Approved proposals will receive R$ 14 million in resources. Ministry also formalized partnership with SAP
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marco Antônio Raupp, and the Secretary of Information Technology Policy at MCTI, Virgilio Almeida, announced on September 19, in São Paulo, an invitation to bid to attract research, development and innovation (RD&I) centers ).
The initiative intends to stimulate and guide national and foreign companies to develop scientific, technological and innovation research. Proposals approved in the public call will have R$ 14 million in grant resources from FNDCT/CT-Info, administered by the National Center for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/MCTI). The maximum amount to be financed is R$ 2 million for each project, with a counterpart equal to the amount provided.
“The public notice will remain open for 45 days and the technical evaluation criteria are: degree of innovation, relevance, adequacy of human resources, synergy between the areas of research and development and integration with other research and institutions, national or foreign”, said Virgilio .
The public call allows the registration of proposals submitted by companies, scientific and technological institutions (ICTs) or consortia between companies and ICTs, both universities and research centers. The teams for each project can count on Brazilian and foreign researchers.
One of the main objectives of the program is to encourage Brazilian researchers to work in R&D centers, integrating the demands of the public sector with the dynamic capacity of the private sector.
“There is a great demand for companies interested in investing in Brazil. We have to encourage public-private partnerships, combining the transformation of knowledge into economic assets by private companies with research efforts by the public sector”, highlighted Raupp.
MCTI and SAP's global RD&I center
The event also marked the formalization of a partnership between MCTI and SAP, through SAP Labs Latin America, world market leader in business software applications, for the creation of the fourth global RD&I center in the country. Located on the campus of the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos), in São Leopoldo (RS), the center operates in areas such as analytical intelligence, mobility, database and cloud computing.
To function as a global hub, the company is investing R$ 60 million in expansion works, which should be completed by the end of the year.
The unit has 500 employees and operates as a research center, developing state-of-the-art software together with sectors indicated as technological pillars by the TI Maior program, such as the agricultural, financial, energy, oil and gas and public sectors.
The partnership marks the achievement of the goal established by the MCTI of bringing four global RD&I centers to Brazil by the end of 2014. An important part of the strategies articulated for the TI Maior program, the attraction of these units is considered strategic to create mechanisms that enable flow of research between companies and universities.
Currently, Brazil has three global centers, installed in the country by Intel, Microsoft and EMC. With the amount invested by SAP, the contribution made exceeds R$ 700 million.
“The country today presents a global platform of opportunities, an expanding market, and has innovation as a government priority. We intend, with these attributes, to expand the market, research and exchange of knowledge in IT, inducing and absorbing strategic research, encouraging investments and facilitating exports and increasing the competitiveness of Brazilian companies”, observed the secretary.
According to him, in 2012, the growth of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) sector was 10.8%, while the world average was 5.8%. National expenditure on R&D was R$ 50 billion, with 52.8% of that amount being public investment.
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