The CRUCH Executive Committee expresses its concern regarding the 2014 Budget Bill on Science and Technology

04/11/2013
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Each year, during discussions on the budget for higher education, and particularly for scientific and technological development, it becomes clear that the State has yet to establish a long-term policy or an institutional framework commensurate with the demands of an OECD member country. The State's responsibility is to provide the funding necessary for national development, to advance science-based innovation that is globally competitive, and to empower regions to become engines of development.

Scientific development requires resources that ensure stability and dynamic consistency, with medium- and long-term funding programs. This is key if Chile wants to become part of the knowledge society, moving into a phase of greater production of public goods and their dissemination in areas such as health, environmental protection, energy, desertification, and urban development, among others. Policies are needed that include increased funding for scientific and technological research and transfer. This capacity building should obviously be a matter of paramount importance for the State.

The 2014 Budget Bill prevents progress on the challenges outlined:

  1. The projected increase for CONICYT is 3.31 TP3T compared to the previous year, which represents zero growth. New research projects would decrease by 501 TP3T.
  2. FONDECYT's budget will increase by 14 billion pesos, which is insufficient for its usual pace of development, which annually approved 600 regular FONDECYT projects, 300 FONDECYT Initiation projects, and 300 FONDECYT Postdoctoral projects. The 2014 budget will focus primarily on funding projects from previous years.
  3. In 2014, FONDECYT approved 150 fewer regular projects than the previous year, 200 fewer initiation projects, and about 250 fewer post-doctoral projects.
  4. Funding for postgraduate scholarships, both in the Becas Chile line for studies abroad and in scholarships for postgraduate studies in national universities, falls by 6.2%.

Furthermore, we consider the restrictions included in the FONDECYT budget gloss, which requires the Budget Directorate of the Ministry of Finance to participate as an evaluator of the financing of research projects, to be negative for the development of science.

The Council of Rectors believes it is necessary to establish a stable, medium-term public policy that maintains a sufficient number of FONDECYT projects in a sustained state. A policy of temporary increases in projects will not have an impact on the medium-term public policy for developing science and technology. We call for an urgent review of those aspects of the Budget Law that will limit the development of science and technology in the country.

Executive Committee of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities:

Juan Manuel Zolezzi

Sergio Lavanchy Merino

Ignacio Sánchez Díaz

Victor Cubillos Godoy

Héctor Gaete Feres

Emilio Rodríguez Ponce

Aldo Valle Acevedo