The governance of the Spanish system of science, technology and innovation.

Abstract

This article analyzes the governance of the Spanish system of science, technology and innovation designed in the State Law 14/2011, defined as the set of agents that perform functions of financing, implementation and coordination in this field as well as the relationships, structures, measures and actions to promote, develop and support scientific and innovation policy. To carry out this analysis, the article begins by describing the distribution of powers between the State and the Autonomous Communities in this matter, for this distribution directly affects the design of the governance. Subsequently, it reviews the various organs and instruments that make up the system of governance: the Spanish Strategy for Science and Technology and the Spanish Innovation Strategy; the Council for Political Science, Technology and Innovation; the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation; the Spanish Committee for Ethics in Research; and the Information System of Science, Technology and Innovation. Of these mechanisms, the paper focuses especially on those crucial to the governance, such as the two Strategies and the Council for Political Science in its aspect of overall coordinating body. Finally, an assessment is made about the capacity of this new governance to overcome some of the current problems of the science in Spain.