By Daniel Singer, Associate Marketing & Sales Manager, Latin America & The Caribbean, Thomson Scientific
 

Bogotá, Colombia - June 6, 2007. At the Park House 101 Hotel, in a beautiful residential section of the Colombian capital, Colciencias (short for Instituto Colombiano para el Desarollo de la Investigación y la Tecnología “Francisco J. Caldas”), an agency of the federal government of the Republic of Colombia, together with Thomson Scientific, reaffirmed its commitment to investment in research to spur the already rapid economic growth occurring in this emerging economy by investing in Web of Science® through the ISI Web of Knowledge® platform on behalf of 11 prominent institutions of higher education in Colombia.  This consortium  is comprised of 11 prestigious institutions of higher education and research throughout Colombia, and the 5th nation-wide consortium in Latin America to purchase this important research tool.  Among the existing national consortia globally that have access to Web of Science, half of these consortia hail from Latin America, with national consortia in Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico, and now Colombia.  Particularly in South America, more and more government agencies are beginning to comprehend the value of investments such as Web of Science to strengthen their research activities, academic standards, and subsequently economic growth.

Held at the luxurious 101 Park House Hotel, the event was titled “Increasing the Value of Scientific and Academic Research through the ISI Web of Knowledge platform” (Incrementando el valor de la Investigación Científica y Académica a través de la plataforma ISI Web of Knowledge in Spanish).  For more information on Web of Science via the ISI Web of Knowledge platform, please consult the following link or via the following URL: http://scientific.thomson.com/products/wos/.

 

Co-organized by both Thomson Scientific and Colciencias, 160+ attendees were in attendance.  These attendees were comprised of key government officials, researchers, faculty, local publishers, and library staff from among the 11 consortium member institutions throughout Colombia.   Prior to the event, extensive, on-site training was conducted among the eleven consortium members by our colleague Ing. Luís Serrano, Customer Trainer, Thomson Scientific.   The investment in Web of Science  comes at a time when Colombia is fast becoming a source of foreign direct investment.  For more information on the true image of Colombia, please follow the link to the Business Week article on Colombia or via the following URL:http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_22/b4036001.htm?chan=search.   Through this investment, the Colombian government (as represented by Colciencias) has recognized the value of research as an engine of growth; invaluable research tools such as Web of Science will allow Colombia to compete globally in various fields of research.

 
Colciencias and The History of Colombian Research

Colciencias is an independent national government agency whose responsibilities include creating favorable conditions to disseminate national scientific and technological knowledge; strengthening existing support for scientific research, technological development and innovation; and, together with Colombia’s National System for Science, Technology, and Innovation (Sistema Nacional de Ciencia y Tencología y de Innovación, or SNCyT per its acronyms in Spanish), foment an atmosphere of creativity to better the lives of all of Colombia’s citizens.

Prior to the founding of Colciencias in the mid 20th century, scientific activity in Colombia was largely uncoordinated and in large part financed by private or foreign sources.   By the 1950s and 1960s, the Colombian national government had created research centers that specialized in specific industrial sectors or fields.  During this time academic research within Universities and industry was virtually non-existent; funding for science & technology was scarce; and the infrastructure in which effective research methodology could be taught was inadequate, given that many Universities did not offer coursework at the postgraduate level, which resulted in many Colombians interested in research training to seek positions overseas.   

In 1968 Colciencias was formed to place the institutional mechanisms in place to consistently and continuously work for the scientific and technological advancement of the country.  By the 1970s national science and technology policy under the direction of Colciencias shifted towards developing Colombia’s national capacity to negotiate, acquire, and incorporate technology into its research efforts.  In the 1980s Colciencias presided over a critical time as it designed and implemented research programs, which were favored over traditional projects.  These programs favored the consolidation of scientific activity towards groups that were responsible for the realization of scientific activity.  During this time Colciencias also fomented the creation of doctoral programs and new policy instruments that would better enable the agency to monitor scientific activity as a part of Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product.   By the latter half of the decade, as a result of these efforts, the scientific community became more visible, and spearheaded diverse initiatives that would build social awareness among Colombians to promote scientific and technological development.  This led to the formation of the SNCyT.  Throughout the 1990s SNCyT would  evolve into the role that it has today of articulating all the programs, strategies and scientific and technology activities of the country.  For more information on Colciencias, click here or follow http://zulia.colciencias.gov.co for the agency’s Web Site in Spanish.

In the wake of national consortia in Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, and Mexico, as well as increasing foreign investment in Colombia, the construction of a national consortium in Colombia could not have come at a better time.  The eleven member sites comprising the Colciencias consortium include the Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Universidad del Valle; Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; Universidad de Los Andes; Universidad de Antioquia; Universidad del Norte; Observatorio Colombiano de Ciencia y Tecnología; Universidad de Rosario; Universidad Industrial de Santander (the first University in Colombia to purchase Web of Science); Colciencias; and the Universidad de Medellín.  These institutions—through the coordination of Colciencias—have come together to purchase Web of Science to enhance their respective academic and research programs. 

 
The Event: “Increasing The Value of Scientific and Academic Research Through the ISI Web of Knowledge Platform”
 Following a light continental breakfast held in an adjacent court yard outside of the Hotel 101 Park House, the event began with a presentation of speakers by Prof. Angela Patricia Bonilla, Division Head of Science, Culture, and Communication (Jefe División, Ciencia, Cultura, y Comunicación)  representing Colciencias and Thomson Scientific, following local protocol.   Prof. Bonilla served as the Master of Ceremonies for the entire event. 
 
The speakers were introduced as follows: Dr. Juan Francisco Miranda Miranda, Director General for Colciencias; Carlos Martinez,  Director of Sales for Latin America & the Caribbean, Thomson Scientific; Dr. Alexis de Greiff Acevedo, Sub-Director of Strategic Programs (Subdirector para Programas Estratégicos), Colciencias; Jeff Clovis, Director of Training and Global Sales Support, Thomson Scientific; and José Claudio Santos, Regional Manager for South America, Thomson Scientific.  Given that Colciencias is an agency of the Colombian national government, the national anthem of Colombia was played prior to the presentations of each speaker.
 
Enhancing Colombia’s Research Infrastructure Through ISI Web of Knowledge
Following the National Anthem, Drs. Miranda and De Greiff of Colciencias officially launched the event.  After acknowledging both the Thomson Scientific and consortium member officials present, Dr. Miranda proceeded first with opening remarks.  Dr. Miranda commented on how the consortium’s acquisition of Web of Science  marked a very important step in the evolution of Colombian research activity, as the acquisition marked the Colombian research community’s entrance into the global research community.  Through this global exposure, Dr. Miranda also expressed the hope that Web of Science  and other similar tools and activities contributing to the enhancement of Colombian research would eventually resolve some of the problems afflicting Colombia society today by better preparing current and future researchers to address these problems.  He concluded his remarks by extending an invitation to Colombian Universities and research centers that were currently unaffiliated with the consortium  to perhaps consider the possibilities of expanding upon the foundation laid by the existing 11 members by becoming members of this national consortium, and thereby enhancing the research communities within their own institutions.
 
Next, Thomson Scientific realized its traditional plaque ceremony, enacted to recognize the contributions to academic and scholarly research made by institutions in their respective countries through their investment in Web of Science.  Carlos Martinez bestowed the plaque to Dr. Miranda on behalf of Thomson Scientific, keeping up with a ten year tradition realized to date in six countries that recognizes government investments to enhance institutional research through the purchase of Web of Science via the ISI Web of Knowledge platform.
 
Dr. Alexis de Greiff, Colciencias, followed Dr. Miranda by presenting a snapshot of Colombian research output, including the number of doctorates awarded to Colombian researchers both in Colombia and overseas over a five-year period; the percentage of Colombian journals indexed both in regional and international databases; how Colciencias has contributed to doctoral programs in Colombia over the last four years;  and the reaffirmation of Colciencias’ commitment to strengthening scientific research within Colombia.  At the conclusion of the presentation, one of Dr. de Greiff’s key points was the promotion and support for the consolidation of an evaluation system to assess the quality of national doctorate programs and improve the training of future researchers; Web of Science would be critical to such efforts.

At the conclusion of Dr. de Greiff’s speech, attendees had the opportunity to field questions directly to Colciencias officials. To access Dr. de Greiff’s power point presentation in Spanish, please click here.

 
Thomson Scientific and Its Commitment to Enhancing Colombia’s Research Infrastructure
Following the question and answer period, Carlos Martinez was the first speaker for Thomson Scientific to present.  Prior to his presentation, he welcomed all attendees and thanked Drs. De Greiff and Miranda for Colciencias’ support, as well as other Colciencias representatives and consortium members present them for their participation and total support in making this event possible.  Following his introduction, he began her presentation entitled “Presentación de la empresa Thomson Scientific.”  In it, Martinez provided an overview of the Thomson Corporation tradition of excellence and long-standing reputation as a leading global provider of integrated information-based solutions to business and professional customers, documenting the history of Thomson from its early days as a Canadian conglomerate involved in industries as diverse as travel and petroleum, to the global provider of integrated workflow solutions that it is today .  Martinez explained that Thomson Scientific is a business of the Thomson Corporation and is a leading research information provider providing timely, essential literature, patent and standards information to researchers world-wide, enabling them to realize world-class research.  He also stated how the Colciencias consortium is one of over 3,000 customers in 91 countries world wide that have critical access to Web of Science, with over 300+ Web of Science customers in Latin America and the Caribbean alone.  “Our vision is to be the World’s Leading provider of high-quality information solutions for the research and development communities. It is this vision and customer focus that has defined our [business] strategy.” commented Martinez.

To conclude his presentation, Martinez reiterated Thomson Scientific’s commitment to the Latin American and Caribbean region, by listening to customers; providing personalized service, including product support and training, in local language; expanding offerings on ISI Web of Knowledge for those that already have access to products; and developing products and solutions that will continue to enhance the research process for all users throughout the region.

 
Beyond Web of Science: Thomson Scientific Staff Explain The Editorial Process and Other Components of the ISI Web of Knowledge Platform
The next few presentations realized by Mr. Jeff Clovis, Director of Global Sales Support, and Mr. José Claudio Santos., Regional Manager, Thomson Scientific, dealt with editorial processes deployed by the company to index journals and other scholarly publications, as well as highlights of other key components of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform that could prove essential to researchers within the consortium.

Much to the delight of many editors present representing various local publishing companies, Clovis’ initial presentation explained the editorial process deployed by Thomson Scientific, including the basic components that the company  looks at when evaluating a journal, as well as explained how data from the Journal Citation Reports^® is utilized by Thomson Scientific editors to define and characterize the traits of a journal, in order to better determine whether or not it can be indexed.  To address questions regarding Thomson Scientific’s selection criteria, Clovis presented to the audience a slide obtained from the “Analyze Results” function in Web of Science that actually showed a steady increase in the number of papers affiliated with Colombian authors that have been indexed in Web of Science since 1997.   This presentation was then followed by an overview of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform, including how the platform has influenced and continues to influence research, as well as how it can fit within the daily work flow of a researcher.

 

Following a brief coffee break, José Claudio Santos, Thomson Scientific, concluded the series of presentations by realizing more in-depth presentation on specific components of the ISI Web of Knowledge platform, including Web of Science, Essential Science Indicators^®, the Biological Information Solutions of  Biological Abstracts^® and Zoological Record^®, and the Journal Citation Reports and the criteria utilized to calculate the Impact Factor contained as part of this information solution.  For more information on these and other offerings on ISI Web of Knowledge, click here or via the following URL: http://isiwebofknowledge.com/. 

 
Conclusion
Following José Claudio’s presentations, a final question and answer session was conducted at the end for attendees.  This offered the audience to field questions to both Thomson Scientific and Colciencias officials.  A few representatives from Colombian institutions that were currently unaffiliated with the consortium expressed interest in joining the consortium upon seeing the presentations from Thomson Scientific.
 
The question and answer session  was then followed by a catered lunch hosted by Thomson Scientific held in a patio adjacent to the 101 Park House Hotel.  Attendees, Thomson Scientific, and Colciencias representatives all had the chance to exchange ideas and meet face-to-face, fortifying already strong relationships.  Both attendees and Colciencias made Thomson Scientific staff feel very much at home, and expressed their satisfaction not only with the days event, but also with the company’s presence in Colombia.
 


 
That same evening, in accordance with tradition with Thomson Scientific in Latin America, Thomson Scientific staff, government officials, and consortium members participated in a luxurious dinner and enjoyed a breathtaking evening view of Bogotá 3,152 meters (10,341 feet) above sea level (Bogotá is already over 8,600 fee above sea level) at a restaurant on Bogotá’s famous Monserrate Hill—an icon of Bogotá’s landscape.
              
 

Founded in 1640, Monserrate Hill contains a Church devoted to “El Señor Caído” (the Fallen Lord) and greets thousands of religious pilgrims and tourists alike each year.  Dinner guests took a cable car up to the top of Monserrate from Bogotá.
 

A toast was also made not only to the success of the day’s events, but also to the future of the Colciencias consortium going forward. For more information on Thomson Scientific's national consortium in Colombia or on any other Latin American or Caribbean country, please feel free to contact the Thomson Scientific Latin America & Caribbean staff.