Priority areas

1. Efficient management and strengthening of supply chains to ensure the operability of organizations.
2. Monitoring of the merchandise in all its productive phases that allows guaranteeing the healthiness of the products.
3. Optimization of urban transport systems in the presence of COVID-19 and considering energy factors.
4. Attention to maritime transport problems.
5. Determination of urban and intra-urban mobility patterns and redesign of the functionality of the city caused by social distancing
6. Decrease in imports of raw materials for use in the packaging industry.
7. Development of marketing and distribution chains based on new channels.

1. Improvements in automation of processes within companies that reduce the physical interaction of staff.
2. Development and integration of digital technologies that promote the adoption of electronic commerce.
3. Adaptation of cloud tools/systems to improve business management.
4. Robotics with application in health, disinfection of areas, delivery of products and social distancing.
5. Safe and functional applications to maintain quality levels necessary for education, especially for vulnerable economic sectors.
6. Modeling, simulation, and prediction of the spread of COVID-19 that allow effective interventions.
7. Use of data analytics to determine market and technology trends within the country.
8. Design and development of technologies necessary for the collection of data on a scale and in a responsible and sustainable manner, which allow the prediction of social behaviors and/or the management of health information on COVID-19.
9. Use of technologies to improve social well-being, psychological and emotional health of citizens, increasing the resilience of society.
10. Design and development of solutions to improve the performance, reliability and security of telecommunications and data infrastructures, in such a way that they can adequately support, and without loss of service, the increased demand for teleworking, tele-education, electronic commerce services, among others.
11. Use of technologies to verify and alert compliance with safety and health protocols, as well as elements necessary for the physical safety of people.
12. Development of public policies and regulations to provide Internet services with quality of service.

13. Increase in Internet access and quality levels in urban-marginal and rural households, and thus contribute to combating digital illiteracy.

14. Reduction of inaccessibility to digital technologies of higher education students.

1. Development of technologies/methods that guarantee the quality and availability of products and services.
2. Design of eco-friendly packaging/materials that guarantee food safety.
3. Development and effective communication of low-cost safety and health protocols for employees and customers.
4. Optimization of spaces that guarantee the proper distance between employees and customers.
5. Development of sustainable and efficient technologies that replace the use of non-renewable fuels for production processes.
6. Implementation of recycling methods and/or use of agro-industrial and city waste.
7. Design, development and communication of prevention elements related to physical security.
8. Decrease in the importation of raw material for use in the industry through the use of local resources.
9. Solutions that guarantee food safety and innocuousness in the agribusiness.

1. Analysis of the work environment, morale, motivation, employee productivity and the risks related to teleworking during the presence of COVID-19 and the postCOVID-19 stage.
2. Estimation of the impact on social welfare due to the elimination or targeting of subsidies
3. Valuation and study of industries to identify investment opportunities.
4. Study of the effect of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and preferences. Change and evolution in customer participation models.
5. Analysis of mechanisms to mitigate the lack of liquidity in the government, companies and civil society.
6. Study on traditional business models and their changes in times of pandemic.
7. Determination of action mechanisms to face negative effects of COVID-19 in the Ecuadorian labor market, such as the impacts of unemployment and internal urban-rural migration.
8. Evaluation of changes in the credit conditions of the Ecuadorian financial market and its effect on social welfare and economic development, with emphasis on MYPIMES.
9. Determination of the main factors that affect international trade and foreign investment in Ecuador, and recommendation of actions.

1. Automation/technification of agricultural, aquaculture and livestock processes to guarantee sustainability in their production and achieve efficiency in value chains.
2. National production of agricultural, aquaculture and livestock inputs that replace imported products.
3. Solutions to add value to traditional products and the use of rejected products to increase domestic consumption and exports.
4. Automation of aquaculture production, including feeding activities, and care of live animals in captivity.
5. Diagnosis and control of diseases in plants and animals.
6. Solutions that guarantee food safety and innocuousness in agricultural, aquaculture and livestock production.
7. Reduction of the use of pollutants in agricultural, aquaculture and livestock production through the development of alternative products.
8. Mitigation of contaminants in biota and agricultural and aquaculture production.
9. Governance and public policies for the management of coastal resources.
10. Development of sustainable and efficient technologies for the agricultural, aquaculture and livestock industry.
11. Diversification of agricultural, aquaculture and livestock production.
12. Implementation of sustainable production systems in food processing.

1. Improvement of social resilience in response to multi-threats (epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters, etc.).
2. Development of knowledge of risks and vulnerability to COVID-19, with an emphasis on vulnerable populations.
3. Development of efficient management mechanisms for household and industrial waste.
4. Reduction of water pollution by disposal of domestic and industrial wastewater from cities.
5. Decrease in water shortages in many areas of Ecuador. Planning, integrated management and monitoring of water use both at the domestic and industrial levels.
6. Study of the consequences of sea acidification, and proposals to mitigate the negative consequences.
7. Evaluation of air quality in internal and external environments, and proposals for improvement.
8. Evaluation of anthropogenic and emerging pollutants and their effects on biota and ecosystems.
9. Development of early warning systems and epidemiological surveillance
10. Use and recovery of activities on the coastal edge post COVID-19.
11. Capacity building for resilience in communities.
12. Study of the water, energy and food nexus.
13. Evaluation of antimicrobial resistance due to excessive use of antibiotics and contamination of water by organisms.
14. Governance and management of natural resources and socio-environmental dynamics.
15. Risk analysis to understand the vulnerability, threats and areas most prone to disasters and contribute to their resilience.
16. Development of a culture of resilience in rural coastal communities to improve the sustainable development, economy and quality of life of its inhabitants, adequately maintaining ecosystem services.
17. Assist the population so that they can recognize the relationship between ecosystem services and the productive activities of the different ecosystems for their preservation and sustainable use.
18. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Development of climate change mitigation projects.
19. Studies for adaptation to climate change in ecosystems, productive sectors and populations.

1. Modeling of infectious diseases, tools and methodologies around the containment of these; and timely proposal of responses to future pandemics.
2. Analysis/improvements of nutritional health in groups vulnerable to COVID-19. Preparation of nutritional plans.
3. Analysis of the balance between teleworking and professional activities and its impact on health.
4. Early diagnosis of diseases using mobile and fast mechanisms.
5. Improvement of the quality of water and its access, sanitation and nutrition, particularly in the peri-urban and rural areas of the country, so that the population has an adequate level of health.
6. Health, cities and climate in a post-COVID-19 and pre-winter process.
7. Study of multi-threats and health systems: vulnerability analysis.
8. Development of vaccines against infectious diseases.
9. Improvement of hospital management processes.
10. Study of food security and safety in Ecuadorian society, and proposals for improvement.
11. Study of habits in the lifestyle of citizens, and proposals for improvements.
12. Search for active ingredients of natural origin with a view to the development of phytomedical drugs.
13. Development or modification of drug structures and introduction of new reliable, rapid and accessible diagnostic strategies for diseases with a high social impact.
14. Reducing the problems of undernourishment, malnutrition and malnutrition in peri-urban and rural areas.
15. Reduction in the number of women victims and deaths as a result of disasters and risks aggravated by cultural and socioeconomic factors.
16. Improvement of the eating habits of children in Ecuador to improve their intellectual development and reduce the impact of overweight on health.
17. Improvement of the consumption habits of the Ecuadorian population, especially the most vulnerable, to achieve a healthier diet.

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1. Improvement of professional, digital and technical skills to increase labor productivity (teachers and students).
2. Content development and friendly online learning platforms.
3. Preservation of the quality of education with the use of ICTs; especially in K-12 and college STEM education.
4. Solutions that facilitate access to education in low and vulnerable socioeconomic groups. Reduction of social inequalities in education issues.
5. Improvements in equity conditions in the country in the use of technologies related to education.
6. Use of technologies in education and information to improve cognitive and psychosocial skills for the population with special abilities.
7. Conservation of biodiversity and environmental awareness.
8. Development of urban agriculture.
9. Promotion of food security and safety in Ecuadorian society.
10. Development of citizen sciences to contribute to socio-ecological development.
11. Dissemination of nutritional plans, with an emphasis on vulnerable groups, making use of digital technologies.
12. Reducing the gap in access to education for children from low socioeconomic sectors, and developing methodologies, and facilitating their adoption, by teachers.

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1. Study of methods for the efficient use of energy in homes, and proposals for improvement.
2. Development of construction materials with an emphasis on reducing electricity consumption.
3. Study of the impacts of heat islands on health, economy and energy consumption.
4. Development of technologies that allow substituting the use of fuels and gas in its production processes.
5. Construction of buildings with technical support and resilient infrastructure criteria. Preparation of technical standards.
6. Development of public policies and regulatory frameworks that encourage efficient energy use at both residential and industrial levels.
7. Generation of primary information on the energy context of the country, and development of parametric models that facilitate decision-making and the evaluation of the use of energy resources.
8. Design and implementation of energy collection, reuse and recycling systems.
9. Design and development of solutions that allow improving the administration, efficiency and resilience of Ecuador's energy infrastructure, so that it can support a more connected and digital society.
10. Energy use of biomass and development of hybrid energy systems.

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1. Study of strategic alternatives for the synthesis, design and isolation of molecules, radiation-matter interaction and its link with physical phenomena and knowledge of the structural aspects of matter from the molecular to the supramolecular.
2. Development of the solution of a problem in science or engineering through the approach and analysis of mathematical models based on dynamic systems or differential equations.
3. Study and prediction of behaviors and the logical consequences of random phenomena and development of statistical methods and techniques to understand the data coming from some probabilistic model.
4. Study of open problems, based on algebraic and topological structures, to generate new mathematical knowledge and provide theoretical resources that are used by researchers in mathematics and other areas of science and engineering.
5. Optimization of processes applied to the planning of operations, subject to restrictions or not, of organizations, to minimize the costs involved.