1. BUILDING RESEARCH for SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH and CAPACITY BUILDING May 2015Gisella Orjeda, PhD President Concytec

2. REGIONAL MEETING FOR THE AMERICAS Held on 19 – 20 november 2014 in Lima, Peru This meeting defined a common position in Funding Research for Scientific Breakthrough and Capacity Building in Education in Research throughout the American continent.

3. FUNDING RESEARCH FOR SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH

4. I. DESIGNING POLICIES FOR RESEARCH FUNDING The discussion centered on three aspects: 1.Production of resources to finance and perform research 2.Importance of networks 3.Balance between peer-review and impact of innovation.

5.  There is a wide range of instruments available at different steps of the research projects.  Agencies generally finance both bottom-up and top-down initiatives but tend to use conservative criteria in the evaluation process.  There is reluctance to financing risk at the national level, even more at the international level.  Innovation or breakthrough is not predictable so there is a contradictory situation where evaluators expect innovation to be planned.  The majority of the funding agencies in the region focus their funding efforts on the formation of human capital. I. DESIGNING POLICIES FOR RESEARCH FUNDING 1.Production of resources to finance and perform research

6.  Infrastructures are crucial to promote frontier-research.  They represent large investments for funding agencies, at the same time they provide opportunities for local and international research network to perform disruptive research and build capacities.  Networks can bring answers to the question of risk in research.  Networking allows reducing costs, disseminating results within scientific communities and promoting results for a better distribution of knowledge.  Concerning governance, autonomy and control of networks, it is necessary to identify mechanisms to define agendas and promote results. 2. Importance of networks I. DESIGNING POLICIES FOR RESEARCH FUNDING

7.  Evaluation process is the main barrier for breakthrough science: it is still very conservative, focused on the indicators or metrics to make the final decision.  Funding agencies have the responsibility to create a friendly-environment for disruptive research and design new instruments, review processes to ensure flexibility, to promote interdisciplinarity and to encourage young researchers to present innovative and high-quality projects (eg. NSF, FAPESP).  Research should be free to grow and therefore not be limited by strict rules. 3. Balance between peer-review and impact of innovation I. DESIGNING POLICIES FOR RESEARCH FUNDING

8.  Countries of the region face the challenge to overcome inequality in term of access to infrastructures, or availability of human resources.  Cross-boarder networks are crucial elements to:  bring together ideas and solution to solve these inequalities.  foster international cooperation between developed countries and developing countries, with resources and willingness to become leaders in the South.  From a private perspective, research networking would facilitate private investment as long as a large part of the risk of the private company investing in R&D is financed with public funds  Local chapters of the GRC are the perfect places to start a level of communication between funding agencies II. SUCCESSFUL CASES IN RESEARCH FUNDING NETWORKS

9. RECOMMENDATIONS  List the strength of each country in terms of infrastructures and funding instruments.  Foster the further use of singular infrastructures as hubs for multi-country scientific exchange and training and encourage common funding to maintain and use these facilities  Enhance Joint Research Initiatives, such as regional or thematic programs, or centers of excellence.  Share experience in mechanism to attract and retain researchers.

10. CAPACITY BUILDING IN EDUCATION IN RESEARCH THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAN CONTINENT

11. Capacity Building in Education and Research Capacity building and funding research are closely related. Many recommendations in common. Context and Challenges for the Americas: - Differences in infrastructures and availability of human capital exist. - Need to identify strengths of every country's capacities to promote and balance participation in joint research projects. - Concept of geopolitics of Science Human capital - Contrast between Latin America and USA/Canada - Difficulties to form, attract and retain talented researchers - Initiatives in Latin America to fund education and promote science at all levels - Different instruments are available to promote capacity building at different stages of researchers' careers. - Research conditions are an important element for CB.

12. Context and Challenges for the Americas - Joint Research Initiatives, valuable schemes to combine capacity building in education and research and foster dialogue between research communities. - Promote researchers' mobility and access to infrastructures is crucial, to compensate the limited training offer in the region. - Promote use or funding of existing facilities.

13. THANKS www.concytec.gob.pe