Information on current research and development (R & D) is vital to science policy-makers, R & D managers and the scientific community as a whole. In 1982, a Unesco pilot project for the creation of an information service on research in progress was initiated in the Sudan. A major element of this project is the compilation of a National Register of Current Research. The methods of data collection and analysis used in compiling the Register, and its main characteristics, are described and illustrated.