INCOBRA - Increasing International Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Brazil and the European Union

LEADERS FROM BRAZIL AND EU ANNOUNCE NEW PHASE OF THE SECTORIAL DIALOGUES PROGRAM

Science and technology are amongst the sectors chosen to receive fundings 

Brazil and the European Union started the fourth phase of the Sectorial Dialogues project on Tuesday (21). The program is the result of an international agreement aimed at funding proposals of common interest. In this cycle, the amount to be invested will be 5.7 million euros, in a maximum time of 36 months.

The new phase of the Sectorial Dialogues will transfer 5.7 million euros to fund research projects. Among the sectors chosen to receive fundings are science and technology; Information society, which includes digital government and innovation for the public sector. "They are examples of areas where we have much to learn. No one has the formula for success. On the contrary, we are constantly being confronted by the challenges of the 21st century and the Sectorial Dialogues have been designed so that we can exchange experiences, "stressed Ambassador João Cravinho, who is head of the European Union Delegation in Brazil.

This year, the cooperation completes a decade long. In the first three cycles, more than 200 actions were developed in 30 different areas. According to the Ministry of Planning, Development and Management, in recent years, investments in projects summed up to 16.9 million euros. Of this amount, 11.6 million euros came from the EU and 5.3 million from Brazil.

"The numbers prove the success of the cooperation, in the most varied aspects of the State's performance," said Gleisson Rubin, Secretary of Management of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Management (MP). In his opinion, every manager will always have two possibilities: to spend all his funding to search for a solution alone or to seek inspiration in good practices, in what has already been the object of conquest in other contexts. "It is in this second strategy that we believe in," he emphasized.

In addition to announcing the new phase of the program, the leaders also launched the publication "Results of the Support to Sectorial Dialogues - 2008/2016", which reports on a history of activities and shows examples of successful collaborative projects. The book further reveals information from a satisfaction study developed by the project team. According to the participating entities, 82% consider that the program was fundamental for the exchange of information and good practices. For 59%, the initiative was important to detect and promote new proposals for joint work between the EU and Brazil.

(ABIPTI Agency, with Planning information)