What Flacso Brasil does

Flacso Brasil (Faculdade Latino-Americana de Ciências Sociais) is the Brazilian academic headquarters of the FLACSO system, an intergovernmental social sciences institution established in 1957 by Latin American states following a UNESCO recommendation. The Brazilian unit was formalized through an agreement signed in December 1990 and ratified by Brazil's National Congress via Legislative Decree in May 1992. Headquartered in Brasília (SAIS Área 2-A) with a secondary office in São Paulo, the institution operates approximately 70 staff and is led by Director Rita Gomes do Nascimento (Rita Potyguara). It offers postgraduate education through Master's degree programs (e.g., State, Government and Public Policies; Latin American Global Studies in Law and Society), Specialization programs, and Extension courses delivered via both classroom-based instruction at its two offices and distance learning through the FlacsoVirtual LMS platform (flacsovirtual.org.br).

Flacso Brasil functions as a hybrid academic, research, and technical-cooperation entity, running nine thematic research programs covering State and Public Policy, Inequalities/Rights/Governance, Culture and Diversity, Youth/Education/Gender, Higher Education Policy, Indigenous Peoples/Black Populations/Traditional Communities, Citizenship and Social Participation, and CLAEDS (Latin American College of Global Studies in Law and Society). It serves three primary customer segments: public sector professionals and civil servants seeking advanced training, graduate students and researchers in social sciences, and international organizations (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO), development banks (CAF, IDB, BNDES), and private foundations (Ford, Porticus) commissioning applied research and policy projects. Revenue derives from tuition and course fees, project-based technical cooperation contracts negotiated with government ministries (MPI, MGI, MDHC, MIR) and international organizations, and member state contributions to the FLACSO system. Flacso Brasil does not develop proprietary technology products; its digital infrastructure centers on the FlacsoVirtual LMS and the publicly accessible FLACSO digital library. The organization operates as a non-profit with no private equity backing, and does not publicly disclose financial statements.

Name

Flacso Brasil

Legal name

Faculdade Latino-Americana de Ciências Sociais (FLACSO Brasil)

Website

https://flacso.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Flacso Brasil is an intergovernmental academic institution headquartered in Brasília, offering postgraduate social sciences programs (Master's, Specializations, Extensions) and conducting applied research and technical cooperation projects for government ministries, international organizations, and development banks across Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education and Social Sciences Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Lab-Based Short-Term Programs (Undergraduate/Graduate) (EDAIAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interdisciplinary/General Education & Study Skills (EDAGABAN)

Keywords

• Social sciences research
• Graduate education programs
• Public policy research
• Technical cooperation projects
• Postgraduate academic studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Brasília

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition and course fees: Revenue generated from graduate programs (Masters, Specializations) and extension courses offered to students and professionals.
2. Technical cooperation projects: Project-based funding from government ministries, international organizations (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA), development banks (CAF, IDB, BNDES), and foundations for research and technical cooperation activities.
3. Member state contributions: FLACSO system receives contributions from its 18 member states as part of its intergovernmental organizational structure.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Flacso Brasil delivers postgraduate academic education (Master's degrees, Specializations, and Extension courses) and applied research in social sciences through thematic programs covering public policy, human rights, inequalities, governance, youth, gender, education, and culture. The institution also provides technical cooperation projects and consulting services to government ministries, international organizations, and development banks. Programs are offered through classroom-based instruction at Brasília and São Paulo locations and distance learning via the FlacsoVirtual platform.

Product overview

Flacso Brasil (Faculdade Latino-Americana de Ciências Sociais) is an international academic institution offering a portfolio of postgraduate education programs including Especialização (lato sensu specialization), Mestrado (strictu sensu master's degrees), and Extensão (extension courses). The institution operates multiple thematic research programs covering State and Public Policies, Inequalities and Rights Governance, Culture and Diversity, Youth and Gender Studies, Higher Education Policies, and Indigenous/Black populations. The academic offerings are complemented by a digital library containing publications, research, and multimedia content, and a cooperation program for technical cooperation projects with international organizations and government bodies. The programs address contemporary social challenges in Latin America including social inequalities, human rights, public policy innovation, and democratic governance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Especialização (Specialization Programs)

Quantifiable outcome

• 200+ publications and articles presented at international conferences
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Ministério dos Povos Indígenas (MPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFLACSO Brasil maintains an active technical cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples for projects including international incidence and the development of protection mechanisms for environmental defenders. The partnership involves coordination through the Desigualdades, Direitos e Governança program.
• Ministério da Gestão e da Inovação em Serviços Públicos (MGI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the XI National Forum of the Partnership, Transfers and Public Procurement Network, focused on modernizing public administration and strengthening institutional capacity.
• Ministério dos Direitos Humanos e da Cidadania (MDHC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project on Improvement of Protection Programs for Threatened Persons, implemented with PNUD support, focusing on protection strategies for human rights defenders and environmental defenders.
• Centro Latinoamericano de Administración para el Desarrollo (CLAD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical Cooperation Agreement for joint projects on state modernization, institutional strengthening, and public administration exchange. FLACSO Brasil served as supporting partner for the XXX International Congress on State Reform.
• Organização de Estados Ibero-Americanos (OEI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on youth research and educational publications, including the joint publication 'Vulnerabilidades y Resistencias entre la Juventud Brasileña' covering Rio de Janeiro, Piauí, and São Paulo.
• United Nations Development Programme (PNUD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint implementation of protection programs for threatened persons and various public policy development projects in collaboration with government partners.
• Ministério da Igualdade Racial (MIR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Plan for Acceleration of Solutions (PAS) on environmental defenders, contributing to the global agenda for climate protection and human rights.
• British CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical educational consultancy for STEAM Education program monitoring and evaluation, and English Language Teaching programs.
• Fundación Real MadridmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject 'Somos' in Brazil focusing on sport and education for citizenship of children and adolescents, including qualitative evaluation and experience systematization.
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the International Seminar on School Success Trajectories and various child and adolescent protection initiatives.
• Campanha Nacional pelo Direito à EducaçãomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on educational policy advocacy and the 'Ataques e violência extrema contra as escolas no Brasil' research project on school violence.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnerships for education, culture, and social sciences research across Latin America.
• Conselho Latino-Americano de Ciências Sociais (CLACSO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional academic network partner for social sciences research and knowledge exchange.
• Instituto Socioambiental (ISA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on indigenous education curriculum guidelines and support for FNEEI in developing resolution drafts for indigenous education.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• UNDP Brazil: UN development agency and active technical cooperation partner. Comparable because of overlapping work on human rights, social policy, and governance projects in Brazil, though as a funder/executor rather than an academic institution.
• UNESCO (OREALC and Brasilia Office): Active partner and original sponsor of the FLACSO system. Comparable as a UN agency that funds and shapes social-sciences and education agendas in Latin America, though operating at a much larger global scale as a funder and standard-setter rather than a direct service provider.
• CAF (Banco de Desenvolvimento da América Latina e Caribe): Latin American development bank and active funder of FLACSO Brasil's professional teacher development research. Comparable because it shapes the regional funding landscape for social-policy research, though operating as a financier rather than a research provider.

Broad incumbents

• CEPAL/ECLAC (Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe): UN regional commission conducting applied social and economic research for Latin America. Comparable because of overlapping research mandates on inequalities, public policy, and regional development, though at a much broader scale and with a UN charter.
• Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV): Brazil's largest private higher education and research institution with broad programs in public administration, law, and social sciences. Comparable because it competes for the same Brazilian public-sector training and policy research market, though at much larger scale.
• University of São Paulo (USP): Brazil's leading public university with strong graduate programs in social sciences and public administration. Comparable as a competitor for graduate students and policy research funding, though much larger and broader in academic scope.

Direct peers

• FLACSO Argentina (Faculdade Latino-Americana de Ciências Sociais - Argentina): Direct sister organization within the same FLACSO intergovernmental system, offering the same Master's, Specialization, and Extension programs in social sciences. Most directly comparable because it shares the same brand, governance structure, and academic mandate.
• University of Brasília (UnB): Major federal university headquartered in Brasília with strong graduate programs in social sciences, public policy, and law. Comparable because it shares Brasília location, competes for similar graduate-student segments, and conducts applied policy research.
• IPEA (Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada): Brazilian federal research institute focused on public policy analysis and applied research. Comparable as a Brazilian institution that combines academic research with direct support to government policy formulation and evaluation.
• CLACSO (Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales): Latin American social sciences academic network explicitly partnered with FLACSO Brasil, focused on research, graduate training, and knowledge exchange in social sciences across the region. Highly comparable as a regional social sciences platform with similar scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@flacsobrasil
• Facebookfacebook.com/flacsobrasil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flacso-brasil
• Instagraminstagram.com/flacsobr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 Flacso Brasil