“Ruta N”, a public-private joint venture located in Medellín, Colombia, was considered to be the best institution to implement science, technology, and innovation (STI) in the first quarter of 2017, as measured by the Royalties Projects Management Index (IGPR), the organization in charge of the National Department of Planning (DNP). The University of Antioquia was in second place in the index.
The index includes 1,126 organizations throughout Colombia. With the top two results in the index located in Medellín, the results position the city as the leader in the sector, ahead of regional rival Bogotá. Projects at Ruta N include telemedicine, toxicology, macro-health, solar cells, therapeutic agents and biomedical equipment.
The index also evaluates parameters such as management, efficiency, efficacy, and transparency. “Ruta N” led all others with an index value of 96.3 on a scale of 100, for that period.
Alejandro Franco, director of “Ruta N”, said that this index has helped the government to visualize the execution of projects and to compare the competitiveness between the departments to incentivize the growth, development, and investment on STI. He indicated that Ruta N continues to develop new create, fund and develop new projects apart from those executed in the STI department.
