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Cerca, N., Lopes, J. & Jorge, M. Research problems in Portugal run deep. Nature 507, 431 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/507431e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/507431e
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Posted on behalf of Dr Maria de Sousa
Portugal: The curious case of scientific policy in a Benjamin Button country?
?Good Lord? he said. The process was continuing. There was no doubt of it? instead of being delighted he was uneasy? he was growing younger.
Patrick O?Donnell in the introduction to Scott Fitzgerald?s book on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, explains that the device of portraying Button growing younger with each passing year allows him to address with humor serious themes including "the imposing force of History?.
Such force in Portugal saw some of our best scientists in centuries up to the XX century having to blossom away from the country. Between 1926 and 1974 men of Science were pushed out of their University places by laws from the Government of Oliveira Salazar that forbade them on political grounds from working in Portugal. Freedom, the cradle of Science, had to wait for the revolution of April 25th 1974 and Portugal Joining the European Union in 1985, for the History of science to impose its force and create the opportunity for Portugal developing a modern Science policy. In the Health Sciences, the field I know best, such policy created thousands of bursaries to be awarded in competitive calls and new research institutes after an external evaluation done jointly with INSERM, at the time under the direction of Philippe Lazar, that included site visits to all candidate structures.
As the revolution approached its 40th anniversary on the 25th of April and Science is acknowledged by many inside and outside the country as one visible success of the last 40 years, Cerca, Lopes and Jorge?s letter (see Nature, 507,431;2014) betrays a dissatisfaction manifested earlier by young Portuguese scientists (see Nature, 506, 159; 2014) met with a degree of ?all is well posture? from the Portuguese National Science Foundation through the voice of its President (see Nature, 507, 306 ; 2014). The current external evaluation by the European Science Foundation of the Strategic Plans of Portuguese Research Institutes is certainly in keeping with a best practice and a best posture. Cerca et al. are still right to say that politicians need to agree on long term plans to foster and retain talented young researchers. For this older scientist something more subtle could be at stake: is science policy in Portugal in danger of becoming a curious case of growing backwards?
Maria de Sousa
Abel Salazar Institute for the Biomedical Sciences
University of Porto
IBMC/GABBA, 823, Rua do Campo Alegre
4150-180. Porto, Portugal
mdesousa@ibmc.up.pt
April 25 2014