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This initiative is a "common thread" effort that links all of ISTEC's goals and objectives. It seeks to create a flexible network of telecommunication services (a hemispheric backbone for academic and R&D purposes), computing facilities, and teaching stations, known collectively as "Centers of Excellence". Each country or region identifies their needs, and then customizes a Center of Excellence to address them. The Center brings together agents from the private and public sectors, research laboratories, and international organizations to work together and find solutions to the problems of interest. Since those problems invariably have multiple facets, the solutions must involve multiple disciplines and diverse contributions available from each sector.

Currently, ISTEC has conceived an IT infrastructure that will provide members with a multilingual, easily accessible and well-organized web-based system to offer electronic services to all members. The proposed programs within the IT infrastructure include the creation of the Science and Technology Education Portal (STEP) and the ISTEC Distributed Database (BDDIS). Some of the objectives of this Portal include the creation of a real-time forum for discussion on important topics, such as S&T policies, IP protection, development of hardware and software industries in Iberoamerican countries, and ethical guidelines to help support the transfer of technology. It will also provide members with relevant updated information and statistics, offer a conduit for intellectual creativity, provide access to a free flow of information and pre-competitive research, and provide a means to exchange this information in order to avoid duplicated efforts.

The distributed database will create an information culture within the Consortium to encourage its proper use as a depository of experiences, documents, and information to be exchanged among the scientific community. Thus, BDDIS will create, structure, store, maintain, and query all the relevant information and statistics of science and technology in the region. Through these web-based mechanisms, the Consortium will provide an effective link between existing members and initiatives with a user-friendly interface.

During IX ISTEC General Assembly held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in November 1999, Dr. Terry Heng, Vice-president of Motorola launched the IT Challenge for Iberoamerica. The challenge is to analyze the needs, strengths and expectations of governments, academia, and private sector and to define an agenda in Information Technology (IT) as a catalyst for social and economic development for the next decade (2000-2010).

The objective is to sponsor conferences, workshops and forums with the participation of high-ranking government officials, policy decision makers, academic representatives, industry and international organizations to create awareness, analyze existing IT models in other regions, develop an IT agenda and implement an IT plan for the next decade. The agenda will address issues such as the automated process for production, e-commerce, e-government, distance employment and education, S&T policies, IP protection, social and cultural values, health, strategic alliances, and universal access to information.

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