Amazonas occupies 5th place in the national ranking among the states with the best innovation indicators in the country

Archive/Secom and Nathalie Brasil/Fapeam
News of 04/03/2024

Amazonas is the 5th state with the best innovation indicators in Brazil. The data comes from the 2023 State Competitiveness Ranking, released by the Public Leadership Center (CLP), which considered among the indicators of innovation master’s and doctorate scholarships and scientific research, actions that have been widely strengthened in the state by the Government of Amazonas, through the Amazonas State Research Support Foundation (Fapeam).

In 2023, a total of R$113,572,000 was invested by the Government of Amazonas, through Fapeam, in the area of ​​Science, Technology and Innovation (CT&I), an exclusive resource from the state treasury. Of this amount, R$63,382,400 was allocated to the training of professionals essential for the development of Amazonas, which resulted in the qualification of 412 researchers, in different areas of knowledge, of which 328 obtained master’s degrees and 84 doctorates.

The investment made by the State allowed Amazonas to rise 3 positions in the ranking in relation to the 2022 report, now occupying 5th place. The innovation pillar is made up of Public Investments in research and development (R&D), Patents, Master’s and Doctorate Scholarships, Innovative Enterprises and Scientific Research. In the 2023 edition of the State Competitiveness Ranking, two new indicators were also included: High Growth Companies and Information and Communication.

Fapeam’s CEO, Márcia Perales, highlighted that the Government of Amazonas, since 2019, has invested in the training of highly qualified human resources, especially in master’s and doctorate scholarships, with funding from the state treasury, and in scientific research, which are ranking indicators.

Márcia Perales also emphasized that, from 2020 to 2022, Amazonas is the state that invests the most annually with its own resources in scholarships for master’s and doctoral students, and is in the first place in research aid.

“We support 100% of Postgraduate Programs in Amazonas, therefore being ranked 5th in Innovation in the country is the result of a combination of efforts, invested financial resources and determination to make science, technology and innovation one of this Government’s priorities” , he emphasized.

Postgrad

The 2023/2024 Edition of the Stricto Sensu Institutional Postgraduate Support Program granted 1,049 quotas of scholarships for residents of Amazonas, of which 739 were in the master’s degree and 310 in the doctorate. The Program supports, with master’s and doctorate scholarships and financial aid, institutions located in Amazonas, which develop Stricto Sensu Postgraduate Programs accredited by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes).

More investments

Since 2019, the Government of Amazonas has repositioned Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) as a priority area for the economic and socio-environmental development of Amazonas. From 2019 to 2023, the Government of Amazonas, through Fapeam, has already invested almost R$600 million in CT&I. It is noteworthy that the investments reached the 62 municipalities of Amazonas.

During this period, more than 110 notices, resolutions and public calls were launched and, as a result, benefited more than 6,700 researchers, and, consequently, more than 12 thousand research projects were supported, through programs coordinated by Fapeam. Also noteworthy is the investment in the Science at School Program (PCE), which granted more than 15 thousand scholarships to teachers and students in the capital and interior in recent years.

From 2019 to 2023, more than 4 thousand scholarships have already been awarded at master’s and doctoral levels. There are more than 1,700 new masters and doctors with degrees in the state, with support from Fapeam, an indicator that impacts new technical-scientific skills installed in Amazonas.

Fapeam is also among the five science funding agencies that most finance the development of research on the Amazon in the world. The data are from the article “A Produção Científica sobre Amazônia”, collected by scientist Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, published in the scientific journal Elsevier, 2023.