The Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP) warned today of the need for the financial instruments available to the new Agency for Research and Innovation (AI2) to be superior to those that currently exist.
“The financial instruments available to the new agency are the sum of those that already existed in the FCT [Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia] it’s on ANI [Agência Nacional de Inovação]which the diagnosis carried out showed to be insufficient”, argues, in a statement, CRUP, adding that “it is necessary to go beyond these, in order to promote a better link between knowledge and the economy”.
In addition to the lack of financial instruments for innovation, the Council is concerned about the risk of “insufficient protection of fundamental science”, defined by curiosity and long-term horizons, as opposed to the culture of innovation, defined by missions for short-term economic return.
“Research funding is not guaranteed by law, increasing the vulnerability of Science funds (State Budget) compared to Innovation funds (historically supported by structural funds, now decreasing”, he maintains.
To mitigate these risks, CRUP proposes, on the one hand, that AI2 be “mandated and provided with financial instruments that allow it to effectively mobilize knowledge for the economy”, and, on the other, that the budgetary allocation for Science be “fixed by law, as a percentage of the agency’s budget or the State Budget”.
In the note, the Council also criticizes the fact that the Government’s proposal focuses on “an administrative reorganization that diverts attention from the necessary cultural reform” of the Portuguese scientific and innovation system.
The rectors therefore call for a reform of the culture and instruments of FCT and ANI first, “aligning them with the impact and valorization of knowledge”, and that, once this phase is completed, “the relevance of the merger” be re-evaluated.
“CRUP agrees with the need for an urgent and profound reform of the FCT and reiterates its permanent availability to contribute constructively to the processes”, he highlights.
The decree-law creating AI2 was approved by the Council of Ministers on September 4th and, after being at the Presidency of the Republic for promulgation, it returned to the hands of the Government, which announced, on November 4th, some changes to the diploma to respond to the concerns of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
On the same day, the executive began listening to representatives of the scientific and innovation communities to discuss the agency’s decree-law and statutes, before approving the diploma again in the Council of Ministers, so that it can then be returned to the President of the Republic.