In March, Argentina’s government unveiled Innovative Argentina 2020, a plan for R&D for the energy, industry, health, agribusiness, social development, and environment and sustainable development sectors. The strategy targets an increase in R&D investment as a percentage of GDP from 0.65% to 1.65% by 2020, which the government said requires private-sector spending to rise from 26% to 50%. One way the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation is encouraging investment is with the establishment of the Argentinean Sectorial Fund to fund social and economic projects with the private sector. The plan also aims to raise the number of Argentina’s researchers from less than three to five per 1,000 employed adults. The National Scientific and Technical Research Council plans to establish 720 new science and technology research positions, and 3,900 new graduate and postdoctoral research fellowships. Argentina’s previous medium-term plan on science, technology and innovation concluded in 2010. Public and private R&D investments have previously been concentrated in Argentina’s biggest cities, but the new strategy endorses investment throughout the country.

Source: SciDev.net