Ehe recent report “Radiography of Innovation in Construction,” prepared by the Dictuc of the Catholic University, revealed that only 2% of companies in the construction sector carried out R&D (research and development) activities in the 2019 period. -2020, showing a slight increase compared to the previous period of 2017-2018, which recorded 1.8%; However, it is still far from the average for all sectors, which increased from 2.9% to 6.7%.
“The results indicate a slight increase compared to the previous period, but we are still below compared to other sectors, especially manufacturing, which reached 19.8%. This highlights the need for a significant boost in innovation in our industry, and this is reflected in activities such as those we are carrying out together with Corfo, CTec and UBB, in which 30 companies in the region seek to strengthen their technological capabilities.” , stated Ricardo Salman, president of the Chilean Chamber of Construction Ñuble.
He emphasized that, “thanks to these investments in innovation, construction and real estate companies have expanded the offer of goods and services, improving their quality, reducing environmental impact, shortening response times to customer needs, increasing their participation in the market, and improving communication and internal participation.”
Regarding the request for financing for innovation, it is observed that Chilean companies in general present low levels, around 3%. However, the construction and real estate sector is at an even lower level, reaching 1.4% in 2019-20.
In this regard, the leader stated that, “the financial restrictions that affect the entire construction and real estate sector have to do with these low application numbers. However, these investments in innovation have had a positive impact on competitiveness, improving the supply of goods and services, reducing costs and improving environmental sustainability.”
A relevant piece of information from the report indicates that 90% of the resources awarded by Corfo are concentrated in the Metropolitan Region, while 10 other regions of the country, including Ñuble, did not receive funds. “This represents a great challenge for regions to apply for these funds and take advantage of all the development benefits that this investment entails,” said Salman.
“It is a crucial issue,” the businessman continued. Although the construction and real estate sector represents 11.5% of the total number of companies nationwide, ranking second after the commerce sector, we only received 2.4% of Corfo’s resources in the period 2019- twenty. This creates a significant challenge for regions, including Ñuble, in applying for these funds and taking advantage of the benefits that come with this investment.”
Along these lines, he assured that “it is a great challenge, there are 10 regions, including Ñuble, that do not receive resources from Corfo for this concept. This imbalance in the distribution of resources prevents us from taking full advantage of the development opportunities that investment in innovation can offer, particularly in regions, with as many gaps in unemployment and low income as ours, and with so many opportunities for growth due to their potential. It is necessary to work on a more equitable distribution to ensure that all regions can access and benefit from these funds.”
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