Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – The leaders in Brazilian industry intend to expand research frontiers in the segment. They want to prepare companies in the country to do research for innovation abroad and also to provide incentives for foreign capital to invest more in research in Brazil. This was one of the conclusions of the 2nd Brazilian Congress of Innovation in Industry, which took place this week in the southeastern Brazilian city of São Paulo, the largest business centre in the country, and had its results presented to the press yesterday (26) by the executive manager for industrial competitiveness at the National Confederation of Industries (CNI), Maurício Mendonça. The CNI promoted the meeting.
“A movement of internationalisation of research is taking place. Multinationals do research where they have their headquarters, at the head office, and also all around the world. Nowadays the technological development model is more open around the world, more participative. We want to prepare Brazilian companies to do research in Brazil and abroad, inserting themselves in global research networks,” stated the executive. He recalled that Brazil already has global research centres, in sectors like the automotive industry, household appliances and capital goods, but needs a set of public actions to support them.
The organization is going to present, after debating the project, suggestions of measures to be taken by the Federal Government to provide incentives to innovation within Brazilian industry. According to Mendonça, a group of institutions is preparing, together with the CNI, a plan to 0attracti funds and development and research projects, like, for example, the development of technology parks. “This favours the attraction of investment,” stated the executive manager. One of the CNI ideas is the creation of mobilization projects, in which efforts would be joined to search for new technologies for institutions and industries with the same focus.
“Brazil has been placing itself in this game (of global search for new technologies), we have significant human resources, but we have to run very much, to leap high,” he said. Mendonça recalled figures presented at the beginning of the meeting, that Brazil currently invests just 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in innovation, around 10 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 5 billion), and should increase this total to 2% up to 2010. Within this value there is investment by great companies, like oil giant Petrobras, which invests 1 billion reais (US$ 500 million) a year, mining company Vale do Rio Doce, around 300 million reais (US$ 150 million), sectorial funds of the Ministry of Science and Technology, that invest 1 billion reais (another US$ 500 million) and the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp), which invests another 400 million reais (US$ 200 million).
Currently, of the total invested, around 40% comes from the private sector. The CNI intention is for the amount invested by industries to rise. That is, the total investment should double by 2010, but investment made by the private sector should triple. The greatest investment in technology should also permit Brazil to export greater added value products. This is one of the CNI targets through the innovation plan they are going to present to the government. Mendonça recalls that developing countries like Brazil currently have many problems to access the market of developed nations. This is due to non-tariff barriers, like rules in the environmental and technical area. “Companies need significant technical capacity to adapt to these rules,” he says.
*Translated by Mark Ament
