Organization and management of space grant programs

The 21 Space Grant Programs represent a broad range of organizational structures which operate programs ranging in size from single university organizations to organizations including up to 41 members involving a composite of industrial organizations such as state agencies, and universities. Some of the space grant awards were made to organizations already in existence with on-going programs while other awards were made to consortia newly formed for the purpose of applying to the Space Grant Program. The workshop on organization and management of Space Grant Programs provided an opportunity for directors and program representatives to discuss and compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of the various models being used. This paper offers examples of the diversity of organizations, summarizes the common concerns to be met by each organizational model, and provides a case study of the Texas Space Grant Consortium organization.