CESED - Universidad de los Andes

What CESED - Universidad de los Andes does

CESED (Centro de Estudios sobre Seguridad y Drogas) is an interdisciplinary academic research center housed within Universidad de los Andes, a leading private university in Bogotá, Colombia. Founded in 2012 and celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022, the center produces evidence-based research on security policy, drug policy, organized crime, illicit economies, rural development, and public health approaches to substance use, drawing on political science, economics, anthropology, psychology, and law. It organizes its work around three thematic areas: Rural Development, Illicit Economies and Environment; Security and Violence; and Drug Consumption, Public Health and Education.

Its core outputs include academic publications (thematic documents, policy briefs, CEDE-CESED working papers, books, and the 'Sin Censura!' series), recurring seminars and conferences (notably the SEPODRA regional seminar co-organized with CIDE Mexico), and professional courses on drug policy, illicit economies, harm reduction, and organized crime. Additional offerings include the Semillero CESED student research seedbed and applied research tools such as the PSA Prioritization Tool for Payment for Environmental Services in illicit crop areas.

CESED does not operate on a commercial pricing model; funding flows through university support and partner grants, and its customers are policymakers, legislators, academics, students, and civil society organizations in Colombia and across Latin America. Distribution is achieved through direct policy engagement, public events, professional courses, social media, YouTube, and recurring coverage in outlets such as Kienyke, Infobae, and La Veintitrés.

Name

CESED - Universidad de los Andes

Legal name

CESED - Centro de Estudios sobre Seguridad y Drogas, Universidad de los Andes

Website

https://cesed.uniandes.edu.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CESED is an interdisciplinary academic research center at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá that produces evidence-based research on security and drug policy in Colombia and Latin America, serving policymakers, academics, and civil society through publications, courses, and seminars.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bogotá

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CESED operates as an academic research unit within Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Based solely on the entity name and association with a private university, it is positioned to produce academic research, policy analysis, publications, and educational programs. No detailed offering description is supported by the supplied source material.

Product overview

CESED (Centro de Estudios sobre Seguridad y Drogas) is an interdisciplinary research center at Universidad de los Andes focused on promoting informed debate on security and drug policy in Colombia and Latin America. The center operates across three thematic areas: Rural Development, Illicit Economies and Environment; Security and Violence; and Drug Consumption, Public Health and Education. Its offerings include academic publications (thematic documents, policy briefs, books, academic articles), educational courses on drug policy and illicit economies, seminars and events, a student research seedbed (Semillero CESED), and specialized research tools such as the PSA prioritization tool. The center functions as an academic research and knowledge dissemination organization rather than a commercial product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Semillero CESED: A student seed fund/seminary for students of Universidad de Los Andes for interdisciplinary discussion and research on substance use and production, drug policy, and security.

Segments3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LSE Ideas (London School of Economics)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2018Academic collaboration on policy research, with LSE Ideas researchers participating in CESED workshops and conferences on development policies and drug markets.
• UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 September 2017Participated in the 2017 workshop on illicit crops with UNODC representative Bo Mathiasen presenting on narcotics dynamics in Colombia.
• Elementa DDHHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 August 2017Co-organized the 2017 event on supervised consumption facilities (Salas de uso supervisado de drogas) with experts from Elementa DDHH, a human rights organization focused on drug policy.
• Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 August 2017Co-organized the 2017 event on supervised consumption facilities with the Fundación Ideas para la Paz, a Colombian think tank specializing in security and peacebuilding issues.
• FESCOL (Fundación Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Colombia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 February 2017Annual co-organizer of the course 'Producción, tráfico y políticas de drogas en el área andina'. FESCOL promotes political education and supports research on democratic policy issues in Colombia.
• CIDE (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, México)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2016Long-standing partner in organizing SEPODRA (Seminario para la Política de Drogas en América Latina). Co-develops the regional academic network for drug policy research in Latin America.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Elementa DDHH: Mexican-Colombian human rights organization focused on drug policy and human rights. Directly comparable to CESED on drug policy advocacy and harm reduction, and a documented event co-organizer.
• CIDE (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas): Mexican academic research center focused on social science, public policy, and economics. Direct peer as the co-developer of SEPODRA and the most comparable Latin American academic counterpart for drug policy research.
• Dejusticia: Colombian research and advocacy organization focused on drug policy reform, human rights, and constitutional issues. Closely comparable to CESED in mission (evidence-based drug and security policy in Colombia) and in audience (government policymakers and civil society).
• Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP): Colombian think tank specializing in security, peacebuilding, and conflict analysis. Directly comparable to CESED as a co-organizer of events (e.g., 2017 supervised consumption facilities event) and as a competitor for security-policy research funding in Colombia.
• Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris: Colombian research collective focused on armed conflict, drug trafficking, and security. Comparable academic-think-tank hybrid operating in the same Colombian policy ecosystem as CESED.

Broad incumbents

• International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC): Global network of NGOs and think tanks focused on drug policy reform. Comparable to CESED as a peer convener and policy voice on the same drug-policy issues, with broader geographic membership.
• Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA): U.S.-based think tank influencing drug and security policy across Latin America. Operates at a larger scale and in a different geography but addresses the same substantive issues and policymakers as CESED.
• Inter-American Dialogue: Washington-based forum for policy analysis on Western Hemisphere issues, including security and drug policy. Broad incumbent comparable to CESED in policy-area expertise and audience, though with much wider geographic scope.
• Transnational Institute (TNI): Amsterdam-based international research and advocacy institute with a long-running Drug Policy Programme. Broader geographic scope than CESED but a leading authority on the same drug policy reform topics CESED addresses.

Others

• Open Society Foundations – Drug Policy Programme: Major global funder of drug policy reform work and a documented financial partner of CESED. Adjacent rather than competitive: shapes the same policy ecosystem and funds many of CESED's regional peers, but is an enabler/fund source rather than a research peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CesedUniandes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cesed-universidad-de-los-andes
• Instagraminstagram.com/ceseduniandes

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 CESED - Universidad de los Andes