise and commitment is severely lacking within the Department of State." Admiral Watkins noted that "leadership there always seems to be lacking in both timely enthusiasm and technical qualifications."

International Collaboration in CISE has a relatively weak constituency within the NSF. Activities within CISE are driven by a constituency of managers and researchers who support and lobby for the importance of their programs. Each program has a clear focus for advancing knowledge and creating new technologies in areas of national importance. Given this organizational structure, it is difficult to motivate support for international collaboration since funding is perceived as a "zero sum game." Support for international collaboration necessarily eliminates support for other programs. (Supporting international collaboration would rob Peter to pay Paul, but Peter is better armed.)

Support for international collaboration is also relatively weak in the U.S. computer science academic community. Researchers understand where the "action" is within the NSF, and invest their time in activities that promise to deliver the greatest amount of funding. The NSF divisions in CISE science have relatively large budgets to support research. Likewise they have relatively small budgets to support international collaboration. The NSF’s approach to international collaboration provides seed money to stimulate cooperative activities. Because the NSF does not provide resources to fund major efforts involving international collaboration, these efforts are not taken seriously by the research community. Whether intentional or not, the NSF sends a message to researchers in computer science and engineering: International collaboration is encouraged but is not a priority.

Funding research in computer science and engineering in the United States is guided by such national priorities as maintaining technological superiority in computing and communication. National priorities often conflict with international collaboration—shared knowledge and technology (research advances and new technologies would no longer be "owned" by the U.S.). This conflict is compounded by industry participation in federally funded projects (stimulated by agencies’ requirements of matching funds), since industry participation is often motivated in part by the opportunity for competitive advantage in the marketplace. These same barriers to international participation are present—to greater or lesser extent—in all countries.

For international collaboration to be truly effective, collaboration must occur between national governments and their agencies. Even when all parties share the same vision, existing rules and regulations (immigration, taxation, etc.) complicate the process. Government bureaucracy often is frustrating to researchers and program managers within the U.S. Difficulties when government bureaucracies attempt to work together on international programs are significant.

There are significant barriers to international collaboration in computer science. Because there is a clear, important and urgent need to increase international collaboration, the computer science research community seeks to facilitate it and to lower existing barriers to such activities. This requires proposing, examining and testing new models for international collaboration. We present a set of recommendations for consideration. These share a common theme. All recommendations for new programs and models for international collaboration are based on rewards that would accrue from a dramatic increase in cooperative transnational opportunities.

The NSF should increase the number and scope of joint research programs in developing countries. While we have argued that bilateral agreements are not the most efficient means to promote internationalization of computer science, they can be very effective in specific countries, and should be pursued at increased funding levels until more ambitious multinational initiatives can be implemented. Establishing such programs requires identifying researchers in the U.S. and partner nations who are willing to organize workshops to promote joint research programs.

It is important to find ways to subsidize foreign institutions to support joint research efforts because this is good foreign policy. In many countries, financial resources are simply not available; amounts as low as $30k to $50k can support students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in other countries. Presently, this is very difficult to do within the NSF. This investment would enable U.S. investigators to utilize unique resources, and to leverage CISE funding. In many countries, small U.S. dollar investments can make a big difference.

The benefits of U.S. participation in joint research programs in developing countries are illustrated by the success of the NSF / CONACyT program. During the last five years, the NSF and Mexico’s CONACyT have sponsored three workshops to promote collaboration in computer science between the U.S. and Mexico. Prior to these workshops, there was no division or program within CONACyT responsible for funding computer science. Mexican computer scientists were forced to submit proposals to programs supporting research in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, etc. The NSF / CONACyT workshops helped mobilize the Mexican computer science community. Computer science is now a top priority within CONACyT, which recently funded the establishment of several centers of excellence in computer science at Mexican universities.

We recommend that joint research programs, such as those established by the NSF with federal funding agencies in Mexico and Brazil, be initiated in other countries. The amount of the awards in these programs must be increased to attract top U.S. researchers. It is also necessary provide significant follow-on support beyond initial grants. A seed grant is a good way to initiate collaboration, but there must also be mechanism to support successful collaborations, so they can realize their potential. Follow-on funding is necessary to attract top researchers to international programs. The model could be the successful SBIR program.

A model for supporting international collaboration among different countries or funding agencies that is reasonable, consistent and understandable by researchers and program managers world wide is highly desirable. Ideally, it would support training international research teams on the basis of scientific goals and complementary expertise. It would enable groups to seek funding for their work by submitting research proposals to a single agency with the ability to review and fund the proposal. The details of what agencies in different countries should be involved, their deadlines, requirements and other idiosyncrasies should be hidden from the researchers by the agency that receives the proposal.

Funding agencies have a major organizational role to play in this context and should reexamine and reform their inner workings and formal relations with foreign counterparts. Their international funding units should capitalize on the new interest and high priority placed on international collaboration and global efforts. In order to seize this opportunity, they must re-evaluate and revise policies to remove barriers and constraints that were imposed by Cold War attitudes and policies. They have a major responsibility and much of the necessary competence and experience in developing an international collaboration model that reflects the CISE needs in the 21st century.

Many in the CISE community do not know about existing international opportunities. Funding agencies should market existing international activities and opportunities more aggressively.

Funding agencies should actively encourage researchers to take advantage of opportunities for international collaboration when they can show that such collaboration is appropriate and desirable. In such cases, concrete measures should be used to quantify the benefits of collaboration.

The NSF should develop better reporting mechanisms regarding INT proposals, research results, the investigators and their international collaborators. The information should be collected and made available readily to the CISE community.

It is also important to make the CISE community aware of international activities, such as those of the European Union, including RACE, PACE, ESPRIT, etc. Some of these multinational programs require the participation of universities, industry and government labs, and serve as interesting models for international collaboration.

The importance of international collaboration must also be marketed within funding agencies. Leading officers should encourage and empower program directors to take advantage of existing mechanisms to stimulate and fund international collaborative research.

Further, we recommend that a small delegation of workshop participants make a presentation to leading officers of funding agencies to underscore the importance of international collaboration, and the recommendations herein.

Finally, a follow-on workshop should be held in about one year, to examine the outcomes of the first workshop, and to continue to find ways to support international collaboration in CISE.

Funding barriers to international collaboration could be overcome in several ways.

• Congress should be lobbied for additional support for international programs. The good news here is that 1998 House Report notes that "The importance of stable funding for large-scale, well-defined international science projects should be stressed in the budget resolution and appropriations process."
• By involving other divisions within the NSF such as INT.
• By involving other government agencies whose participation is needed to solve global problems such as the DOE or NASA.
• By enlisting the support of industry. Since U.S. software, hardware and communications industries are dominant in many areas, they are well positioned to provide the resources needed to support international collaboration, and to capitalize on technological advances.

International collaboration requires developing transnational facilities. Whether infrastructure is via Internet, Unix operating system, database or PC standards, its development is essential to successful research. New tools that enable international collaboration are needed.

International networking infrastructures are essential for both CISE research and international scientific collaboration. Efforts are needed to investigate and develop new classes of applications that explore these infrastructures. Examples of such applications include tele-immersion and virtual collaboratories.

The potential benefits of international collaboration justify extraordinary efforts to produce new programs and initiatives, and to explore new models for collaboration and funding. Coordination of resources contributed by other countries and international organizations will have major impact on world problems.

We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Rita Rodriguez, whose energy and vision motivated the workshop and final report. The report benefited greatly from input by Jerry Engel, Robert Frederking, Hynek Hermansky, Eduard Hovy, Judith Klavans, Rick Schlichting, Don Towsley and Benjamin Wah. We thank Tim Carmell for his excellent work organizing the workshop and setting up the WICCS97 web site; Terri Durham for her help in organizing and managing the workshop, and Mike Noel for his help in formatting the final report for the Web.