In many countries, hundreds of U.S. government travelers visit counterparts every month. Although these visitors occasionally may burden embassy staffs with their administrative and logistical assistance requests, they nevertheless constitute an invaluable resource for the embassies since they usually have excellent access to important STH leaders and bring with them a wealth of knowledge about important international programs and related STH developments around the world. Some government visitors regularly consult with the embassies, whereas others are unaware of the ways in which the embassies could be helpful to them or they to the embassies.

Moreover, a number of agency specialists have successfully served as Science Counselors and as representatives of their departments and agencies abroad. Thus, they are quite familiar with the needs of the embassies and can be helpful to the embassies in staying abreast of the interests in Washington.