Prospectiva

[pic] CeLGyP [pic]
Centro Latinoamericano de

Globalización y Prospectiva

Nodo Latinoamericano
del Millennium Proyect

On behalf of the Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University, we have the honor to invite you to participate in a global assessment of future issues of science andtechnology. You have been selected by your country's Science Attach‚ to Washington, D.C. and/or by the senior advisers of the Millennium Project, because of the depth and breadth of your knowledge in areas that are critical to this study.

The Millennium Project is a worldwide system for collecting and synthesizing judgments about emerging global challenges that may affect the human condition. Itsannual State of the Future and other special reports are used by decision-makers and educators to add focus to important issues, clarify choices, and improve the quality of decisions. The Millennium Project is sponsored by the organizations listed below with an additional grant for this S&T study from the Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy. It is also supported by senior personnel andinstitutions (called project "Nodes") in eleven regions around the world. The viewpoints contained within this S&T study and other Millennium Project reports are those of the international community. They are not views governed or even necessarily shared by the primary sponsors. Rather, the sponsors share a fundamental interest in the future and how different scenarios, suggested by ideas such asyours, provide insights that can help them plan and prepare for different possibilities.

The objective of this three-year S&T study is to seek a broad range of international perspectives on the emerging issues and forces that are likely to influence science and technology programs and their management in the next 25 years. This study is intended to provide useful information in settinglong-term goals and strategies.

During the first year, the study is exploring these issues through a two-round questionnaire (the second round is enclosed). The second year will focus on the implications of the first year's results for S&T management. In the third year science and technology policy consequences will be made explicit through the use of alternative scenarios.

Those who respond to thisquestionnaire will receive the results in a complementary copy of the next edition of the State of the Future. No attributions will be made, but respondents will be listed as participants. The results of Round 1 have already proven of interest to the national and international scientific communities, and the institutions that fund such research. We have included highlights of Round 1 for yourinformation.

Please contact us if you have any questions or need clarification about this request, and return your responses to arrive at the AC/UNU Millennium Project by 30 April 2001. We look forward to including your views, and to sharing with you the overall results of this research.

Sincerely yours,
Jerome C. Glenn, Director, AC/UNU Millennium Project
Theodore Gordon, Senior Fellow,AC/UNU Millennium Project

Current Sponsors: Deloitte & Touche, General Motors, United Nations University, U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute, and U.S. Department of Energy. Inkind: Smithsonian Institution and Futures Group International

Round 1 Highlights

Future Issues of Science and Technology

The demographics of those who responded to Round 1 are shown in the charts below.[pic]

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Round 1 asked the panel to rate the importance of a list of 14 questions about future issues of science and technology. The results are show in Table 1: Rating of candidate questions about future issues of S&T. In addition to these candidate questions, the panel suggested 71 new questions. These additions were distilled to 19 by the Millennium Project staff, and then rated as...