What BRICS Policy Center does

BRICS Policy Center (Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas BRICS) is a non-partisan, non-profit academic think tank founded in 2011 and hosted by the Institute of International Relations at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). It is headquartered in Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro, with a staff of approximately 28, and operates as a research, policy-analysis, and convening organization rather than a commercial enterprise. Its work focuses on BRICS+ countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia) and the broader Global South, producing critical analysis on international asymmetries, development models, governance reform, inequality, environmental crisis, and peace and conflict.

The center delivers its output through an interconnected portfolio of research programs (CURA on culture and heritage, PRIME Hub on participatory monitoring and evaluation, GSUM on peacebuilding and mediation, LACID on development financing, LABRICS on BRICS governance, PIGD on innovation and development, Global and Collective Health, G20, Plataforma Socioambiental, and Critical Approaches to Development), a data platform (Painel China, which systematizes Chinese investment flows into Brazil and South America), a publication series (BPC Policy Briefs, Papers, Fact Sheets, Radar reports, and blog), and a fellowship and voluntary internship program that draws researchers from over 20 countries. The intellectual architecture is purely academic, with no commercial technology product or proprietary AI component.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through institutional grants and partnerships with foundations and government agencies, including the Mott Foundation, Instituto Clima e Sociedade, CAPES, FAPERJ, CNPq, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Körber-Stiftung, the British Academy, the City of Rio de Janeiro, and the New Development Bank's Independent Evaluation Office. Publications and participation are offered free of charge, and the fellowship and internship programs are voluntary and unpaid. The center's go-to-market is a community-led model: it engages academics, public officials, NGOs, social movements, and media through publications, webinars, public debates, and direct policy engagement, with the explicit goal of influencing Brazilian and international policy on Global South issues.

Name

BRICS Policy Center

Legal name

Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas BRICS (BRICS Policy Center)

Website

https://bricspolicycenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BRICS Policy Center is a non-profit academic think tank at PUC-Rio in Rio de Janeiro that conducts research on BRICS+ countries and the Global South through twelve research programs, a China investment data platform, and policy publications. It serves academics, policymakers, NGOs, and civil society, funded by institutional grants and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Think Tank Policy Research

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Policy research
• Think tank services
• International relations
• Global governance
• Development studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Rio de Janeiro

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding and Grants: BRICS Policy Center operates as a non-profit think tank primarily funded through institutional partnerships and grants from foundations and government agencies including Mott Foundation, Instituto Clima e Sociedade, CAPES, FAPERJ, CNPq, Heinrich Böll Foundation, and Rio de Janeiro city government.
2. Fellowship Program (Voluntary): The fellowship program is voluntary and does not generate revenue. Fellows are responsible for their own travel, accommodation, and living expenses. International health insurance is mandatory for participants.
3. Voluntary Internship Program: The internship program is voluntary. Interns must be enrolled at PUC-Rio and cover their own expenses. The program runs for periods of 2 weeks to 1 year.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BRICS Policy Center is a non-profit academic think tank that produces rigorous policy research, publishes policy briefs, papers, fact sheets, and radar reports, and organizes events and webinars on BRICS countries and the Global South. It maintains thematic research programs covering peacebuilding, development financing, climate, health, governance, and culture, and offers voluntary fellowship and internship programs for researchers. Its work is funded by institutional grants and foundations rather than commercial sales.

Product overview

BRICS Policy Center is a non-partisan, non-profit think tank at PUC-Rio dedicated to analyzing global transformations and their implications for Brazil and the Global South, with emphasis on BRICS+ countries. The organization operates through a portfolio of research programs (including CURA, GSUM, LACID, PRIME Hub, PIGD, LABRICS, and thematic programs on Global Health, G20, and BRICS+), data platforms (such as Painel China for Chinese investment tracking), educational offerings (Fellowship and Internship programs), and publication series (Policy Briefs, Papers, Fact Sheets, and Radar reports). The research programs function as interconnected thematic units, some with dedicated training components like GSUM's Winter School and academic courses on conflict transformation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GSUM - Global South Unit for Mediation: A research, teaching and learning platform dedicated to producing, debating and disseminating knowledge on peacebuilding, conflict transformation, international negotiations, mediation and peace operations with a focus on the Global South.
• LACID - Laboratory of Cooperation and Financing for Development
• LABRICS - BRICS Laboratory of Policies and Global Governance
• CURA - Culture and Heritage Research Program
• PRIME Hub - Participatory and Intersectional Monitoring and Evaluation Hub
• Saúde Global & Coletiva - Global and Collective Health
• PIGD - Innovation and Governance of Development Program
• Painel China - China Panel

Products and services

• CURA - Culture and Heritage Research Program Research program dedicated to investigating how culture and heritage serve as fundamental axes for understanding and transforming international relations in the 21st century, prioritizing Global South perspectives.
• PRIME Hub - Participatory and Intersectional Monitoring and Evaluation Hub
• GSUM - Global South Unit for Mediation Research, teaching, and learning platform dedicated to producing and disseminating knowledge about peacebuilding, conflict transformation, international negotiations, mediation, and peacekeeping with a Global South focus.
• PIGD - Innovation and Governance of Development Program A program examining the impact of scientific-technological development on production, reproduction, and mitigation of asymmetries in the international system.
• LABRICS - BRICS Laboratory of Policies and Global Governance A laboratory investigating BRICS as a space for dispute, negotiation, and production of meanings about the transforming international order using critical plural approaches.
• LACID - Laboratory of Cooperation and Financing for Development A laboratory analyzing major actors in development financing and understanding transformations in global development practices, with focus on Chinese investments and multilateral development banks.
• Saúde Global & Coletiva - Global and Collective Health Program A research program fostering critical and integrated study of health issues, recognizing structural inequalities affecting BRICS populations using an intersectional approach.
• G20 Program A program coordinating BPC's engagement with the G20 process through T20 (Think Tank engagement group) and producing policy briefs on international governance reform.
• Painel China - China Panel A data platform that gathers, organizes, and systematizes data about Chinese investments in Brazil and economic flows between China and South America.
• BPC Publications Published outputs including BPC Policy Brief, BPC Paper, Fact Sheet, Radar, and Blog covering research findings on BRICS and global governance topics, available in Portuguese and English.
• Fellowship Program A voluntary fellowship program hosting international researchers for periods of 2 weeks to 1 year to collaborate on BRICS-related research projects at BRICS Policy Center.
• Voluntary Internship Program A voluntary internship program for PUC-Rio students to participate in research activities for periods of 2 weeks to 1 year.
• Caderno para Entender o BRICS An educational publication democratizing knowledge about world politics and promoting dialogue about BRICS among different sectors.

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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• New Development Bank (NDB) - Independent Evaluation OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025With support from the NDB's Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), BRICS Policy Center established the PRIME Hub - Participatory and Intersectional Monitoring and Evaluation Hub. The IEO was created in April 2022 with the main objective of promoting accountability and learning to enhance the Bank's performance. The partnership integrates monitoring and evaluation thinking across all BPC research areas.
• Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (SSSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBRICS Policy Center/PUC-Rio signed an agreement with Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, a leading Italian public university of excellence focused on advanced research and training.
• British AcademymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an institutional partner providing support for research and academic collaboration.
• African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSUM partner organization focused on conflict resolution and mediation in Africa. Collaborates on peace and conflict research programs.
• Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSUM partner providing collaboration on peace studies and conflict resolution research.
• FLACSO EcuadorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales - GSUM partner collaborating on Latin American peace and conflict research and academic programs.
• Körber-StiftungmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman foundation partnering with BPC, Gateway House, South African Institute of International Affairs, and Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia on joint reports about international affairs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs): UK-based global think tank with longstanding BRICS and Global South research; comparable in international-affairs scope but operates at much larger scale and with broader geographic mandate than BPC.
• Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS): German political foundation affiliated with the CDU with international policy research and BRICS programs; comparable as a foreign-funded policy research organization but with global scope far exceeding BPC's.
• Atlantic Council: US-based think tank with dedicated BRICS, global governance, and international financial architecture programs; comparable in topical overlap but operates at much larger scale and with a US/NATO-aligned framing.
• Heinrich Böll Foundation: German political foundation affiliated with the Greens; an actual BPC institutional funder and partner on G20 engagement and international cooperation analysis. Comparable as a politically aligned foundation with Global South programming.

Direct peers

• Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC): Russia's principal foreign-policy think tank with explicit BRICS+ and non-Western international-order programming; directly comparable as a country-anchored BRICS research institution with similar convening function.
• Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations: Indian foreign-policy think tank and explicit BPC partner under the Körber-Stiftung joint reports; comparable in BRICS+ focus, T20 engagement, and emphasis on emerging-power perspectives.
• Igarapé Institute: Brazilian think tank focused on international security, drug policy, and development; directly comparable as a Rio-based, internationally networked Southern policy research institute with similar funding model.
• South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA): South Africa's leading foreign-policy think tank and active T20/B20 participant; co-publishes with BPC under the Körber-Stiftung joint reports on international affairs. Directly comparable as a Southern-hemisphere BRICS-focused policy research institute.
• Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI): Rio de Janeiro–based Brazilian think tank focused on international relations and Brazil's role in global governance; closest direct peer inside Brazil, with overlapping topics (BRICS, G20, multilateral reform) and similar funder profile.
• Observer Research Foundation (ORF): India's leading foreign-policy think tank with strong BRICS and Global South programming and G20/T20 engagement; directly comparable in mission, scope, and Southern-led policy research positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bricspolicyc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bricspolicycenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about BRICS Policy Center