SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION TRANSFER (PROJECT PAPER)

AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC/TECHNICAL INFORMATION (TI), ESPECIALLY AS RELATED TO APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES (AT). THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE"S (USDOC) NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION SERVICE (NTIS) WILL IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT IN COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATING AGENCIES (PA"S) AND WITH MISSION ASSISTANCE. A BILATERAL COMPUTERIZED TI RETRIEVAL NETWORK WILL BE ESTABLISHED IN EACH OF THE 3 LA REGIONS (CENTRAL AMERICA, ANDEAN GROUP, CARIBBEAN) BY FURNISHING EXISTING FACILITIES WITH THE NTIS DATA BASE (CONSISTING OF TI FROM ALL U.S. GOVERNMENT AND FROM U.S. PRIVATE SOURCES) FOR RETRIEVAL THROUGH REMOTE TERMINALS IN PA"S IN 15 LA COUNTRIES/ORGANIZATIONS. DATA BASE WILL ALSO INCLUDE INDIGENOUS TI COLLECTED BY PA"S FOR AVAILABILITY THROUGH NTIS AND, POSSIBLY, DATA BASES OF REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS OAS AND ICAITI. SEARCHES WILL YIELD SUMMARIES OF INFORMATION. FULL TEXTS WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH PA"S; DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS WILL BE OPENED IN EACH PA TO PROVIDE USER CREDIT (EXCEPT FOR GRADUATE COUNTRIES). PA"S WILL CONTACT TARGET GROUPS OF TI WITH THE HELP OF ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH THESE GROUPS. THE NTIS MONTHLY CATALOGUE, "APPLICATION OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT" (AMTID) WILL BE PRODUCED IN SPANISH. SOME 8,500 ISSUES, 5,000 DIRECTED TO SPECIFIC ADDRESSES, WILL BE CIRCULATED THROUGH LA OUTLETS. NTIS WILL ALSO PUBLISH A QUARTERLY TI NEWSLETTER ON SUCCESSFUL USES OF AT. NTIS WILL PROVIDE PARTICIPANT TRAINING IN METHODS/TECHNIQUES OF INFORMATION TRANSFER TO 25 INDIVIDUALS FROM THE 3 CENTERS AND TO REPRESENTATIVES OF ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH TARGET GROUPS. IN-COUNTRY SEMINARS (12) ON AT INFFORMATION AND ITS DISSEMINATION WILL BE HELD FOR PA"S. NTIS WILL ESTABLISH A TRANSLATION SERVICE FOR PRIORITY AT DOCUMENTS HAVING A DIRECT IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT OF LA URBAN/RURAL POOR. NTIS WILL ALSO PREPARE A QUESTIONNAIRE IN SPANISH TO MEASURE THE IMPACT/USES OF PROJECT INFORMATION AND WILL DEVELOP A PLAN TO RECORD/TEST PROJECT OUTPUTS, ESPECIALLY ACTUAL USES OF AT INFORMATION. Amendment of 7/82 extends project 5 years (through FY87) and revises project to expand NTIS services to the private sector. The revised project will: (1) support the NTIS service network in LAC through short-term U.S. and in-country training, publications, a functioning USDOC project management team, project evaluation, and systems to moderate materials acquisition costs and handle logistics; (2) upgrade the NTIS information system by integrating it into the Control Data Corporation"s DEVELOP Search Service, funding brokering consultancies to LDC"s by WORLDTECH, and automating information services in select PA"s; and (3) multiply local access points to the NTIS field Network and contract 2 Peace Corps Volunteers as subregional program officers. (PD-KAG-643)