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Having approved this plan in principle, the Board was advised that more specific recommendations would be presented at the January 1978 meeting.

The following general plan is now proposed to the Board for its consideration and approval.  It should be noted that the draft statement of policies and procedures for the use of trust and other funds (see p. 25) broadly outlines the important companion goals of development of the endowment and allocations to significant program purposes.

Budgeting for such special needs will be guided by the following assumptions and practices: in any given year, the amount available and hence the proportion for spending versus endowment fund investing is likely to vary depending on economic conditions, continued success of our income producing activities, and other factors.  Thus we should not assume that an amount approved for program purposes for one year would constitute an approved level for any subsequent year.  Each year the amount approved by the Regents would be based on a current estimate of that year's financial results.  And, finally, while there must be a new assessment of spending plans each year, there should be a firm intention to continue the plan consistently in future years, assuming, of course, the continued availability of the funds required.

[[underlined]] Development of the National Collections [[/underlined]]

The museums of the Smithsonian Institution are in most respects very well supported in comparison with other museums in this country and abroad.  One major deficiency, however, has been the total inadequacy