Progress in modeling the global carbon cycle is inhibited by the lack of a high-quality data set based upon field observations of net primary productivity (NPP) with which to calibrate, parameterize, and evaluate terrestrial biosphere models. Under the auspices of the Global Primary Production Data Initiative (GPPDI), an activity endorsed by the International Geosphere–Biosphere Program’s Data and Information System, a small international workshop was held in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, in December 1996 to address the problem of extrapolating sparse field observations of NPP to produce a consistent database representative of major biomes. We report the conclusions of this workshop and the goals of GPPDI—to further expand the existing data compilation, to agree upon consistent standards for cross-site comparisons and allometric relationships for various biome types, and to document methodologies for spatial extrapolation from point measurements to grid cells. The resulting NPP database will also have intrinsic value: global data are important for many ecological problems, and NPP is a kind of “pathfinder” for other ecological data sets.