Total R&D spending rises from 0.36 to 0.39% of GDP, but still far from the OECD – 2024-08-15 16:29:27

According to the latest Survey of Expenditure and Personnel in Research and Development (R&D), corresponding to the year 2022 and carried out by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation with the support of the INE, R&D expenditure increased from 0.36% to 0.39% of GDP.

That year, 0.39% of GDP corresponded to MM$1,031,448. In real terms, the increase was 10.7% (MM$92,390) compared to 2021. This indicates that, even controlling for inflation, it is possible to see an increase in the amount of R&D spending.

The survey is the main instrument for measuring R&D in four sectors: State, Companies, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Private Non-Profit Institutions (PNIs). This version, calculated with data from 2022, maintains the methodological improvement included last year, whose objective is to capture more actors who develop R&D with private financing. For this reason, its findings can be compared with those of 2021, published by MinCiencia last December.

Relevant jump

For the Minister of Science, Aisén Etcheverry, this is a significant leap:

“This is largely due to the State’s decisive action in this area, which we have seen in the budgets that have been presented and in the incorporation of science and technology in policies (…) One after another, regardless of political colour, all governments have committed to a substantial increase in R&D spending. This government is no exception, but the difference is that we have designed a path to growth that does not consist only of incorporating more resources into the instruments that already exist, which we need, but are insufficient to have greater spending on R&D.”

“What is this path to growth? First, to strengthen research in universities through the University Research Fund, which was announced in the presidential public report and which we will soon officially launch. Second, to improve the link between the private sector and academia with the Technology and Knowledge Transfer Bill that is currently in Congress. Third, to incorporate the research and development component across the board in the design of public policies, which generates greater demand and therefore greater funding in this area. This is the path that we have laid out and which, as we see today, is already bearing fruit,” he added.

Who does R&D and who finances it?

The sectors that carried out the most R&D during 2022 were Businesses and Higher Education Institutions. With 42% each, together they account for 84% of the R&D expenditure executed during 2022. They are followed by the State and IPSFL sectors with a share of 9% and 7%, respectively.

The largest increases in real terms were in the Companies and Higher Education Institutions (HEI) sectors, which increased by MM$31,910 (+9%) and MM$42,721 (+12%), respectively.

Regarding financing, the largest contributors were companies and the State, with a share of 40% and 37% in 2022.

The largest real increase compared to the previous year was in these same sectors, with an increase of MM$23,494 (+7%) for the former and MM$23,102 (+7%) for the latter. Financing for the international sector, on the other hand, increased by MM$23,865.

Self-financing was a key factor in the year studied for the execution of R&D in the four sectors analysed. This was observed more intensely in the business sector, with 89% of its R&D expenditure financed by the private sector itself. The private sector’s private enterprises had a self-financing rate of 35% and the private sector’s HEIs 36%.

The State remains a key financier, covering 88% of the R&D carried out by public institutions, 53% of the R&D of HEIs and 46% of IPSFLs.

Regarding the types of R&D developed in the period, “Applied Research” emerges as the one with the highest expenditure during 2022, associated with an amount of MM$ 390,230. It is followed by “Basic Research” with MM$340,135 and “Experimental Development” with MM$ 301,083. The first had the highest growth in real terms between 2021 and 2022 (+14%, considering an amount of MM$ 361,613 in real terms).

More spending on R&D by companies, more researchers, both male and female

What type of companies carry out R&D in Chile today? Manufacturing (23%); Commerce (14%) and Information and Communications (12%) were the economic activities that during 2022 concentrated the majority of R&D expenditure executed by the Business sector. Together with Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing, they account for 61%.

In real terms, R&D expenditure increased in 2022 by MM$24,985 for large companies, by MM$6,924 for small companies and MM$3,258 for micro-enterprises. In the case of medium-sized companies, there was a decrease of MM$3,243.

The survey also records a 10% increase in the number of people dedicated to R&D in Chile. The figure was 20,165 in 2021 and grew to 22,678 in 2022. Of these professionals and technicians, 64% carry out research activities full-time, either directing, planning and coordinating R&D tasks. Where do they work? 45% work in the HEI sector, followed by Companies (33%), State (13%) and IPSFL (9%).

40% of this staff are women, a fact highlighted by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Science, Carolina Gainza:

“In 2021, 38% of the staff dedicated to research were women. A year later, that figure rose to 40%, meaning that 1,569 women joined this area, reaching a total of 9,169 in 2022, with a further increase in female researchers. This implies a notable recovery after the pandemic and a historic participation of women with PhDs working in R&D,” she said.

Regarding Chile’s position among its OECD partners, Chile maintains its leading position among the other Latin American members, surpassing Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica. However, it is still far from the OECD average of 2.72% of GDP.

The data from the Survey on expenditure and personnel in Research and Development will be available on the Observa Platform of the Office of Studies and Statistics of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation: