The Brazilian Space Sectoral Innovation System: State Preponderance and Institutional Concentration

This paper examines how research resources are distributed across institutional actors in the Brazilian space sector, using funding allocation as an indicator of the structure of the innovation system. Drawing on data from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) covering 15,109 scholarships between 2005 and 2024, we analyze how resources are allocated across universities, government research institutions, private companies, and foreign organizations. To assess patterns of concentration, we apply the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) at both the system and category levels. The results reveal a dual structure. While Brazilian universities account for most scholarships, resource allocation within this category is relatively dispersed. In contrast, government institutions exhibit high levels of concentration, with a small number of organizations acting as focal points of capability accumulation. Private-sector participation remains limited and largely indirect, relying on public intermediaries. These findings indicate that the Brazilian space sector is characterized by centralized coordination within the public sector combined with distributed knowledge production across universities. This configuration reinforces the State’s central role not only as funder but also as organizer of the system, while creating structural vulnerabilities associated with dependence on public funding. The paper contributes by showing how funding distribution can be used to reveal the structural configuration of state-led innovation systems.