Procesos de gobernanza en el CONICET e implicancias sobre los préstamos BID-I y BID-II en la Argentina entre 1976-1989

Abstract

The National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) has been one of the main beneficiaries of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loans for Science and Technology (S&T) during the period 1976-1989 in Argentina. These loans allowed CONICET to dispose of resources destined to finance the instruments of execution and scientific promotion during the civic-military dictatorship and the return of democracy with the radical government. This paper analyzes how the design of the Global Science and Technology Program (IDB-I) and the Scientific and Technological Research Program (IDB-II), financed by IDB loans, were framed in different governance processes within the CONICET between 1976 and 1989. Thus, the guiding problem question of the article is: In what way did the governance processes within CONICET during the period 1976-1989 have implications for the design and objectives of the IDB-I and IDB- II? It is concluded that the BID-I was oriented towards promoting an execution policy and the growth of infrastructure and human resources under the control of strongly corporate actors within CONICET, while the BID-II was aimed at strengthening the scientific promotion instruments of the institution, particularly research projects where the main beneficiaries were career researchers from CONICET and teacher-researchers from public universities.