ICFA, the International Committee for Future Accelerators, was created to facilitate international collaboration in the construction and use of accelerators for high energy physics. It was created in 1976 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. Its purposes, as stated in 1985, are as follows:
- To promote international collaboration in all phases of the construction and exploitation of very high energy accelerators.
- To organize regularly world-inclusive meetings for the exchange of information on future plans for regional facilities and for the formulation of advice on joint studies and uses.
- To organize workshops for the study of problems related to super high-energy accelerator complexes and their international exploitation and to foster research and development of necessary technology.
The Committee has 16 members, selected primarily from the regions most deeply involved in high-energy physics.