Territorial Inequalities and (de)Concentration of Public Investment in Science: A Study on CONICET (Argentina) and the Tensions Between Academic Excellence and Equity

Abstract

The search for equity in science policy (in terms of territory, gender and other inequalities of opportunity) faces strong tensions with academic excellence, autonomy and meritocracy, which ultimately tend to concentration. Integrating different but related approaches and concepts, this article proposes an analytical framework to study the evolution of scientific policies, instruments or organizations through the lens of these tensions. The utility of this framework is illustrated by a case study of the Argentine National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET in Spanish) and its scientific researcher career, with a focus on the deconcentration initiatives during the 2010-2022 period. This comprehensive perspective shows how tensions and contradictions translate into frequent marches and countermarches, turning the career calls into an incoherent set of layers, rationales, objectives and impacts, which counteract each other and tend to perpetuate rather than diminish territorial inequalities. Beyond this particular case study, we hope that this approach can be adapted in future research to examine other science policies and institutions, in order to identify and highlight the internal tensions that could interfere with some of the intended (equity) objectives.