Game changer: Brazilian technology parks in times of crisis

Abstract

The article analyses the institutional strategies of technology parks in response to the economic crisis, considering aspects of the movement of a population of parks in operation in Brazil, as well as the experience of an illustrative case of a generation of parks that has been established in recent years. The empirical research involved collecting statistical data from reports and official databases, as well as fieldwork on the case analysed, supported by semi-structured interviews, observations and documents. The central argument is that the crisis tends to place new demands on parks and their universities. The scarcity of resources leads them to seek internal and external links with the university and the regional environment, which corresponds to the relational contours of the innovation system. Despite these limitations, the parks’ responses can mean significant contributions to the region in the face of the crisis, including new economic activities for university graduates, employment and income, and technological solutions to urban problems and an increase in quality of life.