In the context of NSF and capacity building, it must be clear who or what is the target and there must be some organizational building. Informational Access and Infrastructure Dr. Michael Lesk reported on the effort to extend high speed Internet activities. Lesk reported on the decline in the number of women receiving bachelor's degrees in computer science after an initial increase. Some mentoring efforts may prove useful here. Degree recipients among African Americans increased minimally in computer science.
Universal access is the goal with respect to vision and hearing impaired and motion limited persons.
Cost Sharing Dr. Patricia Bautz provided background on the Working Group on Cost Sharing which is made up of a cross-section of the NSF workforce. The Group received its charge in June 1998. Universities were consulted on this issue and 200 research institutions responded to the survey questions. Bautz discussed the language on cost sharing in selected NSF program announcements. The Working Group concluded that there is a need to adopt a clear policy on cost sharing, inform the community of the policy, ensure that NSF's program officers are aware of the cost sharing guidelines, and make sure that all staff are vigilant with respect to cost sharing issues.