Public-private partnership strategies for the implementation of innovation centers: the ciat case (Santarém - Pará)

Abstract

As a strategy to promote regional development, leverage new business niches and disseminate a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in its area of operation, the Santarém Commercial and Business Association - ACES, in association with the Guamá Foundation, presented to the Government of the State of Pará a proposal to create an Innovation Center in the municipality. Based on this case, this article revisits the fundamental concepts for the differentiation of innovation environments and presents the state of the art of the project by pervading the construction steps of the ACES Tapajós - CIAT Innovation Center and the integration process between universities, companies, governments, and social organizations for its execution. ACES, as a backbone organization, identified 43 potentially relevant external partners, of which four are essential for space consolidation. As a counterpart, the Government of Pará allocated more than three million reais for the CIAT's implementation. The initiative, inaugurated in March 2023, involves more than 350 associated members, groups of researchers and university students, companies, and independent professionals. This essay, therefore, records the first steps for these partnerships and the network's ability to deal effectively with the current socioeconomic, environmental, and technological transformations underway in the Amazon.