A survey carried out by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) with 196 companies with more than 50 employees shows that only 10% of them used financing lines from financial institutions or public bodies to obtain resources for the area of research and development (R&D) in 2020. 
According to the survey released today (9), 89% of the companies interviewed used their own resources for the sector; 3% said they obtained funding from private financial institutions. The survey has a margin of error of 5.9% to 7.9% and was carried out from October 4, 2021 to February 4, 2022.
The main public program to support the R&D area used by companies was the Lei do Bem, cited by 41% of those benefiting from public funding. According to the president of the CNI, Robson Braga de Andrade, the results regarding the sources of financing confirm a reality that has been observed for years in Brazil: the country does not prioritize the area of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) and business innovation is carried out with low public support.
“We are against developed countries, which recognize the role of the State in fostering innovation, science and technology. The fruits of a more open national environment for innovation are reaped by society itself, with an increase in people’s quality of life, a reduction in the cost of technology, and the creation of better jobs. Therefore, Brazil urgently needs a long-term innovation strategy”, highlighted Andrade.
According to the CNI, in the most recent national survey, Brazil invested 1.21% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in R&D in 2019, including public and private resources, against 1.17% in the previous year. By way of comparison, Chinese investment in R&D, in relation to GDP, was 2.23% in 2019.
The survey reveals that most of the companies consulted see the importance of investing in R&D and allocate resources to innovative products and processes: 65% of them invested in the area in 2020. On average, the expenditure was 2% of net sales revenue, and investment in R&D occurred mainly in personnel (56.9%).
The CNI survey also shows that just over half of the companies (51.1%) practice open innovation, that is, they form partnerships with other companies, institutions, universities or startups to develop research and development processes.
Asked about the main reasons for not investing in R&D, the interviewees who did not carry out activity in the area mentioned very high implementation costs (22%) and the existence of other strategies relevant to competitiveness (22%), followed by a lack of qualified personnel in the company (20%), lack of adequate funding lines (20%) and lack of knowledge about project partners (19%).
The Ministry of Science and Technology was contacted, but until the closing of this matter it had not responded.
