The delegates of the Inter American Committee in Science and Technology, COMCYT, at their Fourth Regular Meeting held in Washington D.C., April 15 th and 16 th , 2004, reached the following agreements:

1. To adopt the conclusions and recommendations of the Workshop on the Consolidation of Hemispheric Policies in Science and Technology, held on April 14 th , 2004, in Washington, D.C., and in particular the conclusions of the document “Consolidated Hemispheric Science and Technology Policy Proposals for the Americas” presented by the Office of Science and Technology of the Organization of American States and to:

•  Recognize the importance and richness of the material of the workshops “ Science, Technology and Innovation for the Increase of Competitiveness in the Productive Sector” , “Scientific and Technological Development in the Americas”, “Popularization of Science” and “Science and Technology for Social Development”, and to recommend its publication and dissemination in the countries;

•  To recognize the participatory and dynamic nature of the process carried out in these workshops and;

•  To utilize the central themes and seventeen proposals derived from said workshops and summarized in the above mentioned document as key elements of a collaborative action plan.

•  To adopt the suggestion that the workshops' material should constitute the basis for the preparation of a Declaration and Plan of Action of Lima for the First Hemispheric Meeting of Ministers and High Officials in Science and Technology within the framework of CIDI (Ministerial Meeting), to be held in Lima, Peru, on November 11 and 12, 2004, and that these documents should:

•  Specify levels of action for the policies proposed: national, regional, international and multilateral organizations.

•  Organize the proposals in three aspects: a) policy formulation; b) capacity-building through education, networking and infrastructure development in scientific, technological, and engineering disciplines; and c) specific topics in areas of common interest.

•  Relate the proposed policies and actions to the commitments in the Cartagena Declaration and Plan of Action to evaluate progress and propose new topics in science, technology and engineering in strategic areas identified.

•  To affirm that Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation are the engines of economic and social progress, and to reaffirm the need to incorporate and foster them in the countries' development plans and strategies with the ultimate goal of poverty reduction in the Hemisphere.

1. To support an initiative for Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation for development in the Americas, with particular attention to strengthening partnerships between universities, the business community and other relevant organizations in the public and private sector
2. To support and encourage the establishment of national science, technology, engineering and innovation policies, with special consideration of institutional consolidation, the participatory character of democracy, capacity building for research and innovation, gender dimension and the interrelation between private and public sectors.
3. To take into account the need to consider a sub regional initiative in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation to address the particular needs of the Caribbean region.
4. To identify and formulate, as part of the preparatory process for the Ministerial Meeting, concrete proposals related to the COMCYT-defined priority areas and based on the recommendations of the workshops. In this regard, collaboration should be invited from other international organizations such as the Inter American Development Bank, the World Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - ECLAC, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO, the Science and Technology for Development - CYTED; the World Federation of Engineering Organizations – WFEO, and others. The WFEO/UNESCO program “Engineer of the Americas” was presented as an example.
5. To seek innovative forms of financing Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation investments.
6. To reaffirm the importance of measuring and evaluating the impact of science and technology programs, including the social, economic, cultural and gender equity aspects, and to stress the key role of a permanent Program of Science and Technology Indicators for the Americas, while taking into account the current RICYT network.
7. To promote a comprehensive program to popularize and raise Science, Technology and Engineering literacy and knowledge equity in society -- beginning in elementary and extending through secondary and higher education -- through curriculum development, workforce training and preparation program, and enhanced public outreach programming through the mass media. In this regard, it was agreed to intensify the collaboration with Inter American Committee of Education and examine the possibility of presenting a joint proposal for an initiative on scientific and engineering education for consideration at the Ministerial Meeting
8. To encourage the High Officials in Science and Technology of all Member Countries to intensify their contacts with the appropriate national authorities aimed at declaring Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation as one of the priority areas at the next Summit of the Americas, in 2005.
9. To establish a working group open to all Member States to steer the preparation process for the Ministerial Meeting, including the preparation of draft materials and the planning of two preparatory meetings in June and September 2004.