A few weeks ago in the lab we were quite discouraged because of the budget cuts in science that the Spanish scientific community will have to face this year: 25% reduction may not be bad but tragic. Economic reforms are affecting all fields in Spain, but it is already the third consecutive year the budget for science decreases and in a way bigger than expected. With the current bill, the investment in Research and Development and innovation has slumped to levels of 2005, in a world where research race is global and lightning fast: unfortunately, nobody is going to wait for us to recover from the economic crisis, leaving us behind.
Foreseeing the situation, some of the most important Spanish scientific associations sent last month an open letter to the Spanish government asking for an exception in the severity of the cuts for science, arguing that Spain needs a new economic model, based on knowledge, and that research should be a priority. The letter gathered 26.000 individual signatures. It looks like a big number, but if you compare it to the 516.000 signatures collected against the ban of bullfighting in Cataluña it really looks small. Why couldn’t we gather more signatures? Was it a marketing/communication mistake or is it that the Spanish society does not consider science a priority? What do we want our country to become in the next 50 years? Is science in Spain so far from common people? The reason I am starting this blog is to approach science to all those interested in unraveling mysteries, to make it more accessible to those who want to participate in the process of discovery. Hope you enjoy!
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