THE IDEA AND REALITY IN 35 YEARS

The commemorations of INESC’s 35th anniversary with the public release of a book is simultaneously a historical account and a collection of statements.

This is a solid piece, made possible by the efforts of many and unquestionably by the generous tenacity of Pedro Guedes de Oliveira, whose efforts we need to acknowledge, even though he is usually very modest.

The book is worth reading – and analysing critically. It is perhaps the first piece of an important archaeology – the History of the INESC concept, with its stories and circumstances, and the critical analysis of successes and failures that have caused the model to succeed; a model so complete that it became national standard, so creative that it is continuing to evolve robustly.

Were (are) there people challenging the model? Certainly, it is their right to do so. However, we that call ourselves scientists, artisans of rationality, guardians of the temple of knowledge, we are required to be impartial, transparent of virtue, flaws and results, without ideological bias or manipulative cunning.

At a historical moment when we realise that public funding for the academic system is insufficient (for what we have to do, for what the machine must have), that academic bureaucracy is crippling and that international competitiveness is too demanding, the model that INESC has bequeathed to Portugal still represents a consistent, agile, adaptive, efficient response capable of generating quality.

After all, ideas only succeed when they become real.

A sociological, business, organisational and cultural analysis of the INESC phenomenon is yet to be done. But why not do it? Why not extract teaching, lessons, good practices, and inspiration from 35 years of experience?

Scrutinising the reasons for this triumph would be a new contribution to Portugal.