GYA member Juan Escrig (Chile), participated in the South American Workshop on Scientific and Technical Advice, organised by the Argentinian Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation (MINCyT), jointly with the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), from 28-30 June 2017. The workshop was preceded by an open symposium to discuss the role of science advice in policy making. Both events were held at the Cultural Center of Science in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The symposium analysed the contribution of science to the improvement of public policies in different areas, exchanged regional and international experiences, and reflected on the challenges in this area. This event was attended by the Director of the Scientific Diplomacy Board of the AAAS, the Director of Energy, Science and Technology and Innovation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, among others.
The workshop was designed for scientists and policy practitioners living or working in South America, to enhance their capacities in providing science advice for policy making at all levels of government. Participants in the workshop worked on strengthening their capacity to insert scientific advice in the process of elaboration of public policies in the South American context, through the study of four fictitious cases, which turned out to be quite complex.
The proposal emerged to create a Latin American network of actors in scientific advice, that could serve as a platform for sharing good practices and addressing challenges and solutions in a regional and institutional context. INGSA is an active partner of this emerging network.
For more information on the workshop and symposium, see the full report here: http://www.ingsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/INGSA_Buenos-Aires-Workshop-Report.pdf