Centro de Investigación en Comunicación (CICOM UCR)

What Centro de Investigación en Comunicación (CICOM UCR) does

CICOM (Centro de Investigación en Comunicación) is the primary academic research center for communication studies at the Universidad de Costa Rica, operating as a non-commercial unit within UCR's academic structure since its founding in 2012/2013. The center organizes its work around four research programs: Media/Technology/Society, Narratives/Subjectivities/Intersectionalities, Power/Rights/Communicative Citizenship, and Communication/Organization Processes, serving an audience that includes university researchers, graduate students, policy makers, regulators, and civil society organizations. Its product portfolio consists of two digital platforms and a series of recurring publications and informational campaigns.

The center's technical core comprises Mediápolis, an open-access digital platform aggregating longitudinal data on Costa Rican media ownership, business structure, and state advertising distribution over the past decade, plus historical broadcasting archives; and Geomedios, an interactive mapping platform displaying media outlet locations, emission platforms, spectrum use, and social media presence. These platforms are built on the university's SIGPRO project information management system and are distributed free of charge via the center's website and open-access repositories. Recurring products include the annual Estado de la Libertad de Expresión report (co-produced with PROLEDI-UCR), the Nuestras apps de cada día digital usage series, the Narrativas del miedo campaign, and Crónicas Online. Distribution relies on digital channels (website, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X), open-access publications, and appearances on university radio (96.7 FM) and television (Canal Quince UCR).

CICOM does not generate commercial revenue. All outputs are provided free of charge under an open-access model, and the center is funded through Universidad de Costa Rica's institutional budget and external research grants. International collaboration is conducted through networks such as CYTED/Evaprop and bilateral agreements with researchers in Brazil, the United States, France, and other Latin American countries, extending the center's reach beyond Costa Rica.

Name

Centro de Investigación en Comunicación (CICOM UCR)

Legal name

Centro de Investigación en Comunicación CICOM

Website

https://cicom.ucr.ac.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CICOM is a non-commercial academic research center at Universidad de Costa Rica that conducts communication studies research, publishing open-access platforms (Mediápolis, Geomedios) and reports on Costa Rica's media system for academics, policymakers, and civil society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montes de Oca, San José

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CICOM is an academic research center at Universidad de Costa Rica dedicated to research, analysis, interpretation, advisory work, and dissemination on communication processes as both a discipline and social practice. The center runs four structured research programs (Media/Technology/Society; Narratives/Subjectivities/Intersectionalities; Power/Rights/Communicative Citizenship; Communication/Organization Processes) and produces open-access digital platforms (Mediápolis, Geomedios), annual reports, books, and informational campaigns documenting Costa Rica's media ecosystem.

Product overview

CICOM UCR operates as a research center producing academic publications and digital platforms focused on communication studies in Costa Rica. Its product portfolio consists of two primary digital platforms: Mediápolis (open-access media data repository) and Geomedios (interactive media mapping tool), along with periodic research reports such as the 'Nuestras apps de cada día' digital usage reports, and informational campaigns like 'Narrativas del miedo' and 'Crónicas Online'. These products serve academic research, public policy analysis, and media literacy purposes, with the platforms providing data-driven insights into Costa Rica's media ecosystem and digital communication patterns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mediápolis: Digital platform for open access data, historical documents and academic information about Costa Rica's media system.
• Geomedios
• Nuestras Apps de cada día
• Narrativas del miedo

Products and services

• Mediápolis Open-access digital platform that brings together data, historical documents, and academic information about Costa Rica's media system. It allows access to information about media ownership, business structure, distribution of state advertising over the last ten years, and historical archives linked to broadcasting. Aimed at academic researchers, policy makers, and the general public interested in Costa Rican media.
• Geomedios Interactive platform enabling exploration of where media outlets are located in Costa Rica. Through dynamic maps it offers data about their emission platforms, reach, use of the radioelectric spectrum, and presence on social networks. Used by researchers, regulators, and the public.
• Nuestras apps de cada día Annual research report series documenting digital platform and social media usage in Costa Rica, examining how Costa Rican users engage with apps and online platforms. Targeted at researchers, policy makers, and the informed public.
• Narrativas del miedo Informational campaign on fear narratives and life skills for citizenship, exploring how narratives of fear among university students relate to health and citizenship development. Aimed at university communities and civil society audiences.
• Crónicas Online Online chronicles series documenting various social and communication phenomena in Costa Rica. Targeted at readers interested in contemporary social and media dynamics in Costa Rica.

Quantifiable outcome

• IV Informe del Estado de la Libertad de Expresión en Costa Rica (Fourth State of Freedom of Expression Report)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• Universidad de Costa Rica (Escuela de Ciencias de la Comunicación Colectiva - ECCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCICOM is an integral part of UCR, specifically linked to the School of Communication Sciences (ECCC) and the Graduate Program in Communication (PPC). This institutional integration provides access to teaching infrastructure, student talent, and cross-disciplinary research opportunities.
• CYTED (Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCICOM participates in the Evaprop thematic network under CYTED, coordinating international research on science, technology, and innovation communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. This collaboration involves researchers from multiple Iberoamerican countries.
• PROLEDI-UCR (Programa de Libertad de Expresión y Derecho a la Información)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for producing the annual Estado de la Libertad de Expresión reports. PROLEDI provides legal expertise while CICOM contributes communication research methodologies for comprehensive freedom of expression monitoring in Costa Rica.
• PROSIC-UCR (Programa de Estudios de la Sociedad de la Información y el Conocimiento)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on studies related to digital media, information society issues, and communication in the digital age. Joint appearances on Café Digital program for research dissemination.
• SIGPRO (Sistema de Información y Gestión de Proyectos)moderateTechnology or IntegrationUniversity system for project information management used to track and document all research projects, ensuring systematic documentation of research outputs and institutional accountability.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• ILCE: Instituto Latinoamericano de la Comunicación Educativa is a Latin American institution focused on communication, education, and educational media. Comparable as a regional academic communication organization, though with a stronger educational media focus than CICOM's media-system research.

Emerging players

• Internews: International non-profit supporting independent media and freedom of expression globally, with active programs in Latin America. Comparable as an organization producing applied research on media ecosystems, though with an implementation/NGO mandate rather than academic publishing.

Direct peers

• PROLEDI-UCR: Programa de Libertad de Expresión y Derecho a la Información at UCR is CICOM's direct collaboration partner for annual freedom of expression reports. Highly comparable as a co-located UCR academic program producing joint flagship publications.
• Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism: University of Oxford-based research center producing flagship annual digital news reports and media policy research. Comparable as an academic institution producing internationally cited media-system research and cross-country comparative datasets.
• PROSIC-UCR: Programa de Estudios de la Sociedad de la Información y el Conocimiento is a sister research program at Universidad de Costa Rica focused on information society and digital media. Closely comparable as a UCR-affiliated program with overlapping research themes and joint dissemination activities.
• InCom-UAB: Institut de la Comunicació at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is a European academic communication research institute. Comparable as a university-based communication research center producing peer-reviewed scholarship and policy-relevant media research.
• CIESPAL: Centro Internacional de Estudios Superiores de Comunicación para América Latina, the principal Latin American academic communication research center. Operates with a similar mandate of communication research, training, and policy support across the region, making it the closest functional peer to CICOM.

Broad incumbents

• FLACSO: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales is a broader social science research and graduate education organization with programs touching communication, media, and digital society. Comparable as a regional academic research institution but with a wider social science mandate.
• Pew Research Center: Major U.S. nonpartisan research organization producing widely cited reports on media, journalism, and digital platforms. Comparable as a non-commercial research center publishing flagship periodic reports on media systems, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• CLACSO: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales coordinates academic social science research across Latin America. Comparable as a regional network supporting communication and media research, though at a meta/organizational level rather than as a producing research center.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cicom_ucr?lang=en
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/CICOMUCR
• Facebookfacebook.com/CICOM.CR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centro-de-investigaci%C3%B3n-en-comunicaci%C3%B3n
• Instagraminstagram.com/cicom.ucr/?hl=es-la

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centro de Investigación en Comunicación (CICOM UCR)