Getting To Know Each Other Better: Repairing Growing Misunderstanding and Distrust

The United States is engaged in an experiment to define how its new “Science Envoys” can be useful for science diplomacy around the globe. Most broadly, one can view the task assigned to envoys as increasing the influence of science and scientists worldwide. As clearly argued in the 2004 report from the InterAcademy Council, “Inventing a Better Future: A Strategy for Building Worldwide Capacities in Science and Technology” every nation, no matter how poor, requires science and technology for meeting its needs in health, agriculture, environment, and education. With this view, envoys should focus on creating partnerships that build the capacity of scientific and engineering institutions in each nation, so as to enable all nations to use scientific and technical expertise to advance their own goals. Success in these endeavors will require improvements in the way that countries like the United States allocate resources to international development, as well as strong collaboration between the envoys from different industrialized nations.