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Investment in S&T Capacity: A view from the ISTS Dialogues

Investment in S&T Capacity: A view from the ISTS Dialogues. Comments to the TWNSO Ministerial Session on Government Investment in Science and Technology Capacity Building TWAS 20 th Century Celebrations 17 October 2003 -- Bejing, China William C. Clark Center for International Development

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Investment in S&T Capacity: A view from the ISTS Dialogues

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  1. Investment in S&T Capacity:A view from the ISTS Dialogues Comments to the TWNSO Ministerial Session on Government Investment in Science and Technology Capacity Building TWAS 20th Century Celebrations 17 October 2003 -- Bejing, China William C. Clark Center for International Development Harvard University (william_clark@harvard.edu)

  2. Investment in S&T Capacity:A view from the ISTS Dialogues • Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability • independent scientists, development workers from around world • cooperating with TWAS, ICSU, others to ask… • “How can the world scientific community improve its contribution to sustainable development?” • Conduct dialogues among the science, policy and development communities: Abuja, Chiang Mai, Santiago, Trieste, Ottawa, Bonn, Mexico City and, virtually, at • http://sustainabilityscience.org • Result was many kind words for science… But realiza-tion that S&T capacity remains far below what’s needed. • If science is so useful, why don’t we invest more in it?

  3. How the world sees Science… • Society does not believe that scientists are interested in working on solutions to the most urgent problems of development… • …and doesn’t appreciate what science has in fact contributed, so it underinvests in science; • Idealistic young people do not see science careers as a way of helping to solve social problems, so they seek other professions; • Academies of Science are seen to be part of the problem (“An old men’s club for the preservation of traditional disciplines…”).

  4. 7 Challenges for TWAS & friends • Measure and publicize the impact of investments in S&T on development in the language of economics/bugets; • Create forums for listening to the development communities to learn what they most need from S&T; • Encourage investment in excellent (and often interdisciplinary) research on those user-defined needs; • Provide opportunities for young idealists (also from the ‘north’) to train as apprentice scientists in that R&D; • Design guidelines for ethically engaging the private sector (and its capital) in that R&D and training; • Tell the universities of the N how they could (really) help; • Elect to our Academies of Science the scientists who do excellent research in support of development.

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