28-Oct-2022
Instruct-ERIC has now launched the Latin America and Caribbean Structural Biology Landscape Analysis Report, “Providing the Tools Researchers Need: The Structural Biology Case”.
The report was put together by a working group as part of the EU-LAC ResInfra Project. This project aims to establish collaboration between Europe and Latin America. The working group also included several members from CEBEM (Centre De Biologia Estructural Del Mercosur), providing invaluable knowledge and access to structural biologists in the region.
Translated versions of the Report are now available:
Recommendations for policy makers and researchers made in the Landscape Analysis Report
The report outlines several critical conclusions and recommendations for policy makers in the region, as well as actions for the research community too.
As the structural biology pilot, Instruct-ERIC aimed to understand the barriers that were facing structural biologists in Latin America, and what the current environment was like in the region. This was done as a landscape analysis, to be able to provide a more effective collaborative solution.
The study took place over the course of roughly 18 months, first contacting more than 250 researchers in Latin America with a survey, designed to retrieve preliminary data and information regarding the landscape of structural biology in the region. With more than 150 responses, 29 of these respondents were contacted and interviewed by the working group.
The responses from these interviews raised significant questions regarding the status of structural biology in Latin America, and provided much food for thought on how best to manage it going forward. The need for improved focus in funding – ensuring there is the expertise, training and maintenance of equipment, rather than just the purchasing of the latest machinery. The need for roadmaps to direct how the field will be funded and managed in the coming years. The increasing need for better visibility in disseminating information and opportunities for researchers to access infrastructure. The list goes on.
The report covers a huge range of topics and provides an in-depth overview of the landscape, and will hope to provide policy makers with a basis for how to develop and grow structural biology in the region.
Download and read the full Landscape Analysis Report here.
EU-LAC ResInfra Meeting at ICRI2022, where the Report was first published and distributed
