Producing knowledge is not enough: it needs to overflow.

In an article for the scientific journal "Disciplinarum Cientia. Séries Naturais e Tecnológicas (RPS)", from the Franciscan University (UFN), the CEO of CGEE, Anderson Gomes, reflects on the relationship between science and technology and the necessary spillovers for economic, social and human development.

Producing knowledge is not enough: it needs to overflow.

Producing knowledge is not enough: we must make it overflow

Anderson SL Gomes2

SUMMARY

This editorial reflects on the relationship between science, technology, and the necessary spillovers for economic, social, and human development, focusing on the reflection presented at the XXX Symposium on Teaching, Research, and Extension of the Franciscan University (UFN). The central problem guiding the discussion investigates why excellence in scientific production does not always translate, in the same proportion, into effective capacity for society. The general objective is to analyze the transition from academic knowledge to applied solutions, highlighting the importance of the articulation between individual, collective, and artificial intelligence, as well as institutional strategy. The theoretical framework is based on the knowledge economy, innovation systems, and the concepts of collective intelligence and strategy applied to national development. The method consists of an essayistic reflection structured from empirical examples of social impact in Brazil, such as INPE and the SUS, and contemporary technological challenges. The results indicate that the true transformative potential of the university occurs when knowledge transcends academic boundaries and is converted into collective and strategic capacity.

Keywords: Science. Technology. Innovation. Collective Intelligence. University.

ABSTRACT

This editorial article reflects on the relationship between science, technology, and the necessary overflows for economic, social, and human development, centered around the reflections presented at the 30th Teaching, Research, and Extension Symposium of the Franciscan University (UFN). The central problem guiding the discussion investigates why excellence in scientific production does not always translate, in the same proportion, into effective capacity for society. The general objective is to analyze the transition from academic knowledge to applied solutions, highlighting the importance of the articulation between individual, collective, and artificial intelligence, as well as institutional strategy. The theoretical framework is based on the knowledge economy, innovation systems, and concepts of collective intelligence and strategy applied to national development. The method consists of an essayistic reflection structured on empirical examples of social impact in Brazil, such as INPE and SUS, and contemporary technological challenges. The results indicate that the true transformative potential of the university occurs when knowledge transcends academic boundaries and converts into collective and strategic capacity.

Keywords: Science. Technology. Innovation. Collective Intelligence. University.

1 Panel presented at the XXX Symposium on Teaching, Research and Extension (SEPE) of the Franciscan University 2 Director-President of the Center for Management and Strategic Studies (CGEE), Full Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and Full Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco. E-mail: anderson@df.ufpe.br. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6536-6570

1 INTRODUCTION

Over the past few decades, Brazil has built a science, technology, and innovation system that, despite its limitations and inequalities, brings together universities, research institutions, and researchers capable of producing excellent knowledge. In several areas, our science participates in the international frontier of knowledge. However, one question continues to challenge us: why doesn't this scientific capacity always translate, in the same proportion, into economic, social, and human development?

This was one of the central questions in a reflection presented at the Franciscan University (UFN) in Santa Maria, on the relationships between science, technology, and their spillover effects on society, during the XXX Symposium on Teaching, Research, and Extension. The answer requires recognizing that producing knowledge, while indispensable, is not enough. It is necessary to create conditions for it to circulate, be appropriated by society, and be transformed into solutions, opportunities, and capabilities. In other words, it is necessary to make it spill over.

2. FROM SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION TO SOCIAL IMPACT

The university's mission is to produce, preserve, transmit, and question knowledge. But its contribution to society doesn't end with training professionals or publishing scientific articles. The knowledge produced in its laboratories, classrooms, and research groups can transform public policies, improve services, strengthen businesses, create technologies, and expand opportunities.

This spillover doesn't happen automatically. Between scientific discovery and its incorporation into society, there are institutions, choices, investments, skills, and, above all, people.

The Brazilian experience offers important examples. Beyond the more widely known examples, such as EMBRAPA, EMBRAER, and PETROBRAS, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), by developing observation and analysis capabilities for various climatic phenomena, contributes to transforming scientific knowledge into instruments for environmental monitoring and support for public decisions. The Unified Health System (SUS), in turn, demonstrates how the articulation between research, professional training, technological development, and public policies can produce impacts on a national scale. The SUS currently offers cutting-edge molecular diagnostics.

These are distinct trajectories, but they share one characteristic: knowledge did not remain restricted to the institutions that produced it. It became a collective capacity.

3. THE CHALLENGE OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL FRONTIERS

This debate gains even more relevance in light of contemporary transformations. Artificial intelligence, the energy transition, advanced materials, and digital technologies are reshaping economies, professions, and social relationships.

Brazil possesses scientific assets, natural resources, and talent that could enable its participation in these transformations. However, having resources does not mean mastering technologies, just as training researchers does not guarantee that their skills will find opportunities to generate value in the country.

The case of critical minerals and rare earth elements is illustrative. The availability of mineral resources represents an opportunity, but value creation depends on scientific, technological, and industrial capabilities that allow progress from geological knowledge to processing, materials manufacturing, and more complex applications. And, above all, on qualified personnel.

The same is true for artificial intelligence. It is not enough to use tools developed in other countries. It is necessary to train people, build skills, develop applications suited to Brazilian needs, and ensure that the benefits of these technologies reach different segments of the population. In both cases, the central question is similar: how to transform potential advantages into effective capabilities?

4. THE THREE INTELLIGENCES AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE

One way to address this challenge is to recognize that development depends on the articulation between three forms of intelligence: individual, collective, and artificial, as described by Silvio Meira and co-authors (https://biblioteca.tds.company/ebook-as-tres-inteligencias-revisitadas).

Individual intelligence is built through education, research, creativity, and each person's ability to understand and transform reality. It is the foundation of scientific and professional training. Artificial intelligence, in turn, extraordinarily expands our possibilities for analyzing information, identifying patterns, formulating hypotheses, and supporting decisions.

Between the two lies a crucial dimension: collective intelligence. It doesn't simply correspond to the sum of individual talents. It emerges when people, institutions, and organizations manage to share knowledge, coordinate efforts, learn from each other, and build solutions that none could achieve in isolation. It is the intelligence of research networks, of universities in dialogue with their territories, of innovation systems, and of public policies capable of integrating competencies.

A society can produce brilliant individuals and still struggle to convert knowledge into development if its institutions operate in isolation. It can incorporate advanced technologies without reducing inequalities if their benefits remain concentrated. And it can possess artificial intelligence without having collective mechanisms to decide which problems deserve priority.

Therefore, strengthening collective intelligence also means confronting institutional fragmentation, increasing trust among actors, valuing cooperation, and creating continuity for long-term projects. Artificial intelligence can enhance this process, but it does not replace the social construction of common goals. The true transformative potential lies in the articulation of the three intelligences.

5. THE UNIVERSITY AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF OVERFLOWING

In this scenario, universities occupy a unique position. They are spaces for education, research, critical thinking, and the construction of possible futures. But they also need to broaden their connections with society. This does not mean subordinating scientific research to immediate demands or reducing the value of basic science. On the contrary: the freedom to investigate, including questions whose applications we do not yet know, is an essential condition for the production of transformative knowledge.

The challenge is to build bridges between this freedom and the ability to respond to concrete problems. This requires valuing interdisciplinarity, encouraging the exchange of talent, strengthening cooperation networks, and recognizing that the impact of science takes many forms. A fundamental discovery, a developed technology, an improved public policy, or a benefited community can represent distinct expressions of the same social contribution.

It also requires rethinking how we evaluate the success of our institutions. Publications, citations, and academic indicators are important, but they cannot, in isolation, express the full contribution of knowledge to society.

6 FROM ASPIRATION TO CAPABILITY

Brazil has legitimate aspirations: to become more innovative, reduce inequalities, increase its competitiveness, strengthen its scientific and technological sovereignty, and offer better living conditions to its population. But aspirations, by themselves, do not build futures.

This is where an often-neglected dimension comes in: strategy. We can understand it as the process of transforming aspiration into capability (Silvio Meira). It's not just about defining objectives, but about coordinating people, institutions, resources, and decisions to make them possible.

Science provides knowledge. Education shapes people. Collective intelligence connects skills. Artificial intelligence expands possibilities. Strategy allows these elements to come together and produce results.

Perhaps this is one of the great tasks of the contemporary university: not only to train people capable of understanding the world, but to contribute to building a society capable of transforming it.

Because producing knowledge is essential. But development begins when that knowledge transcends the boundaries of where it was created, encounters society, and transforms into new capabilities. Producing knowledge is not enough. It needs to overflow.

REFERENCES

MEIRA, Silvio et al. The Three Intelligences Revisited. Available at: https://biblioteca.tds.company/ebook-as-tres-inteligencias-revisitadas. Accessed in: 2026.