Abstract

The positive and negative effects of policies aimed at encouraging scientific output by university professors in Colombia, in addition to those that apply to higher education institutions in the quality accreditation process and in national budget resource allocation, are discussed. Although Colombia reported the highest rate of growth among Latin American countries in the Scopus database and is improving its scientific communication practices, the country now has the challenge of combining these performance results with a greater emphasis on quality indicators. In order to achieve greater international visibility, policy adjustments related to improving scientific production are needed, as well as a more efficient incentives system for researchers and higher education institutions. New policy provisions are beginning to be focussed in this direction.

Abstract

An information policy is a concerted action of various agents with information as the object, having as a purpose certain goals. The crisis we face is not only economic but also technological and due to changes in the organizational model, and we are already seeing some effects of deregulation and no planning. We can only establish solid information policies if we find a set of actions around which a wide spectrum of agents can be aligned without friction. 1. In the print world, policies should allow us to determine what exists and make that easily accessible, and know what is little used and will tend to be used less and ensure that it is preserved. 2. Research funding institutions can and must agree to facilitate open access to information and data. 3. Finally, the library-organization must be able to provide digital books, offer digital information that anybody can use, and ensure that born-digital materials are passed on to future generations. To this we must add the need to plan for information literacy training in schools. In these times of change, surrounded by uncertainty and some notable weaknesses, part of our professional duties should be devoted to elaborate agreements enabling us to take coordinated action in certain directions.

Abstract

The lack of an integrated information policy for scientific activity evaluation has led to a wide range of information products and services that are used for such purposes, although they were not originally designed for that. While it is true that these tools have limitations and deficiencies, and in several cases are technologically and methodologically obsolete, possibly the biggest problem is sustainability in the present times of economic crisis, especially if they do not take on new strategic tasks, such as assessment, which is a priority today. Various products are reviewed in this critical essay: scientific journal portals, with the recommendation to implement value added systems like SciELO instead of simple database management; current databases on offer, with questions about having national products without metrics; institutional repositories, with the observation that they have forgotten to serve authors, their real end users; and institutional ranking systems, suggesting that some have not learned from the successes of those based on composite indicators. Recommendations include institutional coordination of services; professionalism versus incompetence; and an end to the economic drain caused both by licensing underused databases and by maintaining outdated policies based on criteria that have been abandoned at the international level.