BRICS and Scientific Collaboration

Context

Under India’s 2026 Presidency, the BRICS grouping is set to deepen its scientific partnerships under the theme ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.’ This follows the 17th annual summit in Rio de Janeiro, where members aimed to leverage expanded membership to address global digital divides and climate resilience.

About the News

Background: Scientific collaboration within BRICS is a strategic pillar aimed at establishing a multipolar world system by pooling research and technological capacities. It has evolved from focusing on fundamental sciences toward innovation-driven ecosystems to reduce the Global South’s dependency on Western hegemony.

Initiatives Taken So Far:

Strategic Frameworks: A 2015 MoU established Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) as a core pillar for joint research.
Action Plans: The BRICS Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation (2017-2020) focused on entrepreneurship and the role of women and youth in STI.
Institutional Centers: Establishment of the BRICS Technology Transfer Centre (TTC) and the iBRICS initiative for cross-border technology commercialization.
Sectoral Agreements: Significant progress includes the 2021 space cooperation agreement and the BRICS Institute of Future Networks for ICT.

Need for Collaboration in Science and Tech

Addressing Social Challenges: Essential for tackling shared development issues in energy, water, and health (e.g., vaccine research and biosecurity accelerated during COVID-19).
Reducing Technological Dependency: Building shared capacities to move away from Western reliance, furthered by the BRICS+ expansion in 2022.
Economic Governance: STI cooperation allows members to coordinate strategies and influence global development finance through the New Development Bank.
Governance of Emerging Tech: Establishing equitable norms for new technologies; the 2025 Declaration on AI elevated artificial intelligence to a central governance pillar.
Countering Geopolitical Pressures: Joint efforts help members navigate global tensions, sanctions, and rising techno-nationalism.

Challenges

Uneven Participation: The expansion to BRICS+ has highlighted disparities; for instance, only Egypt and Iran joined the most recent call for research proposals.
Innovation Gaps: Most member nations (excluding China) lag behind global leaders in Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD).
Heterogeneity of Interests: Differences in economic development make group-wide projects difficult, often leading to "paired links" between specific members instead.
Infrastructure Limits: High-cost "mega-science" projects (ocean or polar research) develop slowly due to a lack of shared heavy infrastructure.
Institutional Instability: The lack of a permanent managing body hinders long-term planning, as the system relies on a rotating annual presidency.

Way Forward

Permanent Mechanism: Establish a central Secretariat, modeled after the EU’s Horizon Program, to manage funds and monitor long-term project outcomes.
Mega-Science Projects: Develop large-scale scientific initiatives to foster deeper institutional cooperation among members beyond simple networking.
Inclusive Capacity Building: Focus the next decade on strengthening the National Innovation Systems (NIS) of newer BRICS+ members to bridge the participation gap.
Governance and Scaling: Expand frameworks to include research into the impact of emerging tech and shift toward scaling projects in biotechnology and climate tech for direct societal relevance.

Conclusion

While BRICS has successfully transitioned from basic science to socially relevant innovation, the current rotating framework must evolve. India’s 2026 Presidency offers a pivotal opportunity to establish a more agile, permanent mechanism that can bridge the innovation gap within the expanded BRICS+ membership.

BRICS and Scientific Collaboration