Problems, Partners and People

Abstract

Collaboration presents formidable problems in many areas, even when the early difficulties of finding commonality of views (on objectives, time-scales, technology and costs) have been overcome. Ideally, a project will be agreed before final national decisions are taken in these four areas, but this evidently becomes more difficult to achieve if more than one or two partners are in mind. These early discussions between military and civilians (from both government and industry) demand an assurance of national financial support and a readiness to compromise and show flexibility which, again, will be harder to achieve if more than two partners are involved. So partners are themselves a problem even in these initial stages, although as a factor of their number rather than of their national characteristics.