Investment in Science Rose in 2009
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- Category: The Nation
- Published on Saturday, June 04 2011 01:58
- Written by Rod Hughes
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Whatever the defects of the Arias Administration (2006-10) one cannot fault that government for short sightedness. In 2009, during the worldwide recession, the government invested 0.53% of the Gross National Product in science and technology.
This was up 0.40% from the year before. The long-term goal is to contribute 1% of the Gross National Product by 2015.
The Ministry of Science and Technology breaks down the $661 million 2009 investment this way: $159 million for research and development, $245 million for scientific services and $157 million for scientific education.
Jose Andres Masis, head of the National Council of (university) Rectors, points out that research rose an average of 45.5% during the 3006-09 period. Some 82% of the funds to do this came from public funds and 7% from private business.
During this period, 3,306 research projects were financed.Of this total, some 28.6% were carried out in conjunction with national or foreign organizations involving a total of 332 researchers.
