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Two large longitudinal studies solicited by the government were presented: 1) The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and 2) the National Children’s Study. The first is an ongoing study, started in 1991 and the second is in the process of planning, with an anticipated start date in 2005. In each of these studies, the government has provided the scientific and administrative framework for collaboration between government and university scientists. The scientific goals, government’s role, and the role of participating scientists in these studies were discussed, and the question “when is government scientific involvement useful?” was raised with the intent of helping the audience determine the conditions under which government initiation and scientific involvement play a useful role in the advancement of science. The government’s role in each of these studies has included identifying the need for a large, comprehensive study addressing a public health issue (e.g., child care), providing an overarching vision, active and ongoing scientific participation, and a central data center for collaborating researchers in government and at different universities, as well as providing ongoing funding structures and requiring data sharing with the scientific community. While many of the challenges and complexities of government/university scientist collaborations were noted, it was concluded that government scientific involvement is worthwhile when public health issues are important and urgent, when scientific answers must be based on a complex longitudinal model (tested on a large, diverse sample), when multidisciplinary perspectives and coordinated scientific and operational planning are required, when assessment measures are well-tested and valid, and when creative and flexible budget planning is essential.