Science, technology and innovation (CT & I) policies in an immature innovation system: the Business Research Support Program (Pappe) in the Midwest

The territorial concentration of scientific and technological bases has been considered one of the factors that prevent the reduction of regional inequalities. In the national context, Brazilian Central West region has comparatively brittle scientific and technological infrastructure, although the public policies to reduce defiency in the areas of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) as the “Programa de Apoio à Pesquisa em Empresas” (Pappe). This article analyzes the Pappe’s results in the Central West region, according to the companies’ vision from grant funds allocated to innovation, between the years of 2004 and 2011. The program produced positive results in terms of generating markets and jobs, but the firms were not able to allocate new product to the market and they did not increase their cooperation relations between the agents involved. The results indicate the need to expand ST&I policies in the region, in order to create mechanisms that facilitate interaction between the innovation system agents and promote regional development.