Twenty-eight senior staff members at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) and 60 senior staff members at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) were surveyed regarding the frequency and importance of their work-related face-to-face, telephone, and written communication. Analyses of the communication networks showed that AVRDC emphasized face-to-face interaction, while IRRI gave greater relative attention to the telephone and writing. Both centers had organizational structures and used communication mechanisms that enabled the staffs to function effectively in research tasks requiring intense cooperation and coordination. Network and statistical analyses suggested that staff size was an important factor both in determining which channels served communication needs best and in influencing the mechanisms that kept communication frequency within tolerable limits. (Author/RL)