The activities of the scientific attachés

The scientific attachés are called to accomplish a set of diverse tasks, which can briefly be summarised as follows:

• Interacting with the political representatives of the country of accreditation
• Gathering in-depth knowledge of government policies on R&D and of possible problems encountered in restructuring the system of research policy coordination of the country in question
• Developing detailed knowledge of the universitites, institutes, public entities, laboratories, and other research organisations, and of the programs and projects conducted
• Identifying cutting-edge sectors or emerging fields of technological innovation
• Gathering and spreading information on the research system of the country of accreditation
• Promoting Italian scientific and technological policy at the level of governmental authorities and technical expertise in the country
• Promoting and renewing agreements concerning cultural, scientific, and technological co-operation
• Organising, preparing, and providing general assistance in the organisation of visits and bilateral and international meetings
• Promoting meetings between researchers from Italy and those from the country of accreditation, in order to increase collaboration in bilateral as well as multilateral contexts

The scientific attachés accomplish these tasks while remaining in constant contact with the relevant national organisations, and regularly send newsletters containing information of a general and of a more specific nature.