The Microsof Research – Fapesp IT Research Institute, established on April 10, will form a basic information and communication technology (ICT) research network to create knowledge capable of  meeting  the country’s social and economic challenges. The institute’s  initial funding will amount to US$ 400 thousand, shared between the partners, for aid to projects in the fields of health sciences, psychology, linguistics, anthropology, geography and design. The financing will cover a 36-month period. The first call for proposals, released on the day on which the institute was launched, can be found at the Foundation’s website. Projects will be received up to June 11.

The partnership  model is unprecedented in Brazil: it brings together São Paulo universities and research institutes, on one hand, and a company the size of Microsoft Research, on the other, to conduct basic research with FAPESP intermediation. “Our objective is to pursue the progress of knowledge, thinking about future ICT applications”, explains Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, FAPESP’s scientific director. This is not about finding technological solutions for companies, as this should be handled by their own R&D areas. “This they can do themselves. But what companies will become in ten years time will be determined by how they relate to the frontier of knowledge”, explains Brito. “A company’s interest in financing projects such as this derives from coming into contact with this frontier.”

According to Tomasz Kowaltowski, from the UNICAMP Computer Science Institute (Instituto de Computação da Universidade Estadual de Campinas -Unicamp), firms are becoming aware that their activities cannot only be commercial. “It’s not about a financial need. They can see the importance of doing research with universities in order to help solve social problems.”

This new form of university-corporate collaboration will also allow researchers to establish communication channels with partners in other countries and to work with relevant research themes. “Knowledge only advances when scientists communicate with each other and debate their findings”, stresses Brito. The call for proposals to engage in research within the scope covered by the Microsoft Research – FAPESP IT Research Institute, in the opinion of Brito, will intensify the connection between São Paulo scientists and the rest of the world. “And it will provide a new level of international recognition of the research conducted in this state”. 
 
In this first call for proposals, FAPESP is combining two types of previously independent financing. “As we have Microsoft Research resources, the researchers will be able to apply for the funding and grants they need for the project to move forward”, Brito tells us. The incentive, he stresses, is part of the Foundation’s strategy to create “more opportunities” for joint academic and corporate research. 
 
It is expected that as a result of the first public notice some five research projects will be selected, focusing on increasing access to information and communication technologies. The development of technologies to be used in health services, education and economic development, among other areas, should be included.  
 
Thus, FAPESP is consolidating its action strategy in three areas. The first, explains Brito, is support for training human resources and scientists in the state of São Paulo. “The Foundation uses almost one third of its budget on grants connected to scientific education, master’s degrees, doctorates and post-doctoral studies. This is what is going to establish a base of scientific competence and outline future research in São Paulo”, he says.

The second area is support for basic research, driven by and identified through the curiosity of scientists and researchers. “This type of aid accounts for the vast majority of research projects sponsored by the Foundation. And that is how things should be, since one of the most important functions of universities and research institutes is to explore new ideas that  will make up  a body of knowledge so that humankind can develop in the future”, adds FAPESP’s scientific director.  

“The third area is a set of initiatives and research projects whereby the Foundation aims at associating excellence in research  with its application, or at least with an outline of this application within a relatively short time”, describes Brito. This type of research is frequently financed by companies. “The Microsoft Research – FAPESP IT Research Institute is aligned with this strategy.”