Interview
Fapesp's scientific director talks about the four decades of the funding agency, which has become an international reference
Unanimity at 40
Luiz Sugimoto
Fapesp (São Paulo State Research Support Foundation) completes 40 years of existence as an exemplary funding agency. Physicist José Fernando Perez, scientific director, explains the reason for this unanimity among the scientific community and society, recalls the great programs that were financed and uses a metaphor – of the bazaar and the cathedral – to summarize the spirit that guides the institution.
Journal of Unicamp – At 40 years old, Fapesp is unanimous within the scientific world and outside it as an efficient, lean and creative institution. What factors led to this degree of prestige?
Fernando Perez – The way Fapesp was conceived is largely responsible for this trajectory of recognized success. First, because it is a development agency with a budget allocation that is in principle insensitive to fluctuations and political changes. The idea of linking this allocation to the State's tax revenue was very innovative. This allocation began with 0,5% in 1962 and, in the constitutional reform of 89, went to 1%, showing that at that time the institution already gained enormous prestige, not only within the academic community, but within society – in its instances. government and the Legislative Assembly, which approved the increase. It was very bold, just as the boldness of wanting to maintain an autonomous institution is very great. This is because these resources are exclusively managed by the foundation.
P – Drawing a parallel with public universities in São Paulo, this autonomy is a much earlier victory.
A – Quite earlier. And, within this concept of autonomy, the difference between State and government must be clearly distinguished. Fapesp's highest body is the Superior Council, with 12 members, all chosen in one way or another by the State governor. It turns out that they all have six-year terms, longer than the governor's own. As a result, there is a dilution of the strength that a government, within its mandate, can exert on the foundation. The board positions themselves are mandated. I'm saying this, but Fapesp, obviously, is an organ of the State apparatus and depends on permanent recognition by government bodies – the Executive and Legislative – and must maintain an equally permanent commitment to society to maintain this concept. This occurs here and in other states that have created foundations.
Q – Other States are creating it, but wasn’t it a late thing?
A – It is a process that started later in these states. See that Fapesp was conceived in the 1947 Constitution, but only actually implemented in 1962. Fifteen long years in the process of maturing not only the idea, but also political maturation, until the decision of a government that really wanted this model.
Q – Who was the governor?
R – Carvalho Pinto. And the law that created Fapesp is full of pearls. It determines, for example, that no more than 5% of the budget is spent on operating expenses, which makes this institution very lean. We do not have scientists hired permanently. Positions with scientists are occasionally occupied by directors. All the rest of the staff is highly qualified, but supportive, with the function of essentially running the system, because everything important happens outside: a researcher who orders the project, another researcher who analyzes the project.
Q – How is this assessment carried out by researchers?
A – A development agency needs to be judged, among other parameters, by the quality and credibility of its evaluation process. And the way that Fapesp adopts in this process is peer analysis. We have, for each major area of knowledge, an evaluation coordination team, which chooses the advisor who will give the opinion. There are more than 70 researchers from various institutions who come here weekly, for symbolic remuneration (at most we pay the ticket). So, there is a strong presence of the community, which permeates the institution, helping it to be alive, in tune with needs and attentive to challenges and opportunities. It's like driving a car. You adjust the direction. I say affirmatively: absolutely all the programs that Fapesp has launched have the brand, the clear fingerprint of the community's presence.
Q – Could you list the programs with the greatest impact over these 40 years?
A – Let’s first look at the first 30 years. I could talk about other programs, but I would highlight two that are especially important: the Internet in Brazil and Bioq/Fapesp. The foundation took the lead in implementing the Internet, responding to the desire of physicists, who wanted to have a connection with Fermilab (USA), and thanks to the visionary guidance of Professor Oscar Sala, then president of the Council. Bioq is a project that implemented biochemistry in the State of São Paulo. This biochemistry that we have today is providing other, bolder initiatives. Now, in the last ten years, Fapesp has taken an even more proactive stance, because there has begun to be an explosion of competence in our system. The first major initiative was the creation of thematic projects. We began to encourage multidisciplinary research, bolder and longer-lasting projects, larger budgets and larger teams. This initiative was the beginning of a journey that unfolded over the years.
P – Continuing on this path...
A – Then there was a series of initiatives that reflect a concern with the issue of knowledge transfer. This is the case of the Partnership Program for Technological Innovation (Pite), strictly focused on research projects to result in innovation. Developed within the university, they brought a true Columbus egg: they needed to correspond to the real interest of the business partner in appropriating the result; we didn't want to finance technological innovation that would remain on the shelf. It was a simple mechanism: matching research supply with research demand. If the company has a lot of interest, it must share the risks, that is, co-finance its interest.
Q – You imply that there were obstacles...
A – The interesting thing is that, when we launch this type of idea, we see resistance, many think that Brazil is not yet prepared. It is a very frequent marker throughout the history of Fapesp, of thinking that we would not be mature. It takes time to learn, as there are many actors involved: universities, companies and Fapesp itself. Daring to make mistakes, this is important: a development agency in a country like Brazil cannot be obsessively focused on its managerial perfection. You have to learn to pilot in flight. This program created a culture, a virtuous process, where the university enriches itself in the process. There is no intention of transforming the university into a laboratory that the company must maintain.
Q– Is this a concern in academia regarding Pipe (Innovative Research in Small Businesses)?
A – Exactly. All of us researchers have always been aware of this: there is a lack of research in the company. I think Pipe has an important medium and long-term impact, because it aims to finance technological innovation in small companies, with commercial value. It is the first time in the history of this country that a research funding agency has invested in a project within the company: an absolutely bold thing, even a question of ideology. Look at the United States, where all agencies with a budget exceeding US$100 million, federal agencies, are required, by law, to invest at least 2,5% of their budget in innovation projects in small businesses. Now, the best way is precisely to open this space for young people graduating from postgraduate or undergraduate studies, who believe that it is possible to have business success with a strategy of incorporating knowledge into a product. North Americans have been moving around US$2 billion a year into these projects.
P – The concern is that this program or support for private universities will reduce the share of public institutions.
A – Fapesp, by law, must finance research in public and private institutions. It is clear that public universities play an essential role in this process, and the institution invests heavily in this. But it is also important that other competency niches form. A huge portion of our students come from private universities and the research environment in these institutions is important. And we finance the research, the researcher, and not the university, especially because public universities cannot absorb all the competence generated by our education system. It needs to expand.
Q – To address a playful episode, North American children sent messages of thanks to Brazilian researchers, when they saw the country suffering from the problems caused by “yellowing”. Brazil exported its technology. How important is this?
A – It was interesting. Xylella fastidiosa, a largely unknown bacterium when we began our genome sequencing project, was responsible not only for the yellowing of our orange groves, but also for Pierce's disease in California grapes. It had existed for some time, coexisting peacefully with constant losses in wine production, but it suddenly became serious. There was an American laboratory that protested the fact that the project had been sent to Brazil. But the person who commissioned the project was their Ministry of Agriculture. It had the strategic aspect, of Brazil asserting itself as an exporter of this technology, and the scientific importance. We are today the world leader in plant pathogen genomics.
Q – Did the Brazilian community expect such a repercussion?
A – It was an unprecedented success, because we created science at the frontier of knowledge, with publications not only in the most prestigious scientific journals, but also outside the academic environment. The Economist brought a fantastic phrase: “samba, football and genome”. If we were to imagine this repercussion at the beginning, we would be megalomaniacs. It was an international surprise that impacted the entire world. We managed to produce good quality science that addresses problems of socioeconomic relevance.
Q – Venture capital seems to be taking risks in the area now.
A – Fapesp's focus, from the beginning, was the large-scale training of highly qualified human resources. This is the big capital. We thought – and we are now proving – that, if we have qualified people, the process of creating a molecular biotechnology research park in companies will be inexorable. We are seeing this now: Alellyx and Scylla, entering with high investment. I want to say an important sentence: this is an unprecedented fact in the country's economic history; there is an investment of this size to hire around 50 researchers. I find the strategic vision of these companies fascinating. Brazil has competitive advantages: its diversity, its agriculture, its livestock, its public health problems, which are specific. This creates needs and opportunities for the intelligent investor. What was missing? People.
Q – Are there new programs in the works?
A – I spoke about knowledge transfer and public policies and public education cannot be forgotten. The two have one thing in common: they also aim to transfer knowledge and the partner, now, is the public authorities. It's a new concept, again trying to match supply with demand, but without falling into the void, like those projects that are important for public policies and remain in the drawer. These are projects that must have a rapid cycle, with rapid studies, so that the commitment to implement them can truly be fulfilled. There is a risk, without a doubt, but we are aware of it. We think that, in any case, it is important to create this culture that government technology also demands knowledge.
P – We also have Biota.
A – Indeed. We are talking about over 400 researchers, working in a network. They are spread mainly in public universities. It's a wonderful program, exciting when you start looking at the details. In traditional science, there would be taxonomy – a subject from the last century and with specialists in short supply today, when classifying plants. At Biota, the researcher does not just go into the details that interest him: he makes important records not only for himself, but also for others, adhering to the same protocol, aware of the collective dimension, of a new ethics.
Q – One last observation?
A – I want to use a curious metaphor, based on a book that describes the conception of Linux, an operating system that competes with Windows and was created in an open process, by rackers. The book is called A Catedral e o Bazar: Fapesp, in these 40 years, has had the role of stimulating, catalyzing and articulating research in the State, functioning well, thanks largely to this informal presence of researchers. The Foundation combines these two structures: that of the cathedral – as a static entity, with quality parameters and that seeks perfection – and that of a bazaar – open to everything and everyone.
Agency has already awarded 60 thousand scholarships
Project makes young people aware of the
role you will play in your field of activity
Manuel Alves Filho
"If I were given highlight any of the achievements of my unpretentious public life, I would not hesitate in choosing Fapesp as one of the most significant for the economic, social and cultural development of the country"
Alberto Alves de Carvalho Pinto
State governor
(1959-1962)
São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp) was formally created in 1960. Two years later, the institution began its activities. The origins of the Foundation, however, date back to 1947, when the Group of Laboratory and Chair Men, led by Adriano Marchini and Luiz Meiller, carried out actions with the Legislative Assembly, which resulted in the inclusion, in the State Constitution, of the provision to create a research funding body. The São Paulo Charter established, in its article 123, that “support for scientific research will be provided by the State, through a foundation organized in ways to be established by law”. It further determined that “annually, the State will allocate to this foundation, as special income from its private administration, the amount of not less than one-half of one percent of its ordinary income.”
The definition, in the constitutional text, of a specific budget for the Foundation, based on the transfer of 0,5% of the State's total tax revenue - a percentage later raised to 1%, by the 1989 Constitution - was the instrument that made the Fapesp in the form envisaged by its creators: an autonomous research support organization, efficient in its administration, agile in decision-making, managed by highly qualified specialists and directly committed to the scientific and technological development of the State and, consequently, the country.
The State Government's decision to also allocate to the new Foundation, when it began operating, an initial allocation of US$ 2,7 million for the formation of a profitable asset, was fundamental to consolidating the successful Fapesp model . Treasury resources are transferred to the entity monthly. Revenues originating from the institution's assets guarantee the stability of regular research funding lines and have allowed the creation of special programs, aimed at inducing new areas of investigation and ensuring the overcoming of specific difficulties in the State's research system.
In 40 years of operation, Fapesp has already granted approximately 60 thousand scholarships and the same number of research grants. The granting of scholarships and grants is the traditional means offered by Fapesp to promote scientific and technological research in all areas of knowledge: Biological Sciences, Health Sciences, Exact and Earth Sciences, Engineering, Agricultural Sciences, Applied Social Sciences, Human Sciences, Linguistics and Letters and Arts. They are financing instruments for both regular funding lines and special programs created by the Foundation.
The regular lines are aimed at meeting the spontaneous demand of researchers linked to universities and research institutes based in the State of São Paulo. They therefore constitute solid support for research proposals freely thought out and formulated by the scientific and technological community in São Paulo. The special programs, which have been significantly expanded in recent years, aim to overcome existing deficiencies in the State's Science and Technology System.
Unicamp - Fapesp plays a central role in the development of S&T at Unicamp. The granting of scholarships and aid by the institution has grown over the last few years. Just to give you an idea, while in 1994 the Foundation granted 173 scholarships for the University's postgraduate courses, last year this number rose to 1.663, which represents an increase of 960% in just eight years. In relation to research funding, the institution's participation has also been increasing. In 1995, Fapesp allocated R$23.670.321,00 to Unicamp. In 2001, this value was increased to R$67.383.697,00 – a jump of 285%.
According to the Vice-Rector of Research at Unicamp, Professor Fernando Ferreira Costa, since its inception, Unicamp has had scientific and technological research and its interdependence with the quality of teaching as its central axis. “As in most universities in the country and abroad, research activity here is financed mainly with external resources, and the University, with budgetary resources, is responsible for providing the infrastructure and paying for the salaries of researchers and support staff”, he states. he. Among the sources of resources for research, funding agencies play the main role, providing, in the case of Unicamp, more than 80% of the resources for research projects and postgraduate scholarships. This effort is complemented by resources from public and private companies (just over 10%), international institutions (around 1%) and own resources, historically around 1%, recently increased to around 2,5%.
“Among the funding agencies, the one that has contributed the most resources to Unicamp’s research activities is by far Fapesp, which alone accounts for around 50% of the resources invested here in research”, says the Vice-Rector of Research . The Foundation's support, explains Fernando Costa, takes place on several fronts: capillary irrigation of the system with individual research grants, supporting larger initiatives such as thematic projects and Research, Innovation and Diffusion Centers (Cepids), as well as granting scholarships for postgraduate, postdoctoral and young researchers. “Fapesp’s support over the years was absolutely decisive for Unicamp to represent, today, around 10% of national postgraduate studies and carry out around 15% of the research carried out in our country, reaching the highest levels in the indicators of the quality of research and teaching among Brazilian universities”, he assesses.
According to the dean of Postgraduate Studies at Unicamp, professor Daniel Hogan, more than ensuring the regular transfer of significant resources for the development of research at the University, Fapesp also constitutes an important guarantor of the quality of scientific activity. “The seriousness with which requests are analyzed provides valuable recognition for both the researcher and the work he or she develops. I have been linked to Fapesp for at least 30 years and I can attest that the institution is guided by the greater interests of the State and the country.” According to the dean, few Third World development agencies have the level of reliability of Fapesp. “This represents extremely important support not only for the research itself, but also for the postgraduate structure itself”, he adds.
