TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP:
THE CASE OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF CHILE

by

Juan Ignacio Varas
Pro Rector, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Member of the Executive Board of CINDA
Director, SAESA y FRONTEL SA, Santiago

INTRODUCTION

For several decades after the Second World War, Chile like most other Latin American countries pursued a vigorous policy of industrial promotion based on severe trade restrictions. Protectionism was accompanied by subsidized credit, wage controls, tariff exceptions to capital goods, and other distortions in agriculture, mining, fisheries and other export sectors all these as a means of partially compensating for its negative effects. As a result of these policies, severe distortions were created in both product and factor markets. For long periods the country had low growth rates, severe inflation and a balance-of-payments deficit.

In 1975, Chile began to liberalize its economy: trade barriers were abolished, capital markets were permitted, the labour market was deregulated and foreign investment was allowed on the same basis as domestic investment. This marked the beginning of a rapid process of growth, interrupted only by the recession of 1982-1983. The average annual growth rate in the period 1985-1995 was 7 per cent. The rate of inflation currently stands at 8 per cent, having fallen from 30 per cent, and exports are seven times those of 1985. Progress has been based on two main elements: an open market economy and the promotion of individual initiative.

With respect to research and technology, until 1980 new technology was introduced mainly by companies in a non-systematic way. In the early 1980s, the Chilean Government created FONDECYT, a fund for the promotion of science and technology among researchers. Since 1990 public policy on technology transfer has been substantially developed.

CHILEAN PUBLIC POLICY FOR TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

R & D policy in Chile actively began in the early 1980s with the creation of FONDECYT (Fund for Scientific and Technology Development). This fund was created as a means of promoting research at the individual level. Every year research groups apply for funds, presenting one or two projects. These are evaluated by anonymous referees (in some cases, international referees). FONDECYT is the main source for technological development in Chile. In the last ten years it has directly supported 2,325 scientific publications, 211 undergraduate theses, 450 Master of Science theses and 160 doctoral theses. Its annual budget is approximately US$60 million.

In 1991, the Chilean Government established the Science and Technology Programme, the main features of which are presented in table 2. Special attention has been devoted in this programme to fostering links between suppliers and users of scientific and technical services. This issue is of particular importance in Chile since most research is conducted, and its technological applications developed, in universities. FONDEF - the Fund for Promoting Scientific and Technological Development - was designed precisely to foster those links in order to increase transfers between suppliers and demanders (see table 3). The difference between this fund and the other one is that this fund is institutionally based and requires a research institute's prior agreement with a private sector company. A project is deemed successful if linkage with that company continues after the end of the project. In 1995, the fund's annual budget was US$65 million.

A third type of fund (FONTEC) is for private innovations. A private company must cooperate with a research institute or university in seeking the solution to a specific technical problem. Its annual budget is approximately US$30 million.

Table 2. Components of the Chilean Science and Technology Programme, 1992-1995