HUMAN RESOURCES AND NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION

1. HUMAN RESOURCES AND NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION PROF. LÉA VELHO DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY UNIVERSITY OF CAMPINAS, BRAZIL

2. THE QUESTIONS • Why is it important to treat human resources as an integral component of national innovation policy? • How to create and maintain a critical mass of researchers able to consistently and systematically contribute to and absorb the knowledge base relevant to the solution of national current and future problems?

3. About: Highly Educated Human Resources (MSc; PhD) and Innovation

4. Why Human Resources as Component of National Innovation Policy? “The responsibility for the creation of scientific knowledge – and for most of its application – rests on that small body of men and women who understand the fundamental laws of nature and are skilled in the techniques of scientific research” Vannevar Bush, 1945

5. Why Human Resources as Component of National Innovation Policy? • Because knowledge is not easily transferable – tacit component embodied (face to face) • “the output of basic research may have attributes of a public good, but is not a free good: the capacity to understand and use the results of basic research performed elsewhere requires a considerable local investment in institutions, skills, equipment and networks” (Callon, 1994) • “world pool of knowledge” is a figure of rhetoric

6. Why Human Resources as Component of National Innovation Policy? • Knowledge has a strong National feature: the links between research and application depend negatively on distance, and positively on common nationality (linguistic aspects) • Many of the benefits of nationally funded basic research stay at home, many of the research training benefits are likely to remain within national boundaries

7. Why Human Resources as Component of National Innovation Policy? • Trained scientists and engineers are the most important benefit of academic research, since such training provides skills beyond those needed for the post-graduate research • Highly educated human resources are an attraction to foreign firms interested in investing in a foreign country

8. Why Human Resources as Component of National Innovation Policy? • Technologically dynamic firms depend heavily on the close proximity of publicly funded academic research and related training • It is the demands of the dynamic firms that stimulate the proximate development of the academic science base and related research training schemes

9. SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE • knowledge is at the heart of innovation • qualified researchers are necessary to produce a broad base of knowledge relevant to the solution of current and future problems • there is a clear need to create and maintain research training schemes nationally and as a component of national innovation policy

10. HOW? Conventional Recipe • devote resources to help more young people go into higher education • create and maintain quality universities and graduate programmes • foster a conducive research environment: competitive grants and a reward structure based on scientific merit and controlled peer review • Train researchers in PG programmes shaped by, and for the primary purpose of reproducing the academic profession • task of PG: bring students to the research frontier of a particular specialty (4 years, master/apprentice)

11. Has the RECIPE worked? • Yes, although the theory supporting it looks shaky in light of evidence and experience (linear model X more complex and interactive models) the case has held up well in practice • Where? US and EU and NICs • Why? National technology system created demands on and resources for the national science system and corresponding training scheme

12. Has the RECIPE worked in Brazil ? • ???? • if this means an increasing number of researchers, YES • If this means the growth of opportunities for graduates to apply their acquired capabilities in other than the academic sector, NO • Why? • Links with the productive sector are weak – relatively strong science is not a sufficient condition for the growth of strong technology • The benefits of a critical mass of researchers are not automatic - under specific conditions

13. I - Sustainable PG education system • Public universities – FREE • Considerable expansion since 70’s (800 programmes) – 2006: over 2000 programmes, about 118.000 students; 35.000 MSc and 10.000 PhD degrees • Enough? Sufficient? Depends... • OECD: 1 PhD/5.000 pop.; Brazil: 1 PhD/19.000 • Growth rate financially unsustainable – government funds and scholarships (90’s: 1/3 students – 2005: 1/6 students)

14. II – Science Fields X National Problems • “direction of scientific research is influenced by the nature of national social and technological problems” (Pavitt, 1998). • Is it so in Brazil? • Dynamic processes between scientific and technological development have not been established in Brazil – exception: agriculture (history does play a role) • Growth and direction of PG programmes subject to processes and criteria internal to scientific fields and specialties: general knowledge base, open merit system, no priority among fields

16. III - QUALITY • PG education: longstanding and functioning evaluation system for resource allocation, but: • Strongly based on publication in international journals – no reward for alternative activities • Grantees: • Academic researchers: happy and satisfied • Other sectors: feel they are educated and trained too narrowly; lack key professional skills: working in teams, organizational, managerial • (“it takes 3 to 5 years for a PhD to get integrated to the activities of the firm”, ESF Policy Brief, July 2002)

17. IV – Sector of Professional Activity • Masters have a more diversified destiny • PhDs remain mostly at universities • Firms very, very rarely hire PhDs: in 2004, only about 3.000 PhDs were working in private enterprises (PNAD) • Firms in general do not carry out activities that demand PhDs (development model, macroeconomic policies, lack of resources and incentives, etc) • Universities are, in general, ranked as very little important as external innovation sources for the innovative Brazilian enterprises (PNAD + PINTEC)

19. SUMMARY • Expanding PG system – financial and physical sustainability under threat • Focus on science: general knowledge base, open merit system, no priority among fields • Quality based on publication, training too narrow for jobs outside academe • Job destination: universities (PhDs); private enterprises are NOT absorbing post-graduates

20. HAS THE RECIPE WORKED IN BRAZIL? • No, we should try a new recipe • No, we should change the cook • Yes, but it we should reduce the salt • Yes, just add more sugar • Yes, delicious! • Well, perhaps we should understand better what is going on...Could this be a collective investigation in BRICS?