Federal Research: Information on International Science and Technology
Agreements (Letter Report, 04/22/99, GAO/RCED-99-108).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the
U.S. government's international science and technology (S&T) agreements
that support and encourage international cooperation in research and
development, focusing on the: (1) number of international S&T agreements
active during fiscal year (FY) 1997; and (2) number of these agreements
that resulted in research projects or other activities.

GAO noted that: (1) during FY 1997, the 7 agencies GAO reviewed
participated in 575 international science and technology agreements with
57 countries, 8 international organizations, and 10 groups of
organizations or countries; (2) 54 of the agreements were between the
U.S. government and the government of another country; (3) the remaining
521 agreements were signed by representatives of an U.S. agency and
representatives of an agency of a foreign government(s) or international
organization; (4) more than 90 percent of the international science and
technology agreements resulted in research projects or other
research-related activities, such as consultations among scientists and
exchanges of data and personnel; (5) the percentage of agency agreements
that resulted in projects and other activities ranged, by agency, from
61 percent at the National Institutes of Health to 98 percent at the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and (6) agencies'
officials told GAO that changes in either country's science priorities
or inability to fund projects after negotiating an agreement are
frequently the reasons some agreements do not result in research
projects.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-99-108
     TITLE:  Federal Research: Information on International Science and
	     Technology Agreements
      DATE:  04/22/99
   SUBJECT:  Foreign governments
	     International agreements
	     Research and development
	     International cooperation
	     Research programs
	     Interagency relations

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FEDERAL RESEARCH: Information on International Science and
Technology Agreements GAO/RCED-99-108 United States General
Accounting Office

GAO Report to Congressional Requesters

April 1999 FEDERAL RESEARCH Information on International Science
and Technology Agreements

GAO/RCED-99-108

  GAO/RCED-99-108

GAO United States General Accounting Office

Washington, D. C. 20548 Resources, Community, and Economic
Development Division

B-279841 April 22, 1999 The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman The Honorable George E. Brown, Jr. Ranking Minority
Member Committee on Science House of Representatives

International collaboration in science and technology through
joint research and development projects and activities offers
opportunities for the United States and foreign governments to
leverage research dollars and increase productivity. The
experience and information gained from these projects and
activities can lead to discoveries and inventions that are
important to the economic growth and development of both the
United States and foreign countries.

This report responds to your request that we provide information
on the U. S. government's international science and technology (S&
T) agreements that support and encourage international cooperation
in research and development. Specifically, as agreed with your
offices, this report identifies (1) the number of international S&
T agreements active during fiscal year 1997 and (2) the number of
these agreements that resulted in research projects or other
activities. 1 As requested, we reviewed international S& T
agreements involving the Department of State (State); the
Department of Energy (DOE); the National Science Foundation (NSF);
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the
National Institutes of Health (NIH); the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST); and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Results in Brief During fiscal year 1997, the seven agencies we
reviewed participated in 575 international science and technology
agreements with 57 countries, 8

international organizations, and 10 groups of organizations and/
or countries. Fifty- four of the agreements were between the U. S.
government and the government of another country. The remaining
521 agreements were signed by representatives of a U. S. agency
and representatives of an agency of a foreign government( s) or
international organization.

1 Fiscal year 1997 is the most current year for which S& T
agreement data were available at the start of our review. We
define active agreements as agreements that have not been
terminated by the participating governments or organizations.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 1

B-279841

More than 90 percent of the international science and technology
agreements resulted in research projects or other research-
related activities such as consultations among scientists and
exchanges of data and personnel. The percentage of agency
agreements that resulted in projects and other activities ranged,
by agency, from 61 percent at the National Institutes of Health to
98 percent at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Agencies' officials told us that changes in either country's
science priorities or inability to fund projects after negotiating
an agreement are frequently the reasons some agreements do not
result in research projects.

Background The Department of State has overall responsibility for
ensuring that all proposed international agreements are fully
consistent with U. S. foreign

policy objectives. The Department negotiates and administers
government- level S& T agreements, often referred to as umbrella
or framework agreements, between the U. S. government and
governments of foreign countries. The Department also delegates
authority to other U. S. agencies for them to negotiate and
administer government- level agreements with foreign governments
in mission- specific areas, such as energy and space. Government-
level agreements generally provide the protocol that multiple
agencies can use to share scientific data and equipment, to
exchange researchers and conduct collaborative projects, and to
protect intellectual property rights.

In addition, research agencies negotiate and administer agency-
level agreements with their counterpart agencies in foreign
governments and with international organizations to conduct
international cooperative research, provide technical support, or
share data and/ or equipment. Agencies have the flexibility to
determine the number of agreements in which they participate and
to choose whether these agency- level agreements will be related
to or not related to a government- level agreement.

The Department of State; the Offices of Science and Technology
Policy and the United States Trade Representative, within the
Executive Office of the President; the Department of Commerce; and
other relevant agencies review many of the proposed agreements
that are legally binding, as described in the Department of
State's Circular 175. 2 The review known as the Circular 175
process is designed to ensure interagency

2 Circular 175 outlines the government's procedures for
coordinating reviews of proposed international S& T agreements.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 2

B-279841

coordination; consistent treatment of issues such as access to
foreign facilities, information, and expertise; and appropriate
consideration of the foreign policy implications of specific
agreements.

While these agreements can be an indicator of national interest to
cooperate in research and development, they are generally
diplomatic agreements that have no associated budget authority. 3
The U. S. government maintains these agreements to support and
encourage international cooperation in science and technology.
However, the government does not have a system for linking
international S& T agreements with actual spending on cooperative
research and development. According to a study by the Rand
Corporation, the U. S. government spent more than $3 billion in
fiscal year 1995 on research and development projects involving
international cooperation that may or may not have been associated
with specific international S& T agreements. 4 In addition, the
study states that government agencies spent as much as $1.5
billion in other activities that were not research and development
but that constituted scientific or technical activities that
involved significant international cooperation.

In this report, we categorize the international S& T agreements
into four types: (1) government- level bilateral agreements
between the U. S. government and the government of another
country, (2) agency- level bilateral agreements between a U. S.
agency and a research agency of a foreign country that are related
to a government- level agreement and provide additional details
that define how each agency will cooperate, (3) agency- level
bilateral agreements between a U. S. agency and a research agency
of a foreign country that are not related to a government- level
agreement, and (4) agency- level multilateral agreements between a
U. S. agency and research agencies of international organization
and/ or of two or more foreign countries. Figure 1 illustrates the
types of S& T agreements.

3 Between 1987 and 1995, the United States signed seven
international S& T agreements that created joint funds matched by
each participating country to encourage collaboration on
international projects. In fiscal year 1996, the United States
stopped contributing to these funds and no longer provides funding
for international S& T agreements.

4 International Cooperation in Research and Development: An
Inventory of U. S. Government Spending and a Framework for
Measuring Benefits, Critical Technologies Institute, RAND (1997).

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 3

B-279841

Figure 1: Types of International S& T Agreements

Bilateral agreements between the United States and another

country. Bilateral agreements between a U. S. agency and a foreign

agency not related to a government- level S& T

agreement. Bilateral agreements between

a U. S. agency and a foreign agency that are related to a

government- level S& T agreement.

Multilateral agreements between a U. S. agency and international

organizations and/ or a group of countries. Government- level
bilateral S& T Agreements

Agency- level bilateral and multilateral S& T Agreements

Number of International S& T Agreements

During fiscal year 1997, the seven agencies we reviewed
participated in 575 international S& T agreements. The number of
agreements varied by agency, with the Department of Energy
participating in 257 (or 45 percent) of the 575 agreements. Fifty-
seven countries participated in bilateral agreements, while 8
international organizations and 10 groups of organizations and/ or
countries participated in multilateral agreements.

Types of International S& T Agreements

Two- thirds of the agreements were agency- level bilateral
agreements. Most of these were not related to government- level
bilateral agreements. To be related to one of the government-
level agreements, an agency- level agreement must specifically
state that it is related to a government- level agreement. 5 As
figure 2 shows, 225 of the 575 agreements were agency- level
bilateral agreements that did not refer to a government- level
agreement, while 156 agency- level bilateral agreements did
reference a government- level agreement. The 140 multilateral
agreements did not have corresponding government- level
multilateral agreements. App. I provides additional details on the
number of agreements by type.

5 Under our approach for categorizing agreements, government-
level agreements included agreements that cover broad S& T
coordination issues and research in specific mission- related
areas.

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B-279841

Figure 2: Number of International S& T Agreements, by Type, Active
During Fiscal Year 1997

225 140

54 156

Agency- level multilateral agreements Agency- level bilateral
agreements not related to government- level bilateral agreements

Government- level bilateral agreements Agency- level bilateral
agreements related to government- level bilateral agreements

Note: There are 575 agreements. Source: GAO's analysis of
agencies' data.

Agency officials had different viewpoints on the relative
advantages and disadvantages of developing agency- level bilateral
agreements that relate to government- level agreements. At the
National Institute of Standards and Technology, over 80 percent of
the agency- level bilateral S& T agreements refer to existing
government- level agreements. Program officials at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology said that they believe that
it is easier to negotiate an agency- level agreement that is
related to a government- level agreement because intellectual
property rights issues have already been resolved in the
government- level agreement. Department of State officials agreed.
Office of Science and Technology Policy officials added that
having agency- level agreements related to government- level
agreements provides it and the Department of State some degree of
oversight to ensure that agency programs are consistent with
nonproliferation, trade, and other national security interests. At
the Department of Energy, on the other hand, 40 percent of the
Department's agency- level bilateral agreements are not related to
a government- level S& T agreement. According to Department of
Energy officials, having agency- level agreements that are related
to government- level agreements

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 5

B-279841

under certain conditions can impose an administrative burden.
Government- level agreements with some countries may require
numerous meetings and reports to monitor the status of projects
and actions. According to these officials, agency- level
agreements related to such government agreements would also
require similar meetings and reports. These meetings and reports
can increase the cost and decrease the time available for actual
research or project implementation.

Agencies' Participation The distribution of the 575 agreements
varied widely among the seven agencies we reviewed. As figure 3
shows, the number of agreements varied from 26 for the National
Science Foundation to 257 for the Department of Energy.

Figure 3: Number of International S& T Agreements, by Agency,
Active During Fiscal Year 1997

Number of agreements 0 50

100 150

200 250

300 NIH NASA DOE NSF NOAA NIST State

Note: There are 575 agreements. Source: GAO's analysis of
agencies' data.

Participation by Foreign Countries and Organizations

The seven agencies that we reviewed have bilateral agreements with
57 countries from almost every region of the world and
multilateral agreements with 8 international organizations and 10
groups of organizations and/ or countries. Figure 4 summarizes the
distribution of

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B-279841

bilateral agreements among major regions of the world. For
example, in North America, the United States has a total of 34
bilateral agreements with two countries Canada and Mexico. App. II
provides specific data on the number of bilateral agreements by
agency and by country.

Figure 4: Geographical Distribution of Bilateral Agreements

North America

34 Agreements 2 Countries

Europe

111 Agreements 26 Countries

Asia

190 Agreements 14 Countries

Middle East

13 Agreement 3 Countries

Australia and South Pacific

24 Agreements 3 Countries

Africa

15 Agreements 3 Countries

South and Central America

48 Agreements 6 Countries

Note: Total number of bilateral agreements equals 435. Source:
GAO's analysis of agencies' data.

As figure 4 shows, 301 (69 percent) of the bilateral agreements
are with Asian and European countries; Middle Eastern countries
have the least number of agreements. Agreements with Japan,
Russia, and China together account for 146 (34 percent) of the 435
bilateral agreements. Japan has the most agreements with an
individual agency 28 with the Department of Energy.

Almost half of the 57 countries participating in bilateral
agreements are involved in both government- level and agency-
level agreements. Figure 5

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B-279841

summarizes the number of countries that participate in different
types of agreements.

Figure 5: Number of Countries With Different Types of Bilateral
Agreements

Countries with government- level but no agency- level agreements

Countries with governmentand agency- level agreements

Countries with agency- level but no government- level agreements

7 23 27

Note: There are 57 countries with bilateral agreements. Source:
GAO's analysis of agencies' data.

As shown in figure 5, U. S. agencies have signed international S&
T agreements with agencies in 23 foreign countries that do not
participate in government- level S& T agreements. For example, the
Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration have a number of agreements with agencies in France
and Australia. The United States has not signed a government-
level S& T agreement with either country. Officials at the Office
of Science and Technology Policy and the Department of State
indicated that, with some countries, there may not be sufficient
interest by enough agencies to warrant a government- level
agreement.

Figure 5 also shows that U. S. agencies have not developed
agreements with seven countries that have signed government- level
S& T agreements. 6 According to officials at the U. S. agencies,
their agencies do not participate in agreements with some
countries because the countries are

6 U. S. agencies have not signed agency- level agreements with
Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, and Turkey.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 8

B-279841

not conducting research that meets their agencies' mission needs.
The officials said that State Department officials use joint S& T
agreements as one of several tools to improve foreign relations
and to demonstrate diplomatic support for a country. However,
these officials said that while they recognize that diplomacy and
improved foreign relations may be valid reasons for signing broad
S& T agreements, individual U. S. agencies will not sign
agreements with other countries unless the agreements address
agency research missions. In addition, National Institutes of
Health and National Science Foundation officials said that
agencies can informally collaborate on research projects and in
other research- related activities without an international S& T
agreement.

U. S. agencies have also signed a total of 140 international S& T
agreements with international organizations such as the
International Energy Agency and the European Space Agency and
groups of organizations and/ or countries. Figure 6 summarizes the
number of multilateral agreements by these organizations and
groups. For example, U. S. agencies have 16 agreements with the
European Space Agency. See appendix III for details on the
agencies, organizations, and countries participating in the
multilateral agreements.

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B-279841

Figure 6: Participants in Multilateral S& T Agreements and Number
of Agreements by Participants

European Space Agency European Union Other organizations Groups of
organizations

and/ or countries International Energy Agency

16 97

14 8 5

Note: There are 140 multilateral agreements. Source: GAO's
analysis of agencies' data.

Figure 6 shows that 97 (about 70 percent) of the 140 multilateral
agreements are with the International Energy Agency. The
International Energy Agency represents the U. S. and 23 countries
with common scientific interests and priorities. According to
Department of Energy officials, the International Energy Agency
acts as a broker for the Department of Energy whenever two or more
member countries participate in an agreement. However, the
participating countries may vary for each agreement, depending in
part on the subject of the agreement and the countries' interests.
For example, an agreement on coal research involves Australia,
Canada, and 10 other countries and the United States, while
another agreement on advance fuel cells research involves Japan,
Korea, and 12 other countries and the United States.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 10

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Most S& T Agreements Result in Research Projects or Other
Research- Related Activities

More than 90 percent of the international S& T agreements active
in fiscal year 1997 resulted in research projects or other
research- related activities. For the agreements that did not have
such results, agencies cited two reasons: funding problems of one
or both parties that developed after the agreements were signed
and changes in research priorities.

Figure 7 shows the percentage of agency agreements that have
resulted in research projects or other research- related
activities since the agreements were started or last renewed. 7
The percentage of agency agreements resulting in projects or other
activities during this time ranged from 61 percent at the National
Institutes of Health to 98 percent at the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration. In total, 93 percent of the agency
agreements, 506 in all, resulted in projects or other research-
related activities such as consultations among scientists and
exchanges of data and/ or personnel. About 7 percent resulted in
no activities. For this report, we define a research project as a
set of coherent activities designed to achieve a common purpose by
a specific date. We define other research- related activities as
meetings, consultations, and exchanges of data and/ or personnel.

7 Agency agreements include agency- level agreements and
government- level mission- specific agreements.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 11

B-279841

Figure 7: Percent of Agreements That Resulted in Research Projects
or Other Actions

0 20

40 60

80 100

DOE NASA NIH NIST NOAA NSF Percent

Research Projects Other actions

Source: GAO's analysis of agencies' data.

Agreements resulted in research projects more often about 82
percent of the time than in other research- related activities.
See appendix IV for additional details on the results of each
agency's agreements.

We did not include data on the number of research projects or
other research- related activities associated with the 33
government- level agreements negotiated by the Department of State
because these government- level agreements generally have
associated agency- level agreements. As previously noted, U. S.
agencies have developed agency- level agreements with all but
seven countries that have government- level agreements. For three
of these countries, four U. S. agencies have started projects
under government- level agreements. These projects are funded from
joint matching funds provided by the U. S. government and the
participating countries to encourage international collaboration.
For the remaining four countries, agencies have neither

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 12

B-279841

signed an agency- level agreement nor started a joint project with
the country under a government- level agreement.

A variety of research projects are conducted under international
agreements at the U. S. agencies. For example, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's projects conducted under
international agreements include a project to develop crew return
and transfer vehicles for the International Space Station and to
launch satellites to conduct research projects. The National
Science Foundation's projects include joint work in ocean
drilling, and the National Institutes of Health sponsors projects
to investigate potentially dangerous infectious diseases. Table 1
provides additional examples of projects and activities resulting
from the agreements.

Table 1: Examples of Research Projects and Activities Resulting
From International S& T Agreements Agency Examples of research
projects and

activities

Department of Energy Demonstration of clean coal technologies to
more efficiently produce electricity from coal.

National Science Foundation Joint construction and operation of
two major telescopes for astronomical observation (Gemini
Telescopes Project).

National Institutes of Health Consultations to explore areas of
cooperation in vision research and workshops to discuss sharing
electronic library information.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Distribution of
data from remote- sensing

satellites to foreign ground stations. National Aeronautics and
Space Administration Cooperation in launching a foreign

country's satellite for earth observation. National Institute of
Standards and Technology Cooperation in dimensional metrology.

Source: GAO's analysis of agencies' data.

Agencies' officials told us that some agreements did not result in
projects because the participating agencies of either country
changed their S& T priorities or were unable to fund projects
after negotiating an agreement. For example, National Institutes
of Health officials said that an agreement signed late in fiscal
year 1997 with Chile has not resulted in the intended projects or
other activities because the Chilean science agency has not yet
been able to provide the expected funding. However, the officials
anticipate that projects may result from this agreement in the
future.

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B-279841

National Science Foundation officials told us that an agreement
with Indonesia has not resulted in activities because of
administrative problems that researchers have encountered in
dealing with the country.

Agency Comments We provided a draft of this report to the
Department of State; the Department of Energy; the Department of
Commerce, which includes the

National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the National Science
Foundation; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the
National Institutes of Health; and the Office of Science and
Technology Policy for review and comment. We obtained comments
from each of these agencies. Generally, the agencies agreed that
the report accurately describes their international S& T
agreements and related activities. Some of the agencies suggested
technical changes to help ensure an accurate description of their
international S& T agreements. In addition, the Department of
State suggested changes that would clarify its role and authority.
We incorporated these suggestions in our report.

Scope and Methodology

To determine the number and type of international S& T agreements
active during fiscal year 1997, we met with officials at the
Department of State's Bureau of Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs and at selected agencies.
Department of State officials provided us with data on some
government- level agreements. However, detailed data on individual
agencies' agreements had to be obtained from representatives from
each agency's international S& T office. 8 To respond to our
request for information, these officials generally collected data
from various units within the agency on agreements that were
active during fiscal year 1997 and provided the data to us
electronically. 9 We analyzed the data to identify the number and
type of agreements and the foreign participants.

To determine the number of agreements that resulted in projects or
other actions and the reasons some agreements have not produced
these results, we obtained information from the six U. S. research
agencies. The Department of State does not generally fund research
projects under the broad government- level S& T agreements that it
administers.

8 We did not request data on informal cooperative efforts
involving individual scientists or on the Department of Energy's
classified agreements. 9 National Aeronautics and Space
Administration officials identified active agreements that were
approved during the 3- year period fiscal years 1995- 97, instead
of all active agreements, because the agency could not easily
identify its total universe of active agreements.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 14

B-279841

In addition, we reviewed and discussed legislation with the
Department of State and other agencies that was relevant to
international S& T agreements. We also reviewed and discussed with
the six research agencies their policies and procedures on
international S& T agreements and obtained pertinent documents and
reports that discussed their international activities and
agreements.

In general, we relied on the data the agencies provided us and did
not independently verify its accuracy. However, we reviewed early
drafts of the data that the agencies prepared for us and followed
up with the agencies to clarify and resolve inconsistencies in all
data that the agencies provided. Our review was performed from
August 1998 through April 1999 in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards.

As arranged with your offices, unless you publicly announce its
contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report
until 30 days after the date of this report. At that time, we will
send copies to the Honorable William M. Daley, Secretary of
Commerce; the Honorable Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy; the
Honorable Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human
Services; the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of State;
the Honorable D. James Baker, Under Secretary, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration; Raymond G. Kammer, Director,
National Institute of Standards and Technology; Dr. Harold E.
Varmus, Director, National Institutes of Health; Daniel S. Goldin,
Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Dr.
Rita R. Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation; and Dr.
Neal Lane, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy. We
will also make copies available to others on request.

Please contact me at (202) 512- 3841 if you or your staff have any
questions. Major contributors to this report are listed in
appendix V.

Susan D. Kladiva Associate Director, Energy,

Resources, and Science Issues

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 15

Contents Letter 1 Appendix I The Number and Types of Agreements
Seven Federal Agencies Participated in During Fiscal Year 1997

18 Appendix II Number of United States Bilateral S& T Agreements
by Region and Country

19 Appendix III Organizations and Countries Participating in
Multilateral Agreements

22 Appendix IV Number and Percent of Agreements Active in Fiscal
Year 1997 That Resulted in Research Projects or Other Actions by
Agency

24

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 16

Contents

Appendix V Major Contributors to This Report

25 Table Table 1: Examples of Research Projects and Activities
Resulting

From International S& T Agreements 13

Figures Figure 1: Types of International S& T Agreements 4 Figure
2: Number of International S& T Agreements, by Type,

Active During Fiscal Year 1997 5

Figure 3: Number of International S& T Agreements, by Agency,
Active During Fiscal Year 1997

6 Figure 4: Geographical Distribution of Bilateral Agreements 7
Figure 5: Number of Countries With Different Types of Bilateral

Agreements 8

Figure 6: Participants in Multilateral S& T Agreements and Number
of Agreements by Participants

10 Figure 7: Percent of Agreements That Resulted in Research

Projects or Other Actions 12

Abbreviations

DOE Department of Energy NASA National Aeronautics and Space
Administration NIH National Institutes of Health NIST National
Institute of Standards and Technology NOAA National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration NSF National Science Foundation S& T
science and technology

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 17

Appendix I The Number and Types of Agreements Seven Federal
Agencies Participated in During Fiscal Year 1997

Government- level Agency- level Types of agreements

Agency Broad S& T Agency

missionspecific Subtotal

Bilateral (related to government- level)

Bilateral (not related to government- level) Multilateral Total

DOE 0 9 9 85 56 107 257 NASA a 0 6 6 6 100 15 127 NIH 0 3 3 8 32 1
44 NIST 0 0 0 41 8 7 56 NOAA 0 2 2 4 19 7 32 NSF 0 1 1 12 10 3 26
State 33 b 0 33 0 0 0 33

Total 33 21 54 156 225 140 575

Note: Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH),
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science
Foundation (NSF), and Department of State (State).

a The number of S& T agreements for NASA may be understated.
Agency officials provided data on agreements that were approved
during fiscal years 1995 through 1997 because they did not know
how many active agreements the agency had in fiscal year 1997.

b In addition to the broad S& T agreements, the Department of
State has negotiated government- level diplomatic notes with
Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany that address intellectual
property rights.

Source: GAO's analysis of agencies' data.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 18

Appendix II Number of United States Bilateral S& T Agreements by
Region and Country

Country DOE NASA NIH NIST NOAA NSF State Total Asia

Japan 28 26 4 13 2 4 1 78 Russia 16 8 4 5 1 3 1 38 China 20 3 1 2
3 1 30 Korea 7 2 7 1 2 1 20 India a 1 1 1 1 4 Taiwan 2 2 4 Armenia
1 1 1 3 Indonesia 1 1 2 Kazakhstan 1 1 2 Philippines 1 1 2
Thailand 1 1 2 Mongolia 1 1 2 Pakistan 1 1 Turkey 1 1

Subtotal 190 Europe

France 9 6 1 4 1 21 Germany 1 8 3 3 15 United Kingdom 5 3 1 1 1 11
Italy 2 4 3 1 1 11 Czech Republic a , b 2 1 1 1 5 Hungary a 1 1 1
1 1 5 Spain 4 1 5 Sweden 3 1 1 5 Ukraine 3 1 1 5 Poland a 2 1 1 4
Finland 1 1 1 3 Netherlands 1 1 2 Austria 2 2 Belarus 1 1 2
Bulgaria 1 1 2 Denmark 2 2 Estonia 1 1 2 Belgium 1 1 Croatia a , c
1 1 Latvia 1 1 Lithuania 1 1

(continued)

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 19

Appendix II Number of United States Bilateral S& T Agreements by
Region and Country

Country DOE NASA NIH NIST NOAA NSF State Total

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia a , c 1 1

Slovak Republic a , b 1 1 Slovenia a , c 1 1 Switzerland 1 1
Romania 1 1

Subtotal 111 South and Central America

Venezuela 12 1 1 1 15 Brazil 3 6 1 1 1 12 Argentina 3 4 2 1 10
Chile 2 3 1 1 1 8 Costa Rica 2 2 Ecuador 1 1

Subtotal 48 North America

Canada 5 14 1 3 2 25 Mexico 3 3 1 1 1 9

Subtotal 34 Australia and South Pacific

Australia 5 9 1 1 16 New Zealand 2 1 1 1 5 Marshall Islands 3 3

Subtotal 24 Africa

South Africa 3 2 1 1 1 1 9 Egypt 1 1 1 3 Ghana 3 3

Subtotal 15 Middle East

Israel a 1 4 3 8 Saudi Arabia 1 1 2 4 Kuwait 1 1

Subtotal 13 Total 150 112 43 49 25 23 33 435

(Table notes on next page)

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 20

Appendix II Number of United States Bilateral S& T Agreements by
Region and Country

Note: Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH),
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrtation (NOAA), National Science
Foundation (NSF), and Department of State (State).

a These countries participate with the United States in joint
funds established through government- level agreements or other
arrangements to support international cooperation in research and
development.

b State Department has a joint government- level agreement with
the Czech and Slovak Republics. For this report, we have counted
it as one agreement with the Czech Republic. c Croatia, the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Slovenia have started joint
projects with the United States under government- level S& T
agreements.

Source: GAO's analysis of agencies' data.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 21

Appendix III Organizations and Countries Participating in
Multilateral Agreements

Agencies participating in multilateral agreements DOE NASA NIH
NIST NOAA NSF

Total number of agreements

Organizations

International Energy Agency 97 97

European Space Agency 13 3 16

European Union 5 2 1 8 Pan American Health Organization 1 1

European Science Foundation 1 1

Standardization and Metrology Organization for the Gulf
Cooperation Council Countries 1 1

Nuclear Energy Agency 1 1 Interamerican Metrology System (5
regional organizations) 1 1

Groups of organizations and/ or countries

European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United
Kingdom 2 2

European Union, Japan, Russia 2 2

European Union, International Science and Technology Center,
Japan, Russia 1 1

Canada, France, Russia 2 2 Canada, France 1 1 Canada, Australia 1
1 Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Chile, Brazil, Argentina 1 1

Denmark, Hungary 1 1 Canada, Mexico 2 2 Sweden, Norway, Finland,
Denmark 1 1

Total 107 15 1 7 7 3 140

(Table notes on next page)

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 22

Appendix III Organizations and Countries Participating in
Multilateral Agreements

Note: Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH),
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science
Foundation (NSF).

Source: GAO's analysis of agencies' data.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 23

Appendix IV Number and Percent of Agreements Active in Fiscal Year
1997 That Resulted in Research Projects or Other Actions by Agency

DOE NASA NIH NIST NOAA NSF Total Number and percent of agreements
by agency

Type of results No. Pct. No. Pct. No. Pct. No. Pct. No. Pct. No.
Pct. No. Pct.

Projects 211 82 124 97 5 11 47 84 31 97 25 96 443 82 Other actions
36 14 1 1 22 50 4 7 0 0 0 0 63 11

No results 10 4 2 2 17 39 5 9 1 3 1 4 36 7 Total 257 100 127 100
44 100 56 100 32 100 26 100 542 a 100

Note: Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH),
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science
Foundation (NSF).

a Does not include 33 government- level agreements. Source: GAO's
analysis of agencies' data.

GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 24

Appendix V Major Contributors to This Report

Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division,
Washington, D. C.

Alice Feldesman Robert Lilly Robin Nazzaro Carrie Stevens

Office of General Counsel

Mindi Weisenbloom

(141173) GAO/RCED-99-108 International S& T Agreements Page 25

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