Colombian Government will create a space entity: this will be its operation

Reindustrialization. That word defines one of the main strategies of Petro‘s Government, through which it is intended to generate investment, incorporate technical progress, have value chains in small and medium-sized companies and the generation of human capacity, according to the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña.

Along these lines and in accordance with what is established in the bases of the National Development Plan 2022-2026 (PND), when referring to reindustrialization in activities related to the knowledge society, it is indicated that “the National Government, in coordination with the productive sector and academia, will create an entity that establishes the governance and institutional framework of the space sector.”

Likewise, it will design and implement productive development strategies in the space sector, taking into account industry, science, technology and innovation processes and international cooperation instruments.

The foregoing under three postulates: double investment in research and development (R&D), close technological gaps and update the regulatory framework for research and innovation in order to sophisticate the productive apparatus, and with the aim of attracting investment intersectoral and achieve measurable results and impacts.

“It is clear that the engine of science, technology and innovation (CTI) goes hand in hand with those alliances that exist between the government, companies and universities. In fact, in all parts of the world, universities generate a large part of the development of knowledge and a large part of the patents or the support for their launch in alliance with companies. With everything that is happening, it seems important to me that, in this transformation, these institutions play a leading role in impacting projects with innovation that can also benefit the changes and challenges that Colombia requires”, said Santiago Roldán, a business consultant.

In addition to the creation of this entity, there will be changes in the regulation regarding CTI.

On the one hand, article 5 of Law 29/90 will be regulated and a special control regime for public purchases of innovation will be designed. And on the other, the incentives for researchers will be aligned and made visible to promote the transfer of knowledge and technology to society.

Regulatory adjustments will also be made to promote the appropriation of additional external resources in public R&D institutes, and for the Health Research Fund to be part of the CTI sector without affecting its budget ceiling.

“An institutional program will be developed for the capacity to generate basic and applied scientific knowledge (…) based on the strengthening of scientific ecosystems and knowledge-generating institutions, such as research centers. The training of talent in convergent and emerging digital technologies will be promoted (…) Strategies for linking human capital and the insertion of doctors in the industry will be strengthened”, the document states.

In addition to that, a process of rapid validation of postgraduate degrees obtained through scholarships or forgivable loans financed with public resources or allied entities will be enabled.

“The updating of standards is welcome, everything is positive to the extent that it shows tangible results and generates a reactivation dynamic in sectors that really require it,” said Luis Fernando Martin, an expert in business dynamics.

In the aforementioned section, the prioritization of resources for research and innovation for “strategic missions” in bioeconomy, natural ecosystems and sustainable territories was also raised; internationalization; sustainable energy; and health autonomy and social welfare.

“This will be complemented by a strategic program of sciences for peace and citizenship. An investment framework in CTI will also be implemented in the General Budget of the Nation, which defines annually the resources that each administrative sector allocates to CTI. An executing agency will be implemented for the STI sector that will allow the execution of this sector to be specialized (…) the process of access to tax benefits, royalties and other resources oriented to STI will be optimized, together with an increase in international cooperation,” highlight the bases of the PND.

With information from Bloomberg