Colciencias

What Colciencias does

Minciencias (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación), formerly known as Colciencias, is the Colombian government ministry responsible for national science, technology, and innovation (CTeI) policy. Originally established in 1968 as the Instituto Colombiano para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y la Tecnología and elevated to ministry status through Law 1286 of 2009, the organization coordinates Colombia's national research ecosystem (SNCTI) through competitive funding calls (convocatorias), researcher and institution recognition systems, tax incentive administration, and international cooperation programs.

The ministry's core technology asset is the ScienTI platform, a national scientific information system comprising subsystems for researcher curricula (CvLAC), research groups (GrupLAC), institutional registries (InstituLAC), scientific journal classification (Publindex), and project management/tracking (SIGP). Supporting platforms include CENDOC (digital library services), GPS (project portfolio management), the Reconocimiento de Actores platform for classifying research and innovation entities, and statistical reporting through "La Ciencia en Cifras." The operational portfolio also includes the Fondo Francisco José de Caldas (the primary national CTeI fund, managed via Fiducoldex), ASCTeI allocations from the General Royalties System, the Colombia BIO biodiversity expedition program, Programa Ondas (youth science culture), and the Beneficios Tributarios (R&D tax benefit) administration system.

As a government ministry, Minciencias is funded through annual national budget allocations and the Science, Technology and Innovation Fund of the General Royalty System. It does not generate commercial revenue; instead, it distributes funding competitively to researchers, research groups, higher education institutions, technology-based companies, and regional governments. It holds ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification and maintains formal science cooperation agreements with 10+ bilateral partners (including France, Germany, UK, US, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Spain) and multilateral bodies (Horizonte Europa, OECD accession process, CEPAL/ECLAC, OAS, SEGIB). Primary customers are Colombian researchers, research groups, and higher education/research institutions seeking recognition and funding, with secondary segments including technology-based companies accessing R&D tax benefits and regional governments implementing STEAM and scientific vocations programs.

Name

Colciencias

Legal name

Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación - MINCIENCIAS

Website

https://minciencias.gov.co

Company type

Public

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Colciencias/Minciencias is Colombia's national Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. It funds research through competitive convocatoria cycles, operates the ScienTI national research information platform, manages the Fondo Francisco José de Caldas, and coordinates the SNCTI research ecosystem across researchers, institutions, companies, and regional governments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Science Policy Administration

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Public Administration (92), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (926150)

akta.pro primary industry

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Science, Technology & Space Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAK), Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Science policy
• Research funding
• Innovation programs
• Researcher recognition
• Technology administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Bogotá

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. National Budget Allocation: Funded through Colombia's national government budget as a ministry responsible for science, technology, and innovation policy.
2. Sistema General de Regalías (SGR) - Science and Technology Fund: Manages the Science, Technology and Innovation Fund (FCTeI) from the General Royalty System, distributing resources for regional and national CTeI projects through competitive calls.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Colciencias (operating as Minciencias) is Colombia's national government ministry responsible for science, technology, and innovation policy. It administers competitive research funding calls (convocatorias), manages the ScienTI national platform for researcher, group, and institution recognition, operates the Fondo Francisco José de Caldas funding mechanism, and coordinates international scientific cooperation. It also administers tax benefits for R&D investment and supports scientific vocations and human capital formation programs across the country.

Product overview

Minciencias (formerly Colciencias) operates a unified government platform for managing Colombia's science, technology, and innovation ecosystem. The core infrastructure consists of ScienTI, a national scientific information system that encompasses researcher CV management (CvLAC), research group registries (GrupLAC), and institutional databases (InstituLAC). Supporting systems include Publindex for scientific journal indexing, SIGP for project management, and CENDOC for digital documentation services. Funding and grant programs are delivered through the Fondo Francisco José de Caldas and ASCTeI (from the General Royalties System), while the Reconocimiento de Actores platform classifies research institutions and innovation entities. Additional services cover tax benefits administration, forgivable loans for advanced education, and statistical reporting through 'La Ciencia en Cifras.' The Colombia BIO program supports biodiversity research expeditions. Collectively, these platforms and programs form an interconnected ecosystem for STI governance, funding, monitoring, and capacity building across Colombia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fondo Francisco José de Caldas: National fund for science, technology and innovation projects managed by Minciencias
• ScienTI Colombia
• Programa Ondas
• Colombia BIO
• Publindex

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and regional.

• Horizonte EuropacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Union research and innovation program that Minciencias facilitates for Colombian researchers and institutions to access international funding and collaboration opportunities.
• OCDE (OECD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerColombia is in the process of joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, with Minciencias leading science and technology policy alignment.
• CEPAL/ECLACmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean partnership for regional economic and social development research.
• FranceregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral science cooperation with France including research partnerships and researcher exchange programs.
• GermanyregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral cooperation with Germany focusing on technology transfer and research collaboration.
• United KingdomregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience and technology cooperation agreements with UK institutions and research councils.
• United StatesregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorth American cooperation including agreements with US research institutions and science agencies.
• JapanregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral science cooperation with Japan including technology partnerships.
• South KorearegionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience and technology cooperation with South Korean institutions and research centers.
• IsraelregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral cooperation with Israel in science and innovation.
• SpainregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral science cooperation with Spain including researcher exchange and joint research programs.
• OEA (OAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization of American States cooperation in science and technology for the Americas region.
• SEGIBmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIbero-American General Secretariat cooperation in science and technology across Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ANII Uruguay: Uruguay's National Agency for Research and Innovation. Comparable regional peer as a government agency administering research grants, innovation funding, and researcher support programs in a neighboring Latin American country.
• CONCYTEC Peru: Peru's National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation. Andean regional peer with similar mandate to administer national STI policy, fund research, and coordinate innovation ecosystems.
• ANID Chile: Chile's National Agency for Research and Development. Comparable as a national science funding agency administering doctoral scholarships, research grants, and international cooperation programs for a Latin American country.
• CONAHCYT (Mexico): Mexico's national council for humanities, sciences, and technologies (formerly CONACYT). Directly comparable as a Latin American national science funding and policy agency operating under the federal government with similar mandate over research grants, scholarships, and researcher recognition systems.
• MINCyT Argentina: Argentina's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Comparable as a national government ministry in the Southern Cone responsible for STI policy, research funding, and innovation programs across the country.
• CNPq Brazil: Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Directly comparable as a large Latin American federal agency funding research, scholarships, and managing researcher registries, similar in scale and mandate to Minciencias.

Regional players

• SENACYT Panama: Panama's National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation. Regional Central American peer with a comparable but smaller-scale mandate to manage national STI policy, research funding, and innovation programs.

Broad incumbents

• BMBF Germany: Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Comparable as a large OECD country ministry responsible for national STI policy, research funding, and international science cooperation that Minciencias engages with bilaterally.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) - USA: US National Science Foundation. Comparable as a major federal science funding agency supporting basic research and innovation, with a substantially larger scale and global benchmark status that Minciencias aspires toward.

Others

• OCDE/OECD Science Directorate: OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation. Not a competing agency but the international standards body whose STI policy frameworks Colombia is actively aligning with through OECD accession, making it a key strategic counterpart.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MincienciasCo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnHLPpahfZdAMLON_EedlcA
• Facebookfacebook.com/MincienciasCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colciencias
• Instagraminstagram.com/minciencias_co

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Colciencias