International Insights

The IAC: Inventing a Better Future, May 23, 2005

The InterAcademy Council (IAC), a non-governmental entity, was created by national science academies around the world to play an advisory role to international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations. Its members are some of the world's best scientists who use their knowledge and expertise to recommend solutions to some of the world's problems. At its first board meeting, members decided that the low rate of sustainability of research warranted premier attention. Subsequently, the Council appointed a study panel on promoting worldwide science and technology capacities for the 21st Century. The study panel, made up of twelve IAC members, was charged with developing a global strategy for building scientific and technological (S&T) capacity. This capacity refers to the ability as well as extent to which a country can adequately utilize its scientific and technological resources (human and otherwise) to sustain and develop research. In January 2004, the panel issued a report titled Inventing a Better Future: a Strategy for Building World Capacities in Science and Technology.

The need for capacity building

The report establishes the need for capacity building in developing countries -- a need that is underscored by the fast pace at which the rest of the world is moving towards a knowledge-based economy. The accelerated rate at which developed countries are accumulating knowledge and developing technological applications is increasing the information gap that exists among the nations of the world today. The report states, "some 80 percent of humanity are deprived of the opportunity to contribute to knowledge and instead are relegated to consumption of the resulting technology.¹"

Compounding this disparity is the fact that most developing countries are dealing with increases in poverty and hunger levels while diseases like HIV/AIDS continue to devastate their populations. Building S&T capacity is seen as a way of alleviating these problems while bringing these disaffected societies into the fold of knowledge-based economies.

The panel also stresses the importance of promoting the growth of viable human capital in conjunction with building S&T capacity. Factors hindering human capacity building include brain drain (young professionals migrating to developing nations in search of lucrative job opportunities), illiteracy, violence, unrealized potential from marginalized populations (women or ethnic minorities who are not encouraged to be a part of the work force in some countries). Not only do developing countries need to develop S&T capacity, but they also need to develop structures that will give opportunities to people who have the potential to contribute to the realm of science and technology.

Not a localized problem, but a global issue

The Study Panel is quick to point out that low S&T capacity is not just a problem for developing countries; citizens of the developed world "cannot remain safe and prosperous in a world containing large numbers of failed states.²" Building capacity in these nations is seen as a way to expand markets and enhance trade while promoting world stability.

What can be done

The report heavily advocates the creation of national policies and initiatives that will lay the foundation to help developing nations build the necessary structures to sustain S&T capabilities.

For these policies to take root, it is imperative that they are integrated into the decision-making and cultural structure of the indigenous society. Each nation is charged with developing strategies that take into account its priorities for research and development. This process should include the input from the country's "science, engineering, and medical academies, its professional societies, and the industrial sector³" to ensure that the resulting policy is both culturally appropriate and technically feasible. Most importantly, the public should be made a part of this discourse through the media and local research investigators.

In addition to policy changes, the report states that in order to successfully promote science and technology, developing countries should have at a minimum:

• Autonomous centers of excellence -- research programs either within a university or research institute, or operating independently
• Strong universities -- governments should strengthen higher educational institutions
• Virtual networks of excellence -- networks made up of various research institutes that will mobilize groups of scientist or engineers to collaborate on projects
• Independent national or regional academies of science, engineering, and medicine -- member-based institutions that are autonomous and participate in national and international debates to ensure that a broad range of S&T issues are covered.

S&T advanced and S&T proficient countries as well as the international private sector and multilateral organizations are advised to engage in this process by:

Benefits all around

Implementing S&T capacity building solutions can result in a win-win situation; developed countries will be able to further their growth in the scientific and technological fields due to new ideas garnered through international cooperation. On the other hand developing nations will be part of the S&T innovative process and be able to equitably reap the benefits of scientific breakthroughs.

In September 2004, the NIH Extramural Program Management Committee (EPMC) International Awards Working Group, created a subcommittee on Institutional Capacity. This subcommittee was appointed to address, among other issues, questions about the sustainability of research, particularly in developing countries. This inquiry focuses mainly on capacity, which refers to the ability as well as extent to which a country can adequately utilize its resources (human and otherwise) to sustain and develop research, and the extent of NIH's responsibility in building this capacity.

To date, the subcommittee is working on compiling resources that the NIH community can pull on to ensure sustainability in the research enterprise. One such resource is a report released by the InterAcademy Councils that advocates the important role that high scientific and technological capacity, plays in sustainable development.

¹ InterAcademy Council, Inventing a Better Future, January 2004, page 22

² ibid

³ Page 38

Contact for Article Questions or Comments

Maryam Rahman-Esene
Office of International Extramural Activities, NIAID International Awards
Email: rahmanesenem@niaid.nih.gov
Phone: +1 301 451-7372

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