PROJECT SUMMARY: The “Sparta Institute” aims to enhance educational and cultural communication between Greece and abroad. It encourages projects of scientific and artistic cooperation with other countries, especially in the study, preservation, design and development of the physical and cultural environment. The Institute is a nonprofit organization established in Sparta, Greece, by the “John and Catherine Sainopoulos Public Benefit Foundation” of Sparta, and by the “Carnegie Mellon University”, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. The Institute aims to contribute to the progress of the area, and to enhance the educational and cultural communication between Greece and abroad. This encourages artistic and scientific cooperation with other countries, the inflow of advanced know-how into Greece, and the promotion of Greek culture around the world. Special educational and research programs and the consequent practical applications and construction will be presented to the international community through the most appropriate contemporary media. Professionals from internationally renowned educational institutions, are invited to work for a specified period in Sparta, in subjects connected with the broader Greek region. Students from disciplines related to the purposes of the Institute (e.g. art, architecture, information science) may participate in projects as interns and associates, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for their undergraduate or graduate studies. Educational trips to important sites in Greece complement the programs. The close contact of professionals and students from abroad with their Greek counterparts and the broader community is sought, so that strong, friendly ties develop between them.

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PROJECT SUMMARY: Provide technical support to USAID’s Local Government Initiative (LGI) in Bulgaria in their efforts to incorporate the use of information technology into the management of municipal affairs in order to promote economic development, improve the efficiency of the delivery of administrative services to their citizens, promote transparent government, increase the productivity of the municipal staff, and assist in government reform. Set up a municipal Bulletin Board System (BBS) and X.25 dial-up Internet access for ten municipalities in Bulgaria to increase the amount of information available to municipal planners and citizens.

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PROJECT SUMMARY: The primary objectives of the mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) were; to evaluate the information needs of the Ministries of Finance of the cantons and the municipalities, to assess the need for an electronic information network and propose alternative solutions, and to evaluate the current state of the telecommunications industry and assess the expertise of local enterprises in the areas of communications, local and wide-area networking. The development of an extranet was proposed, as a way to bridge the information gap that exists among all levels of government. This network would be used to enhance the exchange personal and group communications, textual information such as procedures and rulings, legal documents, drafts of bills or laws, and budgetary and financial data. 

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PROJECT SUMMARY: Development of software tools establishing and delivering organizational instruments including surveys, analysis and presentation tools, and individual and organizational feedback systems. System components included survey assessment of climate for quality, capturing the progress and effectiveness of customer related processes, and a performance measurements tool for tracking and analyzing organizational metrics. These tools were conceived and planned to assist with the implementation of public policy and presidential initiatives and were used throughout the US government and by the private sector.

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PROJECT SUMMARY: Develop a methodology, utilizing high speed networking and Supercomputers distributed in different locations, to numerically solve and simulate coupled field problems with emphasis on solid-fluid interaction in electromagnetic and environmental generalized loading conditions. This is the first attempt to setup a fully realistic problem, without modeling simplifications, to investigate both the computational environment needs for optimization and the physical problems modeled. The project was organized through the joint efforts of the Naval Research Laboratory, the Supercomputing Center at Colorado University, and the National Center of Supercomputing Applications.

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PROJECT SUMMARY: Studying the formation of strategic alliances in information technology industry, activity mapping and analysis, assessment of the technology transfer between companies, and policy recommendation regarding the governments role and the World Bank’s involvement in alliance creation.

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PROJECT SUMMARY: Evaluate the activity of the World Bank in the areas of privatization, decentralization, public administration and education in Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of its telecommunication content. The objective is to determine the contribution of information technology toward the World Bank strategic aims in the region, evaluate the opportunities and make policy recommendations to the vice presidencies.

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PROJECT SUMMARY: Assessing the current institutional and legal framework of telecommunication industry in Greece, evaluate the relevant policies and current developments in the United States and the European Union (EU) and propose a policy framework in Greece that will enhance the competitiveness of Greek small and medium size firms.

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PROJECT SUMMARY: The Hellenic Electronic Center (HEC) is a nonprofit, non-political organization, that provides information about Hellenic culture and civilization through the Internet. HEC provides Internet support to other nonprofit organizations as well as leads efforts to make these projects available to Greek schools to help the children of the Greek Diaspora learn about Hellenic culture and history. To succeed its mission, HEC has enlisted the assistance of tens of skillful and talented volunteers from around the world. Using the Internet to communicate, these volunteers coordinate their efforts to collect, archive, and compile information about the HEC projects. The volunteers include academicians, professionals, students, and business people.