Rosario Castañón

Knowledge management and value creation in public research centers: The development of a diagnosis tool

The R&D Centers (RDC) are organizations where knowledge and innovation management has a high priority for increasing efficiency of knowledge and creativity processes and their transformation in intellectual assets. At present, these capacities are essential for competitiveness environment where customers demand new and better products and services. In LATAM countries, the public policies stimulate researchers according to a traditional schema mainly based on number of publications and graduated students. So, knowledge management and value creation are not common RDC evaluation. According to this premise, our R&D team has developed an evaluation tool that has been applied to fourteen Mexican RDC, ten Brazilians and ten Chileans. The RDC selected have an acceptable relationship with productive sector and important contributions to science and technology in the region. The objective of the research was the evaluation of knowledge and value creation management (KVCM) in public RDC and the identification of social and economic impact of these elements. Our findings present best practices of KVCM around the results of nine strategic areas. This project is sponsored by IDRC and FLACSO Mexico.

Can Latin America Move Forward after a Lost Decade in Technical Change?: Looking at Opportunities for Knowledge-based Change in Times of Increasing Uncertainty

In view of the current global context, which challenges are facing science- and technology-based developments and cooperation in a way to contribute for policies that stimulate localized learning, innovation and endogenous development in Latin America? This broad question has motivated the work behind the Special Issue introduced by this paper, which considers the development of case studies in selected Latin America regions. The analysis lead us to argue that value-based networks have the potential to make both public policies and markets more effective, promoting learning trajectories for the inclusive development of regions. But they require effective public investments to keep attracting and qualifying human resources, together with long-term developments towards technical industries and export capacity for emerging markets worldwide. Our analysis argues about the unique potential for further developing Latin America through strategic international, knowledge-based ventures, exploring the emerging role the internationalization of universities and scienti fi c institutions may play at a global level. Above all, they require the systematic observation of science and technical change in international comparison, as well as a relational infrastructure for collective action, at an international level, in a context much influenced by a dynamic of change and a necessary balance between the creation and diffusion of knowledge towards the endogenous development of all parts involved. The role of Latin America Universities and science policies based on international cooperation are considered to be particularly important in this process.

Políticas para el Desarrollo de Sistemas de Innovación en México

In 2011, the Mexico-State Council of Science and Technology in alliance with the Inter-American Development Bank and the National Council of Science and Technology implemented a program to promote collaborative networks among firms for improving competitiveness trough innovations. Target firms belong to priority manufacturing and services sectors. This paper deals with the analysis of the program, State of Mexico’s innovation capacities are described, the institutional framework and the main actors are also analyzed. The results show that SMEs had lack of experience in innovation but they increased their investment in innovation projects. Based on that analysis we conclude that success of innovation policies is highly dependent on previous experience and learning abilities of firms. Finally, we draw some recommendations for building capacities at the firm level as well as for strengthening innovation policies aimed at involving and technically upgrading SMEs

Environmental Biotechnologies in Mexico

The emerging biotechnology revolution is giving rise to the hope that it can provide the basis for more sustainable development, and the field of environmental management is no exception. It is widely recognized that environmental biotechnology will play a major role in efforts aimed at preventing further damage to the environment and combating environmentally related diseases, mainly by generating food at a lower environmental cost, by providing less toxic chemicals or less polluting processes for chemical manufacture, by eliminating toxic chemicals from the environment, and by controlling infectious disease in overcrowded populations (Timmis, 1992).