Tasks

The Administrative Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation -Colciencias- has the following tasks, in addition to the general tasks assigned by Law 489 of 1998:

1. Formulate and Foster the short-term, middle-term, and long-term policies of the State concerning science, technology and innovation to generate human capacities and infrastructure, the international insertion and cooperation, and the social appropriation of science, technology and innovation in order to consolidate a society that is based on knowledge, innovation and competitiveness.
2. Adopt, in accordance with the National Plan of Development Law, national policies for the scientific and technological development, and for the innovation; such policies should become a fundamental axis of the national development.
3. Design and present before the National Government Entities the plans and programs of the Administrative Department of Science, technology and Innovation – Colciencias- and the National Plan of Sciences.
4. Generate strategies based on knowledge for the social appropriation of science, technology, and innovation, looking for the consolidation of the new society and economy.
5. Promote Scientific and technological development, as well as innovation in the country, in accordance with the development plans and the orientations traced by the National Government.
6. Foster the appropriate conditions for the scientific, technological, and innovative developments to interact with the social and productive sectors, in order to favor the productivity, competitiveness, undertaking, employment rate, and the improvement in life conditions for the citizens.
7. Watch over the consolidation, strengthening, of the National System of Science and Innovation –SNCTI- and its articulation with the entities and representatives of the system, keeping a close coordination with the National System of Competitiveness.
8. Promote the formation of the human resource to develop the tasks concerning science, technology, and innovation, especially in master's degrees and PhD’s in those strategic areas aimed at the transformation and development concerning the social, environmental, and economical levels of the country, in order to comply with the current constitutional policies.
9. Foster the creation and strengthening of financial and administrative institutions and tools to manage science, technology, and innovation.
10. Design and implement strategies and tools for the assessment, evaluation, and feedback about the social and economical impact of the National Plan of Development.
11. Promote the short, middle, and long-term investment for the investigation, scientific and technological development, and innovation.
12. Promote articulate, and Project the regional, departmental, and municipal organizational schemes of the knowledge of science, technology and innovation in order to boost its own development, and coordinate the generation of policies.
13. Promote, articulate, and incorporate the inter-institutional, inter-regional, and international cooperation in the strategic agents, policies, plans, programs, projects, and activities in order to achieve the goals of the National Plan of Science, Technology, and innovation.
14. lign the National Policy of Science, Technology, and Innovation  with the national, regional, and sectorial policies of the State, concerning funding, education, culture, economical development, competitiveness, undertaking, environment, social security, health, agriculture, mines and energy, infrastructure, national defense, territorial policy, information, communications, international affairs, international cooperation, and other  issues inherent in  this point.
15. Define and orient priority-thematic and operative lines of the National System of Science, Technology, and Innovation –SNCTI-, for which purpose the National Programs of Science, Technology and Innovation could be modified, deleted, or fused; Design new structures over the new areas of knowledge, define their name, composition and tasks; set the rules for their organization, and design the policies for their incorporation into the plans of the pertaining entities for their execution.
16. Define priorities and criteria for the assignation of public expenditure in science, technology and innovation; these criteria will include strategies areas and specific and priority programs, which must be paid proper attention and given economical support.
17. Design, articulate, and stimulate policies and tools for the domestic and international private investment in science, technology, and innovation.
18. Agree on  the resources and their destination in the process of budgetary assignation, with the support of the Departamento Nacional de Planeación, DNP, in coordination with the rest of the national entities, based on the National Plan of Development and the science-technology- and- innovation policies adopted by l CONPES.
19. Grant and support incentives to institutions and people for their contributions to science, technology, and innovation by means of rewards and recognition.
20. Propose the creation of stimuli, and social and economical incentives to highly increase the investment in science, technology, and innovation.
21. Take advantage of, and articulate the policies and national programs in science, technology, and innovation with the current international policies.
22. Create new conditions to develop and take advantage of the national talent, in the country and abroad, in the fields of science, technology, and innovation.