NOTE TO CIA - (Sanitized) FROM E. RAYMOND PLATIG

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00985R000100160010-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 30, 2005
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: March 30, 1973
• Content Type: NOTES

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
J9arc( 30, 1973
25X1
TO: CIA -
Attached for your information is the Summary and text
r9f P ctat#!s report on the USC/FAR. uhmitted tv Mr= Cline
to dir. Rush, Chairman of the NSC Under Secretaries Connittee.
The report bears the designation USC/FAR Doc. No. 26, March 6,
1973.
As you may already know, Mr. Rush's staff has circulated
both documents to the Hcadc and Deputy Heads of USC/FAR Member
and Observer Agencies.
E. Raymond Platig
USC/FAR Executive Secretary
Attachment:
c. stated.
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SUMMARY OF STATUS REPORT
ON
WORK OF USC./FAR, MARCH 6, 1973
USC/FAR: MEMBERS AND PURPOSES:
This Subcommittee., established in early 1971 in
response to a Presidential Directive, NSDM 98, consists
of six Member Agencies (State, Defense, AID, ACDA, USIA,
and the NSC Staff) and seven Observer Agencies (Treasury,
Commerce, HEW, OMB, CIA, OST and the NSF). The Sub-
committee is responsible for developing consolidated
plans for support by all Member Agencies of external
research on foreign affairs; insuring interagency
consultations for project coordination and joint
research activities; and collecting and disseminating
information on government supported research, both to
support the planning and coordination functions and
to improve utilization of research results.
PLANNING FUNCTION:
The Subcommittee has prepared two annual Consolidated
Research Plans offering a framework within which collabora-
tive programming and coordination of projects among Member
Agencies ies can be undertaken,.
COORDINATION:
Interagency consultation and coordination is carried
out in the USC/FAR's five regional and four functional
Consultative Groups. USC/FAR Member, Observer and eleven
other interested agencies have, in varying degrees,
participated in the work of these groups, coordinating
major research projects and considering questions involving
particular emphases in the USC/FAR research effort.
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DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION:
To carry out its third function, the USC/FAR main-
tains an interagency inventory of government-supported
external research projects and a Documentation Center for
collecting and disseminating completed studies funded by
the government. It also publishes FAR Horizuns, a quarterly
newsletter to promote communication among foreign affairs
research professionals in the government and the academic
community.
WHITE HOUSE REACTIONS TO SECOND PLAN:
The Second Consolidated Research Plan., forwarded in
September 1972 by the USC Chairman to the President,
contained six research objectives reflecting the deter-
mination of Member Agencies to stress particular research
needs and described Consultative Group actions for imple- -
mentini.r some of these goals. In his response of September 28,
1972, Mr. Kissinger indicated three USC/FAR activities
where greater emphasis could be placed. He requested
that the Member Agencies give priority to the work of
the Consultative Groups; stressed the need for more
interagency coordination in selecting and funding
specific research topics; and asked that the develop-
ment of the USC/FAR i.nforination system be expedited.
RECENT PROGRESS:
The Consultative Groups and other units of the
USC/FAR have initiated a number of actions in pursuit
of the agreed research objectives. Joint funding
arrangements among various agencies for projects
amounting to $165,000 have been consummated and
similar arrangements totalling an additional $310,000
worth of projects are being negotiated. Collaborative
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arrangements for sharing research designs, monitoring
projects or utilizing research results are being made
for about 25 other projects. The Documentation Center
has recently published the first issue of a cumulative
bibliography of government-sponsored studies. The
feasibility of computerizing the inventory of current
projects is being actively pursued.
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
A, Washington. D.C. 20520
USC/FAR Doc. No. 26
March 6, 1973
NSC UNDER SECRETARIES COMMITTEE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS RESEARCH
MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHAIRMAN, USC
Subject: Status Report on Work of the USC/FAR
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a report.
on the current work of one of the Subcommittees of the NSC
Under Secretaries Committee. The Subcommittee deals with
Foreign Affairs Research and uses the designation USC/FAR.
BACKGROUND:
In NSDL%1 98 of February 1971, the President directed the
Under. Secretaries Committee to assume responsibility for the
coordination of government-supported-external research on
foreign affairs. To assure implementation of the President's
directive, the Chairman of the USC (through NSC-?U/SIM1 96 of
March 1971) appointed an interagency Subcommittee on Foreign
Affairs Research, asked the Director of the Bureau of Intelli-
gence and Research (INR) to bh3ir the new group and issued
Terms of Reference for it.
The Member Agencies of the USC/FAR are six in number:
State, Defense, AID, ACDA, USIA and the NSC Staff. In addi-
tion there are seven Observer Agencies: Treasury, Coaunerce,
HEW, 01.1B, CIA, OST and NSF. INR's Office of External Research
(XR) provides staff support for the USC/FAR, the Director of
XR serving also as Executive Secretary for the group.
UNCLASSIFIED
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2
In the past two years the USC/FAR has undertaken and
completed a number of activities and tasks. Among the major
of these are:
-- preparation, on an annual cycle, of two successive
Consolidated Research Plans., each projecting for two years
ahead how the Member Agencies propose to deploy their exter-
nal research resources;
-- development and refinement of planning procedures;
as the USC/FAR enters its third planning cycle, computer-
ized information handling techniques are being utilized to
assist in current analysis of planning and pr_ogr,,uc,-,,ing data
and eventually to make possible retrospective and trend
analyses, if needed, for coordination or other management
purposes;
-- establishment of nine interagency Consultative Groups
as settings for the coordination of major projects of interest
to more than one agency. In addition to. the 13 Member and
Observer Agencies, 1.1 other agencies participate to some degree
in the work of these Consultative Groups;
-- initiation and continuing development of a USC/FAR
information system with two major components: (1) an inven-
tory of current goverI!I ent-supportE d, exLernal research pro-
jects to which all agencies contribute and have access; (2)
a Documentation Center as a central depository for the storage
and dissemination within the government of completed studies
funded by government agencies;
-- publication of a quarterly newsletter called FAR Horizons
as a communications medium linking foreign affairs research
professionals in and out of government.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
The Second USC/FAR Consolidated Research Plan for FY-1973-
74 was forwarded to the President by the USC Chairman on Scptem--
ber 5, 1972. Among other new features, the Second Plan con-
tained six USC/FAR Research Objectives through which the Member
Agencies expressed their agreement to support certain common
goals and thereby put additional emphasis upon specified areas
of research. Both the Plan and the_ memorandum trans: itt_i ng
it to the President pointed up the role of the Consultative
Groups in implementing the objectives and in effecting project
coordination and alluded to the developing USC/FAR information
system. _
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UNCLASSIFIED
In a September t8 response to the USC Chairman, Mr. Ki.ss-
inger'said that the President-had noted the Second Plan as "a
promising step toward interagency coor-dination of government-
supported external research on foreign affairs." The Kissinger
memorandum went on to indicate three areas of USC/FAR activity
in need of additional emphasis. These areas are listed below
along with a brief account of recent actions pertinent to each.
1. USC/FAR Research Objctives : In his memorandum of
September 28, Mr. Kissinger said that the President had "noted
with approval the statement of objectives" and the role of
the Consultative Groups in their implementation. Mr. Kissinger
went on to ask that the Member Agencies give priority to the
work of these Groups. In the last several months:
-- the USC/FAR Consultative Groups, where called for,
have met to initiate implementation of the research ob-
jeCtiVeS;
-- other steps have been taken through appropriate
USC/FAR auspices to advance those research objectives
not assigned to a particular. Consultative Group;
-- as a result, various activities are now underway
and the decision was made to abandon one research ob-
jectivc. Additional details on the status of the six
research objectives are contained in the document attached.
2. Coordination of New Project.s: Mr. Kissinger's memo-
randum of September 28 also asked that further attention be
given to coordination at the point of "actual selection and
funding of specific research topics of interest to more than
one agency." Thus there was additional reason to give priority
to the work of the Consultative Groups which had boon set up
primarily for this purpose aiid whose chairmen I had just alerted
to the opportunities for coordination offered by publication of
the Second Plan. In the intervening months all nine of the
Consultative Groups have net at least once to consider major
new projects being sponsored by Member Agencies. During or
following this latest round of formal consultations:
-- ninety-five new projects being contracted for by
individual Member Agencies- were brought 'Co, the attention
of other agencies;
-- definite joint.--funding arrangements were announced
or consummated involving five agencies, three projects
and $165,000 of FY-1973 funds;
-- additional joint-funding arrangements involving
three a_ encies two )ro-ccts and ',310 000 of FY--7.973
Appra ~g ,fqr i Sets 4Q~'~ h -h EP ~~ 8 R4~ O~~O otlation;
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UNCLASSIFIED 4
-- agencies participating in the Consultative Groups
agreed in various combinations to continue in touch con-
cerning approximately 25 other projects; some of these
continuing contacts have already resulted in, and other:;
no doubt will result in, various types of collaborative
activities including such things as joint design, moni-
toring and utilization of research studies.
3. Further. Development of the USC/FAR Information System:
Finally, Mr. Kissiinger`s memorandum called for expediting the
development of an information system as an essential means
"both to facilitate in+eragency coordination of future research
topics and to i:iake existing studies more readily available."
In recent months, a number of pertinent steps have been taken,
among them the following:
-- publication of the first issue of what will become
a cumulative bibliography of studies resulting from govern-
ment-supported projects and on deposit in the Documentation
Center operated by the USC/FAR Executive Secretariat. The
purpose is to stimulate wider use throughout the govern-
ment of completed studies;
-- intensive consultation between the USC/FAR Execu-
tive Secretariat and the Automated Data Processing Divis-
ion of the Department of State to develop the technical
requirements and cost/benefit ratio of the Secretariat's
proposal to automate the USC/Ff?R inventory of current
projects which now includes annually some 1,000 items
supported by a dozen different departments and agencies;
-- pending a decision on automation, introduction of
modest changes in the design of the annual compilations
of projects in the inventory in order to reduce their
bulk and increase their accessibility. `
THE FUTURE:
On March 1, the USC/FAR entered its third annual. planning
cycle. This will end next August when we send to you and ask
you to transmit to the President the Third Consolidated Research
Plan. At that point I will. again give you a report on the major
activities of the USC/FAR.
The close and cordial cooperation that existed among IF11e..ber
Agencies in production of the Second Plan leads me.to believe
all find benefit in this annual effort and, therefore, the Third
Plan.will be an even more useful document. The initiation of
action on research objectives agreed to among Member Agencies
indicates an interagency purposefulness which we hope will be
fedAr~~ ied dt~R a ~O~ li/~ FA 8ee0(f $ R 1~6' ~ 3
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The decision to issue the Second Plan on an unclassified
basis, the quarterly publication of FR Horizons, and some of
the research goals to which the USC/FARis committed all bespeak
a healthy openness of the government to the academic community.
This we will try to nurture so that it yields mutual respect
and benefit despite the inevitable differences one can expect
among dedicated professionals who, from various vantage points,
seek to identify and work on that edge of the future where
knowledge and policy most usefully intersect. A Department of
State sponsored conference scheduled for April is designed in
part to be another step in this direction.
Our growing experience with the coordination of new
projects suggests that, with a minimum of cumbersome formali-
ties, the spirit of consultation and cooperation is beginning
to spread beyond the Member Agencies and beyond the planning
function to affect the critical day-to-day activities of
project initiation, design, implementation and utilization.
It is the impact of this spirit upon these activities--an
impact possible neither to command nor to capture in the pre-
cision of numbers---which must ultimately provide the justifica-
tion for the formal and more visible structures, services and
processes of the USC/FAR.
I c
Ray S. "Cline
Chairman
USC Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs Research
Attachment:
Status Report on Research
Objectives.
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UNCLASSIFIED
STATUS REPORT ON RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
SECOND USC/FAR CONSOLIDATED FEJSEARCH PLAN
Objective l: Improve the Bases of Choice in Foreign
Affairs Through theDevelon:P.ent and Application of Quanti-
tative Analytical Techniques.
The USC/FAR Consultative Group on General Research,
charged to act on this Objective, has focussed its attcent_i-on
on the plans of the National Science Foundation to sponsor
next summer a conference on quantitative analysis of inter-
nation behavior. The proposed conference would assess the
state of the quantitative analytical arts, identify gaps,
and suggest topics for further investigation. The Group felt
that this conference could be an important first step toward
accomplishing Objective 11. It was therefore agreed that the
Chairman and other interested members of the Group would keep
in touch with the NSF project officer and, at an appropriate
time, arrange a meeting at which the entire Group could be
briefed by the principal investigator on detailed plans for
the conference, The Group could then begin to consider what,
in pursuit of Objective might be useful next steps to
capitalize on the results of the NSF--sponsored conference.
Objeective 4 2: Improve external Foreign AffairsResear-ch
on the PJ:C b"7- ncre. i nc; the Exchange of jell -Ordered Data
Between the Government and the Academic Co L-munity.
The USC/FAI: Executive Secretariat, working in concert
with the Chairmen of the USC%I'AR Consultative Groups on East
Asia and General Research, convc: ned a number of ad hoc meetings
of selected officers from Member and other agencies in order
better to define the problem and map a course of action. There
emerged a solid consensus that more precise knowledge was needed
about those factors which all agreed are important to making an
exchange of China data feasible and useful in addition to its
being desirable. Since information about these factors is
widely scattered in both the government and the academic
community, it was decided that the service of a corL:petent
scholar with government. experience was needed to conduct an
inquiry and prepare a feasibility study. For this purpose,
the Department of Sta-i;e has negotiated a contract with Pro" essor
Davis Bobrow'7 of t1?e Univers.i_ty of Minnesota whose qualifications
for the task are highly regarded by a numb `r of of ficeers in the
USC/FAR no~wor~ To assure coordination, Professor
Bobrow will work closely with a sub-group of the Chinese-Engi ish
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Translation Assistance project (CETA). CETA is itself an
interagency activity closely related to the USC/FAR Consul-
tative Group on East Asia and involving a high degree of
government-academic cooperation. Professor Bobrow's study
is expected to be completed in the fall of 1973.
Object.ive "3: Dev lot? Common? Approaches to USC/FAR
Member Agency Support of Policy Studies with Multi.-.,gency
Interest.
To take action on this objective, the USC/FAR Chairman
named two State Department officers as co-chairmen of an a6
hoc working group on policy studies. Nine Member and Observer
AgenClE..., ]C? r e i C c p C? 1 t. s to sE-erv on t _e>
:~.. _ Group. As
indicated in the Plan, the Group took as its primary task to
assess the desirability and feasibility of a multi-agency pro-
gram of competitively awarded grants (or contracts) to univer-
sity foreign affairs policy study groups. A series of prelim-
inary questions and guidelines was circulated to members of
the Group for coimrtents. The responses made clear that almost
all agencies felt one or more of the following to be true: common
approaches presuppose a greater mutuality of interests on the
part of USC/FATl, agencies than actually exists; policy studies
should b an integral part of agency research programs, not
separated out for special treatment; in a period of budgetary
constraint, the USC/FAR should avoid raising false hopes that
it might become a new source of research fund--; universi -y
based research has no unique claim on the research budgets of
mission agencies. It was therefore decided that further action
on this Objective had little chance of bearing fruit and should
be abandoned.
Ob.j