For 12 years, October 19 of each year has been reserved to celebrate progress and, above all, to structure the development of a competitive and prosperous innovation agenda. In the assessment of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), despite the consensus among leaders and businessmen on the importance of the issue, Brazil is still far from having an economy driven by innovation, since governments, throughout years, they did not prioritize investments. in this strategic area. .
To achieve this objective, it is necessary to reduce the technological gap, promote research and raise the quality of education, through the search for new innovation strategies capable of facilitating the absorption, adaptation and generation of technologies by companies.
“Brazil has invested very little in innovation and has public policies that need to improve and improve so that they can contribute to companies and the business environment in which we live so that innovation is a reference and a guide for the entire Brazilian economy”, says President of the CNI, Robson Braga de Andrade.
In the historical series from 2000 to 2019, national spending on research and development (R&D) by the business sector exceeded public investment by 7%. According to the Integrated Financial Management System of the Federal Government (SIAFI) and the State Ministers of Science and Technology, in 2019 R$ 43.2 billion were injected, compared to R$ 26.1 billion in 2010.
Regarding business expenses collected by the Foundation for Innovation Research (Pintec), in the same comparative period, they totaled R$ 46.3 billion, in 2019, and R$ 24.4 billion in the first year analyzed by the historical series. The research is carried out, at the request of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), based on data provided by federal government companies.
In terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in 2019 Brazil dedicated only 1.21% to innovation, with the 2000-2019 peak set in 2015, when 1.37% was invested in research and development. In 2010, it was only 1.05%. For this reason, it is necessary to build an ambitious, long-term and well-coordinated National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I), with the aim of positioning the country among the most innovative economies in the world.
Characteristics of Innovation in the Private Sector
The Industry Sector Profile, an interactive CNI tool, shows that of every R$100 that Brazilian companies invest in research and development (R&D), R$69 comes from industry. Between 2016 and 2019, in current values, the contribution to process and product innovation grew by 33.4% – from R$ 12.7 billion to R$ 16.9 billion, more than 11.2% of the Accumulated Inflation for the period (IPCA), reinforcing the commitment to the Industrial sector to maintain investments in innovation even after the 2015 and 2016 crisis, which severely affected the financial position of companies.
In this movement, some sectors stand out, such as pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmaceuticals, whose investments increased by 63.9% in the decade, going from R$ 955 million to R$ 1.6 billion. Only from 2018 to 2019, the increase in the investment value of the sector was 7.9%, or R$ 115 million. On the other hand, automotive companies represent the ones that have invested the most in R&D in this period: more than R$ 2.8 billion in 2019 alone. Then comes the chemical sector, with investments in the order of 2.5 billion in R&D.
New Digital Technologies and Innovation
For CNI, sustainability efforts are presented as an opportunity to clearly define the focus and priorities to follow. The creation of an environment conducive to innovation requires the mobilization of all the actors in the ecosystem, through the implementation of actions on several fronts and the broad representation of different segments of society.
The success of policies and programs in this direction is directly related to the participation of central government bodies, as indicated by international experiences. Therefore, it is essential that the starting point of the governance examples is in the central core of power.
Innovation: the Engine of Growth
Since 1994, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) has provided the community and candidates with suggestions to improve industry performance. In 2022, the Iraqi National Council prepared a set of proposals, distributed in 21 documents, which were discussed and delivered to the main candidates for the presidency. Key Innovation Proposals Sent to Presidential Candidates:
- Structuring of long-term science, technology and innovation policies and well-defined governance cases
- Improving the regulatory environment for CT&I
- Invest in CT&I internationally
- Training of human resources for innovation
Global Innovation Index
Brazil gained three places in the Global Innovation Index (IGI) compared to 2021 and is now ranked 54th in the ranking that covers 132 countries. However, the improvement in the ranking does not mean that the country is in a good position on the innovation agenda, since investments in the region decrease every year and the Brazilian position is seven houses below the best mark achieved – 47th place in 2011.
In the CNI evaluation, although Brazil fell in the ranking of “innovation inputs”, having fallen two places (from 56, in 2021, to 58, in 2022), the country rose six places in the ranking of results of innovation (from 59 to 53), which explains the improvement in the overall ranking. That means that in terms of investments in innovation, Brazil has deteriorated. However, it is as if the agents of the Brazilian ecosystem do more with fewer resources and obtain better results in innovation, despite lower inputs/investment”, compares the director of Innovation of the CNI, Gianna Sagazio.
The lack of a unified public policy for innovation generates insecurity and delays in the sector. An example of this is the issuance of Temporary Measure No. 1136 dated August 29, 2022, which limits the use of resources from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT), the main source of financing innovation in the country. . The deputy affirms that the FNDCT will be able to invest just R$ 5.555 billion in 2022, about R$ 3.5 billion less than initially planned.
CNI warns about the damage that the temporary measure, if approved by the National Congress, could cause to science, technology and innovation in the country. Starting next year, the measure establishes a percentage of the application that will reach 100% of the resources only in 2027. In 2023, for example, the limit will be only 58% of the projected annual income. To be 68% in 2024, 78% in 2025 and 88% in 2026.
Another concern for the industry is that, despite the Complementary Law No. 177/2021 that prohibits the contingency of monetary values, public authorities have consistently blocked resources. For the 2022 budget, the government had already withheld R$2.5 billion of the R$4.5 billion of non-recoverable resources from the FNDCT.
MEI: innovation as the main strategy
In coordination with the CNI, Business Mobilization for Innovation (MEI) has helped the country adopt policies and change laws that favor innovation. MEI is made up of more than 400 large companies operating in Brazil and has played an important role in leading the industries together to adopt innovation as their main strategy.
Among MEI’s initiatives, diagnoses and studies, collaborations with government policies and support for entrepreneurs to innovate and integrate into innovation ecosystems in Brazil and abroad stand out in groups that bring together members of companies, government, development agencies and universities.
“CNI has made efforts to make Brazil a more innovative country. It is of strategic importance that the private sector, public authorities and academia unite around innovation and generate more competitiveness for the country,” says Gianna Sagazio.
“Obviously, overcoming the challenges that will be faced from now on will depend on prioritizing innovation in the field of public policies and increasing investments in research. Countries that choose innovation as the main driver of their development have strengthened their industries and invaded international markets, thus generating a better quality of life for the population”, adds the innovation director of the CNI.
ISI: More than 800 companies served and 1,900 million RD in RD&i projects.
In order to help the industry to innovate and increase competitiveness, in 2013 the national network Institutos SENAI de Inovação was established. Currently, there are 27 institutes in 12 states. Since its creation, ISIS has served more than 860 companies and implemented more than R$ 1.9 billion distributed in 1,929 R&D projects with the industry. The structure includes 1025 researchers, 48% of whom are masters and doctors.
The SENAI network of Innovation Institutes is identified and organized to work in an integrated manner with global trends, such as mobility, health, energy, smart cities, advanced manufacturing, bioeconomy, information and communication technologies, which are developed online. with the most strategic interests of Brazilian society and industry.
Solutions that aim to make the future with state-of-the-art technology are the specialties of the national network created by SENAI. “The institutes work from the pre-competitive stage of the innovative process, when the concepts are born, often at the university, and the experiments are carried out, which naturally entails a lot of uncertainty and risk for the companies, they work until the final stage. of development, when the new product is about to be elaborated by the industry”, explains Jefferson Gómez, Director of Innovation and Technology of SENAI Nacional.
SENAI also has the Industry Innovation Platform, an initiative to finance the development of innovative products, processes or services, with the aim of increasing the productivity and competitiveness of the Brazilian industry, as well as promoting the improvement of safety and security. industry health. . Created in 2004, this initiative has already selected more than a thousand innovative projects, in which more than R$ 917 million have been invested.
The industry-specific innovation platform is an excellent opportunity to foster close relationships between small, medium and large companies. The development of the research brings a new concept to the industry, in addition to making the chain more innovative and competitive”, says Rafael Lucci, Director of Education and Technology of the CNI and General Manager of SENAI.
Internationalization
The SENAI network of Innovation Institutes began operations of representative offices in Europe in August 2021, with the aim of developing new partners to accelerate the resolution of global problems. Internationalization is the pillar of a new moment for ISI Network, which aims to support the Brazilian industry to become a protagonist of a low carbon economy.
The Fraunhofer Association (Germany) and Rise (Sweden) are SENAI’s main partners in this agenda, and new technological partners will be developed in order to increase the impact of research, development and innovation projects, with solutions in energy transition, bioeconomy, circular economy and digital transformation.
SENAI’s recent accreditation with the World Organization of Research and Technology Networks (WAITRO) stands out, being the first and only Brazilian member of this global network. Founded by the United Nations in 1970, it has more than 100 global innovation networks from more than 50 different countries.
