The Synthesis Team held its fourth official meeting June 7-8, 1999 at the National Science Foundation to discuss progress in drafting the national summary report and its overview. The following terminology was developed for the suite of National Assessment documents that will be published in the next year:

• Overview Document: a summary by the Synthesis Team, consisting of about 75 pages (this will have a 4 page spread for each mega-region and sector)
• Foundation Document: the longer report by the Synthesis Team, consisting of over 200 pages (this has a ~15 page section for each mega-region and sector), and
• Bedrock Documents: the reports from the regions and sectors, as well as other outputs of the National Assessment.

The first two documents are scheduled to be published in January 2000; the Bedrock Documents from the regions and sectors will come out on a rolling basis beginning in the fall and continuing through the year 2000.

A Blue Ribbon Panel has been formed as a subcommittee of the President's Council on Science and Technology (PCAST) specifically to assist with the Synthesis Team contributions. The Panel will provide technical guidance and will oversee the process of ensuring responsiveness to reviewer comments. The first meeting of the Panel took place on June 22^nd, when the members were able to comment on a mock-up of the Overview Document.

As a next step, the Synthesis Team will have two more meetings this summer (July 7-9 in Arlington, Virginia and August 10-20 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts) where members will prepare the documents for review and publication.