ABSTRACT
In the Brazilian context, the Law of Innovation, promulgated in 2004 and reiterated by the Legal Marco of the Innovation in 2016, established that the Institutions of Science and National Technology (ICTs) should have Nuclei of Technological Innovation (NITs) to manage their respective innovation politics. The institutionalization, approach that explains how and why structure and processes are legitimated, includes a group of key components based in the habitualization, which represents the formalization of politics and procedures arrangements. In that sense, this research had as objective to know how the institutionalization of NITs located in Southern Brazil happened, because they represent important pillars in the National System of Science, Technology and innovation (SNCT&I). To reach the proposed objective, a qualitative and exploratory research was developed, with secondary data of the Form for Information on the Politics of Intellectual Property of ICTS of Brazil (Formict), and primary data of questionnaires answered by coordinators of NITs of three Southern Brazil states. Content analysis was used for coding and interpretation of data. The results showed some difficulties in the process of institutionalization of NITs, mainly linked to the absence of an entrepreneurial culture, little autonomy and the bureaucratic impediments in personnel's recruiting, evidencing a model of organization based on an institutional regulative pillar. The conclusion is that NITs are in the habitualization phase, sedimentation stage and the institutionalization process vary according to the institution, although mimetism has been observed in their actions.
Keywords:
Innovation; National System of Innovation; Nuclei of Technological Innovation; Technology Transference