2016-03-17
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The action Basis for Implementing a Regional Innovation System (SRI, acronym in Portuguese) in a Selected Territory of the Brazilian Regional Policy, sponsored by the European Union-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Project and coordinated by the Ministry of National Integration (MI), carried out a mission to Europe in December to prospect and reinforce partnerships and also to visit places resembling the sub-regions of Goiana and Caruaru, in the State of Pernambuco, chosen as pilot territory for introducing this developmental model. The Brazilian delegates were Amarildo Baesso, Deputy Secretary for Regional Development and Head of the Department for the Management of Regional Development Policies of the MI; Paulo Pitanga do Amparo, General Coordinator for Monitoring and Assessment of Regional Policies at the MI; and Henrique Villa, Technical Assistant at the Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos (CGEE) [Center for Strategic Studies and Management].
The delegation first visited the headquarters of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (ITPS), in Seville, Spain, where they participated in a meeting with the experts. The objective of this visit was to learn about news regarding the European regional policy, also called cohesion policy, and the Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisations (RIS3) approach, a methodology guide for managers and decision-makers involved in matters related to the design, preparation and implementation of regional or national innovation and research strategies. “We will use this methodology when presenting the Brazilian SRI proposal in Pernambuco, which adds great relevance to this meeting”, said Paulo Pitanga. The delegates also visited the Innovation and Development Agency of Andaluzia, located in the same city.
In Portugal, the activities targeted territories similar to the sub-regions in Pernambuco, where the Brazilian SRI will be implemented. Mission members visited Autoeuropa, a large conglomerate run by Volkswagem, located in the district of Setúbal, near Lisbon, which is considered a mirror territory of the city of Goiana, in Pernambuco, where production activities center in the areas of information technology and the automotive industry. In Lisbon, the delegation visited the Agência Nacional de Inovação (ANI) [National Innovation Agency] to obtain information on innovation support and financing strategies in companies and territories selected by the cohesion policy in Portugal. Near the city of Porto, the delegates made technical visits to the Calvelex plant, to the Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria Têxtil, Vestuário, Confecção e Lanifícios (MODATEX) [Professional Training Center for the Textile, Clothing, Apparel and Wool Industry] and to the Associação Nacional das Indústrias de Vestuário e Confecção (ANIVEC) [National Association of Apparel and Clothing Industries]. This region resembles Caruaru, a center for textile production.
The last stop was in Brussels, Belgium. The Brazilian delegates met officials from the European Commission to present the first phase of the action and to negotiate the European support to the second phase, whose focus is the preparation of an executive project to implement the SRI in Pernambuco. “The meeting in Brussels was important to guide the course of this action. By the end of January, the Ministry of National Integration, in partnership with other institutions involved, intends to publish the initial budget estimate and draft the executive project, which is expected to happen between March 2016 and March 2017”, explained Amarildo Baesso.
European Mission to Pernambuco
In October, a European delegation went to Pernambuco, to attend an event on the Brazilian regional policy and learn about the territory selected for the implementation of the SRI. The foreign delegation was comprised of Manuel Laranja, international expert; John Edwards, from ITPS; Antônio Teixeira, from the Portuguese company Norte Zozo; and Nuno Araújo, from the Centro de Apoio Tecnológico à Indústria Metalomecânica (CATIM) [Technological Support Center for the Metalworking Industry]. The following Brazilian officials participated in the activities: Antônio Carlos Galvão, Director of the Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos (CGEE) [Center for Strategic Studies and Management]; Henrique Villa da Costa Ferreira, CGEE Advisor; Lúcia Carvalho Pinto de Melo, Secretary for Science, Technology and Innovation of the State of Pernambuco (SECTEC/PE); Ana Cristina Fernandes, SECTEC/PE Director for Planning, Articulation and Coordination; and Paulo Pitanga do Amparo, General Coordinator for Monitoring and Assessments of Regional Policies at the MI.
The goal of the Workshop "Innovation and Territorial Development", held in Recife, was to foster an exchange of technical information aimed at identifying sectors for the pilot project and the presentation of the territory that had been selected, so that the foreign expert could prepare an intervention proposal for the area. On that occasion, the participants identified the need to learn more about the problems faced by both territories, integrate actions, identify opportunities and qualify people.
Manuel Laranja stressed that the project has to face a challenge, which is connecting two sectors with different innovation requirement profiles. “In the case of the clothing industry, teaching and research institutions will become more relevant and will gain a central role in trend for growth and inclusive innovation which will allow for more people to enter the formal market and for the industry to invest in innovation, particularly, in more modern equipment. In the automotive segment, factories face the risk of being relocated to another place due to market conditions, or to count only on the suppliers of Park-1, which has already been installed. Therefore, it is necessary to form work groups to define in details what should be done from now on and to promote the professional formation in both sub-regions”, said the foreign expert.
The mission, which included European and Brazilian delegates, visited Porto Digital and the Centro de Estudos e Sistemas Avançados do Recife (CESAR) [Recife Center for Advanced Studies and Systems], in the capital of Pernambuco, and the state clothing complex in the Agreste region which comprises the municipalities of Santa Cruz do Capibaribe and Caruaru. The delegates also visited the Fiat-Chrysler plant in the city of Goiana. John Edwards said he was impressed with what is going on in the region. He added that the visit to CESAR showed the effectiveness of the innovation system. “Even small innovations may change the region”, he said, when recommending the adoption of massive education programs and measures to encourage endogenous development, as means to learn from other experiences.
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