THE AMALDI PLAN FOR THE RELAUNCH OF ITALIAN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Interview with the physicist Ugo Amaldi, founder of the National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) in Pavia and the proposer of the Amaldi Plan for Italian research.

To increase the percentage of Italian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) allocated to financing both basic and applied public research, starting from 2021, in order to be aligned with Germany's investments in the same sector, equal to almost 1% of German GDP, in 2026. This, in a nutshell, is the request sustained also by a petition launched on the Change.org platform, addressed to the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and started from considerations expressed by the physicist Ugo Amaldi. A proposal that must adopt meritocratic criteria for distribution of investments in the four areas considered crucial for research: human resources, projects, infrastructure and technology transfer; and which, thanks to the spin-offs generated, would guarantee greater competitiveness and economic growth in our country. The key points for the relaunch of Italian research, which has already received the support of notable members of the Italian scientific world, are based on an articulated program presented in June of this year by Ugo Amaldi, an internationally renowned physicist and founder of the National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) in Pavia, who has always been an influential voice in support of more incisive research policies aimed at developing the great wealth of scientific expertise in our country. Starting from the proven ability of basic research to promote the development and transfer of new technologies, the Amaldi Plan, as it is now called, identifies the increase in public funds to this sector as an effective method for increasing the competitiveness of the Italian industry, whose expenditure in research and development activities remains far below that of Northern European countries. An investment which, in the light of the recognised value of our researchers, among the most productive in the world, would be certain and profitable.

How and in which context did your proposal come about?
At the invitation of Giuliano Amato, President of the Cortile dei Gentili scientific committee, in March, I joined a group of intellectuals called to discuss the evolution of the most pressing current issues.

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