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The pace of technological innovation in industrial processes or products in Brazil grew in the last quarter of 2017. In comparison with the previous quarter, the number of innovative industries rose 0.4 percentage point, reaching 44.1% of the total number of companies with more than 250 surveyed employees. The data is part of the Innovation Survey, a quarterly survey produced by the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) in partnership with Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). More than half of the companies surveyed (50.6%) were optimistic about the prospects for innovation in products or processes in the 1st quarter of 2018.
Corporate investment in research and development (R&D), on the other hand, fell. On a scale of 0 to 200, the last quarter of 2017 reached 92.8 points – lower than the third quarter index (96.9). When the indicator, which oscillates between 0 and 200, remains below 100 points, it means that a greater number of companies will decrease or not make investments in innovation in the researched period.
“When a company innovates in processes or products, it is becoming more competitive. Here in Brazil, this is essential at a time when the economy is recovering”, highlights the president of ABDI, Guto Ferreira. The survey also points out that the national industry is doing more with less. “The study shows that investments in research have decreased, but the percentage of innovative companies has increased significantly. In other words, development teams are managing to innovate in processes or products with less financial resources”.
The agribusiness production system is the only one in which companies are investing more in innovation. The index grew in 2017 for the third consecutive quarter, reaching 108 points. It was an advance of 5.5 points compared to the third quarter. Guto Ferreira recalls that agribusiness was responsible for the improvement in GDP in 2017. “The sector grew 13% compared to 2016. Innovation is an important component in this result. Brazilian producers have already realized that investment in technology guarantees more income in the field”, he defends.
R&D
According to the Innovation Survey, having departments dedicated to Research and Development is an important step towards improving productivity. The survey reveals that companies with a department dedicated to R&D are 35.1% more likely to innovate. The results of the 4th quarter of 2017 corroborate this statement: 51.2% of companies that have R&D innovated in the period, while among those that do not, only 15.9% innovated.
The good news is that more than half of the companies surveyed have departments dedicated to research and development. According to the ABDI survey, 57.2% of companies include R&D. When cut by regions of the country, the industries of the Southeast and South are the ones that dedicate more efforts to have teams dedicated to innovation. In the Southeast, 62.5% of companies have specific areas, and in the South there are 62.4%. In the Midwest/North and Northeast regions, these percentages are 37.0% and 34.1%, respectively.
Financing source
The Innovation Survey shows that equity and public funding are the two main ways to invest in innovation used by companies. In this aspect of the survey, companies were able to indicate more than one alternative. Most (70%) used their own resources and 37,1% used public banks or direct public financing. Another 16.1% sought financing from private banks, and 4.8% resources came from abroad.
Among the companies that sought public financing, BNDES appears as the most cited place, 60.8%. FINEP is in second place with 43.1% and Banco do Brasil in third place with 15.4%.
Outlook for 2018
The prospects for innovation in 2018 are good. According to the document, the industrial sector continues to show consistent signs of recovery and begins a movement of investment in innovation, even if it is still far from previous years. The outlook is positive considering the positive forecast for investments in the 1st quarter of 2018 and the improvement in the current situation of the Brazilian industries' businesses.
The collection period for the Innovation Survey is quarterly and occurs in the first two months following the survey's reference quarter. For the 4th quarter of 2017 edition, 353 questionnaires were applied to companies with more than 250 employees from all regions of the country, between January 8 and March 8, 2018.
Corporate investment in research and development (R&D), on the other hand, fell. On a scale of 0 to 200, the last quarter of 2017 reached 92.8 points – lower than the third quarter index (96.9). When the indicator, which oscillates between 0 and 200, remains below 100 points, it means that a greater number of companies will decrease or not make investments in innovation in the researched period.
“When a company innovates in processes or products, it is becoming more competitive. Here in Brazil, this is essential at a time when the economy is recovering”, highlights the president of ABDI, Guto Ferreira. The survey also points out that the national industry is doing more with less. “The study shows that investments in research have decreased, but the percentage of innovative companies has increased significantly. In other words, development teams are managing to innovate in processes or products with less financial resources”.
The agribusiness production system is the only one in which companies are investing more in innovation. The index grew in 2017 for the third consecutive quarter, reaching 108 points. It was an advance of 5.5 points compared to the third quarter. Guto Ferreira recalls that agribusiness was responsible for the improvement in GDP in 2017. “The sector grew 13% compared to 2016. Innovation is an important component in this result. Brazilian producers have already realized that investment in technology guarantees more income in the field”, he defends.
R&D
According to the Innovation Survey, having departments dedicated to Research and Development is an important step towards improving productivity. The survey reveals that companies with a department dedicated to R&D are 35.1% more likely to innovate. The results of the 4th quarter of 2017 corroborate this statement: 51.2% of companies that have R&D innovated in the period, while among those that do not, only 15.9% innovated.
The good news is that more than half of the companies surveyed have departments dedicated to research and development. According to the ABDI survey, 57.2% of companies include R&D. When cut by regions of the country, the industries of the Southeast and South are the ones that dedicate more efforts to have teams dedicated to innovation. In the Southeast, 62.5% of companies have specific areas, and in the South there are 62.4%. In the Midwest/North and Northeast regions, these percentages are 37.0% and 34.1%, respectively.
Financing source
The Innovation Survey shows that equity and public funding are the two main ways to invest in innovation used by companies. In this aspect of the survey, companies were able to indicate more than one alternative. Most (70%) used their own resources and 37,1% used public banks or direct public financing. Another 16.1% sought financing from private banks, and 4.8% resources came from abroad.
Among the companies that sought public financing, BNDES appears as the most cited place, 60.8%. FINEP is in second place with 43.1% and Banco do Brasil in third place with 15.4%.
Outlook for 2018
The prospects for innovation in 2018 are good. According to the document, the industrial sector continues to show consistent signs of recovery and begins a movement of investment in innovation, even if it is still far from previous years. The outlook is positive considering the positive forecast for investments in the 1st quarter of 2018 and the improvement in the current situation of the Brazilian industries' businesses.
The collection period for the Innovation Survey is quarterly and occurs in the first two months following the survey's reference quarter. For the 4th quarter of 2017 edition, 353 questionnaires were applied to companies with more than 250 employees from all regions of the country, between January 8 and March 8, 2018.
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