Communication Research in Chile: A Map of Public Funding and Evidence of its Concentration

Where does the Communications study stand in the development of the country’s scientific research? Which topics predominate among the interests of researchers? How is the support to this discipline in comparison to other areas or academic fields? These questions represent the main idea of this article, which seeks to contribute to the Communications field in Chile through one of its specific edges: the scientific research. This paper presents the results of a quantitative analysis made to the main public funding institution for research in Chile’s database: the National Commission of Science and Technology (Conicyt) and its National Scientific and Technological Fund (Fondecyt). This institution is nowadays considered as one of the most important sources for the promotion of knowledge production, innovation and development of the country. As main results, this study shows the limited presence of the Science Communication and Information’s field on the institution’s general budget, and a high trend to concentration in terms of institutions, researchers and objects of study.