Support or Partnership?

by Milan Mares

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The first months after the remarkable changes in Central and East European countries were full of activities, contacts and discussions about the most effective ways of improving contacts in the future. Some western universities, research institutions and foundations offered their immediate material help - computers, stipends and grants. That all was undoubtedly helpful but it also pointed at the existing open problem - what is the strategy of contacts for the future?

The more insightful of us understood that the unilateral support could not create a stable lasting cooperation. Effective contacts need something more, namely the balanced partnership in which both sides contribute at an equal level. It appeared to be difficult to establish such bilateral bounds. In fact, the real situation was not as lamentable as it seemed to be.

Even in the time of strict communist regimes there existed some personal contacts between researchers from both sides of the iron curtain. They were not very intensive, were limited and restrained by the system of long-time planning, by the politically determined personal policy and by many further factors. Except for a few cases, they were not systematic and, especially, they could not be promptly adapted to actual needs. But they existed and they enabled to keep common ideas about the research activities on both sides. As a consequence of these contacts there existed an elementary base for the further more intensive cooperation.

It was necessary to fix the main general principle to allow further cooperation. The unilateral material support cannot be the main form of contacts between scientists of East and West. If we are to be real partners, and the researchers from the Central and East Europe want to be, then the cooperation must be based on common bilateral and multilateral research projects. These must be balanced with equivalent active participation of both sides and with an equivalent approach to the sources an information. Common grants sponsored by international and important national grant agencies, as well as joint oriented research supported by firms, represent the best way to establish this desirable state.

In spite of its transparency and general simplicity, such a system is not easily accessible for East European science. The existing financial sources of both sides are not comparable, the technical equipment is not always equivalent and also the existing currency rates complicate the practical forms of contacts. Nevertheless, however difficult it is, the scientific institutes have to do everything to cope with this task. They have to be equivalent partners with their colleagues from the West. Not only from the point of view of the scientific qualities but, as soon as possible, also in their material contribution. It is not possible to achieve the material equivalence immediately but it is vital to do so without any delay. Including the opening of the national and academic grant agencies to joint projects at least reciprocally for the countries with analogous rules. The gradual incorporation of our countries in European political structures can offer a useful formal base for this process, and the possibility to realize elementary contacts via electronic networks simplify the practical part of common activities.

Even now, we are able to offer the qualities of experienced and creative researchers, and also good inspirational research projects. The sooner we become equivalent partners even from the material point of view, the better for all of us. Partners are those who contribute to the common task, not the donors and acceptants of support.

Please contact:
Milan Mares - CRCIM
Tel: +422 66052803
E-mail: mares@utia.cas.cz