Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales

What Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales does

Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO), operating under its legal name Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales, Artes y Humanidades, is a non-profit international academic organization headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Estados Unidos 1168, C1101AAX; tel. +54 11 4304 9145). Founded more than 50 years ago, CLACSO functions as the principal regional council coordinating social science research and graduate education across Latin America and the Caribbean. Its constituency spans graduate students and early-career researchers, hundreds of associated universities and research centers, and civil society organizations engaging with policy debate; primary named partner institutions include UNAM, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, FLACSO, and CONACYT (Mexico).

CLACSO operates an integrated digital ecosystem spanning 13+ platform properties. The core delivery layer is CLACSO Virtual (clacsovirtual.org) and Aula CLACSO (aulaclacso.org), a learning management system hosting master's degrees, specializations, advanced diplomas, virtual seminars, and short courses. Knowledge dissemination runs through the Biblioteca Virtual de CLACSO open-access repository, the Librería Latinoamericana online bookstore, CLACSO-Redalyc for journal indexing, and the Revista Tramas y Redes peer-reviewed journal. Audiovisual distribution is handled by CLACSO TV, CLACSO Radio, and the Repositorio de Clases archive of recorded sessions. Collaborative infrastructure includes the Red de Posgrados network connecting graduate programs, the Grupos de Trabajo thematic working groups (current cycle 2026-2028), the Plataformas para el Diálogo Social (PDS) addressing democracy, inequality, migration, feminist thought, labor, and environmental transitions, and the Programa de Becas de Investigación research grant program.

The business model is non-commercial and multi-stream. Revenue derives from annual membership fees paid by associated centers (centros asociados) under institutional subscription agreements, coordination fees for graduate programs run through the Red de Posgrados, conference registration (notably #CLACSO2025 in Bogotá, #CLACSO2022 in Mexico City, and prior editions), book sales and licensing through the Librería Latinoamericana, and grant funding including the flagship CLACSO-CONACYT graduate scholarship program. The go-to-market is community-led: CLACSO grows through institutional partnerships, working-group participation, conferences, and open-access publishing rather than outbound sales. Major alliances include CONACYT (Core), Redalyc (Core), UNESCO (Major), UNAM (Major), ONU Mujeres (Major), and Fundación Huésped (Minor). The organization is independently governed by a Directing Committee and Executive Secretariat, with no parent company, PE, or VC ownership indicated in the source data.

Name

Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales

Legal name

Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales, Artes y Humanidades

Website

https://clacso.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CLACSO is a Buenos Aires-headquartered non-profit academic network coordinating social science research, graduate education, and open-access publishing across Latin America and the Caribbean through hundreds of associated centers, integrated digital platforms, and biennial conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research and Education Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Support Services (611710), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Service-Learning Partnerships (EDALAOAI)

Keywords

• Social sciences research
• Academic publishing
• Higher education network
• Scholarly publications
• Latin American studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Buenos Aires

HQ country

Argentina

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Associated Center Membership Fees: Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean become associated centers of CLACSO, likely paying membership fees to participate in the network
2. Graduate Program Coordination: Coordination of graduate education network (Red de Posgrados) offering specializations, master's degrees, and advanced diplomas, with potential registration or coordination fees
3. Publication Sales and Licensing: Sale of academic books and publications through the Librería Latinoamericana platform
4. Conference and Event Registration: Revenue from conference participation fees including the periodic CLACSO conferences held in different cities

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales (CLACSO) is an academic organization that promotes social sciences research, education, and knowledge dissemination across Latin America and the Caribbean. It operates as a network connecting universities, research centers, and individual scholars, and produces scholarly publications and educational resources.

Product overview

CLACSO operates as a network-based organization offering an integrated ecosystem of educational, research, and knowledgedissemination products. The core offerings include CLACSO Virtual and Aula CLACSO for online education (master's degrees, specializations, diplomas, seminars, and short courses); the Biblioteca Virtual and Repositorio de Clases for open-access knowledge repositories; and the Librería Latinoamericana and CLACSO-Redalyc for publications. Complementary platforms include CLACSO TV and CLACSO Radio for audiovisual content, the scientific journal Tramas y Redes, and thematic Plataformas para el Diálogo Social addressing regional issues. The Red de Posgrados connects graduate programs across the region, Grupos de Trabajo enable collaborative research, and the Programa de Becas funds research projects. This platform-plus-network architecture positions CLACSO as a comprehensive regional infrastructure for social science education and knowledge production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CLACSO Academic Network

Quantifiable outcome

• Open-access digital infrastructure serving researchers across Latin America and the Caribbean
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de México)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint scholarship program CLACSO-CONACYT providing graduate scholarships (Becas de Posgrado) for social science researchers, enabling hundreds of students to pursue advanced studies across Latin America. This flagship partnership represents a major capacity-building initiative for emerging researchers.
• UNESCOmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative publications and joint initiatives such as the regional conference on higher education and social inequalities, bringing together international academic prestige and resources to Latin American social science research.
• Redalyc (Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y el Caribe)coreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform partnership for open-access journal distribution, ensuring wide dissemination of CLACSO-affiliated academic publications across Latin America and globally through the Redalyc infrastructure.
• Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for major CLACSO events including the #CLACSO2022 conference, with collaborative academic programs, working groups, and scholarly exchanges strengthening regional academic ties.
• Fundación HuéspedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint programming on comprehensive sexuality education (Educación Integral en Sexualidad - EIS) in Latin America and the Caribbean, combining academic research with public health advocacy.
• ONU MujeresmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research initiatives on care policies, gender equality, and women's rights, including reports on care work in rural contexts across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UNESCO (Social and Human Sciences Sector): UNESCO is a major strategic partner of CLACSO and operates as a global incumbent in social science research, higher education, and academic convening. While much broader in scope, it provides the international framework for academic networking and policy research that CLACSO operates within.
• International Social Science Council (ISSC): ISSC is a global counterpart operating as a membership organization for social science councils worldwide. While operating globally, it parallels CLACSO's function as a coordinating body for social science research, policy engagement, and academic networking at a regional level.

Direct peers

• Redalyc (Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y el Caribe): Redalyc is CLACSO's core platform partner for open-access journal indexing and dissemination across Latin America. It directly overlaps in open-access publishing infrastructure, scholarly network coordination, and serving the same regional academic audience.
• Latin American Studies Association (LASA): LASA is a major academic association serving scholars of Latin America globally, with comparable conference programming, working groups, and academic publishing. While focused on Latin American studies as a field rather than the region itself, it competes for the same researcher audience and conference participation.
• Asociación Latinoamericana de Sociología (ALAS): ALAS is the Latin American Sociological Association, operating as a disciplinary academic society serving sociologists and social scientists across the region. It competes for the same researcher participation, conference attendance, and scholarly publishing market as CLACSO.
• FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales): Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences is a regional academic organization explicitly named as a CLACSO partner with multiple country offices. It offers similar graduate programs, research networks, and academic publications across Latin America and the Caribbean, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• UDUAL (Unión de Universidades de América Latina y el Caribe): UDUAL is a regional university association for Latin America and the Caribbean with a similar network-of-institutions model. It operates comparable regional coordination, academic programs, and member-driven activities for higher education institutions across the same geography.

Others

• Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT / CONAHCYT México): Mexico's national science council is a key partner of CLACSO via the flagship graduate scholarship program. While a funder rather than peer, it operates overlapping activities in research funding, graduate scholarship administration, and social science capacity building across Latin America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_clacso
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcAFzGJh_KTNwel7-gCpDVQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/CLACSO.Oficial
• Instagraminstagram.com/clacso_oficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/consejo-latinoamericano-de-ciencias-sociales

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales