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/insyspo) 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.


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.


Application:

Applications must include a (1) cover letter, (2) annotated curriculum vitae, (3) statement of research interests, (4) three academic reference letters, and (5) 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.


Key dates:

  • Round of applications: open from March 15th till April 30th, 2021.