President Dilma Rousseff stated this Monday (11th), upon sanctioning the Legal Framework for Science, Technology and Innovation, that the new legislation will render the actions between the public and private segment that form the ST&I system more agile, flexible and less bureaucratic.

"Speediness, simple rules and timely actions are crucial for the cycle of transformation of science into technology and innovation and into competitiveness and development to be successful”, the president said in her speech during the ceremony at Palácio do Planalto.

According to her, the sanction of the new Legal Framework ensures transparency, simplicity and legal safety to the cooperation she deems fundamental for the economic growth, generation of job posts and income, sustainable development and expansion of opportunities for the population.

"With the new framework, we promoted a deep reform in the legislation that governs the relationship between public and private agents. Today is an important day for the future of Brazil”, she added.

The new Legal ST&I Framework brings universities closer to companies, rendering research, scientific and technological development and innovation more dynamic in the country. "It is no use to have a revolutionary technology if it remains on the shelf of a research center laboratory, or if it is only certified after years of bureaucratic proceedings, losing its nature of vanguard”, Dilma noted.

The Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Celso Pansera, for his turn, highlighted the “collaboration” between government and National Congress in the search for solutions for the challenges of the country. “We are certain that the support to scientific and technological development that occurs in our universities and research institutes, the innovation that takes place in technology institutes and technology-based companies, is fundamental to support the new breath of growth in the production system and social development”, the minister stated.

Breakthroughs

In President Rousseff’s opinion, an important breakthrough entailed by the new legal ST&I framework is the introduction of the concept of intellectual capital as an asset to be the object of cooperation between companies and public bodies. "That will allow the fair compensation of public universities and research centers, propitiating further funds for investment and for new breakthroughs in the quality of education and production of knowledge. It will allow, therefore, the transformation of the successful innovation into an asset belonging to the whole Brazilian society".

The law extends the maximum period the professors of the federal universities will be able to work on institutional projects of teaching, research and extension, or to exercise activities of a scientific and technological nature. Moreover, it simplifies the process of issuance of work visas for foreign researchers who come to Brazil to take part in research projects.

Scientific community

The ceremony of sanction of the legal framework was attended by representatives of the scientific community. The chairman of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Jacob Palis, classified the new law as “extraordinary”. “A dream come true, the legal framework simplifies the requirements. Bureaucracy sets science back a lot. From this day forward, we will work towards further results for Brazilian science”, he said.

"The new framework is the fight of a nation that believes that science, technology and innovation are the tools that allow this country to come out of this crisis and of any other that may come”, the chairman of the Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Herman Chaimovich, added, who considered the sanction to be “a historical moment ".

In the opinion of the chairwoman of the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC), Helena Nader, the new Legal ST&I Framework is a "republican achievement". "This new framework really puts Brazil in the path to innovation. For us in the science segment, it is a day of great celebration. Brazil made an example of it during a phase when it seems as if everything that means to be a republican is going wrong. This is a republican law”.

During the ceremony, the Universal Call CNPq/MCTI 01/2016 was also launched, which call will make R$ 200 million available for scientific and technological research projects over the next two years, in any area of knowledge.

Click here to access the Legal Framework for Science, Technology and Innovation, published this Tuesday (12th) in the Official Gazette of the Federal Executive.

Source: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation

Photo: MCTI

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