Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies

What Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies does

Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales (ICEFI), operating as the Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies, is an independent non-profit think tank headquartered in Guatemala City and founded in 2005. The organization produces fiscal policy research, budget analyses, and policy advocacy materials across all six Central American countries — Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama — with particular depth on Guatemala. Its core analytical outputs include research publications, the Cuentas Claras open budget monitoring program, the Observatorio Estadístico Fiscal data platform, a regularly updated blog, and the ¡Contemos! bulletin series on public investment in children produced with UNICEF. Supporting products include ICEfiLearning, Talento ICEFI, a fiscal glossary, and annual Memoria de Labores reports. The institute is governed by a Board of Directors and Advisory Council, and is led by Executive Director Jonathan Menkos alongside Director Ricardo Barrientos.

ICEFI operates without commercial pricing; all publications and data products are distributed free of charge through its website, social media, public events, and direct briefings to government bodies and civil society partners. The organization is funded through project-based grants from international development partners including UNICEF, the European Union, USAID, GIZ, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and Save the Children, with strategic alliances supporting international initiatives such as the International Budget Partnership's Open Budget Survey, the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT), and CEPAL's regional fiscal policy seminars. Distribution occurs primarily through a Drupal-based website, a virtual library of free downloadable documents, social media channels, public events, and direct presentations to congressional finance commissions and ministries of finance across the region.

Name

Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies

Legal name

Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales

Website

https://icefi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales (ICEFI) is an independent Guatemalan non-profit think tank producing fiscal policy research, budget analyses, and transparency tools across six Central American countries, serving governments, civil society, and academic audiences free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fiscal Policy Research and Advocacy

NAICS

Administration of Economic Programs (9261)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Fiscal policy research
• Public budget analysis
• Fiscal transparency advocacy
• Tax policy analysis
• Think tank services

Headquarters

HQ city

Guatemala City

HQ country

Guatemala

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ICEFI is an independent non-profit think tank that produces and disseminates fiscal policy research, public budget analyses, and tax policy studies for the six Central American countries. Its core offerings include research publications, the Cuentas Claras budget monitoring program, the Observatorio Estadístico Fiscal open data platform, technical advisory services to governments, and policy advocacy for fiscal transparency and citizen participation in public finance.

Product overview

The Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI) is an independent think tank that produces research and technical analysis on fiscal policy in Central America. ICEFI's portfolio consists of core analytical products including publications (research studies and reports on taxation, public budgets, and economic policy), the Cuentas Claras budget monitoring program, the Blog for opinion and analysis, and the Observatorio Estadístico Fiscal providing open fiscal data. Supplementary offerings include ICEfiLearning (educational resources), Talento ICEFI (talent development), Glosario Fiscal (terminology reference), and Memoria de Labores (annual reports). The organization focuses on promoting fiscal transparency, public participation in budgeting, and evidence-based fiscal policy analysis across Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and other Central American countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Biblioteca Virtual: Virtual library containing fiscal publications and research documents
• Cuentas Claras
• Observatorio Estadístico Fiscal

Products and services

• Publicaciones (Research Publications) Research publications including studies on fiscal policy, public budgets, taxation, and economic analysis produced for Central American countries and distributed free of charge.
• Cuentas Claras (Clear Accounts) Budget monitoring program that tracks public expenditure and promotes transparency in public accounts, serving as an open budget platform for monitoring public spending.
• Observatorio Estadístico Fiscal (Fiscal Statistical Observatory) Fiscal transparency observatory that publishes official fiscal data and statistics from the six Central American countries, providing open data for analysis.
• Blog (Opinion Columns and Analysis) Opinion columns and analytical blog posts published by ICEFI researchers on fiscal policy, transparency, governance, and democracy issues affecting Central America.
• ICEfiLearning Learning platform offering educational resources on fiscal topics and public finance.
• Talento ICEFI Talent platform dedicated to developing human capital in fiscal and public finance areas.
• Glosario Fiscal (Fiscal Glossary) Reference glossary providing definitions and explanations of fiscal and public finance terminology.
• Memoria de Labores (Annual Activity Reports) Annual reports documenting ICEFI's activities, achievements, and institutional performance for each fiscal year.
• Boletín ¡Contemos! (We Count Bulletin) Bulletins monitoring public investment in children and adolescents, produced in partnership with UNICEF Guatemala.
• Gasto Público en Justicia y Seguridad (Justice and Security Public Spending Bulletins) Quarterly bulletins analyzing public spending in justice and security sectors across Central American countries.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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 core and minor.

• Save the Children GuatemalacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019ICEFI and Save the Children have been partners since 2019 on projects focused on the defense and respect of Guatemalan children's rights. The collaboration strengthens the rights framework for children and adolescents through fiscal analysis with emphasis on public investment in children and adolescence. Joint work has produced studies to improve conditions of public expenditure directly targeting this population group, considering the best interests of the child principle and UN Committee recommendations.
• UNICEF GuatemalacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICEFI has collaborated with UNICEF Guatemala on public investment in children and adolescents, producing the '¡Contamos!' (We Count!) bulletin series focused on public investment in childhood and adolescence, with support from the United Nations Children's Fund.
• International Budget Partnership (IBP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICEFI participates in the International Budget Partnership's Open Budget Survey, which evaluates budget transparency, oversight, and public participation across countries. ICEFI has contributed to Central American country assessments in this global initiative.
• Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICEFI has been a GIFT advisor since 2016 and participates in its General Assemblies. GIFT works to propose global best practices and institutionalize norms in fiscal transparency and to strengthen citizen participation and accountability worldwide.
• CEPAL (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICEFI participates in regional fiscal policy discussions organized by CEPAL, including the XXX Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy held in Santiago de Chile, contributing to debates on fiscal trends and public finance challenges in Central America.
• GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIZ has partnered with ICEFI through projects such as the Fiscal Policy Support Project (Apoyo a la Política Fiscal-GIZ), which supports fiscal policy analysis and public finance management in El Salvador.
• USAIDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSAID has collaborated with ICEFI through projects such as the Public Financial Management project that supports improved fiscal governance and transparency in Central American countries.
• European Union (EU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe EU has supported ICEFI through technical assistance programs for fiscal policy, including the EU-funded Program of Technical Assistance for Fiscal Policy in El Salvador.
• Friedrich Ebert FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Friedrich Ebert Foundation has partnered with ICEFI to support the Coalition for Social Protection Floors in El Salvador, providing technical assistance for social protection policy analysis.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Budget Partnership (IBP): Global fiscal-transparency organization that runs the Open Budget Survey and develops budget accountability tools; directly comparable because ICEFI contributes Central American country assessments to IBP's flagship programs and operates with a similar transparency-advocacy mandate at a global rather than regional scale.

Direct peers

• Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT): Multi-stakeholder action network that ICEFI has advised since 2016; both organizations develop and promote global norms for fiscal transparency and citizen participation in public finance, making GIFT the closest institutional analog to ICEFI's transparency-advocacy work.
• Fedesarrollo: Colombian independent economic and public-policy think tank producing macro-fiscal research, budget analysis, and policy recommendations; directly comparable as a Latin American non-profit research institute focused on fiscal and economic policy with similar operating model and target audiences (government and civil society).
• CENTRO de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE): Mexico-based academic and policy-research institute with strong fiscal and public-administration research programs; comparable as a Latin American think tank producing independent fiscal and economic policy analysis for government and civil society audiences.
• Fundar (Centro de Análisis e Investigación): Mexico-based non-profit dedicated to fiscal and budget transparency, anti-corruption research, and civic participation; highly comparable given shared mission in budget monitoring, public expenditure analysis, and transparency advocacy in Latin America.
• Centro de Estudios Públicos (CEP): Chilean independent academic institute generating policy analysis on economic, social, and political issues including fiscal policy; comparable as a Latin American non-partisan think tank with a similar model of research, publications, and policy influence.
• Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP): Independent Peruvian social-science research center that conducts policy analysis and publishes research on public finance, social policy, and governance; directly comparable as a regional non-profit research institute whose work informs government budget and tax decisions.

Regional players

• Grupo Propuesta Ciudadana: Peruvian civil society coalition focusing on budget transparency, citizen oversight, and anti-corruption; comparable as a Latin American transparency and budget-monitoring organization while operating primarily in Peru rather than Central America.

Others

• Save the Children Guatemala: Partner organization since 2019 on childhood public-investment analysis via the '¡Contamos!' bulletin and other outputs; included as a thematic collaboration partner rather than a competitor, reflecting ICEFI's role in providing fiscal analysis that supports children's rights advocacy.
• UNICEF Guatemala: Core UN partner that co-funds ICEFI's childhood public-investment research and bulletins; included as a key institutional partnership rather than a fiscal-think-tank peer, illustrating the funding and audience relationships that shape ICEFI's demand environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icefi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgVpAZWS9BhRngxbThLL05Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/Icefi.CA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/central-american-institute-for-fiscal-studies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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