IMAGINA Centro de Investigación

What IMAGINA Centro de Investigación does

IMAGINA Centro de Investigación is a non-profit, autonomous research center affiliated with Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. The center operates as a multidisciplinary collaboration platform focused on promoting the well-being of children and adolescents in Colombia and, increasingly, across Latin America. It works through five action lines: communication and data use, evidence production, child and adolescent participation, Red Imagina network strengthening, and community capacity building.

Its core technical infrastructure includes the SIYA (Sistema de Indicadores de los YA) indicator system, which aggregates official Colombian data across 10 child welfare domains (health and nutrition, education, safe environment, play, participation, family strengthening, protection from violence, restorative justice, peace culture) for over 15 million children and adolescents, plus a VACS (Violence Against Children Surveys) comparative analysis framework spanning 17 countries. Research outputs include publications, policy notes, working papers, interactive microsites, and dashboards — notably the maternal-child health dashboard and the CSEA prevalence study — all distributed free of charge through the center's website, Hub de innovación, and Repositorio.

The center is funded entirely through research grants from international development organizations including USAID and Heard, with no commercial revenue model. Products and services are not commercialized; participation in the Red Imagina network is free for qualifying researchers, students, field practitioners, and government officials. The team of approximately 11-14 core members is led by Director Arturo Harker Roa (PhD in Economics, UCLA) and includes project coordinators, research assistants, a Global Data Fellow, and a postdoctoral researcher. Its principal constituents are over 200 NGOs through the NiñezYA coalition, government agencies, academic researchers, and ultimately children and adolescents in Colombia and the region.

Name

IMAGINA Centro de Investigación

Legal name

Centro Imagina, Universidad de los Andes

Website

https://imagina.uniandes.edu.co

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IMAGINA Centro de Investigación is a non-profit research center at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, producing child welfare evidence and indicator systems (SIYA) for civil society and government stakeholders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Science Research and Child Welfare Policy

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Rights & Protection (BPADAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Safeguarding, Accountability & Compliance (ESG, Gender/GBV, Do No Harm) (BPADAEAM), Safeguarding, Student Welfare & Child Protection Compliance Audits (EDADAGAI), Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health Administration (BPAIAJAJ)

Keywords

• Child welfare research
• Public policy evidence
• Social science research
• Violence against children
• Child rights monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Bogotá

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research grants and institutional funding: Imagina is funded through grants from international development organizations including USAID and Heard, which finance specific research projects such as the VACS analysis initiative 'De la adversidad a la esperanza'. The center also operates within Universidad de los Andes, its parent institution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IMAGINA Centro de Investigación is a non-profit research center at Universidad de los Andes that produces scientific evidence on child and adolescent well-being in Colombia and Latin America and translates it into public policy guidance. Its core deliverables include the SIYA indicator system (covering 10 child welfare domains for over 15 million children), VACS-based violence against children research across 17 countries, specialized dashboards on maternal-child health and child sexual exploitation, and capacity-building programs for practitioners, researchers, and government officials. All outputs are publicly accessible at no charge, funded by international development grants and institutional support.

Product overview

IMAGINA Centro de Investigación is a multidisciplinary collaboration platform at Universidad de los Andes focused on child and adolescent wellbeing in Colombia. The center operates through five action lines: Communication and data use for action, Evidence production, Child and adolescent participation, Red Imagina network strengthening, and Community capacity building. Its core product portfolio includes SIYA (Sistema de Indicadores de los YA), a comprehensive child rights indicator system tracking ten priority areas for Colombian children; the VACS Microsite presenting Violence Against Children Survey research findings; and specialized dashboards including the Maternal-Child Health board and the CSEA prevalence study platform. Supplementary offerings include the Innovation Hub (research repository), the general Repository for publications, the 'Rompiendo Barreras' healthcare access initiative, and capacity building programs for practitioners and researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SIYA (Sistema de Indicadores de los YA): An indicator system tracking 10 priority issues for children's well-being in Colombia, developed in partnership with the NiñezYA coalition of over 200 NGOs.
• De la adversidad a la esperanza
• Red Imagina
• Hub de innovación y aprendizaje

Products and services

• SIYA (Sistema de Indicadores de los YA) A comprehensive indicator system that compiles, tracks, and visualizes data on the state and progress of ten urgent matters for child and adolescent wellbeing in Colombia, integrating official indicators from various government sources. Used by civil society, government, and researchers to monitor children's rights.
• VACS Microsite (De la adversidad a la esperanza) Digital narrative platform presenting research findings from Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (EVCNNA) in Colombia, including analysis of armed conflict impacts, adverse childhood experiences, maltreatment trajectories, and sexual violence underreporting. Targeted at policymakers, researchers, and civil society.
• Tablero Salud Materno Infantil en Colombia

Quantifiable outcome

• In Colombia, 82.1% of young people (13–24) have experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), with 55.6% witnessing community violence and 34.4% experiencing physical violence (VACS 2018 data analyzed by Imagina).
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NiñezYA CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImagina developed and maintains the SIYA (Sistema de Indicadores de los YA) indicator system for the NiñezYA coalition, which brings together more than 200 NGOs. SIYA provides standardized data on 10 child welfare domains to help civil society monitor government compliance with children's rights in Colombia.
• Universidad de los AndescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImagina is an autonomous research center affiliated with Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. The university provides institutional infrastructure, academic credibility, and administrative support. Universidad de los Andes is recognized by Decree 1297 of May 30, 1964.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• UNICEF Office of Research (Innocenti):

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IMAGINACentrodeInvestigacion
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imagina-centro-de-investigaci%C3%B3n
• Instagraminstagram.com/imaginauniandes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 IMAGINA Centro de Investigación