People test computers at a technology forum in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2006.

Is Brazil singing a different tune when it comes to embracing innovation in the information technology sector? Could Brazilian IT be burgeoning while other countries are just trying to hang on in these economically difficult times?

My colleagues at the George Washington University Law School’s Creative and Innovative Economy Center and the University of São Paulo’s Center for Science and Technology believe real change is happening in Brazil’s IT sector. Brazil is not traditionally known as a country with a solid infrastructure or a culture that supports the kind of entrepreneurship that drives IT development. Problems abound, such as the ability to transfer technology from campus to industry, the availability of venture capital and a weak intellectual property system that does not protect business interests sufficiently.

Despite this legacy, researchers at CIEC and USP say they are optimistic about the good things that are taking place in Brazilian IT. CIEC and USP, in a research effort sponsored by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), have singled out five individuals and one nonprofit organization that are changing the status quo.

• Claire Feliz Regina for her work at Receita Federal do Brasil, the Brazilian internal revenue service. Regina is called the “pioneer of e-government” who simplified the electronic filing of tax returns and has won acclaim worldwide for her accomplishments.

• The Câmara Interbancária de Pagamentos. The only “institution” among the winners, this nonprofit consortium of banks designed an IT-enabled system to clear checks quickly and cost-effectively around the country in real-time.

• Bruno Ghizoni, the entrepreneur who founded Neos Technology Innovation, is changing the face of IT innovation as a strategy consultant. He developed software that maps patterns of words associated with products and services for the purpose of innovating new products and services.

• João Meidonis and João Setubal, “the inventors of Brazilian bioinformatics,” who successfully built the IT system that sequenced a pathogen that was destroying millions of dollars worth of citrus crop each year.

• Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, who as scientific director at the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo leads the way to further innovation in Brazil’s IT sector by opening channels of communication and helping start-ups find capital.

You can read more about them at http://www.law.gwu.edu/Academics/research_centers/ciec/Pages/Profiles.aspx.