Anne-Marie Maculan

University start-ups for breaking lock-ins of the Brazilian economy

Brazilian universities were created initially with a teaching mission, later incorporating research activities along with the implementation of graduate programs. Recently, new public policies supporting the innovation process have been implemented to encourage universities to assume a more active role and expand their relationship with the productive sector commercializing the results of their research activities. The purpose of this paper is to describe and better understand the features of the Brazilian university system and the specific ways in which these three missions emerged as a function of the different phases of development that Brazil has experienced. Special emphasis is given to the incorporation of the third mission, under their traditional and advanced forms. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Brazilian Universities and Their Contribution to Innovation and Development

Brazilian higher education institutions (HEIs) have been established since the first half of the nineteenth century under the format of colleges of medicine, law, or engineering. Brazilian universities (HEIs with a poly-disciplinary structure), however, were established more recently. The first university was created in 1920, in Rio de Janeiro, by the Federal Government and, in 1934, the State of Sao Paulo created its own university, which remains a Brazilian landmark of teaching and research.

Capacitação tecnológica e inovação nas empresas brasileiras: balanço e perspectivas

In this paper we examine the process of technological capability building in the Brazilian industry. The paper is based on the IBGE PINTEC report published in 2002. A discussion is made about the nature and the intensity of the firm’s innovative activities, the novelty of the implemented changes, the sources of information, and the interrelations with suppliers and customers. We investigate the cooperation relations between firms and research institutions, looking for the existence of a national system of innovation. We investigate the impact of this relationship on the innovative performance of the firms in the context of the knowledge-based economy. Finally, we argue that the innovations introduced by the Brazilian industrial firms are closer to a casual process of equipment modernization rather than to the development of new products or processes based on R&D investments.

Changes in Brazilian Public R&D Institutions Management: The National Institute of Technology Case-Study

Based on the experience of the National Institute of Technology (INT), this paper sets out to analyze some of the organizational changes adopted by this R&D institution to fit the new demands of valorizing research results. First, are discussed the elements of change that allow to consider the emergence of a new paradigm for administering the research system in Brazil. Second, are presented the changes introduced to the INT. The hypothesis is that these changes are meant to introduce new criteria for selecting projects and to evaluate performance in order to create a dynamic interaction with economic agents. The capacity to adopt new orientations seems to be a necessary condition for INT to remain within the Brazilian research system.

Towards a Knowledge-Based Economy in Brazil

After a decade of the renewal of Brazil’s S&T policy, is it possible to make a first assessment of the progress made and its impacts? Is it legitimate to assume that in the last decade, the implemented interventions in the innovation system were an appropriate response to the crisis, limiting the decline in GDP to 0.6 % in 2009? Would that mean that Brazil was able to establish solid foundations for a knowledge economy? Are there new challenges to be faced? In the context of this global crisis, can the Brazilian economy keep growing without incorporating new knowledge in various sectors of the economy? First, what is the country’s ability to maintain a high rate of growth and face international competition with an economy based on exporting commodities, heavily dependent on demand from China? Second, is it possible to be a knowledge-based economy with industrial firms that do not develop radical innovations? Third, how can a nation deal with the need to promote new technological solutions that also meet the demands of environmental protection? This chapter presents some of the Brazilian government’s responses. These responses lead to a reformulation of S&T policies, an increase in the capacity to generate knowledge. The changes aim for a more dynamic innovation system and to ensure that firms are more capable of facing the global economic crisis.

Les universités brésiliennes et leur apport à l’innovation et au développement

Les etablissements d’enseignement superieur bresiliens (EES) existent depuis la premiere moitie du dix-neuvieme siecle sous la forme de facultes de medecine, de droit ou d’ecoles d’ingenieurs. Les universites bresiliennes (c’est-a-dire les EES pluridisciplinaires) ont, elles, ete fondees plus recemment. La premiere universite a ete creee en 1920 a Rio de Janeiro par le gouvernement federal. En 1934, l’etat de Sao Paulo a etabli sa propre universite, qui est encore aujourd’hui la reference bresilienne en matiere d’enseignement et de recherche.

New Perspectives on Risk Capital in Brazil

ABSTRACT Organizing a funding system is fundamental to the growth of the small firms of technological basis that search for innovation as a tool to maintain their competitive position. Venture capital is an important tool to sustain the growth of innovative companies. The paper presents the results of a field research that examines the institutional and regulatory conditions that subordinate the building and growth of this sector in Brazil. The paper identifies three historical phases in the consolidation and expansion of venture capital. In the most recent phase, new funds are created due to the privatization process and new investment operations boom. The sector encloses several institutions and offers differentiated modalities, depending on the stage of activities presented by the companies being financed. The sectors growth relies on several factors: maturity and dynamism of the financial market, policies to support the innovation capacity of small firms, institutions acting on behalf of technological entrepreneurship. The development of a venture capital system is attributed to the capacity of articulated action of these public and private institutions. RESUMEN. La organización de un sistema de financiamiento ejerce una importancia fundamental sobre el crecimiento de las pequeñas empresas de base tecnológica, que buscan la innovación como una herramienta para mantener su posición competitiva. El capital de riesgo es una herramienta importante para asegurar el crecimiento sostenible de las empresas innovadoras. Este estudio presenta los resultados obtenidos con una investigación de campo, que examina las condiciones institucionales y regulatorias que subordinan el establecimiento y crecimiento de este sector en el Brasil. El estudio identifica tres etapas históricas en la expansión y consolidación del capital de riesgo. En la etapa más reciente, se crearon nuevos financiamientos debido al proceso de privatización y al boom de las nuevas operaciones de inversión. El sector agrupa diversas instituciones y ofrece modalidades diferenciadas, dependiendo de la etapa en que se encuentran las actividades pre-sentadas por las empresas financiadas. El crecimiento del sector depende de diversos factores: madurez y dinamismo del mercado financiero, medidas políticas de apoyo a la capacidad innovadora de las pequeñas empresas, y las instituciones políticas que actúan en pro del empre-ndedorismo tecnológico. El desarrollo del sistema de capital de riesgo se atribuye a la capacidad de acción que tienen dichas instituciones públicas y privadas. RESUMO. Organizar um sistema de financiamento é fundamental para o crescimento das pequenas empresas de base tecnológica que buscam a inovação como instrumento de manutenção de sua posição competitiva. O capital de risco é um importante instrumento de sustentação do crescimento das empresas inovadoras. O artigo apresenta resultados de uma pesquisa de campo que avalia as condições institucionais e regulatórias que condicionam a estruturação e crescimento desse setor no Brasil. O artigo identifica três fases históricas na consolidação e expansão do capital de risco. Na fase mais recente, novos fundos são criados em função do processo de privatização e novas operações de investimentos se multiplicam. O setor envolve diversas instituições e oferece modalidades diferenciadas, dependendo do estágio de atividades das empresas financiadas. O crescimento do setor depende de diversos fatores: maturidade e dinamismo do mercado financeiro, medidas políticas de apoio à capacidade de inovação das pequenas empresas, instituições que atuam em prol do empreendedorismo tecnológico. O desenvolvimento do sistema de capital de risco é tributário da capacidade de atuação articulada dessas instituições públicas e privadas.