Annex A: Endorsement InterAcademy Panel

Dr. Bruce Alberts, Co-Chair
Dr. Goverdhan Mehta, Co-Chair
InterAcademy Council
Het Trippenhuis
P.O. Box 19121
1000 GC Amsterdam
NETHERLANDS

Dear Dr. Alberts and Dr. Mehta:

We are pleased to inform you that the world's academies of sciences, brought together within the InterAcademy Panel (IAP), endorse the recommendations of the InterAcademy Council (IAC) report Inventing a Better Future: A Strategy for Building Worldwide Capacities in Science and Technology, through a plenary resolution adopted by the IAP General Assembly in Mexico City on 4 December 2003.

Scientific and technological capabilities must become integral to all nations if humanity is to confront effectively the significant challenges of the 21st Century. The world faces rapidly increasing
needs in areas such as energy and associated environmental challenges - global warming, atmospheric pollution, and degradation of land and oceans. New biological threats - in the form of new and old infectious diseases - can spread across the globe at the speed of a modern jet. Nearly 9 billion people must be fed without expanding land available for agriculture. Sustainable economic growth requires new knowledge and technologies. To meet these challenges, scientific and technical talent is required in all regions of the world to adapt and apply existing knowledge, to develop new knowledge and capabilities, and to provide expert advice and judgment.

Yet while several developing countries have recently made major improvements in scientific and technological capacity, most continue to lack the tools of science and technology, and lose their most talented individuals to the industrialized nations. Research expenditures per person in the industrialized nations are many times greater than in the developing nations.

To address the challenges ahead, each nation should have the following capacities:

indigenous mechanisms for obtaining advice on scientific and technological questions related to public policies and programs;
a science and technology strategy that specifies the national priorities for research and development and spells out national funding commitments, to be disbursed using a merit-based approach;
human resources policies and programs for promoting science and technology, including high-quality education and training; developing, attracting, and retaining local scientific and technical talent; and encouraging participation in international scientific networks;
centers of scientific and technological excellence to address issues of local importance and "virtual networks of excellence" - innovative groups that are located far apart but closely linked via the Internet and anchored in recognized research centers organized either nationally, regionally, or globally;
partnerships and consortia among government, universities, and industry for addressing research and applications in areas of potential local benefit; and
adequate financial resources for conducting education, research and development in areas of vital importance.

The world's academies of sciences commit themselves to achieving these scientific and technological capacities described above in our own countries and regions and to working with colleagues in other regions to build capacity worldwide. We are convinced that with the support of international authorities and organizations, the backing of governments, and direct help from scientists, engineers, and health professionals, a worldwide effort in this area can make major progress in the next two decades in effectively addressing the challenges facing humanity.