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Brazil Policy Perspectives
Policy Perspectives
Brazil has developed a significant infrastructure for research,
development, and innovation. Nevertheless there is a clear need
to redirect the entire science and technology sector from the patterns
established in the 1970s to others more in line with the realities
of the 1990s. This new pattern should bring this sector much closer
to the educational and productive sectors.
The fact that most Brazilian researchers and research projects
are in the universities does not mean that they are as involved
with professional, technical, and general education. Areas in need
of improvement include establishing closer links between science
and technology and the productive sector and stimulating the private
sector to increase its share of the country's research and development
efforts. Both cases require moving from a vertical approach, concerned
with graduate education, leading-edge technology, and large science
projects, to a more horizontal one, aimed at increasing the general
level of competence of the population and the productive system
as a whole. This change in emphasis requires that the institutions
providing support and incentives to science also be changed. The
two traditions of research and
education that exist in Brazil--one more associative, based
on the civil society, and more entrepreneurial; the other more hierarchical,
centralized, and bureaucratic--point to the main direction of change,
from the second to the first. Research groups and institutions need
to increase their autonomy and flexibility. There is also a need
for the government to establish general guidelines and incentives
and for its policy decisions to be more pragmatic, ad hoc, and goal-oriented.
Traditionally, Brazil's technological community has restricted
knowledge to a few sectors rather than used it for the benefit of
the whole society. The Brazilian science and technology sector was
subject to an extensive review in 1993. According to the main conclusions
and recommendations of the study, which was published in 1994 by
the
Getúlio Vargas Foundation (Fundação Getúlio
Vargas), science and technology are more important than ever for
Brazil. If the country is to raise living standards, consolidate
a modern economy, and participate as a significant partner in an
increasingly integrated and global world, the economy must modernize
and adjust to an internationally competitive environment. Education
should be expanded and improved at all levels. As the economy grows
and new technologies are introduced, new challenges will emerge
in the production and use of energy, environmental control, public
health, the management of large cities, and changes in the composition
of the labor force. Strong indigenous competence will be necessary
for Brazil to participate as an equal in international negotiations
and in the setting of international standards that may have important
economic and social consequences for Brazil.
According to the study, any new science and technology policy should
stimulate the researcher's initiative and creativity; establish
strong links between the researcher's work and the requirements
of the economy, the educational system, and society as a whole;
make Brazilian science and technology truly international; and strengthen
the country's educational and science and technology capabilities.
To fulfill these tasks, Brazil's technology policies need to be
redirected in line with new economic realities. In the short run,
policies need to be geared to the reorganization and technological
modernization of the industrial sector. Permanent policies need
to be established to induce the more dynamic sectors of the productive
system to, as a main priority, enter a continuous process of innovation
and incorporation of new technologies into the productive process
and to keep in step with technical progress in the world economy.
The study also concluded that research groups in universities and
government institutes should be strongly encouraged to link to the
productive sector and to engage in applied work, while maintaining
a high level of academic and basic research activities. The resources
for applied work should not come from the budget for basic activities
but from specific sources in government agencies, special programs,
private firms, and independent foundations. Applied projects need
to be evaluated in terms of their academic quality, as well as their
economic viability and social and economic significance.
Globalization requires a profound rethinking of the old debate
between scientific self-sufficiency and internationalism, which
are not necessarily contradictory. Brazil has much to gain as it
increases its ability to participate fully as a respected partner
in the international scientific and technological community. To
meet this objective, fellowship programs of the CAPES (Council for
Advanced Professional Training) and of the CNPq for studies abroad
need to be revised and expanded eventually. Brazil will benefit
most fully from a studies-abroad program by awarding fellowships
to first-rate students. Provisions also need to be made for postdoctoral
programs both abroad and in Brazil and to bring top-quality scholars
from other countries for extended periods, or even permanent appointments,
in Brazilian university and research institutions.
The channels for cooperation among Brazilians, international agencies
and institutions, and the international scientific community need
to be expanded. The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank,
and the United Nations Development Programme (see Glossary) have
played important roles in providing resources for capital investment,
research support, or the development of Brazilian institutions.
This support provides resources as well as international expertise
and exposure. One possible future role for international agencies
might be to stimulate the process of institutional reform.
The issues of protectionism versus market competitiveness loom
large in Brazil's relations with industrialized countries. In particular,
scientific and technological developments demonstrate a need to
emphasize pragmatism over ideology. Brazil's instruments of technological
and industrial policy include tax incentives, tariff protection,
patent legislation, government procurement, and long-term investments
in technological projects in association with the private sector.
All of these serve a useful purpose, but adequate patent and intellectual
property protection remains key to the normalization of Brazil's
relations with the industrialized countries.
New and systematic means to incorporate technology into the industrial
process are needed to emphasize the development and dissemination
of norms, standards, and procedures for technological transfer and
quality improvement. Easy access of scientists to libraries and
databases in the country and abroad can ensure a well-organized
and properly funded information infrastructure, which makes use
of the latest technologies in electronic communication and networking.
New technologies and competencies developed elsewhere have underscored
the need to reevaluate the role of the CNPq's IBICT (Brazilian Institute
of Scientific and Technological Information).
Data as of April 1997
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