Um panorama das incubadoras sociais no contexto das universidades e institutos federais brasileiros

Abstract

This research aims to present an overview of social business incubators in the context of Brazilian universities and federal institutes. In addition, it presents the case of the UFSM social incubator in the national context. This is an exploratory study in which the actors in this field, which contributes to social improvement, were mapped by region of Brazil. After analysing the content, 55 social-based incubators linked to these institutions were found. The results suggest that the number of incubators in each region of the country does not match the distribution of social enterprises in Brazil. Considering that 58% of social businesses are in the Southeast, the survey found that only 39% of universities and institutes in this region carry out the activity in question, and in the Centre-West, with only 4% of Brazilian social businesses, 61.5% of institutions have a record of incubation activity. At the UFSM Social Incubator, it was observed that the social businesses that completed the incubation cycle, which ended in 2023, are in line with the national data already found for social businesses linked to the SDGs and socio-environmental impact purposes.