The paper identifies advances in science, technology and innovation (STI) in Colombia between 1990 and 2005, and then explores: (i) the successes and failures of policies designed to stimulate advances, and (ii) the challenges facing the country when converting knowledge and, especially, innovation into primary sources of development and competition. The paper reviews neoclassical and evolutional contributions in terms of their relationship with technological change, growth and development, and looks at the literature on recent experiences of successful industrialization and national innovation systems. It then moves on to the implications for STI policy, using official information, domestic and international publications and a number of the authors' investigations to evaluate some of the efforts and results indicators related to innovation, production capacity, and scientific divulgation and articulation between actors in the scientific, technological and productive fields. The results show notable advances in science, but precarious results for technology and the links between actors in these fields. The paper then examines the political challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]