putting science to work
by Mohamed H. A. Hassan

We now have a critical mass of well-trained scientists living and working in several countries in the developing world - notably Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Korea. However, that doesn't mean the original mandate of the institutions belonging to the Trieste System has been fulfilled.

A great deal of work still needs to be done in training young scientists from the South, most notably those from the world's least developed countries. Nevertheless we now have examples of successful scientific capacity building in a number of developing countries that could serve as valuable models for others to follow in the years ahead.

Yet even the most successful examples of scientific capacity building in the developing world have fallen short in consistently applying the scientific expertise that has been developed to address critical environmental, social and economic problems.

Maybe it's the global nature of scientific exploration that has been responsible for this disconnect between science and society in the developing world. Or perhaps it is the fact that so many scientists in the South have been educated in the North. Or perhaps the shortcoming is due to governments' chronic undervaluing of the role that science could play in its economic development strategies.

Whatever the causes, the fact remains that scientific research, even as it has grown in presence and stature in several developing countries, has failed to gain a prominent place in policy circles in the South.

That may now be changing. China's sustained economic growth based in part on its commitment to science and technology; the ability of India’s software industry and other technology-based sectors of its economy to compete in international markets; the recent emphasis that the United Nations has placed on “turning knowledge into action;” and the movement to build closer links between science and society by encouraging research agendas that address such critical issues as water quality, agriculture, public health and energy - all suggest that science is likely to play a more direct role in development issues in the years ahead.

The opportunities created by such trends are self-evident. For the first time in a millennium, science now has a chance to become fully integrated into the policies and cultures of many developing countries.

Yet the challenges are just as compelling. First, the science community must become more interdisciplinary - welcoming into its discussions colleagues from the social sciences and humanities. Second, it must seek to blur the boundaries between its own research and the work of technologists and engineers; third, it must make increasing efforts to engage the public by drawing strength from the support it receives yet reshaping its agenda when public opinion demands such action; and fourth, the scientific community must develop stronger ties with decision makers.

These are some of the reasons that the Group of 77 (G-77) high level conference on science and technology, together with the prominent role that the Trieste System is playing in this effort, are not only emblematic of current trends in the evolving relationship between science and society, especially in the developing world, but also portend closer ties between the networks – one political, the other scientific – in the future.

As the Trieste System broadens its mandate from “scientific capacity building” to “scientific capacity building to aid development,” and as the member states of the G-77 increasingly turn to the scientific community for help in addressing the complex issues of sustainable development, a great deal of common ground is likely to emerge between the two.

Individually, the G-77 and the Trieste System have been among the world's most effective entities for addressing the concerns of the developing world. Working together, we are likely to gain even more strength in our hope to create a more equitable and peaceful global community.