This report of a workshop held at Florida State University in October 1980 examines the characteristics of educational media systems (geographical distance, extended lead time, institutional complexity) which create special research and evaluation needs. The authors concentrate on the roles for research and evaluation of the five phases of project-development: policy definition, system design, system built-up, system maintenance and system review. For each phase, the authors identify key activities and decision-makers, assess the variety of information needs that are likely to emerge, and specify areas in which additional investigation is called for