Days after Senator Clinton was finally invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, she was mum on exactly what her role at the convention would be or what she would say.

Mrs. Clinton is slated to introduce her husband, President Clinton, at the convention, but when asked yesterday about the introduction her answer was vague, saying only, “We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t they.”

Senator Kerry initially left Mrs. Clinton off his list of speakers last week, raising the ire of some Democrats, particularly women. Mr. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, later bowed to the pressure and offered Mrs. Clinton of New York a speaking role.

“I have consistently and repetitively said that I’m looking forward to being at the convention and strongly supporting John Kerry and John Edwards,” Mrs. Clinton said about her role. As to what she would say, “I haven’t given a lot of thought to that specifically, yet. I am really looking forward to being a strong voice in the chorus that says to America that we’re on the wrong path.”

The same day of the convention, Mrs. Clinton plans to take a brief detour to a Manhattan bookstore to help promote a book by Senator Byrd, a Democrat of West Virginia. The book bashes the Bush administration for the way it handled the war on terror, the Associated Press reported.

Mrs. Clinton’s comments about the convention came after she led a panel discussion aimed at stemming the loss of New York’s white collar jobs to foreign countries.

The discussion focused on a new survey that found that the cost savings associated with outsourcing jobs overseas are not as high as New York companies think, leaving the door open for the city and state to compete for the business.

New Jobs for New York, a nonprofit group for which Mrs. Clinton serves as chairwoman of the advisory board, released the survey yesterday in an attempt to convince local companies that offshore outsourcing is not always the best option to cut costs.

The issue is at the forefront of this year’s presidential election, and local and federal lawmakers are struggling to come up with ways to keep American jobs from bleeding overseas where labor is cheaper.

“Instead of fearing competition we should be clear-eyed about it and look for ways to win,” Mrs. Clinton told local business officials. “We have to be smart about how we can persuade the private sector in our city to understand it can have a competitive advantage by continuing to invest and create jobs right here,” she said.

While companies estimate they’re saving 44% in their costs by developing back offices in foreign countries, the real savings can sometimes be less than half of their estimates, according to the survey.

It found that although wages may be lower in countries such as India and China, company expenses from planning and transition to oversight and travel outweigh the benefits. The group wants to encourage companies to move back-office space upstate, where it is cheaper, instead.

The report surveyed New York’s largest 100 public companies, all with more than $1 billion in annual revenue and more than 3,000 total employees. The survey was conducted between March and May of this year.

The report said 70% of the companies surveyed currently outsource services, particularly information technology services, overseas. The number is expected to increase as soon as next year, when 90% of those companies will have foreign offices.