The InterAcademy Council: Inventing a New Global Organization

Brad Fitzpatrick

Last month, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presided over the launch of a report by the InterAcademy Council, Inventing a Better Future: A Strategy for Building Worldwide Capacities in Science and Technology.¹ The report is a call for action to strengthen national scientific capabilities throughout the world and to foster new opportunities for cooperation among the world's scientific and technological communities.

This is the first report issued by the InterAcademy Council,² an organization created in 2000 by the world's academies of sciences to provide expert knowledge and advice to the World Bank and other international

Inventing a Better Future recommends that every nation develop a science and technology (S&T) strategy – one that reflects local priorities and specifies available funding – in consultation with that country's science, engineering, medical, and industrial communities. Each nation's strategy should include support for basic science, education, and training, which will...