Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Democracia Digital

What Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Democracia Digital does

INCT.DD — the Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Democracia Digital — is a Brazilian non-profit research institute founded in 2017 and headquartered at the Federal University of Bahia's Faculty of Communication in Salvador. It operates as a coordinating network for digital democracy scholarship, comprising 26 laboratories and research groups drawn from 30 Brazilian institutions plus 27 international partner centers, including three of the four largest digital democracy research centers in the world. The institute unites 116 researchers (83 Brazilian, 33 foreign) across 20 stricto sensu graduate programs spanning Communication, Political Science, Administration, Law, Computer Science, and interdisciplinary fields, and is led by coordinator Wilson Gomes (UFBA) and vice-coordinator Ricardo Fabrino Mendonça (UFMG) with an eight-person management committee drawn from leading Brazilian federal and state universities.

Its core product portfolio is research and training: the ongoing Digital Democracy in Brazil mapping project (continuous since 2011, with annual reports published 2017–2021); the annual Congress on Democracy, Government and Digital Politics; the Summer School in digital research methods (running since 2019 and training 500+ students); graduate-level distance courses in Digital Democracy, Transparency and Open Government Data, Online Deliberation, and Online Politics; and the newly launched INCT.DD Media and Political Behavior Panel (a three-wave representative survey of 7,215 Brazilian adults covering 2026–2027). Methodologies applied across these programs include surveys, digital text analysis, machine learning, sentiment analysis, and data visualization, and a podcast series (Política em Rede) and YouTube channel extend dissemination beyond academic publishing.

INCT.DD's revenue model is grant-funded: the primary income stream is Brazilian federal research funding through CNPq under the National Institutes of Science and Technology program, supplemented by state-level FAPs, with secondary income from modest course fees (R$75–R$150 per Summer School course) and free training offerings. Customer segments are institutional — federal and state government entities seeking advisory, transparency-compliance, and e-government expertise; academic researchers across the network; and graduate and undergraduate students in social-science methodology training. The institute serves both as a credentialed advisor to the Brazilian government on transparency legislation (LAI, Lei da Transparência, Decree 8.777/2016) and as a community of practice that codifies digital-democracy methods for the next generation of Brazilian researchers.

Name

Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Democracia Digital

Legal name

Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Democracia Digital

Website

https://inctdd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Democracia Digital (INCT.DD) is a Brazilian non-profit research network coordinating 116 researchers across 26 labs and 27 international centers to study digital democracy, e-government, and political communication. It serves the Brazilian federal government, graduate students, and academic researchers with research, training programs, and policy advisory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Salvador

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: The institute receives funding from CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) and state research foundations (FAPs) as part of Brazil's National Institute of Science and Technology program. Funding supports research projects, personnel, and infrastructure.
2. Course Fees: Some training programs and courses generate revenue through registration fees. Summer School courses are priced R$75.00-R$150.00 per course, while some courses like Fake News are offered free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

INCT.DD is a Brazilian non-profit research institute that coordinates a national network of researchers and universities conducting scientific studies on digital democracy, e-government, online deliberation, transparency, and political communication. It produces annual research reports (Digital Democracy in Brazil since 2011), conducts representative panel surveys of Brazilian political behavior, and delivers methodological training (Summer School) and professional training programs (Digital Parliament, Democratic Governance) plus graduate-level courses. It also advises public institutions on compliance with Brazil's transparency legislation and develops/supervises digital solutions for e-participation projects.

Product overview

INCT.DD is a Brazilian national science and technology institute comprising a research network of 26 laboratories and research groups from 30 Brazilian institutions and 27 international centers. The institute offers a portfolio of research projects, educational programs, and publications focused on digital democracy. Core offerings include the Digital Democracy in Brazil mapping project, the annual Congress on Digital Democracy, the Summer School in digital research methods, professional training programs (Democratic Governance, Digital Parliament), and graduate-level courses (Introduction to Digital Democracy, Transparency, Online Deliberation, Participation, Online Politics). The institute also conducts the Media and Political Behavior Panel survey tracking Brazilian media consumption. All offerings are interconnected through shared research infrastructure, cross-institutional collaboration, and common focus on advancing digital democracy scholarship and practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ students trained in digital research methodologies since 2019 through Summer School programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Programa de Pós-graduação em Comunicação e Cultura Contemporâneas (PósCom/UFBA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Co-organized the free SPSS mini-course 'Introduction to data and indicators analysis with SPSS' for graduate students. The course was held at PósCom/UFBA facilities with instructor Sivaldo Pereira from UnB.
• Aláfia LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2024Collaborated on the conference 'Como os Brasileiros se (des)informam?' (How Brazilians are (dis)informed?) to discuss relationships between information consumption, digital media, and misinformation in Brazil. Two joint research studies on Brazilian information consumption habits were presented.
• Associação Brasileira de Pesquisadores em Comunicação e Política (Compolítica)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Ongoing partnership since 2019 for the annual Summer School (Escola de Verão) in digital research methodologies. The joint program has trained more than 500 students. Also collaborates on the Escola Compolítica de Comunicação e Eleições training program.
• Centro de Estudos Avançados em Democracia Digital (CEADD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017CEADD at UFBA is the central laboratory of INCT.DD. The Digital Democracy in Brazil mapping project originated at CEADD in 2011 before INCT.DD's establishment in 2017. CEADD houses the institute's headquarters at Facom-UFBA.
• Proyecto LatinnominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaborative research project providing databases for studies on democratic innovations in Latin America. GERIS research group participates in this initiative focused on democratic participation expansion and consolidation.
• Crowdlaw Project (The GovLab)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational project providing data for research on democratic innovations. Part of GERIS group's research activities on digital democracy and civic participation mechanisms.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@INCTDD
• Xx.com/inctdd
• Facebookfacebook.com/inct.dd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inct-dd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Democracia Digital