that the relationships they create tend to be based more on interdependence and collaboration than on competition.

Stakeholders at the different levels will insert themselves more efficiently into a cooperative network if the necessary conditions are in place to ensure equity in access to resources, information, training, etc. The following section describes the actions and roles of public and private stakeholders at
the different levels of decision-making, for promoting their participation in the development of AKST.

5.3.1 International actions
The state and civil society have specific roles in the design and implementation of AKST agendas for countries of LAC. Policies are government principles for achieving goals for a specific population, and they go through the phases of statement and of practice (Perez-Ordoñez, 2005). The state must give effect to statements of intent by responding to demands
through actions inscribed in a government agenda, while civil society must demand quality in government management and thereby contribute to democratic governance.

While policies also respond to the prevailing development models for the region, it is important to recall that political processes are the result of inter-linkages, exchange and dependency between interest groups and nation-states. This means that regional networking among governments could contribute to policy agendas for supporting the development of AKST in ways that will meet the specific needs of the region and its member countries. This networking will be based on the ties between the members of a social system structured by the existing connectivity among them. In other words, the greater the connectivity, the greater will be the interactions and the better the results (Wellman, 1987).

At this level, the decision-making spaces are forums, summits, conferences and international meetings, among others, in which the governments of the region participate along with multilateral organizations and international NGOs. Participation in decision-making should be directed
at prioritizing AKST agendas that include the particular features and sensitivities of the region. A shift in the structures and social relations between nations that have contributed historically to the region’s underdevelopment, based on inequitable access to science and technology for the poorest countries, could be addressed through networking as a regional bloc. This work could be based on pre-established regional agreements and on a clear understanding and vision of the problems, potentials and priorities at the national and regional levels with respect to generating AKST.

The particular ecological features associated with the region’s cultural characteristics required a regional form of networking to address the shortage of science, technology and innovation and the recognition and use of local knowledge, especially in regions that have been the object of little comprehensive study such as the Amazon and the Caribbean, where studies have for the most part focused on conservation rather than on the people, the environment or development.

5.3.2 National actions
Under the government management model that has prevailed over the last two decades, the role of the state has

been seen as institutionalizing governance through legal mechanisms such as creating new institution that will extend citizen rights. But it has also led to a reduction of government action for generating AKST, which has affected the most poverty-prone social sectors such as small-scale farmers.

Institutional reforms are key instruments for initiating changes in the relationship between government and society, but a new approach to government management based on working through cooperative networks will require humanizing those reforms, given the physical, natural and cultural complexity of the region. Some reforms that would help bring greater participation in the development of AKST are described below.

5.3.2.1 Suitable legal frameworks
Legal frameworks are instruments that protect civil society and can foster effective participation by the private sector in formulating policies and in other negotiations with the state. It is very important that the authorities be actively involved in applying the legal frameworks in support of AKST, but they must also have active support and participation from the grassroots, the academic world, and the private sector. Legal frameworks can only be effectively implemented if public and private stakeholders are included in their design, implementation and evaluation, and this can only be achieved through political will on the part of the authorities to decentralize certain roles and functions that will promote social co-responsibility. Following are some aspects to take into account for ensuring that legal frameworks will produce greater participation in the development of AKST.

• Guarantee the representativeness and legitimacy of the social base, so as to promote genuine participation and governance. Given the region’s cultural heterogeneity, inclusion and respect for local forms of organization, representation and prioritizing demands will produce greater participation and commitment on the part of local stakeholders, based on grassroots social oversight.
• Orient the role of the academic sector (universities and research centers) toward the design and implementation of an AKST agenda appropriate to national needs, which will respond effectively to resolving concrete problems and will seek comparative advantages based on domestic agricultural potentials.
• Facilitate participation by the private sector and enhance its capacity to invest in innovation. The legal frameworks must guarantee a suitable institutional context and respond to the promotion of innovation.
• Ensure sufficient economic and technical resources for implementing the legal frameworks, so as to help make AKST development sustainable.

Recognition of the potentials of each of the social stakeholders involved in applying the legal frameworks, and including them in the respective spaces, will help ensure that genuine representatives will understand the particular features of the national-regional problem, and can negotiate critical issues or insert their priorities on the agenda at international forums, since the majority of the guidelines for public policies come from those spaces.