O Sistema Regional de Inovação do Estado de Minas Gerais: uma análise a partir de suas organizações e interações

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the structure and the functionality of the Regional Innovation System of Minas Gerais (RIS/MG) from the perspective of its organizations of support to the innovations of companies. For this, information was surveyed and it enabled us to analyze the interactions and information flows established between the main organizations that compose the RIS/MG, using primary and secondary data on innovation in Minas Gerais. Secondary data were gathered from previous studies and data from the Technological Innovation Survey conducted by IBGE (PINTEC, 1998-2011). Primary data were gathered through interviews with 76 companies and 14 organizations supporting innovation in the state of Minas Gerais. The RIS/MG brings together important organizations such as eleven federal universities and FAPEMIG, whose budget invested in Science, Technology and Innovation (S, T&I) has increased considerably in recent years. The analyzes show that companies have not been able to structure favorable internal environment for innovation and there is a strong indicator of disarray between the structure and the strategy for innovation. The high costs of innovation and the lack of appropriate funding sources are the chief needs of the companies which have not been met by RIS/MG, according to the companies interviewed. Regarding the functionality of RIS/MG, there is a gap between the Knowledge application and exploitation subsystem (companies) and the Knowledge generation and diffusion subsystem (other organizations), making it difficult to spread information between the two subsystems, which directly impacts its functionality. The data also show that one of the main weaknesses of RIS/MG relates to the difficulty to access information and lack of awareness of opportunities by the companies. The matrix analysis demonstrates that organizations from RIS/MG are being scantly accessed by some companies, with an overall average of 20% of enterprises using the products or services offered by the system. The opinion of the organizations themselves about the level of coordination between them shows a very large gap between local agents. For 8 of the 14 organizations interviewed, the level of coordination between them is nonexistent, minimal or very low. Finally, the data highlight the need expressed by the vast majority of the organizations from Minas Gerais to seek greater alignment and integration among themselves, so as to build a policy or clear innovation strategy for the state.