Management of public research institutes in Brazil: Limits of the legal framework

This article aims to identify what are the autonomy spaces and the organizational and managing flexibility of public research organizations in Brazil, given the limits imposed by its legal framework and the consequences for the accomplishment and performance of institutional missions. In order to do it, different experiences on organizational restructuring, legal models and legislation of public research institutes in Brazil and around the world were analyzed, and two case studies with Brazilian public research institutes were presented — the National Institute of Space Research (Inpe) and the National Center for Information Technology Renato Archer (CTI) —, both belonging to the federal administration and governed by the same legal framework. The conclusions point out for the existence of degrees of managing freedom, which bring perspectives of flexibility and autonomy that could be used and explored in different ways and expanded by this kind of organization. © 2015, Fundacao Getulio Vargas. All rights reserved.Este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar quais os espaços de autonomia e flexibilidade gerencial e organizacional dos institutos públicos de pesquisa (IPPs) no Brasil em face dos limites impostos por seu arcabouço legal, assim como os desdobramentos dessas condições para o cumprimento e o desempenho das missões institucionais. Para tal, foram buscadas experiências distintas sobre reorganizações organizacionais, modelos jurídicos e legislações de IPPs no Brasil e no mundo, e realizados dois estudos de caso com IPPs brasileiros — Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (Inpe) e Centro de Tecnologia da Informação Renato Archer (CTI) —, ambos sujeitos ao regime jurídico da administração direta federal. Como conclusão destaca-se a existência de graus de liberdade gerencial que abrem perspectivas de autonomia e flexibilidade que podem ser aproveitadas de forma variada e ampliada por parte desse tipo de organização.493595614This article aims to identify what are the autonomy spaces and the organizational and managing flexibility of public research organizations in Brazil, given the limits imposed by its legal framework and the consequences for the accomplishment and performance of institutional missions. In order to do it, different experiences on organizational restructuring, legal models and legislation of public research institutes in Brazil and around the world were analyzed, and two case studies with Brazilian public research institutes were presented — the National Institute of Space Research (Inpe) and the National Center for Information Technology Renato Archer (CTI) —, both belonging to the federal administration and governed by the same legal framework. The conclusions point out for the existence of degrees of managing freedom, which bring perspectives of flexibility and autonomy that could be used and explored in different ways and expanded by this kind of organization. © 2015, Fundacao Getulio Vargas. All rights reserved