The National Science Foundation (NSF) is responsible for fostering, promoting and facilitating communication and collaboration among members of the U. S. scientific research and education community as well as with their colleagues abroad. The objective of the International Connections Project is to provide integrated management of international data networking connections between the NSFNET and the national research and academic networks of countries with which the U.S. community maintains scientific collaborations. Coordinated and consolidated management of the U.S. side of the interconnections is expected to achieve more efficient and cost-effective networking solutions. Initially, the award focuses on links to INRIA (France) and to NORDUnet (Nordic countries), because NSF has been the sole U.S. agency operating general research interconnections with those countries.
