Brazil Invests in Science and Technology

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently announced a US$28-billion investment package for the country’s science and technology over the next three years, equivalent to 1.5 percent of Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP). The investment is a part of a federal plan to improve academic research and to counter the lack of technological innovation in the industrial sector. There have been an increasing number of scientific papers published by Brazilian researchers over the past few years. Currently, 2% of the world's scientific publications are Brazilian — ranking it 15th in the world. Nonetheless, the country is responsible for only 0.1% of all the patents registered globally each year. With the increase in budget, the government hopes to fill this gap.

Brazil will include in its science plan, grants and tax breaks for research projects conducted by private companies and funding for postgraduate qualifications to increase the country’s insufficient scientific workforce. The new plan also includes measures to reduce bureaucracy and excessive legislation.

The complete report published by Nature is available at http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071128/full/450591a.html