Brazilian scientific research faces a scenario of budget constraints, bureaucracy, and discontinuity of public policies. Although the country maintains a formal funding structure, the reduction of resources and the absence of a consistent state policy have directly impacted national scientific production.
In an interview, Professor Dr. Sérgio Barra, a researcher and university professor, explained that science funding in Brazil occurs mainly through federal agencies such as CNPq, CAPES, and FINEP, in addition to state foundations and partnerships with the private sector.
According to him, the main source of funding for these agencies is the FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development). However, the amounts allocated to the fund have been decreasing over the last decade.
“If I take ten years as a reference, the resource went from R$ 22.5 billion to something around R$ 17.6 billion. And there was also inflation during that period,” says the professor. For him, the loss is not only nominal, but also in purchasing power: “What I could buy with that amount ten years ago, I can’t buy today.”
Investment below the international average
Brazil invests about 1.2% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in science and technology. In comparison, OECD member countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, invest an average of 2.5% of their GDP in this area.
For the interviewee, this difference helps explain Brazil’s position in international rankings. The country occupies approximately the 15th position worldwide in the number of published articles but still shows low participation in high-impact research.
“Brazil publishes about 73,000 articles per year. But when you look at really cited, impactful articles, the participation is small,” he explains.
He points out that countries like China have strategically increased investments in recent decades, becoming protagonists in global scientific production.
Bureaucracy and delays in releasing funds
In addition to budget cuts, another problem pointed out by the professor is the delay in releasing approved funds. “You submit the project, it gets approved, but the money can take months or even years to arrive. When it does arrive, the amount is no longer enough to buy what was planned,” reports the professor.
He compares the situation with someone planning to buy a fully equipped car, but after the delay, can only afford a basic version. “You remove the airbag; you remove the disc brakes. It’s a headache.”
This lag directly impacts the competitiveness of Brazilian researchers in relation to international centers.
Lack of State Policy
For Professor Sérgio Barra, the central problem of Brazilian science lies not only in the number of resources available, but in the absence of continuity in public policies. “Brazil doesn’t have a long-term state policy. Instead, it has government policies that change with each administration,” he says.
According to him, a stable national policy would guarantee medium and long-term planning, protecting investments in education, science, and innovation regardless of administrative changes. Today, however, the area operates under cycles of expansion and contraction. Projects are created, reformulated, or interrupted according to the political and economic scenario, which compromises research that requires years of development.
In recent years, bodies such as CNPq and CAPES have faced budget cuts, affected scholarships, and called for proposals. Although the FNDCT has undergone changes to reduce resource blockages, budget execution is still impacted by political decisions and fiscal adjustments.
For Dr. Barra, this instability generates insecurity among researchers and students. “Science doesn’t work on improvisation. It needs predictability,” he points out. The lack of guaranteed continuous funding also hinders the retention of talent and encourages young scientists to leave for abroad.
Experts point out that countries like South Korea and Germany treat science and technology as a permanent national strategy, with long-term goals that do not change with each new administration. In these cases, investment in innovation is understood as the basis for economic competitiveness.
In Brazil, the absence of this stability compromises not only scientific production, but also the country’s ability to transform knowledge into development. Without a consolidated state policy, science remains subject to fluctuations that directly impact its continuity and its results.
Education as the Basis for Scientific Production
The professor emphasizes that strengthening research necessarily involves quality basic and higher education. “Before doubling research resources, it is necessary to prepare generations to use these resources well,” he argues.
He highlights that solid training, teacher appreciation, and integration between universities and the productive sector are fundamental to creating a virtuous cycle of innovation.
The role of education in developing scientific and innovative capabilities is widely documented by experts and international organizations. Studies indicate that investments in basic and higher education not only improve the quality of teaching but also promote innovation and economic development by preparing future researchers and qualified professionals.
Reports and debates on science and education in Brazil highlight the need for integration between these two fields to boost the country’s progress, including calls for proposals and programs that encourage scholarships and projects from the earliest school levels to postgraduate studies, to create a solid scientific culture.
Cultural Challenges and Approaching Industry
Another obstacle pointed out is the low level of interaction between universities and the industrial sector. Although Brazil has public universities responsible for a large part of the national scientific production, the transformation of this knowledge into market innovation still occurs in a limited way.
“The engineer is trained at the university and then goes to the industry. Why doesn’t he come back to form a partnership?” asks Professor Dr. Sérgio Barra. For him, there is a cultural distance between the two environments. While the university prioritizes scientific publication and academic training, the industry seeks quick solutions, cost reduction, and increased competitiveness.
This mismatch hinders the creation of joint applied research projects, technology transfer, and patent development. Although there are legal mechanisms to encourage this cooperation, such as the Innovation Law and the Technological Innovation Centers (NITs) in universities, there are still bureaucratic barriers and institutional resistance that delay partnerships.
Barra compares the situation to the “Tostines effect,” a reference to an old commercial, in which one side waits for the initiative of the other. “Industry says that universities are distant. The university says that industry isn’t reaching out. And nobody really gets close,” he summarizes.
Experts point out that strengthening this connection is essential for scientific research to cease being just academic production and transform into innovation, generation of proprietary technology, and economic development.
Scientific Production and National Development
Despite the difficulties, Brazil maintains a relevant position in global scientific production. However, experts warn that the lack of budget replenishment could compromise this performance in the coming years.
“The country will only move forward if it invests in education, research, and innovation. It’s a virtuous cycle that needs to be done,” concludes Dr. Sérgio Barra.
The lack of funding affects not only laboratories and researchers, but also economic development, the generation of its own technology, and Brazil’s ability to compete internationally. The debate about science, therefore, goes beyond the academic environment and becomes a strategic issue for the country’s future.
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The article above was edited by Julia Galoro.
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