Fundación Dr. Guillermo Manuel Ungo (FUNDAUNGO)

What Fundación Dr. Guillermo Manuel Ungo (FUNDAUNGO) does

Fundación Dr. Guillermo Manuel Ungo (FUNDAUNGO) is a private non-profit think tank founded on January 8, 1992, and headquartered at 9a. Calle Pte. No. 4919, Col. Escalón, San Salvador, El Salvador. The organization generates evidence-based public policy research, conducts electoral observation and public opinion polling (serving as El Salvador's national coordinator for the LAPOP Barómetro de las Américas), and delivers leadership and civic education programs targeting emerging political leaders, civil society actors, and municipal officials. Its core products include the annual La Semana de las Políticas Públicas con Base en Evidencia (eight consecutive editions from 2017 through 2024, with a ninth planned for November 2025), the Diplomado en Gobierno y Políticas Públicas training program (161+ emerging leaders trained across four editions), the Agenda Presidencial policy-proposal initiative (eight priority themes jointly developed with academic partners UCA, UDB, and FLACSO), and specialized microsites monitoring El Salvador's pension system and the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization also leads an Electoral Monitoring Partnership that has signed a formal cooperation agreement with the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) for the deployment of 600 electoral observers.

FUNDAUNGO serves four primary stakeholder segments: government institutions and political actors (including the Vice Presidency, the TSE, and political parties); emerging leaders and civil society organizations; the academic and research community (via partnerships with UCA, UDB, and FLACSO); and the broader Salvadoran public and media consuming its open-access publications and surveys. Its core team comprises 14 employees, supported by an extended network of academic, governmental, and international cooperation partners. The go-to-market motion is community- and event-led, centered on flagship convenings, free open-access publications, and multi-stakeholder policy dialogue rather than commercial sales.

The organization's business model is grant-funded rather than revenue-generating. Core financial support comes from international development agencies and foreign governments, with USAID as the primary backer of its flagship 'Promoción de la Participación Ciudadana' project and the Embassy of Canada as a recurring partner for La Semana. Additional funding and partnerships are provided by UNICEF El Salvador, the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD). All programs, events, and publications are offered free of charge, and the organization does not disclose commercial pricing or revenue.

Name

Fundación Dr. Guillermo Manuel Ungo (FUNDAUNGO)

Legal name

Fundación Dr. Guillermo Manuel Ungo

Website

https://fundaungo.org.sv

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fundación Dr. Guillermo Manuel Ungo (FUNDAUNGO) is a San Salvador-based non-profit think tank founded in 1992 that conducts evidence-based public policy research, electoral observation, LAPOP public opinion polling, and leadership training programs for the Salvadoran government, political parties, academia, and civil society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Think Tank Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Public policy research
• Electoral monitoring
• Civic education programs
• Policy think tank
• Democratic governance

Headquarters

HQ city

San Salvador

HQ country

El Salvador

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. International development funding and grants: FUNDAUNGO operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through grants and cooperative agreements from international development agencies and foreign governments. Key funders include USAID (through projects such as 'Promoción de la Participación Ciudadana en el Proceso Electoral y Debate Público'), the Embassy of Canada (for La Semana de las Políticas Públicas), and other international cooperation actors. The organization does not appear to generate commercial revenue from products or services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

FUNDAUNGO is a Salvadoran non-profit think tank that generates evidence-based public policy research, conducts electoral monitoring and public opinion polling (including LAPOP AmericasBarometer), and delivers free leadership and citizen-incidence training programs to emerging leaders, political parties, and civil society actors. It produces policy proposals on eight priority national topics (social security, social protection, violence prevention, migration, education, water governance, state capacity) and convenes multi-stakeholder policy dialogue forums. All outputs are delivered free of charge, funded primarily by international development grants.

Product overview

FUNDAUNGO is a think tank organization (centro de pensamiento) rather than a technology product company. It offers a portfolio of research programs, training programs, and public policy initiatives. Core offerings include: La Semana de las Políticas Públicas con Base en Evidencia (annual evidence-based policy conference series since 2017); the Diplomado en Gobierno y Políticas Públicas (leadership training program); the Centro de Estudios de Opinión Pública (public opinion research via LAPOP); electoral monitoring and studies; and specialized microsites for monitoring pension system reform and COVID-19 impacts. The organization also produces policy proposals through its Agenda Presidencial initiative developed in partnership with UCA, UDB, and FLACSO. FUNDAUNGO does not offer software products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Centro de Estudios de Opinión Pública (CEOP): Public opinion research center within FUNDAUNGO that conducts electoral studies and surveys such as the Barómetro de las Américas.

Products and services

• La Semana de las Políticas Públicas con Base en Evidencia Annual conference series organized by FUNDAUNGO since 2017, consisting of multi-day conferences and panels to promote evidence-based public policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. Held annually in November and open free to the public; 9th edition planned for November 3–7, 2025.
• Diplomado en Gobierno y Políticas Públicas A 64-hour (8-session) professional training program offered free of charge to selected emerging leaders under 35 from political parties, civil society, public institutions, academia, private sector and media. Delivered in San Salvador and San Miguel; 161 leaders had graduated across four editions by February 2020.
• Centro de Estudios de Opinión Pública (CEOP) Public Opinion Studies Center conducting surveys and research on political culture, democracy, electoral behavior and social attitudes in El Salvador, including participation as the exclusive El Salvador coordinator of the LAPOP (Latin American Public Opinion Project) Barómetro de las Américas.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 consecutive years of La Semana de las Políticas Públicas events, with an average of ~250 attendees per edition
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, major and core.

• Universidad Don Bosco (UDB) — Digital Transformation CycleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025FUNDAUNGO and UDB jointly organized a 'Ciclo de Conferencias' on the effects of digital transformation (ICT) on economic-social development, political culture, and higher education in El Salvador.
• UNICEF El SalvadormajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021FUNDAUNGO signed a cooperation agreement with UNICEF El Salvador. UNICEF specialist Jimmy Vásquez has participated as a guest lecturer in FUNDAUNGO programs, and the organizations collaborate on policy research related to childhood, migration, and social protection.
• Instituto Holandés para la Democracia Multipartidaria (NIMD)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 September 2019NIMD supported La Semana de las Políticas Públicas 2019 and participates in FUNDAUNGO's ecosystem of democracy and governance development partners in El Salvador, including as a panelist and commentator in policy forums.
• National Democratic Institute (NDI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 2019NDI participated as a panelist in La Semana de las Políticas Públicas 2019, specifically in the session on electoral observation in Latin America. The engagement is part of FUNDAUNGO's network of international electoral and governance specialists.
• Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 August 2019OEA, specifically through its Secretary for the Strengthening of Democracy (Dr. Francisco Guerrero Aguirre), participated in a forum organized by the Electoral Monitoring Partnership on electoral reform trends in Latin America.
• Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2019UCA is FUNDAUNGO's core academic partner in two major initiatives: the 'Asocio Académico' (Academic Partnership) for policy research and the 'Agenda Presidencial' (jointly producing 8 policy proposal documents), and the 'Asocio para el Monitoreo Electoral' (Electoral Monitoring Partnership) for election observation and studies. The partnership involves co-research, co-hosting events, and shared policy advocacy targeting the Salvadoran government and political system.
• Universidad Don Bosco (UDB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2019UDB is a core partner in the Asocio Académico and the Electoral Monitoring Partnership with FUNDAUNGO, UCA, and FLACSO. Together they carry out electoral observation missions, produce joint studies and technical reports on the electoral system, and organize public forums and policy events. UDB also co-organized the ciclo de conferencias on digital transformation effects with FUNDAUNGO.
• FLACSO Programa El SalvadorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2019FLACSO El Salvador participates as a core partner in both the Asocio Académico and the Electoral Monitoring Partnership, contributing academic research capacity, international networks, and regional perspective to joint policy and electoral monitoring initiatives.
• Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) de El SalvadorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2019The TSE signed a formal agreement with the Electoral Monitoring Partnership (led by FUNDAUNGO) for the deployment of 600 electoral observers during elections. This partnership gives FUNDAUNGO a direct institutional role in electoral integrity efforts in El Salvador.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International IDEA: Intergovernmental organization supporting democratic governance and electoral integrity globally; overlaps with FUNDAUNGO's electoral observation, electoral reform advocacy, and democracy-strengthening work, but at a much larger global scale and footprint.
• The Carter Center: Long-standing international election observation and democracy-support organization active across the Americas; an incumbent peer with overlapping mandates in electoral monitoring and democratic governance in Latin America.
• OEA - Secretaría de Fortalecimiento de la Democracia: Organization of American States body that has partnered with FUNDAUNGO's Electoral Monitoring Partnership on electoral reform forums; a regional incumbent with significantly larger budget and mandate across electoral integrity and democratic governance.
• NIMD (Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy): International democracy-support organization that funds and partners with FUNDAUNGO; operates a broader portfolio of political-party and civic-program grants across many countries, making it a funder/incumbent peer rather than a direct competitor.
• Datanalisis (Venezuela) / Latinobarómetro: Latin America-wide public opinion research infrastructure that FUNDAUNGO's LAPOP work parallels at a regional scale; comparable function in producing cross-national public opinion data used by governments, media, and academics.

Direct peers

• FUSADES (Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social): El Salvador's leading economic and social policy think tank and FUNDAUNGO's most direct national peer; both produce independent policy research, run training programs, and engage government and civil society on structural reform — competing for the same donor pool and policy-influence space in El Salvador.
• ICEFI (Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales): Guatemala-based Central American think tank focused on fiscal policy, social spending, and public finance; a regional peer that competes for the same multilateral funding and addresses overlapping policy themes (pensions, social protection, state capacity) across Central America.
• FLACSO Programa El Salvador: Regional academic institution that partners with FUNDAUNGO on the Asocio Académico and Electoral Monitoring Partnership while also publishing independent policy and electoral research in El Salvador — overlapping directly on research themes, audience, and donor ecosystem.
• UCA - Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública (IUDOP): Academic public opinion research unit at UCA, which is also a core FUNDAUNGO partner; IUDOP conducts national public opinion surveys in El Salvador on similar themes (democracy, security, elections), making it the closest functional peer on the polling and electoral research side.

Emerging players

• Universidad Don Bosco (UDB) - Observatorio de Políticas Públicas: Salvadoran university that co-hosts the Electoral Monitoring Partnership and the Asocio Académico with FUNDAUNGO; partial overlap as an academic policy-research node, but with a narrower publication and convening footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fundaungo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/FUNDAUNGO
• Facebookfacebook.com/fundaungo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fundaungo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fundación Dr. Guillermo Manuel Ungo (FUNDAUNGO)