Local innovation and production systems: Brazilian experience in developing and using the concept

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Local innovation and production systems
Brazilian experience in developing and using the
concept

• Helena M. M. Lastres - hlastres_at_ie.ufrj.br
• RedeSist
• Research Network on Local Productive and
  Innovative Systems
• Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Research Network on Innovation and Production
Systems - RedeSist

• Origin
• Group of Brazilians doing their Ph.D and visiting
  fellowship work in the UK in the same period that
  the concept of system of innovation was been
  developed
• Relevance of the systemic view both to understand
  and to orient industrial and technological
  development
• Convergence with theories on development (Lastres
  Cassiolato, 2002 2003 Cassiolato et al, 2005)

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Research Network on Local Production and
Innovation Systems - RedeSist

• Back to Brazil - key question
• How to put this concept into practice?
• How to make it useful?
• National system of innovation
• Sectoral system of innovation
• Regional system of innovation
• All these approaches presented advantages. but
  among the most important limitations were
• the difficulty of capturing innovation processes
  in production spheres
• the partial vision of the systems

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Research Network on Local Innovation and
Production Systems - RedeSist

• Main elements of the solution
• Production and innovation as the focus of the
  analysis
• Basic assumption firms do not produce or
  innovate in isolation. Therefore, there is always
  a system around any productive and innovative
  activity
• Focus on the local production system in a
  particular territory - key for
• establishing the boundaries of the investigation
  the understanding that of course it can be part
  of a broader system (sectoral, regional, national
  and global)
• understanding how knowledge is acquired, used and
  diffused - main source of sustainable
  competitiveness

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Concept of Local Innovation and Production Systems

• Local Innovation and Production Systems (LIPSs)
• are groups of economic, political and social
  agents localized in the same area, performing
  related economic activities and presenting formal
  and informal articulation, interaction,
  co-operation and learning processes
• Generally they comprise
• firms designing, producing and commercializing
  final goods and services, suppliers of inputs
  (raw materials, equipment, etc.) and service
  providers
• other public and private organizations in charge
  of education and training, RD, engineering,
  financing, social and economic development,
  co-operatives, economic, social and political
  associations and representations, etc.

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Main tasks of RedeSist

• Development of the concepts of Local Innovation
  and Production Systems - LIPSs
• Development of a methodology for empirical
  surveys diagnosis of case studies, policy
  evaluation and suggestions
• characterization of the LIPS actors, linkages
  and flows (knowledge goods and services),
  cooperation, hierarchy and coordination,
  embeddedness etc.
• sample and tabular plans plans for interviews,
  questionnaires (for different types of actors)
• general structure for the reports - role of the
  LIPS in the international, national and local
  economies, analysis of the case, policy
  recommendations

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Main results obtained by RedeSist

• Analysis of 38 30 (M.Sc dissertations) local
  productive and innovative systems in different
  regions in Brazil
• 9 new case studies of creative industries
• In Jan. 2006, gt 300 technical notes, including
  empirical studies and other analyses, were
  available in the homepage of RedeSist
• System of information on local innovation and
  production systems - Sinal - www.sinal.redesist.ie
  .ufrj.br
• secondary primary data on LIPSs and indicators
  on cooperation, learning and innovation
  processes, knowledge and information flows, etc.

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Main results obtained by RedeSist

• Glossary defining the main concepts and terms
  used innovation, cooperation, social capital,
  etc.
• differences with concepts such as cluster,
  industrial districts, milieux innovateur, etc.
• advantages for analytical and policy-making
  purposes
• Workshops and courses for promotion agencies
• Important collective learning processes - by
  developing, using and codifying new conceptual,
  analytical and policy approaches - based on the
  interaction between and among
• researchers
• policy-makers
• entrepreneurs and other agents
• understanding to create knowledge

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Main Advantages and Challenges

• RedeSists approach assumes
• the systemic nature of innovation and the need of
  taking into account the knowledge, production,
  commercial financial, social, institutional and
  political spheres in their micro, meso and macro
  dimensions
• the localized nature of the assimilation, use and
  diffusion of knowledge and innovation
• each production system is addressed within its
  local, national and international contexts
• the dynamics and support requirements of a
  specific LIPS may be quite different from other
  cases, even in if located in its neighborhood
• this is particularly relevant in countries with
  the dimension of the BRICSs

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Therefore, the arguments that the LIPS approach

• covers the space where the main processes of
  learning, capacity building and innovation takes
  place, allowing for a broader understanding of
  industrial and technological development
• represents the space where both public and
  private policies for learning, innovation and
  competence building can be more effective
• stimulates the integration of visions and
  coordination of actions of different agents,
  acting at national and local levels
• does not ignores that processes of development
  and of knowledge generation, use and diffusion
  can not be treated in isolation from issues of
  international hierarchies and power, as well as
  historical and cultural specific contexts

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RedeSist experience

• IS represents a practical unit of investigation
  that is
• complementary and also
• broader, more flexible and advanced to those on
  individual organizations, industrial
  agglomerations, production chains and sectors
• Despite these advantages
• Problems of using research and policy concepts
  and prescriptions based on models that
• are not adapted to the local context in question
• misunderstand and are not able to capture the
  processes of learning and capacity building
• often aim at building, constructing, creating
  cooperation, coordination and even the whole
  innovation system
• Significant knowledge and competence are required
  to select and choose among the available models
  those that can be useful.
• Even more important is the required mastery in
  the use of such models and related instruments
  (Lastres and Cassiolato, 2004 2005)

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Conclusion

• The approach on local innovation and production
  systems (LIPS) offers significant advantages and
  represents a necessary complement to other
  approaches on
• NSIs, SSIs and RSIs
• This convergence of approaches is crucial for
  putting into practice - and, therefore, further
  strengthening - the concept of system of
  innovation as a possible and relevant unit of
  analysis of the BRICSs
• Almost 20 years, I am still convinced that the
  concept of IS represents a powerful focusing
  device that allows a better understanding of
  industrial and technological development

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Conclusion

• Some of main challenges involved
• difficulty to work with new concepts
• and particularly those aiming at capturing and
  evaluating intangibles (resources and processes)
  and involving high levels of inequality and
  informality (knowledge, work, organizations and
  institutions)
• And as we do believe that knowledge results from
  interactive learning processes, we count on you
• Thank you very much for your attention
• Helena M. M. Lastres - hlastres_at_redesist.ie.ufrj.b
  r
• www.sinal.redesist.ie.ufrj.br