Fapesp disbursement grew 16.7% from 2021 to 2022 – 09/15/2023 – Education

Data from Fapesp’s Annual Activity Report show that the Foundation’s disbursement in 2022 for scientific and technological research grew 16.7% compared to 2021 and the volume of new projects contracted, 8,820, was 27.8% higher. In total, 20,709 research projects funded by Fapesp were underway.

Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the investment of R$1.18 billion was 3% lower and the number of new hires was 16.5% lower. Part of this result is related to a drop in the submission of proposals compared to 2019. This decline reflects the impact of Covid-19 on research activities since, in 2020 and 2021, the risk of contagion and distancing rules restricted access to universities, institutions and laboratories.

“As a whole, Fapesp continues to promote the scientific and technological development of the State of São Paulo. Together with universities, research institutes, health institutions, innovative companies and startups, it is contributing to the resumption of creative and productive activities after the disaster represented by the pandemic”, says Marco Antonio Zago, president of the Foundation.

In the year of its 60th anniversary, Fapesp expanded funding opportunities through the creation of new programs and new partnerships, in addition to adopting several initiatives that increased the future commitment of resources, in medium and long-term projects, in order to channel the resources accumulated in the period towards research and innovation activities in the state of São Paulo.

Research for the advancement of knowledge, a strategy that encompasses large basic and applied research projects – such as Thematic Projects, Research, Innovation and Diffusion Centers (CEPIDs), Young Researchers, among others –, as well as regular grants, received R $633.0 million or 53.5% of total resources. Of these, R$229.1 million (36%) were allocated to scholarships and R$403.9 million (64%) to aid.

In 2022, the Foundation launched the first call for the Geração Project, aimed at supporting those who have already completed their doctorate and/or post-doctorate and are not yet employed. It also selected 111 projects in the first call for Initial Project Research Aid (Pi), supporting scientists hired less than eight years ago at universities or research institutes in the State; contracted 54 new Thematic Projects, in addition to launching the first notice to select new CEPIDs to be implemented over the next three years.

For the training of human resources for science and technology, which only includes scholarships not linked to research programs, 18% of resources were allocated, a level similar to 2021. The value of scholarships was readjusted by 15%. The remaining education and training grants are accounted for in the strategies in which they were contracted.

Support for research infrastructure, that is, Fapesp’s investment in modernizing laboratories, purchasing or repairing equipment corresponds to 11% of the total disbursed. In 2022, three calls for proposals were open for the acquisition of large equipment, totaling R$450 million, which will have an impact on the 2023 results.

It is worth remembering that this type of support also includes access to Rednesp (Research and Education Network at São Paulo), which connects dozens of education and research institutions in the state of São Paulo, among themselves and abroad. Rednesp is responsible for operating Backbone SP, a high-speed fiber optic network that interconnects the eight universities in São Paulo at a speed of 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

Innovation

Fapesp’s contribution to research for innovation remained at the same level as in 2021, with 8.5% of the disbursement. There were R$99.6 million divided between grants (32.6%) and grants (67.4%) in progress in the Engineering Research Centers (CPEs) and Applied Research Centers (CPAs) programs, Research in Partnership for Innovation Technological Research (PITE) and Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE).

PIPE contracted 578 new projects from 224 innovative companies and gained two new modalities. One of them is PIPE-TC, focusing on knowledge transfer, which will allow the financing of proofs of concept for research originating in higher education or research institutions that are of interest to small companies, bringing academia even closer to industry and from the market.

The other modality is PIPE Start, which targets potential entrepreneurs and start-up companies that need basic knowledge of technology-based entrepreneurship. The objective is to support the ideation phase of an innovative product or process, when the technological solution or business model is not yet formatted or validated.

Two Fapesp initiatives related to PIPE exemplify efforts to expand entrepreneurship opportunities: the simplification of initial project submission procedures and the establishment of a new intellectual property policy. Under the new rules, companies supported by PIPE now exclusively hold the intellectual property rights to the results of funded research.

During the year, three new CPEs began their activities: the first focused on the development of offshore innovation, in partnership with Shell and headquartered at the University of São Paulo (USP); the second, focusing on molecular plant improvement, together with Embrapa and based at Unicamp; and the third, research in immuno-oncology, in partnership with GSK, based at Sociedade Beneficente Israelita Albert Einstein.

Another three CPEs were created in 2022 with activities scheduled to begin in 2023. Smartness, which will carry out research into intelligent networks and services targeting 2030, will be installed at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), in partnership with Ericsson. With an eye on future air mobility, the Engineering Research Center for Future Air Mobility (CPE-MAF) will coordinate researchers from Embraer and the Aeronautics Technological Institute (ITA). And Braskem will be a partner with Unicamp and other institutions in research into the use of plasticulture in agricultural cultivation.

Disbursement for Research on Strategic Themes remained stable, which covers investments in themes such as biodiversity (BIOTA Program), bioenergy (BIOEN), climate change (PFPMCG), research on public policies (PPPP), among others. This strategy received R$86.3 million (7% of the total disbursement), 33.5% from grants and 66.5% from aid.

Among the calls, the one from the Fapesp Research Program on Global Climate Change (PFPMCG) stands out, which will allocate R$10 million to projects that offer analysis and a vision of the future to accelerate the energy transition, and the Fapesp Research Program on eScience and Data Science (e-Science), which reserved R$21 million to support collaborative projects led by researchers in the areas of computing and human and social sciences.

In 2022, 17 new Science for Development Centers (CCDs) selected in a 2021 notice were announced. In total, 28 CCDs are implemented. They bring together, in collaboration, researchers from universities and research institutes, public bodies in the state of São Paulo, among others, in the search for solutions to challenges previously defined by state departments.

From the same perspective, Fapesp launched PROEDUCA in 2022, a program to support studies on basic education implemented in conjunction with the São Paulo State Department of Education. The objective is to support the improvement and development of public policies and pedagogical approaches aimed at improving learning and reducing regional inequalities. In 2022, the first of three notices was published.

The year 2022 was one of consolidation of partnerships. Seven new agreements for research co-financing were signed, totaling 215 partnerships with 162 foreign and 53 national organizations. 38 calls were made in partnership with 19 foreign and 13 national organizations.

As part of the partnership between USP, the government of São Paulo and the Pasteur Institute, Fapesp renewed and expanded its support for the Pasteur-USP Scientific Platform, a set of laboratories that will house the Brazilian unit of Pasteur.

It is also worth highlighting Fapesp’s coordination with the implementation of the Amazon Initiative +10, a partnership that involves Research Support Foundations (FAPs), under the leadership of its National Council (Confap), with the aim of stimulating collaborative and interdisciplinary research with a focus on sustainable development of the Amazon.

Launched in June 2022, the first call mobilized more than 500 researchers in 20 Brazilian states, always having at least one researcher from the Amazon on the project team. 39 proposals were selected, totaling a contribution of R$41.9 million. A second notice is scheduled for 2023.

Repercussion

Fapesp maintained visibility in the national and international media. 53,008 news items were published about the Foundation, research projects or supported researchers, a volume 3% higher than the 2021 results, with the Fapesp Agency, the Pesquisa para Inovação bulletin and the Pesquisa Fapesp magazine as sources of information.

The 2022 Annual Activity Report also provides an overview of the scientific production on Covid-19 in the years of the pandemic, presents values ​​approved by Fapesp in 2022 with the future of the projects, and a special on the celebrations of the Foundation’s 60th anniversary.

The report can be accessed at fapesp.br/relatorio2022.