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The Department of Science and Technology Policy (DPCT) of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) (https://portal.ige.unicamp.br/en/node/553) hereby announces the opening of five post-doctoral fellowships in: (1) System Innovation; (2) Technology Upgrading, Catching-up; (3) Research and Innovation Policy Design, Implementation, Evaluation; (4) Ecosystems for Innovation and Entrepreneurship; (5) Big Data for Assessing Innovation Processes and Research and Innovation Policy. These post-doctoral fellowships are attached to the São Paulo Excellence Chair (SPEC) “System Innovation: Organizational Strategy, Research & Innovation Policy Governance” (http://www.ige.unicamp.br/spec) established at DPCT by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). This SPEC program has just been initiated and will run at UNICAMP for the next five years. The post-doctoral fellowships announced herein are full-time positions for up to two years each.

Research lines:

(1) System Innovation:

The new SPEC program will investigate important aspects of the socio-technical regime that attracts, nurtures, and promotes technological advancements and innovative applications with important implications for growth, development and sustainability. We will study the processes used by individual organizations and by societies to become more productive and more competitive through innovation, but also investigate how innovation can be more environmentally friendly and more socially inclusive.

This research appointment will concentrate on the study of “global industry governance” as it relates to technological advancement and innovation. A topic of special interest is the international fragmentation of production and the positioning of firms and countries across the activities of global value chains (GVCs) and the ensuing networks. Strategic business partnerships, of which GVCs are a specific manifestation, will also be an area of concentration.

The successful applicant will be expected to work on quantitative and qualitative methods using information from interviews, university and industry surveys, and commercially available databases. Prior training in the field of economics of technological change and innovation will be a plus. Training in other fields such as sociology, public policy, and business management as they relate to science, technology and innovation is also welcome. Ability to start and carry out projects independently, engage in theoretical modelling and/or econometric/statistical analysis, manipulate data, write for publication in well ranked international refereed journals, and participation in research proposals for extramural funding will be highly valued. The successful applicant will also expect to engage in the organization of one or two major international events of this SPEC program during a 2-year tenure at UNICAMP.

This position will be directed by Professor Bruno Fischer (UNICAMP, Brazil) and Professor Nicholas Vonortas (The George Washington University, USA; and UNICAMP, Brazil).

(2) Technology Upgrading, Catching-up (TR1):

This research line discusses the modern approaches to conceptualize the struggle of emerging economies to narrow/close the gap with the economies at the technology frontier and avoid “middle-income traps”. Such traps are often associated with “middle-technology” or “middle-innovation” traps. Work will concentrate on the “policy mix”, including both supply-side and demand-side policies, that countries may deploy for achieving such an objective. The modern literature on Industry 4.0 (Advanced Manufacturing) (I4.0) and Internet of Things (IoT), will be highly relevant. Familiarity with the literature on middle-income traps, technology upgrading and catching-up will be a major plus. The work will extend to manufacturing as well as to knowledge-intensive service sectors such as financial technologies (fintech) and creative industries.

The successful applicant will be expected to work on quantitative and qualitative methods using information from interviews, university and industry surveys, and commercially available databases. Prior training in the field of economics of technological change and innovation will be a plus. Training in other fields such as sociology, public policy, and business management as they relate to science, technology and innovation is also welcome. Ability to start and carry out projects independently, engage in theoretical modelling and/or econometric/statistical analysis, manipulate data, write for publication in well ranked international refereed journals, and participate in research proposals for extramural funding will be highly valued. The successful applicant will also expect to engage in the organization of one or two major international events of this SPEC program during a 2-year tenure at UNICAMP.

This position will be directed by Professor André Furtado (UNICAMP, Brazil) and Professor Nicholas Vonortas (The George Washington University, USA; and UNICAMP, Brazil).

(3) Research and Innovation Policy Design, Implementation, Evaluation (TR2):

This research line deals with the design and implementation of effective evidence-based R&I policies. The design (strategic planning) and implementation (resource allocation) of R&I policy critically depend on the lessons from ex-post impact assessment and the blending of those results with forward-looking prioritization exercises. Here we work on three sub-fields:

• R&I investment prioritization: Processes that systematically look at the long-term future of science and technology with the purpose of identifying areas of strategic research and emergence of new technologies; Investment strategy for complicated R&I portfolios in environments of intense market and technological uncertainty.
• Complete evaluation cycle for R&I: The implementation of a complete evaluation cycle for R&I policies and programs, that is, the seamless use of complementary processes linking ex ante evaluation with monitoring and with impact (ex post) evaluation processes.
• “Wicked” application: mission-oriented R&I policies: The application of all of the above (evaluation methods) in what can be described as a “wicked” evaluation problem, namely broad mission-oriented R&I policies with strong system innovation characteristics.

The successful applicant will conduct research on the development and application of concepts and methods of impact evaluation of programs and policies related to science, technology and innovation. Methodologies may focus both on ex-post and on ex-ante approaches with a perspective of building complete cycle evaluations linking ex-ante and ex-post under systematic evaluation processes. The researcher is expected to work on qualitative and quantitative methods applying counterfactuals of different natures. Three axes can be developed individually or in combinations: a) evaluations based on secondary data, both on structured and non-structured database, including Big Data and text analytics; b) evaluations based on primary data directly and indirectly collected from stakeholders, either through web questionnaires or direct interviews; and c) evaluations based on the combination of previous axes. Basic skills in statistics will be highly desirable.

This position will be directed by Professor Sergio Salles-Filho (UNICAMP, Brazil) and Professor Nicholas Vonortas (The George Washington University, USA; and UNICAMP, Brazil).

(4) Ecosystems for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TR3):

This research line deals with the fact that knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) is unevenly distributed in geographical space, largely attributed to heterogeneous local endowments in terms of knowledge, institutions, resources and demand. Here we work on several sub-fields:

• Determinants of KIE success: the factors responsible for KIE success which are closely related to the systemic components of the local entrepreneurial ecosystems in which young small companies are embedded.
• Ecosystems of innovation and entrepreneurship: this sub-field will deal with the modern literature of innovation ecosystems, clusters, smart specialization, and regional development.
• Academic entrepreneurship: the “third mission” of the universities specifically as it relates to the generation of new knowledge-intensive ventures which often takes place within ecosystems where universities are core players. Emerging economies are starting to zero in on the possibilities.
• Corporate entrepreneurship: the development of new business by established firms in the effort to renew themselves through new combinations of resources. Such activity includes both corporate venturing and strategic entrepreneurship.

The successful applicant will be expected to work on quantitative and qualitative methods using information from interviews, university and industry surveys, and commercially available databases. Prior training in the fields of economics of technological change and innovation and economic geography will be a plus. Training in other fields such as sociology, public policy, and business management as they relate to science, technology and innovation is also welcome. Ability to start and carry out projects independently, engage in theoretical modelling and/or econometric/statistical analysis, manipulate data, write for publication in well ranked international refereed journals, and participate in research proposals for extramural funding will be highly valued. The successful applicant will also expect to engage in the organization of one or two major international events of this SPEC program during a 2-year tenure at UNICAMP.

This position will be directed by Professor Sergio Queiroz (UNICAMP, Brazil), Professor Ron Boschma (Utrecht University, NL) and Professor Nicholas Vonortas (The George Washington University, USA; and UNICAMP, Brazil).

(5) Big Data for Assessing Innovation Processes and Research and Innovation Policy (TR4):

In this research line we try to address a most pertinent issue nowadays: whether and how the availability of large, diverse datasets and of new advanced ways of analyzing them affect research and innovation policy and strategy decision-making and, in turn, the organization and development of “Systems Innovation”. Here we work on two axes:

• Infrastructural support to the four research lines: This, for instance, can translate into supporting applications of Technology Upgrading and Catching-up such as the analysis of evolution of production, international trade, economic specialization and growth (TR1); supporting Research and Innovation Policy Design, Implementation, Evaluation such as the analysis of large scientific publication and patent application data and provide advanced visualization techniques (TR2); and supporting Ecosystems for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, such as the analysis of regional industrial configurations and innovation ecosystems (TR3).
• Analytical tools for large databases: New analytical methods suitable to research and innovation policy and strategy analysis by social scientists; investigation of the overlap between traditional large data such as bibliometrics with alternative indicators (altmetrics).

The successful applicant will be well versed in the manipulation of large datasets and be willing to work side by side with social scientists like those described above on specific questions of interest in the broad field of science, technology, innovation policy and strategy. Prior training in computer science, mathematics, statistics, will be a plus. Training in other fields such as natural sciences and engineering is also welcome. Ability to start and carry out projects independently, engage in extensive data modelling and/or econometric/statistical analysis, write for publication in well ranked international refereed journals, and participate in research proposals for extramural funding will be highly valued. The successful applicant will also expect to engage in the organization of one or two major international events of this SPEC program during a 2-year tenure at UNICAMP.

This position will be directed by Professor Rodrigo Costas (University of Leiden, NL), Luciano Digiampietri (USP, Brazil) and Professor Nicholas Vonortas (The George Washington University, USA; and UNICAMP, Brazil).

Duties:

Duties include carrying out research on grants/contracts, theory development, data collection and analysis around the world, authoring papers and reports, publishing in the highly ranked peer-reviewed international academic journals, participating in seminars and work groups, and collaborating on research grant/contract applications. They also include assistance in organizing international events (workshops, conferences).

Importantly, the post-doctoral researcher will serve as one of the in-house administrators of the SPEC program at DPCT. This program deals with various aspects of technology and innovation policy and includes at its core the faculty members mentioned above.

Desirable Requirements:

Successful applicants will have completed a doctoral degree during the past five years. Candidates must have less than five years’ experience post-doctorate, a demonstrated record of individual initiative in research, and strong analytical skills. Preference will be given to applicants whose training, skills and research interest’s best align with those of mentioned faculty members.

Remuneration:

The remuneration package is set in accordance with FAPESP’s standards (http://www.fapesp.br/en/5427) and includes benefits and relocation expenditures.

The fellowship includes the following components (R$ is the Brazilian Real):

1. Stipend: R$ 88,476.00 per year
2. Additional funds for research-related expenditures such as travel for conferences (Reserva Tecnica): R$ 13,271.00 per year (15% of the stipend)
3. Relocation to the State of São Paulo: R$ 7,173.00 plus the cost of air travel.

The exchange rates are variable. Using the purchasing power parity rate of the World Bank (most recent year 2018) the annual value of the fellowship in Brazil would be PPP USD 53,814.00.

Contact:

Interested parties are encouraged to communicate with the project and participating faculty and scientists for more information. They can reach Professor Vonortas by email (vonortas@gwu.edu) or telephone at +1-202-378-6230. Apply electronically through the project’s website.

Application:

Applications must include a cover letter, annotated curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, three academic reference letters, and a concise description of proposed research under the fellowship.

Location:

It is expected that post-doctoral researchers are located in the Department of Science and Technology Policy of UNICAMP (main campus). They can – are encouraged to – participate in international conferences and workshops. For short time periods they could request to relocate to other locations in Brazil or abroad due to particular research needs. The requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Additional Information:

DPCT is located on the main campus of UNICAMP in the city of Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Campinas is about 100 kilometres northwest of the city of São Paulo. The working language of the postdoctoral position is English. Knowledge of at least basic Portuguese is desirable but not required.

Due to the extraordinary global situation, we have decided to extend the application deadline of the five (5) pre-announced post-doctoral fellowships by two more months. The new deadline for complete applications will be May 31, 2020.

Maria Fernanda Ziegler | Agência FAPESP – O termo armadilha da renda média foi cunhado na literatura econômica nos anos 2000 para designar aqueles países que, após superarem a renda baixa, apresentavam um crescimento econômico insuficiente para dar o próximo salto. Entre os dilemas para cair nessa armadilha estariam questões relacionadas à elevação do nível de educação e o seu consequente aumento de produtividade.

De acordo com o Banco Mundial, entre os países que superaram a renda baixa nas últimas décadas, apenas Japão, Coreia do Sul, Cingapura, Israel, Ilhas Maurício, Taiwan e Hong Kong (região administrativa da China) contornaram a armadilha, mas, atualmente, a continuidade desse crescimento econômico está relacionada com a inovação.

“Prefiro usar o termo midle inovation trap [‘armadilha da inovação média’] no lugar de middle income trap [‘armadilha da renda média’]. A segunda é apenas o resultado da primeira”, disse Jeong-Dong Lee, diretor do Programa de Gestão da Tecnologia, Economia e Política na Universidade Nacional de Seul, na Coreia do Sul, durante a conferência internacional Innovation Systems, Strategies and Policy (InSySPo), realizada na Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) nos dias 6 e 7 de junho.

O evento reuniu pesquisadores do Brasil, Américas, Europa e Ásia e foi coordenado por Nicholas Vonortas, professor de Economia e Assuntos Internacionais da George Washington University, no âmbito do projeto “Sistemas de inovação, estratégias e políticas”, conduzido na Unicamp com apoio da FAPESP por meio da modalidade São Paulo Excellence Chair (SPEC).

Jeong-Dong defendeu em sua apresentação a teoria dos saltos e armadilhas, em que até mesmo países que contornaram a armadilha da renda média correm o risco de estagnar e sofrer limitações se não desenvolverem capacidade de inovação que vá além do bom desempenho e da boa performance operacional.

Para outro participante do evento, Otaviano Canuto, diretor executivo do Banco Mundial, o problema agora é outro.

“Esses países têm apresentado uma capacidade fantástica de adaptar processos produtivos e de serem criativos com produtividade e altíssimo nível de incorporação de conhecimento na produção. Porém, a capacidade de criar o novo produto, de criar novas indústrias, eles não têm”, disse o autor do livro Brasil e Coreia do Sul: os (des)caminhos da industrialização tardia.

Para Vonortas, é difícil comparar os dois países – por estarem em estágios econômicos distintos e serem de tamanhos muito diferentes –, mas o Brasil pode tirar lições importantes do que está ocorrendo com a Coreia do Sul.

“Tendemos a imaginar que eles resolveram o problema, pois superaram etapas importantes. Porém, eles olham para o outro lado do mar e ficam assustados em ver que correm o risco de ficar mais parecidos com o Japão, que está no mesmo patamar há 20 anos e parece não sair do lugar”, disse.

Para Vonortas, no Brasil a inovação está concentrada em algumas regiões. “Existem poucos lugares que subiram degraus, como o Estado de São Paulo. Mas ainda assim o Brasil está em um período interessante. Há uma economia dupla com boas empresas e boas universidades trabalhando juntas. E uma nova onda de pequenas empresas nascendo a partir das universidades”, disse. Segundo ele, é preciso ampliar a conexão entre as regiões onde a inovação está concentrada com o resto do país.

Fluxos transnacionais

Um estudo realizado por Fernando Albuquerque, pesquisador do Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), mapeou o crescimento das colaborações em patentes e artigos científicos.

O trabalho mostrou que o Brasil manteve colaboração científica com 171 nações no ano de 2015. A produção de artigos escritos em colaboração com autores de outros países mais do que dobrou, passando de 10% do total em 2000 para 21% em 2015.

“Isso configura um ativo para o Brasil. Existem evidências de um sistema internacional inovador em rede, que supera os limites de um país. Este novo contexto global significa desafios e oportunidades para economias emergentes. Para superar a armadilha da renda média, a entrada em novos setores pode ser o processo-chave, o que depende de novas empresas e da diversificação de empresas existentes”, disse Albuquerque.

Franco Malerba, professor de Economia Aplicada na Universidade Bocconi, em Milão (Itália), destacou que não existe uma única receita para se criar um ecossistema de alto impacto em inovação.

“Catch up [‘alavancagem econômica’] é um deles, e não significa clonagem. É um processo dinâmico e que invariavelmente diverge daqueles usados por países que serviram como benchmarks. Cada economia emergente fez de modo diferente porque os países seguem diferentes trajetórias de avanços tecnológicos e de processos” disse.

Outra variável importante para a diversificação é identificar os pontos fortes de cada região e, em vez fortalecê-los ainda mais, buscar trabalhar outras áreas.

Para Ron Boschma, professor de Economia Regional nas universidades de Utrecht (Países Baixos) e Stavanger (Noruega), antes de desenhar qualquer modelo é preciso identificar os pontos fortes de cada economia para diversificá-la espacialmente por meio de parcerias.

Em um estudo recente realizado na Suécia, Boschma identificou que a ascensão e a queda de indústrias estão fortemente ligadas à relação da indústria no nível regional.

“Uma boa forma de entender os movimentos das regiões está nas conexões dos movimentos de capacidades que a região tem e como as possibilidades de diversificação dependem muito do aprendizado anterior”, disse.

Fonte: Agência FAPESP (http://agencia.fapesp.br/inovacao_deve_ser_continua_afirmam_especialistas/27978/)

The InSySPo team would like to use the words of Orsenigo’s great friend, Franco Malerba, as a tribute for him:

“It is with infinite and deep sorrow that we have to announce that our friend, colleague and brother Gigi Orsenigo passed away. We will miss him incredibly. He will always be irreplaceable.” – Franco Malerba, May 4, 2018

Find more information at the University of Sussex website.

THE ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEMS IN THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO

Principal Investigator (PI)
Bruno Brandão Fischer, Assistant Professor I, School of Applied Sciences/University of Campinas (FCA/UNICAMP) – bruno.fischer@fca.unicamp.br

Associate Investigators
Cristiano Morini, Assistant Professor II, School of Applied Sciences/University of Campinas (FCA/UNICAMP)
Edmundo Inácio Júnior, Assistant Professor I, School of Applied Sciences/University of Campinas (FCA/UNICAMP)
Paola Rücker Schaeffer, PhD Candidate, Department of Science and Technology Policy/University of Campinas (DPCT/UNICAMP)

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Fernanda Rinaldi – School of Applied Sciences/Unicamp

This research project will be hosted in the School of Applied Sciences (Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas), University of Campinas (Universidade Estadual de Campinas – UNICAMP).

Abstract
This is a proposal to undertake world-class research in the field of geography of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship with particular focus on the assessment of entrepreneurial ecosystems’ evolutionary dynamics in the State of São Paulo. The main goal of this research is oriented towards identifying multi-dimensional determinants of entrepreneurial ecosystems and their respective socioeconomic impacts within local economic systems. The key research question behind these propositions concerns the knowledge gap in terms of innovation-based entrepreneurship in developing countries. Identifying the influential vectors that intervene in agglomeration/dispersion dynamics in São Paulo seems to pose substantial contributions for academia and public policy decision makers alike. In order to do so, we foresee the formulation and application of econometric models, structural equations and qualitative case studies (of particular locations of interest). Besides its scientific goals, this project aims at fostering the research environment on entrepreneurship and innovation at the School of Applied Sciences (Unicamp) from the perspective of business economics. The formation of international research networks is included as a byproduct of this proposal.

The INCOBRA consortium is inviting members of the scientific research and applied sciences community as well as industry representatives to take part in our Open Consultation. Valued contributions will help to shape the agenda of the project as we continue to foster cooperative Research and Innovation between Brazil and the European Union. INCOBRA would like the community to tell them how together we can advance R & I efforts across important fields and topics.

The Open Consultation hopes to focus our efforts, as well as provide the scientific community with the opportunity to suggest specific fields, topics, or research that could benefit both Brazil and the EU.
Please take a moment to fill out the short online form.

About INCOBRA
INCOBRA is a three-year Horizon 2020-funded project seeking to increase Research and Innovation (R&I) cooperation activities between Brazil and the European Union by facilitating collaboration and tackling challenges through key activities that will support policy dialogue, promote coherence and coordination on funding schemes, raise awareness and assist bilateral cooperation networks.

Insyspo is also partner of the project. Futher information here.