1. Knowledge and Politics of the Public
Elements for analysing the rise of social innovation
agenda in policy discourse in Colombia
Oscar Javier Maldonado Castañeda
Ph.D. Student
Department of sociology
Lancaster University
Derly Yohanna Sánchez Vargas
Researcher
Science and Technology studies group
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Third Berlin Forum Innovation in Governance, Berlin 31 May 2012

2. Traditional Science and technology stakeholders
COLCIENCIAS •Legitimation
•Political visibility
•Impact of knowledge
Social Appropriation of
Knowledge •Public realm
•Social
•Impact
•Innovation + Development
Innovation for properity
•Knowledge + Modernisation
•Good governance
National Plan
of
Development
Professional politicians, business

3. Colombian policy in
science, technology and innovation
• Colombia: 46.5 million of inhabitants.
• GDP (nominal): $328.422 million of USD (2011).
• GDP per capita (ppp) is $9.800 USD (2010)
• 45.5% of population is below poverty line (CIA Factbook, 2011)
• Gini coefficient 0.57
• Expenditure in activities of science and technology (STA) around 0.48% of
GDP.
• Expenditure in Research and Development (R&D) around 0.18%.
• STA was 6.932 (millions USD)
• R&D was 2.659 (millions USD).
• These expenditures are below of investments in science, technology and
innovation made by countries such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina (RICYT,
2010).

4. Economic Growth and social inequality

5. Science and Technology Policy in this context
Graphic 1. Expenditure in scientific and technological activities as a percentage of GDP (Source:
OCYT, 2012)

6. • Rise of STI policy visibility
• Development of a legal framework
• Set of institutions: National System of
Science, technology and Innovation.
• +Normative (Ideal)
• - Descriptive (“Real” engagement of actors
and institutions)

7. Building bridges between knowledge and
society: Social Appropriation of knowledge
•Iberoamerican policy term for defining some
relations between science and society
•Appropriate: to take something for yourself…
in this case make it part of yourself
•Inculturation (integration of S&T values in
everydaylife)
•Development of S&T favourability values

8. Strong definition
• "The social appropriation of knowledge is a process of
understanding and intervention of relations between
techno-science and society, that is built upon the active
participation of various social groups that generate
knowledge.(...) the dynamics of production of
knowledge beyond go the synergies between
academia, productive and state, including communities
and stakeholders in civil society "(COLCIENCIAS, 2010:
22).
• 1q qq

9. Appropriation Disjunctive
Small group of direct
beneficiaries
Propaganda
Accountability
Citizen-Supporters

10. Innovation discourses in National
Development Plans
Graphic 3. Direct reference to Innovation in news published in El Tiempo 1990-2011

11. •Professional
Politicians’ origin
•Rhetoric of government
•“Knowledge” turn of
the policy
Graphic 4. Direct reference to
“innovation” in Government Plan of
Colombian presidents (1990-2010)

12. Social State of Rights
• “New” Insitutional
Order:
Constititution of
1991
• (Neo)liberal
modernisation
• Rise of Technocracy

13. Santos's Innovation policy: Innovation
as “locomotive” of Development
• Innovation for
prosperity
• Innovation a
government principle
• New shape of
Development
discourse

14. Productive Innovation
• Global market sectors and National Strenghts
• Competitiveness, creativity and technological
development
Social Innovation
• Vulnerable population
• Social Corporate responsability
• Pro-poor technologies
Governance Innovation
• Management and State efficiency
• Citizen as a Customer
• Innovation Governance: Who should make decisions?

15. Knowledge and contemporary
governance
Economic Productive
Development Innovation
Social Social
Development Innovation
•Hierarchies
•Causa relation
•Endogenous impact
•Limit social: small realm

16. KNOWLEDGE AS PUBLIC GOOD
TAXES
Patents and Intelectual
regulation

17. Conclusion
• Knowledge society discourse is embedded in Discourse of Development
• Interest groups of STI policies have developed different discourses for
creating links with broader publics and the “general” society.
• Apropiation of Knowledge: Integration between science and other social
representation and values.
• S&T stakeholders have used the rise of innovation discourse for promoting
their agenda.
• Knowledge as public good assumption made that these policies do not
present strategies for distributing innovation benefits.
• Despite social innovation discourse makes explicit the importance of
considering the knowledge and experts role in the solution of key
problems for society, it restricts the social to a particular type of
innovation.
• The social disappear of the discussion about innovation in general, the
role of communities and interest groups is limited to a very specific type of
activities with fewer resources and political visibility.

18. THANK YOU!
o.maldonadocastaeda@lancaster.ac.uk
dysanchezv@unal.edu.co