Planning

This has been carried out at three levels: Event proposals to RDRC; discussions within the VUW Antarctic Research Centre; communications between foreign scientists. The International communications are distributed through the year, and concern the expeditions, distribution of data, presentation of results at conferences, joint publications, direction of future work, and the willingness and ability of each National group to do it. The VUWAE discussions are concerned with finance and grant applications, selection of student research assistants, and the preparation of yearly reports.

The RDRC proposals are the earliest formal plans, but on a continuing project such as IMEEMS are strongly guided by the thinking of the International group on Erebus. If everyone did their own thing without concern for the others, the International group would fall apart. It is mutual friendship which holds it together.

This is the reason I am concerned by the lack of a visible RDRC policy on cooperative International Research. The cooperation cannot be turned on and off like a tap.