CONFAP - Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa

What CONFAP - Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa does

CONFAP (Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa) is a Brazilian non-profit civil association founded on April 28, 2006, and headquartered in Brasília, Distrito Federal. It functions as the national coordination and articulation body for Brazil's 27 state-level Research Support Foundations (FAPs) — one per state plus the Federal District — which collectively channel public funding into scientific, technological, and innovation research across all five Brazilian regions. CONFAP operates with a small central staff of 7 employees and is governed by a rotating presidency drawn from the leadership of member FAPs, supported by regional directors and a Fiscal Council.

CONFAP's core deliverables are coordination services rather than a traditional product portfolio: it maintains a consolidated database of FAP investments in science, technology and innovation; publishes the digital magazine "Revista Ciência em Rede CONFAP"; and convenes the National Forums CONFAP (the 72nd edition is scheduled for Niterói, RJ in 2026). It also acts as the national channelling mechanism for international cooperation programs with the European Commission, UK Newton Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, DAAD, CNRS, INRIA, ERC, and others, and runs bilateral calls such as MOBILITY CONFAP ITALY 2026, CONFAP & CDTI 2026-2027 (Spain), and the RAMP Raw Materials Partnership.

CONFAP is not a commercial entity. Its operating budget is sustained through member FAP contributions and partnership-supported programs, and no revenue figures, pricing model, or commercial pricing are disclosed. Its strategic value lies in institutional coordination: defending FAP autonomy, ensuring regular financial execution of state research budgets, articulating state-level interests with federal S&T policy (MCTI, CNPq, CAPES, FINEP), and enabling international research cooperation through a single national gateway.

Name

CONFAP - Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa

Legal name

Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa

Website

https://confap.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CONFAP is the Brazilian non-profit national council, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Brasília, that coordinates Brazil's 27 state-level Research Support Foundations (FAPs) within the National Science, Technology and Innovation System, channelling policy advocacy, international cooperation, and programmatic alignment for state-level research funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Funding Coordination

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

akta.pro primary industry

Accreditation Coordination, Recognition & Meta-Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regional Education Service Agencies (ESAs/BOCES/Intermediate Units) (EDADABAC), Financial Aid Administration & Packaging (EDALAJAA)

Keywords

• Research funding coordination
• Science policy advocacy
• State research foundations
• International research cooperation
• Science technology innovation

Headquarters

HQ city

Brasília

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CONFAP is a Brazilian non-profit civil association that serves as the national coordination and articulation body for Brazil's 27 state-level Research Support Foundations (Fundações de Amparo à Pesquisa, FAPs). It represents member FAPs before federal science, technology and innovation (CTI) policy bodies, consolidates their political-institutional interests, defends their autonomy and budget execution, and facilitates international cooperation partnerships with agencies such as the European Commission, UK Newton Fund, and Australian Department of Education. CONFAP also publishes the Revista Ciência em Rede CONFAP, maintains a public database of FAP investments in CTI, and convenes the annual National Forums that bring together research stakeholders across Brazil.

Product overview

CONFAP is a non-profit organization (Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa) that acts as a coordination and articulation entity for Brazil's 27 State Research Support Foundations (FAPs). The organization does not offer a traditional technology product portfolio but instead provides coordination services including a database of investments in science, technology and innovation (Base de dados sobre os investimentos em ciência, tecnologia e inovação realizados pelas FAPs), the digital magazine 'Revista Ciência em Rede CONFAP', and organizes the National Forums (Fóruns Nacionais CONFAP). CONFAP functions as part of Brazil's National Science, Technology and Innovation System, promoting international cooperation programs and managing calls for proposals (editais) in partnership with international agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Base de dados sobre os investimentos em ciência, tecnologia e inovação realizados pelas FAPs A publicly accessible database containing investment data in science, technology and innovation carried out by Brazil's 27 state Research Support Foundations (FAPs). It serves researchers, policymakers, journalists, and institutional stakeholders seeking consolidated CTI funding information across Brazilian states.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, moderate and minor.

• Comissão Europeia (European Commission)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministrative arrangement for EU-Brazil cooperation mechanisms in Research, Development & Innovation / Atlantic Ocean Research & Innovation Alliance
• Fundação Bill e Melinda Gates (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to support research and innovation initiatives through state FAPs
• British Council / Fundo NewtonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNewton Fund partnership for scientific collaboration and research capacity building
• Australia - Department of EducationmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with Australian institutions to intensify academic and scientific cooperation with Brazil
• Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações (MCTI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational cooperation with Brazil's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations for coordinated CTI policy implementation
• CNPqcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational research council partnership for scientific and technological development coordination
• CAPESmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordination for Higher Education Personnel improvement through research partnerships
• FINEPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational research and innovation financing partnership
• FiocruzmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Oswaldo Cruz Foundation for health research initiatives
• SEBRAEmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service for innovation and entrepreneurship
• EMBRAPIImoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian Association of Research Entities for Business Innovation partnerships
• DAAD BrasilmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Academic Exchange Service partnership for researcher mobility and academic exchange
• CGEEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCenter for Management and Strategic Studies partnership for strategic research planning
• CNRSmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench National Centre for Scientific Research international cooperation partnership
• INRIAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation scientific cooperation
• ERCmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Research Council partnership for research excellence initiatives
• EuraxessminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean researchers' mobility network partnership
• ALL-ATLANTIC OCEAN RESEARCH ALLIANCE (AANCHOR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAtlantic Ocean research alliance for international scientific cooperation in marine sciences
• ABC (Academia Brasileira de Ciências)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian Academy of Sciences partnership for scientific policy advocacy
• SBPC (Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian Society for the Progress of Science partnership for scientific community representation
• ConsectiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Council of State Secretaries for Science, Technology and Innovation partnership
• RNPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Research and Education Network partnership for digital infrastructure
• AnprotecminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazilian Association of Technology Parks and Business Incubators partnership for innovation ecosystem development

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves33 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• FINEP - Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos: Brazil's federal innovation financing agency. FINEP's focus on funding research, development, and innovation overlaps closely with CONFAP's role coordinating state FAPs, though FINEP operates as a direct financier rather than a coordinating council.
• CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico: Brazil's federal research funding council, directly comparable to CONFAP in mission (funding research and coordinating S&T policy) but operates at the federal level with a far larger budget, broader mandate, and direct granting authority that CONFAP lacks.
• Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovações (MCTI): Brazil's federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations. MCTI sets national S&T policy that CONFAP helps implement at the state level through its member FAPs, making it the dominant policy incumbent in CONFAP's operating environment.
• CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior: Brazilian federal agency for graduate education and researcher development. CAPES shares CONFAP's interest in researcher training and academic mobility and is a confirmed CONFAP partner, but operates at the federal level with direct program authority.

Regional players

• U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF): U.S. federal agency that funds fundamental research and coordinates national S&T policy. NSF is the international structural analog to CONFAP's coordination role, but operates in a different geography, at vastly larger scale, and with direct granting authority CONFAP does not possess.

Direct peers

• ANPEI - Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Inovação das Empresas Inovadoras: Brazilian association of research and innovation entities, structurally analogous to CONFAP as a membership-based, non-profit organization that coordinates and advocates for its members in the Brazilian S&T ecosystem.
• SBPC - Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência: Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science, a long-standing scientific association that mobilizes the research community and advocates for S&T policy. SBPC is a confirmed CONFAP partner and shares a similar association-based, advocacy-driven model for representing research interests.
• ABC - Academia Brasileira de Ciências: Brazilian Academy of Sciences, an elite scientific association that advises government on S&T policy. ABC plays a coordination and advocacy role structurally similar to CONFAP, though focused on individual researchers rather than state funding agencies.

Emerging players

• EMBRAPII - Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovação Industrial: Brazilian Association of Research Entities for Business Innovation. EMBRAPII operates in a narrower, more industry-focused niche than CONFAP but is a confirmed CONFAP partner with comparable association-style governance and policy advocacy orientation.

Others

• CGEE - Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégicos: Center for Management and Strategic Studies in Brazil. CGEE provides strategic foresight and studies for S&T planning and is a confirmed CONFAP partner, but its focus on strategic analysis rather than coordination makes it an adjacent enabling entity rather than a direct peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/confapbr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CONFAP - Conselho Nacional das Fundações Estaduais de Amparo à Pesquisa