Build research capacity fast

摘要

It is an exciting time for science in Peru. After years of neglect, the budget of the National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) has grown 20-fold in just 18 months to almost US$110 million, and it will continue to grow at the same rate. For the first time, Peru has a president who is prioritizing science and innovation. Journalists are trying to grasp and explain new concepts. Now Peru needs highly qualified scientists and scientific managers. We must learn how best to organize calls for proposals, allocate funds, build programmes and reach companies. Then we must work out how to build prosperity with our new-found knowledge. CONCYTEC establishes and promotes national policies for science, technology and innovation, and funds research. We work with local governments, the private sector, scientific institutes, universities and colleges. This is a big task for an organization of 148 people that until 2012 had an annual budget of just $6.3 million and almost no information about the set of institutions that produce, transfer and use knowledge.