Embassy of France - Office for Science & Technology

OS&T Missions

• to promote the French S&T with US actors, and with science expats, by organizing events, by publishing local or topical newsletters [cf: Outreach];

• to watch scientific breakthroughs, investments and innovations in key domains, by networking with academic people, agencies, scientific associations, Congress, think-tanks and other R&D decision-making circles;
• to report to France, via cables, weekly notes, embassy reports, … [cf: Watch & Report]

• to sustain existing scientific partnerships, to build new ones, by organising visits of experts, seminars, on common interest topics, by promoting the annual calls of the French-US joint endowments or funds [cf: Partnerships];

• to foster doctoral mobility of students and researchers, in particular with our flagship program Chateaubriand , and other incentives [cf: Mobility].

OS&T Locations

Thanks to its wide territorial presence [cf. carte] and wide range of science disciplines [cf: secteurs], the OS&T is an active, reactive and proactive observer of the scientific activity, of technological innovations and their impact.

The OS&T has several branches located across the United States: main office in the French Embassy in Washington D.C., and within the French consulates in Boston, Chicago, Houston , San Francisco and Los Angeles

OS&T People and Partners

The OS&T is headed by a Science Counselor, who reports to the Ambassador, with 8 attachés -all well recognized scientists or science policy specialists-, 10 deputy attachés, and staff. The OS&T also houses and works closely with the North America Representatives of the 3 French research agencies: CNES, CNRS, et INSERM, forming the Mission pour la Science et la Technologie (MS&T).

The OS&T works with the other sections of the Embassy: Culture, Economy and Trade, Nuclear, Environment, Chancellery … to better assess the socio-economic impact of science and technology in today USA.

The OS&T operates in close conjunction with numerous French institutions: research agencies, universities and engineering schools, centers for technology transfer, competitiveness clusters, incubators, businesses… and by different means: promotional actions, Franco-American collaborative development, and information collection.