FAPESP funding for scientific research has tripled over the past 10 years

Foundation funding for projects carried out in the state of São Paulo totaled $ PPP 481.51 in 2013 according to the Activity Report.

By Jussara Mangini

Agência FAPESP – With revenues of 509.96 million in $ purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2013, FAPESP disbursed $ PPP 481.51 million for the development of science and technology in the state of São Paulo according to the FAPESP 2013 Annual Activity Report (executive version), which was published August 27, 2014 at Foundation headquarters. The report is illustrated with reproductions of works by Brazilian artist Renina Katz.

The report indicates that the financial resources transferred by the state treasury, equivalent to 1% of state tax revenue under the São Paulo State Constitution, account for 82% of the Foundation’s income.

In 2013, the transfer totaled $ PPP 417.73 million. The remaining 18% represents the Foundation’s own resources, including capital revenue ($ PPP 28.06 million) and other sources of income ($ PPP 64.16 million), such as funds derived from agreements signed with research-sponsoring agencies, companies and other institutions for funding collaborative research proposals, in which a portion of the funding from the partner institution is provided to FAPESP to manage.

“Investments by FAPESP contribute to the effectiveness of research carried out in São Paulo on topics of major impact in the academic, social and economic arenas essential to progress in São Paulo State, which is responsible for half of the knowledge generated in Brazil overall,” says Celso Lafer, Foundation president.

In 2013, FAPESP received 20,070 requests for support of research projects. It signed 12,393 new funding agreements throughout the year and in previous years, and it has provided 11,840 ongoing scholarships this year and in previous years.

Targeting of funds

Just over half (52%) of the total outlay was directed toward research with clear potential for application in various fields through 15 programs. These programs promote innovative research in small business, which in turn promotes partnerships between companies and universities and supports studies that facilitate new public policies in fields such as health, education and the environment.

More than one third (39%) of the funds were disbursed through 12 funding mechanisms that train human resources and foster academic research seeking to advance knowledge. An additional 9% of the funds were invested in programs to support research infrastructure, thereby supporting the infrastructure required to continue high-level research in the state of São Paulo.

“FAPESP funds benefit São Paulo’s universities and institutions of higher education, which are maintained by the state or federal government, as well as religiously affiliated and private institutions,” Lafer says.

Research carried out at the three state universities received 75% of the total disbursements, or $ PPP 362.77 million: $ PPP 225.64 million was awarded to the University of São Paulo (USP), $ PPP 70.63 million to São Paulo State University (Unesp) and $ PPP 66.48 million to the University of Campinas (Unicamp).

State research institutes received $ PPP 25.50 million (5% of the total). The primary recipients included the Butantan Institute, the Heart Institute (InCor) of the Hospital das Clínicas at the USP School of Medicine, the Agronomic Institute (IAC) and the Nuclear Energy Research Institute (IPEN).

Projects by federal higher education and research institutions in the state of São Paulo received 13% of the total, or $ PPP 61.60 million, mainly the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), which received $ PPP 25.63 million; the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), which received $ PPP 15.55 million; and institutions associated with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), which received $ PPP 11.83 million.

“Approximately one third of FAPESP funds, or $ PPP 148.15 million, were applied to research in the field of healthcare, thus directly benefitting public health care,” Lafer said. In addition to these funds, other fields receiving high levels of funding included biology with $ PPP 77.36 million (16.07%), human and social sciences with $ PPP 49.12 million (10.20%), engineering with $ PPP 46.63 million (9.69%), and agronomy and veterinary sciences with $ PPP 44.94 million (9.34%).

Collaborative research

The Foundation ended 2013 with 123 signed cooperation agreements (36 national and 87 international) and five memoranda of understanding, letters and protocols of intention both with universities and research institutions to foster academic exchanges and with companies and funding agencies to co-finance high-impact research projects.

Among these agreements, 22 were signed in 2013: 19 with institutions in 11 different countries, four of which FAPESP had not previously entered into official agreements (Japan, South Africa, Australia and Chile).

“Internationalization is a key aspect of increasing the academic impact of research carried out in São Paulo and involves improving the level of dialogue between scientists from São Paulo and their colleagues in other countries, especially those at the forefront of global scientific knowledge generation,” Lafer said.

Eighty percent of the 55 requests for proposals published in 2013 offered funding for research involving international collaborative efforts and scientific exchanges, 55% more than in 2012.

One consequence of these efforts undertaken by FAPESP is an increased interest in scientific exchanges. The Foundation supported 2,307 projects of this type in 2013, 15% more than in 2012.

Symposia known as FAPESP Weeks, another Foundation initiative to promote connections between São Paulo scientists and those in other countries while also showcasing the work already carried out in partnerships, brought together nearly 600 researchers in 2013 in Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Innovation

“One of the basic principles of FAPESP throughout its 52-year history has been to attribute equal value to basic research and research with clear applications. However, given the current state of international economic competition, a strategic concern for Brazil and for the state of São Paulo involves placing special emphasis on innovation and applied research,” Lafer said.

The Innovative Research in Small Businesses program (PIPE) and events known as Dialogues on Support to Innovation in Small Business are greatly contributing toward increasing the number of small companies interested in carrying out research that could facilitate the creation of new products or processes that benefit the economy and society while also promoting world-class projects. In 2013, FAPESP doubled the number of projects contracted through this mechanism to a total of 167.

The 17 new Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs), which were officially announced in 2013, connect 499 scientists from the state of São Paulo with 68 scientists from other countries who are dedicated to world-class research in several fields, offering a prime example of the complementarity between basic and applied research. Over the course of its first 11 years, the centers received nearly $ PPP 611.08 million.

The year 2013 also saw the announcement of four Research Engineering Centers focusing on strategic areas of technology development in the state of São Paulo. In a clear example of integration with the production sector, these centers will receive $ PPP 49.75 million in investments, which will be shared between FAPESP and partner companies, over a period of five to 10 years.

FAPESP’s ongoing research programs in bioenergy, biodiversity and global climate change garnered national and international success through invitations to participate in important national and international groups to discuss and make recommendations on the sustainable expansion of biofuels, climate variability in Brazil and in the world, Brazilian biomes and Amazônia’s past, among other topics.

The FAPESP 2013 Annual Activity Report is available at www.fapesp.br/en/5437.