Inventing a better future

The InterAcademy Council has released a strategy paper for "Building Worldwide Capacities in Science and Technology"

Recommendations focus on five major areas for action:

- Science, technology, and society:
To achieve societal goals, governments must develop national S&T strategies; the S&T community should provide knowledge and advice for addressing critical issues; and the public must be informed about and engaged in national S&T policymaking.

- Human resources:
New efforts are required for the attraction, development, and retention of scientific and technological talent in all nations.

- Institutions:
Centers of excellence are needed for S&T to flourish. Virtual networks of excellence, linking professionals from different locations working on similar problems through the power of ICT, can multiply the potential effectiveness of individual centers, as can regional cooperation between countries.

- The public-private interface:
The private (and the literally “productive”) sector is now the primary global force in R&D for S&T, and clear distinctions between public goods and proprietary interests would help in the establishment of true public-private partnerships.

- Financing:
To complement national efforts, creative new mechanisms are needed to ensure adequate funding for S&T capacity-building.