Law as a capacity building technology for the state: a case study about the coordination challenges in federal policies relating to the creation of innovation networks

• Grant number: 14/15856-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: August 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Diogo Rosenthal Coutinho
• Grantee: Ticiana Nogueira da Cruz Lima
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito (FD). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In early 2000 the Brazilian innovation policy went through a significant shift, following closely the discussions about innovation policy in the international arena and economic theory. The underlying feature behind this policy shift was the incorporation of the systemic view of innovation in the official discourse of Brazilian policy makers. However, this change in discourse is yet to present the expected results. The goal of this research is to shed some light in the role of law and legal institutions in this lack of effectiveness of the Brazilian innovation policy. More specifically, I propose to examine how the law has been affecting the process of the government's capacity building when it comes to development of the more sophisticated coordination capabilities implicated in the systemic view of innovation. In order to do so, the proposed research entails both the analysis of the recent evolution of Brazilian innovation policies from a general perspective and a detailed case study of specific policies of the Ministry of Science and Technology targeting the creation of innovation networks. From a theoretical perspective, the research will build on the growing body of literature about institutional analysis and the development of State's capacities when it comes to the implementation of public policies. (AU)