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World Bank backs Third World centres of excellence plan
Abstract
A global chain of so-called Millennium Institutes, acting as scientific centres of excellence in developing countries to galvanize a rapid increase in their scientific and technical strength, is being planned by the World Bank, private foundations and several governments.
... La meta de las icm era crear centros de excelencia en los países subdesarrollados con el mismo nivel de infraestructura y recursos que existen en los países desarrollados. 6 Los objetivos, entre otros, incluyeron: ...
Varias tecnologías se han vinculado con el fin del hambre (revolución verde), la paz mundial (ict), la abundancia (biotecnología) y la prolonga-ción de la salud humana (tecnologías biopotenciadas). Hoy, toca el turno a la nanotecnología (nt). La plataforma tecnológica que, para muchos, es base de la siguiente revolución industrial y que, para otros tantos, no resolverá los problemas sociales, ya que éstos son resultados de trayectorias socioeconómicas y no de disponibilidad tecnológica. En este artículo hacemos un esfuerzo para dimensionar la forma en que la nt se inserta en el «proyecto» de desarrollo..
... Isto seria obtido através da inovação e adoção de tecnologias avançadas, que permitiriam a sua inserção competitiva no mercado mundial. O projeto dos Institutos do Milênio, implementado em diversos países, articulou-se com esse objetivo, promovendo a criação de centros de pesquisa de excelência em áreas de ponta para capacitar recursos humanos e estimular os vínculos da pesquisa com o setor produtivo (Macilwain, 1998). ...
Brazil formulated a policy to spur the emergent field of nanotechnology at the beginning of 2000 decade, in synchrony with industrialized countries. The area was declared strategic in the country´s science, technology and innovation policy since 2004, and considered a motor to increase competitiveness. In this article we assess the trajectory of nanotechnology policy throughout 15 years, since the initial euphoria to current virtual shutdown due to funding cuts. We analyze how the policy agenda was constructed, highlighting international influences and the prominent role played by nanotechnology scientists. Then, we examine four dimensions of the formulation and implementation of the policy: scientific capacity building, promotion of innovation, issues of risks and regulation, and social implications matters. We claim that the policy was conceived within a narrow governance approach, which was broadened over time as a result of pressures coming from the local and international contexts. Finally, we problematize the mismatch between the strategic status given to nanotechnology and the lack of real prioritization revealed by funding instability. Information sources are mainly documentary, complemented by direct observation of relevant meetings and interviews with policy makers.
... Los países desarrollados invierten entre el 2 y el 3 por ciento de su Producto Interno Bruto (pib) en i+d (World Bank, 2012), pero este no es el caso de la mayoría de los países en desarrollo, y tampoco de Argentina, como veremos. (World Bank, 2012) Las nanotecnologías son consideradas un sector de alta tecnología según las principales instituciones internacionales y, por lo tanto, prioritarias para los planes de cti de los países, junto con las biotecnologías y las tecnologías de la información y comunicaciones (icm, s.f.; Macilwain, 1998;oest, 2004). El apoyo mediante financiamiento y políticas públicas a estos sectores ilustra, según la ocde, el impulso para el desarrollo de la competitividad y el desarrollo. ...
Se realiza un análisis de las políticas públicas en materia de nanotecnología en Argentina según indicadores de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). La OCDE realizó una encuesta piloto a 24 países miembro en 2008 para comparar políticas públicas en nanotecnología. En este artículo aplicamos el mismo cuestionario y buscamos responderlo en función del caso argentino. El resultado muestra que la orientación de las políticas públicas de nanotecnología en Argentina intentan privilegiar la pequeña y mediana empresa y a garantizar la participación empresarial en investigaciones públicas; pero no existe un plan nacional ni una política coordinada con fines claros.
... International institutions such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (Unesco), have long promoted common S&T policies in Latin America. The WB was a pioneer in this sense, helping to fund the Millennium Project in nanotechnology (Foladori and Fuentes, 2008;Macilwain, 1998). In addition, the OECD lobbied to restructure the entire science and technology sector in Mexico (OCDE, 1994), while the OAS (COMCYT, 2004) made nanotechnology a priority area in its advising to various countries throughout the region (Foladori, 2013). ...
Many countries in Latin America have made nanotechnology a development priority in their public policy platforms. The main feature of these public policies is to provide support for nanotechnology research and development, aiming to forge ties between public institutions and universities and the private sector, to boost innovation and competitiveness. These public policies do not take into account the global context of strong capital concentration in which nanotechnologies emerge, and which makes it difficult to be competitive within the framework laid out by these public policies to develop these technologies. This paper analyzes the direction of public policy in the international context, and also suggests policy alternatives.
... Since the late 1990s, the World Bank and other institutions created a global network of Millennium Scientific Initiative (MSI). These initiatives materialized in centers of excellence in developing countries for the purpose of promoting research in S&T at the same level of infrastructure and resources that exist in developed countries (Macilwain 1998). Several nanotechnology research institutes were created in Latin America through MSIs, the first ones in Chile as of 1999 and during the following years in Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela (Foladori and Fuentes 2008;Rushton et al. 2009). ...
In this paper, we identify 37 companies that produce nano-enabled products in Argentina. We locate the products of these firms in terms of both their economic sector and position in a value chain. The research was done through a four-step methodology. Firstly, an inventory of firms was created. Secondly, the firms were classified by their economic sector, following the United Nations economic classification. Thirdly, the firms were located within a simple nanotechnology value chain. Finally, the products were classified according to their final destination, being either means of production or final consumer products. The results show that healthcare, cosmetics, and medicine is the most represented sector along the value chain, followed by electronics.
... Instituciones internacionales como la Organización de Estados Americanos (oea), el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (bid) y la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (Unesco) impulsan políticas comunes de CyT en América Latina. El bm fue pionero colaborando en el financiamiento de los proyectos Milenio en nanotecnología (Foladori y Fuentes, 2008;Macilwain, 1998), la ocde presionando para la reestructuración de todo el sector de ciencia y tecnología en México (ocde, 1994); la oea (comcyt, 2004) colocando a las nanotecnologías como área prioritaria en sus asesorías a los diferentes países de la región (Foladori, 2013). ...
Fecha de recepción: 02 de octubre de 2015. Fecha de aceptación: 11 de marzo de 2016. Resumen Muchos países de América Latina han incorporado a las nanotecnologías como área prioritaria de desarrollo en sus políticas públicas. La principal característica de estas políticas es el apoyo a la Investigación y Desarrollo de las nanotecnologías buscando integrar los centros y las universidades públicas con la empresa privada, para potenciar la innovación y la competitividad. Estas políticas públicas no toman en cuenta el contexto mundial de fuerte concentración del capital en que nacen las nanotecnologías, y que hacen difícil la competitividad bajo la forma en que pretenden que se desarrollen tales tecnologías. El artículo analiza la orientación de las políticas públicas en el contexto internacional al tiempo que sugiere algunas alternativas. Palabras clave: nanotecnología, políticas públicas, investigación y desarrollo, ciencia y tecnología. Abstract Many countries in Latin America have made nanotechnology a development priority in their public policy platforms. The main feature of these public policies is to provide support for nanotechnology research and development, aiming to forge ties between public institutions and universities and the private sector, to boost innovation and competitiveness. These public policies do not take into account the global context of strong capital concentration in which nanotechnologies emerge, and which makes it difficult to be competitive within the framework laid out by these public policies to develop these technologies. This paper analyzes the direction of public policy in the international context, and also suggests policy alternatives.
... At the end of the 1990s, the World Bank and other institutions created a global network of Millennium Initiatives. These initiatives would become centers of excellence in research in underdeveloped countries with the purpose of encouraging Science and Technology (S&T) under equal conditions of infrastructure and resources as exists in research centers in the developed countries (Macilwain, 1998). ...
... Las nanotecnologías son consideradas un sector de alta tecnología según las principales instituciones internacionales y, por lo tanto, prioritarias para los planes de CTI de los países, junto con las biotecnologías y las tecnologías de la información y comunicaciones (ICM, s/f; Macilwain, 1998;OEST, 2004). El apoyo mediante financiamiento y políticas públicas a estos sectores ilustra, según la OCDE, el impulso para el desarrollo en general y de la competitividad en particular. ...
This article presents an analy-sis of public policies regarding nanotech-nology in Mexico according to indicators of the Organization for Economic Co-op-eration and Development (OECD). The OECD conducted a pilot survey of 24 member countries in 2008 to compare public policies in nanotechnology. In this study, we use the same OECD question-naire to assess the Mexican experience. In addition, we present information on companies engaged in nanotechnology using data from a survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. The latter survey also was developed by the OECD for its member countries. The results show the importance and distri-bution of research activity in nanotech-nology inside Mexico and in relation to its neighbors. The discussion also deals with the contradictory situation of the Mexican nanotechnology sector, which comprises a relatively high number of companies involved with nanotechnol-ogy in the context of a weak framework of public policy support.
... Since the 1990s, the World Bank has promoted the integration of countries to the knowledge economy as a path to development, through innovation and the adoption of leadingedge technologies that could facilitate their competitive insertion in the world market (WorldBank, 2007). The Millennium Institutes project was shaped toward this objective, promoting in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, since the end of the 1990s, the creation of centers of excellence to spur research on the frontier of scientific investigation, such as NanoS&T, the training of human resources and linkages with the productive sector (Macilwain 1998). The Organization of American States, in 2004, called NanoS&T a field that is " crucial for the Americas " and recommended that governments include it as a national priority and allocate the necessary funding (OAS 2004, 55). ...
Invernizzi, Hubert, and Vinck study the development of nanoscience policy in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina to examine how the scientific priorities of nations outside Latin America shape those in Latin America. Acknowledging the strong policy influence of the United States and Europe, they nonetheless challenge the narrative of policy imitation by showing how the distinctive character of national and international scientific networks in different Latin American countries, and the scientific traditions within each country, shape the specific character of these policies despite their common rhetoric. They thus argue that local factors contribute to the ways in which scientific development is materially organized and scientific policies travel and change.
... Developed countries invest between 2 and 3 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in R&D (World Bank 2012), but this is not the case for most developing countries, including Mexico, as we will see. 8 Nanotechnology is considered a high-tech sector according to the major international institutions, and therefore, a priority for countries' S&T plans, along with biotechnology and information technology/communications (ICM n/d; Macilwain 1998;OEST 2004). Support for these sectors, through funding and public policies, therefore serves as an indicator of a country's impetus for the promotion of competitiveness and development, at least according to OECD criteria. ...
This analysis of Mexico’s nanotechnology policies utilizes indicators developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which in 2008 conducted a pilot survey comparing the nanotechnology policies of 24 countries. In this paper, we apply the same questionnaire to the Mexican case, adding business information derived from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography survey on nanotechnologies, also an OECD instrument.
... Since the end of the 1990s, the World Bank and various other institutions have planned for the creation of a global network of Millennium Scientific Initiatives (MSI). These have the function of being centres of excellence in underdeveloped countries, with the objective of promoting research in S&T with equal measures of infrastructure and resources as exist in developed countries (Macilwain, 1998). ...
This article analyses the World Bank Milennium proposals to support research in nanotechnology in Latin America. The proposals are based in the theory of the "knowledge economy." It concludes by raising some concerns regarding the sustainability of the proposals as foundations for development.
... Desde finales de la década de 1990, el BM y otras instituciones han previsto la creación de una red global de Iniciativas Científicas del Milenio (ICM). Fueron concebidas como centros de excelencia en los países en desarrollo con el propósito de promover la investigación en C&T con el mismo nivel de la infraestructura y recursos que existen en los países desarrollados (Macilwain, 1998). Los objetivos de la ICM fueron: … para fomentar el crecimiento de las capacidades de investigación científica, empleando y estimulando al mejor talento en el país, como un factor clave para el desarrollo socio-económico. ...
This paper analyses the development of public policies on nanotechnology (NT) in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Two main distinctive features were detected, although with different levels of presence in each country. The first feature is the creation of centers of scientific excellence integrated with industry, with the aim of increasing international competitiveness. The second feature is the lack of attention to social issues involved in this technological revolution, such as educating the workforce, protecting consumers and workers from potential risks, and promoting the participation of social organizations into public policy decisions.
Este trabajo analiza el desarrollo de las políticas públicas de nanotecnología en Brasil, México y Argentina. Dos características distintivas fueron detectadas, aunque con diferentes grados de presencia en cada país. La primera es la creación de centros de excelencia científica integrada a la industria, con el propósito de incrementar la competencia internacional. La segunda característica es la falta de atención a los aspectos sociales incorporados a esta revolución tecnológica, tales como la calificación de la fuerza de trabajo y la protección de consumidores y trabajadores frente a los potenciales riesgos, así como promover la participación de organizaciones sociales en las decisiones de políticas públicas. Palabras clave: Nanotecnología. América Latina. Políticas públicas.
... From the end of the 1990s, the World Bank and other institutions created a global network of Millennium Science Initiatives (MSI). These initiatives materialized in centers of excellence in developing countries, with the aim of promoting research in S&T with the same infrastructure base and resources that exist in developed countries [35]. The goals of the MSIs were: ...
... From the end of the 1990s, the World Bank and other institutions created a global network of Millennium Science Initiatives (MSI). These initiatives materialized in centers of excellence in developing countries, with the aim of promoting research in S&T with the same infrastructure base and resources that exist in developed countries [35]. The goals of the MSIs were: ...
The presence of nanotechnologies grew and spread throughout Latin America during the first decade of the 21st century. Science and Technology policies have played an important role in the performance of these new technologies. Various international institutions, such as the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Organization of American States promoted similar Science and Technology policies, and included nanotechnology as a priority area. This article shows the role of these Science and Technology policies in the promotion of specific objectives and the gap that was left due to the failure to incorporate an examination of the potential risks to health and environment, not to mention other labor-related effects. The omission of matters relevant to workers and consumers by these institutions led to a distancing from organized civil society.
... El impulso a las nt en América Latina desde organismos internacionales llegó primero a través el Banco Mundial. Desde finales de la década de los noventa, éste y otras instituciones crearon una red global de Iniciativas Científicas del Milenio (iCM), mismas que se materializaron en centros de excelencia en los países en desarrollo, con el propósito de promover la investigación en Cyt con el mismo nivel de la infraestructura y recursos que existe en las naciones desarrolladas (Macilwain, 1998). Los objetivos de las iCM fueron: [...]to foster growth in scientific research capacities, employing and stimulating the best talent in the country, as a key factor for sustainable socioeconomic development. ...
Nanotechnologies grew and expanded in Latin America during the first decade of the twenty-first century. This article shows the role that science and technology policies fostered by institutions like the World Bank and the Organization of American States have played in promoting certain objectives, but also the risk of not accompanying those objectives with basic criteria for implementation. Since potential health and environmental risks or other labor effects were not included, aspects that are important for both workers and consumers have been omitted from these policies, opening a gap between them and those proposed by organized civil society.
... Desde finales de la década de 1990, el BM y otras instituciones han previsto la creación de una red global de Iniciativas Científicas del Milenio (ICM). Fueron concebidas como centros de excelencia en los países en desarrollo con el propósito de promover la investigación en C&T con el mismo nivel de la infraestructura y recursos que existen en los países desarrollados (Macilwain, 1998). Los objetivos de la ICM fueron: … para fomentar el crecimiento de las capacidades de investigación científica, empleando y estimulando al mejor talento en el país, como un factor clave para el desarrollo socio-económico. ...
This paper analyses the development of public policies on nanotechnology (NT) in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Two main distinctive features were detected, although with different levels of presence in each country. The first feature is the creation of centers of scientific excellence integrated with industry, with the aim of increasing international competitiveness. The second feature is the lack of attention to social issues involved in this technological revolution, such as educating the workforce, protecting consumers and workers from potential risks, and promoting the participation of social organizations into public policy decisions.
... Since the end of the 1990s, the World Bank and various other institutions have planned for the creation of a global network of Millennium Scientific Initiatives (MSI). These were conceived as centers of excellence to be located in developing countries with the purpose of promoting research in S&T with equal levels of infrastructure and resources as exist in developed countries (Macilwain, 1998). The objectives of the MSIs were: ...
This paper analyses the development of public policies on nanotechnology (NT) in
Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Two primary distinctive features were detected, although with
different levels of presence in each country. The first feature is the creation of centers of
scientific excellence integrated with industry, with the aim of increasing international
competitiveness. The second feature is the lack of attention to social issues involved in this
technological revolution, such as educating the workforce, protecting consumers and workers from potential risks, and promoting the participation of social organizations into public policy discussions.
... Since the end of the 1990s, the World Bank and various other institutions have planned for the creation of a global network of " Millennium Scientific Initiatives. " These will be centres of excellence in developing countries, with the objective of promoting research in S&T under equal conditions of infrastructure and resources as exists in research centers in the developed countries (Macilwain, 1998). The Chilean project was the prototype. ...
A great deal has been written in recent years about nanotechnology, its revolutionary significance for science and real-world applications that are touted as being capable of profoundly transforming the world in which we live. Yet very little has been written about how they are incorporated into the context of the knowledge economy. In this article, the authors analyze the World Bank's intention to develop Scientific Millenium Initiatives as Centers of Excellence in Latin America to boost competitiveness and encourage economic growth, which is understood by the World Bank as a requirement for development. Nanotechnology is a strategic area within these projects. However, the authors conclude that rather than leading to development, these centers are more likely to become knowledge enclaves with little impact on the real development challenges of the region.
... At the end of the 1990s, the World Bank and other institutions created a global network of Millennium Initiatives. These initiatives would become centers of excellence in research in underdeveloped countries with the purpose of encouraging Science and Technology (S&T) under equal conditions of infrastructure and resources as exists in research centers in the developed countries (Macilwain, 1998). ...
Introduction Nanotechnologies are rapidly growing worldwide. Poor countries are also taking part in the development of this technological revolution. In Latin America, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina are the leading nations in the area; however there are other countries pursuing important efforts to develop nanotechnologies and nanosciences. Chile has several research projects underway across five universities. The promotion of nanotechnology research is a strategy inserted in the paradigm of encouraging development via the knowledge economy. The World Bank, as the main institution promoting this paradigm, selected Chile as the pioneer to implement the Scientific Millennium Initiatives, which have supported some research projects related to nanotechnology. In this chapter we analyze the development of nanotechnology in Chile within the framework of the paradigm of the knowledge economy and we question the sustainability of the Centers of Excellence. In addition, we elaborate on the weaknesses of using nanotechnology as a tool for development in Chile. 1. The World Bank's Promotion of the Knowledge Economy in Latin America. In Latin America the promotion of nanotechnologies is associated with the reorientation of its economies to make them less dependent on crop exports, the mining industry and sectors linked to the exploitation of natural resources. The idea is to base the development process on what has come to be known as the Knowledge Economy. The transition from industrial economies to knowledge economies is happening already in developed countries such as the United States, the European Union and Japan. In general, experts use the percentage of high-tech manufactures being exported ― which presumably are the direct outcome of intense research and development (R&D) ― to measure the advance of the knowledge economy. There are several industrial branches that structure the high-tech sector in an economy, such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, computers, scientific instruments and electrical machinery. In 2004, 34% of overall exports in the United States were high-tech manufactures; 24% in Japan, 34% in South Korea and Ireland. In Latin America, Argentinean high-tech manufactures make up to 8% of its exports, in Chile 5%, in Brazil 12% and in Mexico 21% (World Bank, 2006a). In the case of Mexico, the weight of maquiladora production and the strong intra-firm trade of US transnationals suggest that there is a need to be cautious in the analysis (Delgado & Invernizzi, 2005). There are other indicators used to show the degree in which a given country is incorporated into the knowledge economy, such as the KAM (Knowledge Assessment Methodology) of the World Bank. This indicator includes several variables like patents, access to education and telecommunications, institutional environment and others (World Bank, 2006b). 1 Translation from Spanish by Edgar Zayago. 2 fola@estudiosdeldesarrollo.net. 3 vero_fuentes_g@yahoo.es.
... Desde el fin de los años noventa, el Banco Mundial y varias otras instituciones han planeado la creación de una red global de Iniciativas Científicas Milenio (ICM). Éstas tienen la función de ser centros de excelencia en los países subdesarrollados, con el objetivo de promover la investigación en C+T en igualdad de circunstancias de infraestructura y recursos que en los países desarrollados (Macilwain, 1998) En lugar de ajustar las líneas de investigación al plan nacional de desarrollo o a un proyecto específico, el programa funcionaba para identificar chilenos con talento para impulsar investigación en áreas en las cuales dichos científicos estaban interesados. Esta política científica podría parecer elitista, pero se basaba en la idea de que cualquiera que fuera la orientación de la innovación, siempre se traduciría en un incremento en la competitividad internacional y, por tanto, garantiría el desarrollo (entendido éste como la obtención de espacios en el mercado internacional para promover el proceso de crecimiento económico). ...
Mucho se ha escrito sobre la nanotecnología en los últimos años, sobre todo en lo relacionado a su revolucionario significado para la ciencia y sus aplicaciones que, según se argumenta, plantean la posibilidad de cambiar profundamente el mundo en que vivimos. No obstante, muy poco se ha escrito acerca de cómo la nanotecnología se incorpora al contexto de la economía del conocimiento y las fuerzas impulsoras detrás de esta dinámica. En el artículo, los autores analizan la intención del Banco Mundial de desarrollar las Iniciativas Científicas Milenio como Centros de Excelencia en Latinoamérica, con el objetivo de incrementar la competitividad y promover el crecimiento económico, que son entendidos por el Banco Mundial como prerrequisitos del desarrollo. De igual forma, se exponen las implicaciones del régimen de patentes que terminan modificando la trayectoria de esta tecnología revolucionaria.
... Desde el fin de los años noventa, el Banco Mundial y varias otras instituciones han planeado la creación de una red global de Iniciativas Científicas Milenio (ICM). Éstas tienen la función de ser centros de excelencia en los países subdesarrollados, con el objetivo de promover la investigación en C+T en igualdad de circunstancias de infraestructura y recursos que en los países desarrollados (Macilwain, 1998) En lugar de ajustar las líneas de investigación al plan nacional de desarrollo o a un proyecto específico, el programa funcionaba para identificar chilenos con talento para impulsar investigación en áreas en las cuales dichos científicos estaban interesados. Esta política científica podría parecer elitista, pero se basaba en la idea de que cualquiera que fuera la orientación de la innovación, siempre se traduciría en un incremento en la competitividad internacional y, por tanto, garantiría el desarrollo (entendido éste como la obtención de espacios en el mercado internacional para promover el proceso de crecimiento económico). ...
Mucho se ha escrito sobre la nanotecnología en los últimos años, sobre todo en lo relacionado a su revolucionario significado para la ciencia y sus aplicaciones que, según se argumenta, plantean la posibilidad de cambiar profundamente el mundo en que vivimos. No obstante, muy poco se ha escrito acerca de cómo la nanotecnología se incorpora al contexto de la economía del conocimiento y las fuerzas impulsoras detrás de esta dinámica. En el artículo, los autores analizan la intención del Banco Mundial de desarrollar las Iniciativas Científicas Milenio como Centros de Excelencia en Latinoamérica, con el objetivo de incrementar la competitividad y promover el crecimiento económico, que son entendidos por el Banco Mundial como prerrequisitos del desarrollo. De igual forma, se exponen las implicaciones del régimen de patentes que terminan modificando la trayectoria de esta tecnología revolucionaria. A great deal has been written in recent years about nanotechnology, its revolutionary significance for science and real-world applications that are touted as being capable of profoundly transforming the world in which we live. Yet very little has been written about how they are incorporated into the context of the knowledge economy. In this article, the authors analyze the World Bank's intention to develop Scientific Millennium Initiatives as Centers of Excellence in Latin America to boost competitiveness and encourage economic growth, which is understood by the World Bank as a requirement for development. Nanotechnology is a strategic area within these projects. However, the authors conclude that rather than leading to development, and as a result of the patent system, these centers are more likely to become knowledge enclaves with little impact on the real development challenges of the region.
South Africa, happily, is no longer a world pariah but an acknowledged member of the global village. Our scientific institutions have not yet caught up with our new status, however, and while policies support internationalism and interdisciplinarity, theory still needs to be translated into practice. A forum specifically tasked with structured 'think tank' activity can, I propose, lead this country and its researchers into world leadership.
This paper explores what ‘mainstream’ Centres of
Excellence might mean for developing countries and
poor people. It examines how development is constructed
as economic growth with industry and enterprise –
complemented by centres of scientific excellence
and technological innovation – as its key engine. It
demonstrates that, in relation to science and centres of
excellence, the discourse of networking and partnerships
assumes that all interested parties evaluate progress,
development and excellence similarly. The paper critically
reviews the core notions of ‘excellence’, ‘centres’ and
‘capacity’, highlighting some alternative models of
research, innovation and training. It argues that science
and technology should not only address the principles of
economic growth and excellence; but that broader
principles should underlie capacity-building for science,
technology and innovation. These principles direct the
focus onto who benefits (and who is excluded) from
science and technology, by highlighting the ‘3Ds’ of
Directionality (towards specific Sustainability objectives);
equitable Distribution (of costs, risks, benefits), and
Diversity (of socio-techno-ecological systems).
In Ethiopia, obstetricians from Australia and New Zealand set up in 1975 the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital to cater to women with fistula who were being turned away from local clinics. This kind of development assistance seems an ideal to be replicated--humane, skilled, practical, a mix of charitable and government aid, meeting an urgent clinical need, and enabling new knowledge to be passed on to locally trained doctors. However, the Fistula Hospital raises many troubling issues about its sustainability in a politically and economically unstable environment. It is important to recognize that the needs of Third World societies are completely different from their Western counterparts. Part of the problem lies in the unequal power relationship, availability of research funding, trained scientists, information, and equipment. Moreover, the highjacking of clinical and research agendas by Western organizations causes profound insult to the poor countries. Overall, it is noted that research is a significant means of achieving a sustainable health infrastructure. It is essential that development be viewed as a respectful dialogue and not the colonization of the imagination of other societies. Development, in this formulation, is not only development as freedom from deprivation and oppression but also the development of a common horizon or perspective.
Democracy, price stability and economic liberalization in Latin America
are combining to present scientists in the region with their best
opportunity in decades to match international standards of excellence.