Fourteen science academies call for a better funding of basic sciences.
Have you ever heard about G-Science? It is a coordination of the science academies of the G-7 countries: The Royal Society of Canada; Académie des sciences (France); German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
(Germany); Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Italy); Science Council of Japan; The Royal Society (United Kingdom); The National Academy of Sciences (United States of America).
G-Science recently (28th May 2020) produced three statements. One of these statements is of particular interest for IYBSSD 2022, as its title is Basic research. It has been signed also by seven other academies, some of which already support IYBSSD 2022: Academia Brasiliera de Ciéncias; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Global Young Academy; Indian National Science Academy; Indonesian Academy of Sciences; Korean Academy of Science and Technology; Nigerian Academy of Science.
This statement is not very long (3 pages) and you can download it if you like. But, as for other reports and documents, we will give in these News the main content, with some comments, in a series of posts.
For this first post, we begin with the executive summary. No comment needed.
Expanding fundamental knowledge has made enormous contributions to solving global challenges and sustaining healthy and prosperous societies. Investment by the public in basic research creates essential human and intellectual capital and enriches society in unexpected ways, including new treatments and technologies that spawn new industries, elevating the global standard of living.
Yet, there are many current cases of inadequate or decreasing investment in basic research. And investments and policies for education, capacity building, cooperation and openness are necessary to realize the benefits of basic research and to distribute them throughout society.
- Our central recommendation is to restore and sustain long-term public funding of basic research, pursuing new frontiers of knowledge, providing the basic fuel for successfully meeting current and future challenges
It is also important to:
- Strengthen investment in cultivating inquiry and innovation through early and ongoing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, integrated with the humanities and arts
- Foster global cooperation and information sharing to accelerate discovery and spread benefits and to reduce knowledge-based inequities
- Support interdisciplinary collaboration among and between fields, including engineering and social sciences
- Openly publish research, to increase scientific knowledge, foster curiosity, and benefit all publics
