PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

In 1981 the Japanese government approved funding for a very unusual (in the Japanese context) basic research program designed to support unfettered basic research in Japan and to break the traditional hierarchical structure that exists in almost all sectors in Japan. Because of the program's bold objectives and its acceptance and continuing strong support within the Japanese government and science and technology community, the JTEC team wanted to achieve the following:

• increase U.S. understanding of this program
• provide insights useful for the U.S. technical community
• identify future opportunities for U.S. participation or cooperation

Specifically, the JTEC panel was looking at the overall ERATO program, not just at the technical results. In addition, many of the panel's questions, while originally directed at ERATO projects, applied to PRESTO projects as well. Some of the specific questions the panel addressed were as follows:

• What is the overall scientific quality of the program? Does this program foster high-risk, leading-edge research?
• Has the research achieved an international standing?
• Is the research important, i.e., published in peer-reviewed journals?
• Has the research stimulated new lines of research?
• How scientifically sophisticated are the research teams?
• How well does the program train young researchers?
• Does the program encourage independent thinking?
• What value can and does the program have for Japanese industry?
• How much of the research has been continued in other settings, primarily in industry or universities?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of the ERATO process?
• Does this process foster the success of projects? If so, in what ways?
• Does the program attract top people as directors and research staff?

There was also a set of secondary questions, more related to broad sociological and cultural issues, that the panel wanted to answer. Some of these were the following:

• How successful has the program been in internationalizing Japanese science?
• How successful has the program been in changing cultural attitudes in Japan?
• Are these changes viewed as positive or negative by the "establishment" in Japan?
• What has happened to researchers as a result of being involved with ERATO projects?
• Can the program be scaled up in funding and in numbers without lowering the quality of the research?