Paper [137 KB]
The European Union aims to become the territory with the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge- based economy in the world.
Recent EU policy indicates that the number of researchers should
be increased by 700,000. This measure should accompany an increase
in research investment of up to 3% of GDP.
In the case of the Spanish science and technology system, the
goal of qualitatively and quantitatively increasing human resources
devoted to research is affected by several factors. These include:
low motivation in the research profession, the low level of
research and innovation in Spanish companies, the low level
of scientific training of Spanish students. As a result, there
are a series of structural problems in human resources for science
and technology in Spain. These problems are set out below. For
each one, several general measures are recommended.
- Primary, secondary, and university education lack orientation
towards scientific training. Education fosters passive attitudes
rather than a positive predisposition to appreciating science.
The entire education system should improve its ability to
provide education that: promoes creativity and reduces passivity,
fosters a critical and constructive spirit, encourages curiosity
to find out more about reality, creativity instead of dogmatic
teaching, multidisciplinarity rather than compartmentalisation,
and flexibility rather than rigidity.
- Few young people are attracted to research and there is
a low level of scientific culture in society. Young people’s
motivation for engaging in research activity should be boosted.
Such motivation is based on a desire to continue learning,
to develop in-depth knowledge, and to apply this knowledge
to the social and economic reality, in order to transform
and improve it.
- Professional uncertainties are associated with careers in
science and technology at all levels, including researcher,
technologist, technician, and manager.
Professional research jobs should be made more attractive to young people by increasing remuneration and strengthening the structure and prospects for progress in a career in the public sector and for being promoted within companies. In addition, the working environment and the social recognition of researchers should be improved.
- Human resources and centres carrying out R+D need to be
rigorously evaluated. The continuous and rigorous assessment
of individuals and groups devoted to research is both a mechanism
for improving quality and a tool for structuring wage incentive
schemes and professional promotion. All of these factors need
to be encouraged.
- The workforce of researchers is ageing. In Spain, an effort
is needed to qualitatively and quantitatively increase human
resources devoted to research. This effort has to be accompanied
by measures to facilitate the regular, constant recruitment
of new researchers. These would replace researchers who retire,
and enable the qualitative and quantitative total mass of
researchers to increase.
- There is limited absorption of trained research personnel
into the private sector, and a lack of communication and interaction
between the public research sector and companies.
Perhaps the greatest efforts to bring about structural improvements should involve making it easier for the private sector to make use of research resources available to the public sector.
- The research system has a rigid organisation that needs
to be more adaptable. More flexible and dynamic ways of taking
action need to be created.
The Spanish research system is mainly based on the civil service career, which favours individualism rather than team work. Introducing a more flexible alternative system – one that is based on the importance of collective tasks and subject to continuous assessment – would contribute to the system’s agility and quality.
- Groups of excellence in research have low visibility and limited support. Researchers need to have stimulating environments in which to carry out their creative work. Designing measures to develop new human resources and grouping existing human resources into networks of excellence would considerably help to bring about an overall improvement in research quality in Spain.
- Implement measures in the education system that encourage
younger generations to enter the research system.
- Create salary incentives that acknowledge the results of
periodic appraisals of scientists.
- Promote the mobility of research personnel and develop other
measures aimed at enabling research personnel in the university
and health systems to increase their devotion to research.
- Create a programme of awards for excellent researchers.
Give generous funding to centres of excellence that will allow
optimum exploitation of human resources.
- Create a career structure in R+D based, at least in its final stages, on employment contracts for research (tenure model).
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