Abstract

International collaboration has always been an important part of research in astronomy, astrophysics, and heliophysics. Over the past two decades, the increasing complexity and cost of new facilities, the constrained amount of funding available from individual sources, and the rapidly increasing volume of data produced by newer facilities have made international collaboration on large ground- and space-based facilities essential to moving the fields forward. All IAU members have a stake in the strategic decisions made by nations and various scientific consortiums concerning technology development and international collaborations. This focus meeting will provide a forum to discuss how to improve coordination of global planning in astronomy, astrophysics, and heliophysics and build towards future projects in order to maximize the scientific return.