Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos

What Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos does

Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos (FFMS) is a Portuguese private non-profit foundation established in 2009 by Alexandre Soares dos Santos and his family. The foundation was created to address what it describes as a deficit in evidence-based research in Portuguese public debate, and operates as a knowledge institution focused on producing and disseminating rigorous analysis of national social, economic, and political issues. Its primary audience spans the general Portuguese public, policymakers, academics, and media professionals, with content organized across nine thematic areas: Ambiente, Ciência, Cultura, Economia, Educação, Justiça, Política, População, and Questões Sociais/Saúde. FFMS is headquartered in Lisbon, employs approximately 45 people, and is funded primarily by the founding family rather than through venture capital, philanthropy rounds, or commercial revenue at scale.

FFMS's product surface is structured as a multi-format content platform anchored by FFMS Play, a dedicated multimedia hub hosting podcast series, video documentaries, debate recordings, and conferences. Major podcast properties include [IN]Pertinente (273 episodes spanning Economy, Society, Politics, and Science) and Da Capa à Contracapa (434 episodes, in partnership with Rádio Renascença), with additional series co-produced with Observador Lab and Jornal Público. The foundation also operates Pordata, a standalone statistical database on Portugal that functions as a long-form reference asset, and a research division producing studies, policy papers, and Barómetros. Distribution relies on a mix of owned digital channels (the ffms.pt website, FFMS Play, Spotify/Apple/Buzzsprout syndication), broadcast partnerships (RTP for documentaries and the Fronteiras XXI debate program), and radio (Rádio Renascença). Technology infrastructure is outsourced: Pantheon Systems UK hosts the foundation's data on secure servers in the Netherlands under a GDPR-compliant posture, NTT Data is credited as the website developer, and the site uses Google Analytics, Hotjar, New Relic, and Cookiebot for analytics, performance, and consent management.

The foundation's commercial revenue is derived almost entirely from its Livraria online bookstore, which sells self-published books, essays, and portraits at unit prices typically ranging from €4.50 to €9.00, with free shipping within Portugal Continental and the islands. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the bookstore operates as a marginal commercial activity supporting the foundation's non-profit mandate rather than as a primary income source. Overall operating funding comes from the Soares dos Santos family, with the foundation structured as an independent, family-controlled Portuguese fundação with no parent company and no external institutional backers.

Name

Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos

Legal name

FUNDAÇÃO FRANCISCO MANUEL DOS SANTOS

Website

https://ffms.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos is a Portuguese private non-profit foundation established in 2009 by the Soares dos Santos family. It produces and disseminates evidence-based research on Portuguese society through studies, podcasts, documentaries, the Pordata statistical database, and a small online bookstore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Research Foundation

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking) (MPAJACAI)

Keywords

• Social research
• Policy analysis
• Statistical database
• Educational publishing
• Public policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book and publication sales: The foundation operates an online store (Livraria) selling books, essays, portraits, and other publications. Products include titles such as 'Promessas do Futebol' (€4.50), 'Riso, humor e... matemática' (€9.00), and 'Peneda-Gerês, Parque Nacional de Portugal', with free shipping for Portugal Continental and Islands. Discounts are occasionally offered (e.g., -10%, -50% on select titles).

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos is a Portuguese private foundation that produces and disseminates evidence-based research, studies, policy papers, and barometers on Portuguese society. It operates a multimedia content platform (FFMS Play) hosting podcasts, documentaries, and conferences, maintains the Pordata statistical database for Portugal, and sells its own publications through an online bookstore (Livraria).

Product overview

Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos is a Portuguese foundation established in 2009 by Alexandre Soares dos Santos and family to study major national problems and disseminate knowledge to Portuguese society. The foundation operates a multimedia content platform (FFMS Play) that includes multiple podcast series ([IN]Pertinente, Da Capa à Contracapa, Praça da Fundação, Eu Posso Ser, Assim Fal a Ciência), documentary productions, and conference recordings. It maintains a research division publishing studies, policy papers, and barometers on Portuguese society, an online bookstore selling its publications, a statistical database (Pordata), and educational programs including a summer school for students. The offering is structured as a content and research platform with complementary services including event organization and an information service on citizen rights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pordata: A database of statistics about Portugal managed by the foundation.
• FFMS Play
• [IN]Pertinente
• Da Capa à Contracapa
• Livraria

Products and services

• Livraria (Online Bookstore) An online bookstore selling the foundation's published books, essays, and portraits. Customers can purchase titles with prices ranging from €4.50 to €10.00, with payment via Visa, Mastercard, Multibanco, MB Way, and PayPal. Free shipping for Portugal Continental and Islands.
• FFMS Play A multimedia content platform hosting videos, podcasts, documentaries, debates, and conferences produced by the foundation on topics including science, economics, politics, and society. Free access to all visitors.
• Pordata A comprehensive database of statistics about Portugal, covering demographic, economic, and social data. Serves as a major reference resource for researchers, journalists, policymakers, and citizens. Free public access.
• [IN]Pertinente Podcast Series A podcast series featuring communicators paired with specialists covering Economy, Society, Politics, and Science in weekly episodes with a humorous debate format. 273 episodes as of 2026.
• Da Capa à Contracapa Podcast A debate podcast in partnership with Rádio Renascença where two guests discuss current affairs or topics related to foundation publications. 434 episodes produced.
• Estudos (Research Studies) Research publications including studies, policy papers, and barometers analyzing Portuguese society across nine themes: Ambiente, Ciência, Cultura, Economia, Educação, Justiça, Política, População, Questões Sociais, Saúde. Free public access.
• Escola de Verão (Summer School) A summer school educational program for students in 10th or 11th grade, focused on misinformation and democracy. Free participation.
• Encontros da Fundação (Conferences) A conference series bringing together leading national and international experts on topics ranging from ethics to politics, women and youth, and security. Free public access.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RTPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFMS co-produces documentary films with RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal), the Portuguese public broadcaster. Documentaries are broadcast on RTP and made available on the FFMS Play platform. Examples include 'Onde está a água?' (a documentary about water scarcity in Portugal).
• Rádio RenascençacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFMS has a longstanding partnership with Rádio Renascença for the 'Da Capa à Contracapa' debate podcast series. The show features two guests discussing current affairs or FFMS publications, moderated by a Renascença journalist. It is one of the foundation's flagship content series with 434 episodes.
• Observador LabminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFFMS partnered with Observador Lab for the 'Eu posso ser...' podcast series on mental health, narrated by actress Sofia Ribeiro. This is a 5-episode series focused on mental health awareness.
• Jornal PúblicominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFMS partnered with the newspaper Público for the 'Assim fala a Ciência' podcast series, which gives voice to scientists and science communicators in the fight against misinformation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Pew Research Center: Nonpartisan research organization producing data-driven reports on society, demographics, and policy. Directly comparable to FFMS in combining original research with broad public dissemination across multiple formats.
• Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs): International affairs research institute producing reports, podcasts, and events on policy issues. Comparable as a research institution publishing rigorous analysis with multimedia distribution to informed audiences.
• Open Society Foundations: Large global private foundation funding research, advocacy, and public-interest programming across many countries. Comparable as a private foundation operating at a much larger scale and broader geographic footprint than FFMS.
• The Brookings Institution: U.S.-based public policy think tank producing influential research, policy papers, and multimedia content on economic and social issues. Comparable as a research organization publishing rigorous analysis consumed by policymakers, media, and academics.

Emerging players

• Statista: Leading statistics platform aggregating and publishing data across countries and topics. Comparable to FFMS's Pordata as a curated statistics reference platform, though Statista operates commercially and globally while Pordata is Portugal-specific and free.

Direct peers

• Fundação Champalimaud: Lisbon-based private foundation focused on biomedical research and the arts, with a programmatic structure similar to FFMS. Comparable as a Portuguese private foundation combining research, public programming, and institutional partnerships under a single operating umbrella.
• Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian: Portugal's largest private foundation, similarly family-established, supporting arts, science, education, and social development through grants, programming, and institutional partnerships. Directly comparable in mission (evidence-based national development) and structure (private foundation operating programs in Portugal).
• Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento (FLAD): Portuguese foundation funding research, education, and cultural programs with a Portuguese focus. Directly comparable as a private foundation producing and disseminating knowledge-oriented programming relevant to Portugal.
• Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa (ICS-ULisboa): University-based social science research institute publishing studies, policy papers, and data on Portuguese society. Comparable as a Portuguese institution producing rigorous social-science output for academic and policy audiences.
• Centro de Estudos Sociais (CES), University of Coimbra: Leading Portuguese research center producing interdisciplinary studies on society, politics, and economics. Comparable because it publishes policy-relevant Portuguese research used by academics and policymakers, overlapping FFMS's research-and-dissemination mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ffms_pordata
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ffmspt
• Facebookfacebook.com/ffms.pt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundacao
• Instagraminstagram.com/fundacao_ffms

Compliance2 records

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 Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos