The National Dialogue Table for Science, Technology and Innovation (CTI) of Uruguay was established. The Association of Researchers of Uruguay (Investiga Uy), the Department of Productive Development of the PIT-CNT and the Association of Teachers of the University of the Republic (ADUR) participate in it, among others.
The Association of Education and Culture Workers, base of the Clemente Estable Biological Research Institute (ATEC-IIBCE) and the Uruguayan Association of Postgraduates and Postgraduates (AUPP) also participated in this instance.
After the formation of the dialogue table, the actors issued a public declaration of the national dialogue table by the CTI on accountability.
They expressed in a statement that “the allocation of the budget for Science, Technology and Innovation (CTI) in this Rendering of Accounts is clearly insufficient for its actors, who are aware of the current deficiencies of the system and the urgency of achieving greater investment. The current state of the scientific system in Uruguay is one of budget stagnation after a sustained decrease in investment in recent years. In global terms, this represents a setback, since the current investment in STI is much lower than that of the region and the world”.
The text adds that the government “relied heavily on the CTI system during the pandemic”, both to act in the health field and to make informed decisions, which was essential in managing the emergency. “The CTI system is in a position to replicate that support in many other areas of national life. However, this would require attention to its permanence and strengthening, which is clearly not present in this Rendering of Accounts. The planned resources leave no room for the necessary short-term consolidation or for building long-term public policies”.
The actors and institutions recall that “in order to produce knowledge, carry out diagnostic tests using state-of-the-art technology and even import technology, “human resources with quality scientific training are needed.” “We consider – and we cannot help but think that the National Parliament agrees – that without investment in CTI, the economic, social and sustainable development of the country is not possible. We assume that the political sector will legitimize and incorporate the idea that investment in knowledge production is a necessary condition for national development and must be a state policy, supported by all governments”.
“What today may seem like a saving is actually a weakening with disastrous consequences in the short, medium and long term. If to this economic suffocation we add the circumstance that a large number of those who investigate do not have the minimum conditions of Social Security and in some cases decent working conditions, everything that shone in a moment of emergency is seriously compromised”, adds a excerpt from the submitted statement.
That is why they propose that Science, Technology and Innovation “be taken as a state policy”, and that “decent working conditions be created for the workers of the CTI system (postgraduate researchers, research positions, technicians and civil servants, among others), including health and social security coverage.” It is also requested that “a sustained and significant increase in public investment in CTI be carried out, until reaching the floor of 1% of the promised GDP.
