Citizens’Agenda for

Science, Technology and Innovation:Universities & Public Appproach to Science

Montreal, May 2015

Roberto Escalante, UDUAL

The UDUAL organized the query with the support of its associate universities.

The Citizen’s Agenda for Science, Technology and Innovation stemmed from theMexican Senate’s request made to the National Council of Science andTechnology to celebrate a national query on science and technology.

A linking strategy was created among government institutions in three areas,public and private universities, nongovernmental organizations, and technologytransfer centers, in order to develop the consultation.

On 2011, the Commission of Science and Technology of the Senate, the National Council

for Science and Technology (CONACyT), the Mexican Academy of Sciences (AMC), the

National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Union of Universities of Latin

America and the Caribbean (UDUAL) designed the rules of a Citizen’s Agenda for

Science, Technology, and Innovation.

The initiative consisted of ten challenges from which three had to be chosen.

The query was held in Mexico from November 7, 2012 to January 30, 2013.

Its purpose was to create an exercise of scientific popularization in order to increase the

culture of science. In addition, it aimed to review the opinion of people on science and

technology subjects.

More than 70 entities joined the initiative.

Develop a competitive Mexican

aerospace industry with results

geared towards society

Preserve the

environment to improve

our quality of life

Integrate mental health

and addictions to public

health

Modernize the Education

System with a humanistic,

scientific and technological

approach

Ensure the supply of

drinking water for the

entire population

Have a more productive

field in order to reach

food sovereignty

Have a clean,

sustainable, efficient and

affordable energy system

Form a high quality

Health System for the

entire population

Develop the ability to prevent

and adapt to the effects of

climate change

Build an informed society on

immigration and diversity

sensitized to the rights of

migrants

On 2010, a similar public consultation took place in Spain. It was internet based and sponsoredby the Ministry of Science and Technology of Spain and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECyT).

The challenges were, for instance:

1. Overcoming language barriers through technology2. More comfortable, accessible and ecological cities3. Personalized medical treatments by genetics4. Robots that make our lives easier5. Artificial organs to replace damaged ones This initiative won 107.309 votes

between April 16 and May 26, 2010.

The main objective of this query was to value science, innovation and creativity as drivers of progress and welfare of society, and to reach new audiences and segments away from publicdecisions on collective challenges.

Background

Publicperception of science in Mexico

18+ year-old population, by age group.

We rely too much on faith and very little in science

The application of science makes our way of life change too fast

Some numbers are lucky Technological development creates an artificial and dehumanized way of living

Strongly agree Do not knowAgree Disagree Strongly disagree

Source: National Query of Public Perception on Science, INEGI, 2011

Source: National Query of Public Perception on Science, INEGI, 2011

18+ year-old population, by age group.

Relies equally on both

Total Relies more on science

Do not rely on any

Relies more on faith or religion

Do not know

Publicperception of science in Mexico

Why did the universities join this initiative?

The need to establish a new model of Latin American University: More sensitive to challenges of globalization and knowledge society.

More approached to social sector; strengthen extension activities.

Public and private universities must take the global trends to take advantage from them. However , universities should not lose their direction or their autonomy and remain the critical conscience of society.

Universities have the responsibility to provide scientific, professional, humanistic, artistic and technical training at the highest level.

Contribute to economic competitiveness and sustainable human development.

Reports of Public Perception of Science, Research and Innovation in Spain, Mexico and Latin American countries; people think that budget to R&D&I is wasted in unnecessary expenses.

It is necessary to remind people that science and technology are everywhere, in all objects used daily and improve their living conditions.

R&D&I to improve the quality of life (developed countries): Transportinfrastructure, adaptation of society to an ageing population, security of citizens, protection of personal data, education and skills, artificial intelligence, health.

R&D&I to resolve the social debts left by the demise of the welfare state (Mexico and Latin America): immigration, water supply, education, availability of food, social care and Health, reduction of inequalities.

Why did the universities join this initiative?

Objectives of Citizen’s Agenda for

Science, Technology and Innovation

To face the problems that affect the country with

R&D&I and social innovation.

To establish ways of communication and citizen

participation on scientific affairs.

To include citizen opinion in drafting the National

Agenda on Science, Technology and Innovation.

To be an exercise of science popularization.

As a part of the reflection and analysis of the challenges, ten volumes containing the diagnosis of the current situation were published, along with possible solutions for each challenge.

The books and the results were

delivered to the main decision

makers of country.

And most importantly: The

books are available to the whole

population.

The coordination of these books was given by leading experts in each topic.

Preserve the environment to improve our quality of life

33,655

364,803 votes

Modernize the Education Systemwith humanistic, scientific and technological approachEnsure the supply of

drinking water for theentire population

Integrate mental health and addictions to public

health

Have a more productive field in order to reach food

sovereignty

Have a clean, sustainable, efficient and affordable energy system

Form a high quality Health System for the

entire population

Develop a competitive Mexican aerospace industry with results

geared towards society

Develop the ability to prevent and adapt to the effects of climate change

Build an informed society on immigration and diversity sensitized to the rights of migrants

19,111

19,175

23,167

36,534

49,410

62,328

56,254

42,599

22,570

First Science and

Technology

Interuniversity Contest

Vive Conciencia Contest is a call for social innovation.

Considering the ten challenges of the Citizen's Agenda, undergraduate students must design an innovative project to address the challenge.

Students of nationwide universities, both public and private.

Students offer practical solutions to everyday problems to improve their environment and the population as a whole. Students should offer an innovative idea, which consists of a change in behavior or new uses for an existing product or invention of new products.

Bring citizens closer to science, technology and innovation and recognize the contributions that these sectors performed in different areas of daily life.

Nowadays, the complex of emergent economies demands creative and innovativesolutions to face the poverty and generate income sources.

In this case, we understand social innovation as a continuous transformationsustained in some phases:

1. Identifying social needs uncovered by government.2. The development of social needs.3. Evaluating the effectiveness of the innovations.4. The scale of the innovations or products and their.

popularizing to the rest of the society.

The US government created the Social Innovation Fund, which recognizes theentrepreneurs and the social sector as subjects for the economicaldevelopment of the country.

About the contest

About the contest

Vive ConCiencia contest was launched on Science and Technology week, on November 2013

The same institutions of Citizens Agenda for ST+i organized the contest.

The deadline to send the projects was March 31, 2014.

A winner from each challenge (Ten challenges) and five Honorable Mentions.

The winners’ projects were presented in Science and Technology Week2014.

1,342 proposals were received, but only 961 were elegible.

Solutions to daily problems

The challenge was to create an innovative product or solution to the selected problem and translate the results into a video of 1 to 3 minutes:

1. Explain the problem and how it impacts the communityor the environment where they live.

2. Describe the new product or solution.

3. Indicate a scientific substantiation of the proposal.

4. Present how innovation solves that problem.

Extension activities: Incubation of business innovation projects with socialcontent.

Bootcamps, New Ventures, AVINA, Ashoka: Catalyzes social innovation inhigher education.

RedUNES-UDUAL: Uniting Latin American universities through SocialEntrepreneurship. Companies with human sense which seek to be financiallysustainable, but generate shared benefits.

Entrepreneurship and social innovation are two aspects of socialmanagement, driven from the universities.

Social service is a link between the university and society, which reaffirms thesocial relevance of the University. It is necessary to strengthen the socialservice with scholarships.

Universities and Social Innovation

Innovation is an engine of development, but it has always been regarded asscientific or technical.

Innovation not only results in patenting: The social vision of entrepreneurshipfocuses projects to parliamentary democracy, gender equality, universal socialsecurity, free education, generalized literacy and social peace (Ikka Taipale).

Social innovations guarantee equality, but require social participation.

Social innovation does not solely relates to emerging economies: Developedcountries stimulate as well because they seek to ensure equality andenvironmental balance.

The university plays a fundamental role in the design and implementation of socialinnovations.

Universities perfect innovations that emerge from society. Students retake theseneeds and take them to laboratories and classrooms, which in turn are redefinedwith scientific and technological vision.

Universities and Social Innovation

roberto.escalante@udual.org