Brics-workshop – first meeting in the project on learning,

1. Brics-workshop – first meeting in the project on learning, innovation and competence building systems in Brasil, Russia, India, China and South Africa RedeSist – Local innovation and productive systems approach: some methodological and analytical issues Marco Vargas Research Network of Local Productive and Innovative Systems - www.redesist.ie.ufrj.br Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rebild, February 12-15, 2006

2. Research Network on Local Productive and Innovative Systems - RedeSist • Up to 70 case studies in different regions of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. • Questionnaire surveys: sample of more than 2000 firms covering diverse sectors such as: aerospace, biotechnology, telecom, software, automobile, textiles-apparel, agro-industry, furniture, leather-footwear, ornamental stones, tourism and music. • Development of an empirical and analytical methodology for the study of local systems in diverse sectors.

3. LIPS approach: Methodological and Analytical Issues • Characterizing and setting the boundaries of LIPS: i) focus on network of economic, political and social agents performing related economic activities within particular territories; ii) focus on the linkages aimed at fostering processes of creation, use and diffusion of knowledge and innovation at local level. • Analytical framework: i) covers micro, meso and macro elements influencing the learning, innovation and competence building processes within local systems; ii) takes also into account the specificities in the institutional framework of local environment, which may either impel or hinder the intensification of learning and innovation processes among local system’s agents • Measuring performance: development of quantitative and qualitative indicators aimed at: i) explaining the dynamic of learning, innovation and cooperation processes at local level; ii) providing elements to analyse evolving trajectories; iii) allowing comparisons with other LIPS case studies a well as national and international innovation surveys

4. Main research questions • Q1: What are the origins of the researched local systems? What are the major inflection points that characterize their growth trajectory and what are the structural features in terms of delimitation, productive arrangements, coordination form and knowledge systems? • Q2: What are the factors which affect the learning, innovation and competence building processes within the local system, and in what extent such processes are related to local, national and international spheres? • Q3: How do coordination forms affect the competence building strategies adopted by local systems? • Q4: To what extent competitiveness and innovative strategies adopted by productive agents are sustainable (in socio-economic and environmental terms), and are based on specific competences and capabilities of the local system of innovation? • Q5: What are the effects of macroeconomic regime and of implicit and explicit policies on the productive and innovative capabilities of such systems?

5. Research question: objectives and forms of measurement

6. Research Reports: main highlights • Overview on national and international context (competitive patterns, technological regimes, etc) • Local system profile (’inflection points in growth trajectories, main agents in productive sector, support and coordination organizations, knowledge infra-structure, embeddedness and cooperative practices, performance and competitive strategies, public policies aimed at promotion) • Innovation and Production capabilities • Formal and informal learning mechanisms • Firms learning strategies • Interactive learning processes within the local system • Local system prospects (challenges and opportunities)

7. Empirical Research Design • Systematization of secondary data base of SINAL database (information system on local productive arrangements) • Collection of primary data at firm level: questionnaire survey comprising different segments of firms within the local productive chain (based on sample design, tabular plan) • Interviews with other key informants (industry associations, cooperatives, organizations in charge of teaching and research, financing and promotion, etc.)

8. Some common features about Local Innovative and Productive Systems in Brazil • Diversity: Remarkable inter-regional differences on innovative and competence building strategies within local productive systems belonging to the same sector • Deep impacts on competitive and innovative dynamic emerging from structural reforms in 1990s (deregulation, privatisation, etc); • Important constrains associated to macro-economic regime and major role of “implicit” industrial and technology policies • Important bottlenecks concerning financing schemes for SMEs; • Low tendency to develop interactive learning processes – either along the productive chain (user-producer) or with support organisations (technological and training infrastructure, industry associations, etc).

9. One example - clothing and apparel

10. Informality in Brasil – total and apparel industry (% 2003) Not registerd worker Not paid Registered worker Self-employed Employer Fonte: Pnad 2003 Apparel

11. Overview on selected clothing and apparel LIPS in Brazil: production structure

13. Overview on selected textile and apparel LIPS in Brazil • Common features • Most firms have reported the introduction of new or improved goods or services that were new to their firm but not necessarily new to their market. • Most firms have reported the introduction of new or improved processes that were new to their firm but not necessarily new to their sector. • But several important diferences • high diversity between the case studies, both in terms of the range of goods produced and also in terms of the markets target by each arrangement • considerable variation in innovation and cooperation rates between the different arrangements • most important sources of information, for learning vary significantly (some clients or customers, some suppliers of equipment, materials or components and trade fairs).

15. Some challenges • Now we are developing new methodological tools: i) to cope with learning, innovation and capacity building processes in the service sector (e.g. creative industries); • Improve evaluation (and measurement) of social capital in local systems • More comparative analysis between local systems belonging to the same sector: allows identifying specificities in learning, cooperation and innovation associated to localized organizational and institutional designs.