Science, Technology, and Innovation Governance for Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Latin America

The introduction of the concept of governance in Latin America belongs to the neoliberal policies of privatization that tried to trace and assure that public funds, especially international loans, can overcome several corruption problems and the lag in the bargaining between public and private actors. The idea that transparency and accountability in the private actors that receive contracts from the States with the slogan of competitiveness reach bankruptcy. In this framework, studies in science, technology, and innovation (STI) began to interest in governance as a way to explain how policy and research networks create space, mechanisms, and instruments to negotiate and steer policies and actions and create a better future. The scientific challenges to solve complex problems need several actors and fields beyond traditional ministries and bureaucratic governments jurisdictions. Then, governance arises to understand the coordination between several stakeholders that are able to collaborate and develop systems to achieve common goals. This chapter introduces the book that covers the research shared in the congress “Governance of science, technology, and innovation for inclusive and sustainable development in Latin America” organized by the Network on Governance and Management of Science, Technology, and Innovation—(Red GCTI) with a critical point of view. The main contribution is to show the topics, approaches, controversies, trends, and challenges in the Latin American research of STI governance for social inclusion and sustainability.