Instituto Serrapilheira

What Instituto Serrapilheira does

Instituto Serrapilheira is a private non-profit foundation established in 2017 in Brazil, described as the first and only private non-profit in Brazil dedicated exclusively to fostering basic science and science communication. It operates two primary programmatic areas: direct financial support for scientific research and science outreach/communication. The foundation serves Brazilian-based researchers and science communicators, having supported 98 research projects and 34 science outreach projects since inception, including 14 researchers with approximately R$8.2 million in 2024 grant funding.

Its programmatic portfolio includes individual research grants of up to R$700,000, journalism and media grants ranging from R$26,500 to R$55,000, the Serrapilheira Networks program that coordinates multi-institution research, a training program in partnership with ICTP-SAIFR, and a pilot Ecology Center. The foundation also deploys emergency response funding, exemplified by an approximately R$3.3 million COVID-19 funding round in 2020. Institutional partnerships span ICTP-SAIFR, IDOR, UNESCO, Agência Lupa, Folha de S.Paulo, and Nature, with the latter two providing science-communication distribution channels via an editorial column and a conference.

As a private non-profit foundation, Instituto Serrapilheira is funded through private donations and endowment-style contributions rather than commercial revenue generation. Its operational leadership comprises CEO Hugo Aguilaniu and Science Director Cristina Caldas. The foundation's geographic focus remains Brazil, with no disclosed international grant-making operations or commercial product lines.

Name

Instituto Serrapilheira

Legal name

Instituto Serrapilheira

Website

https://serrapilheira.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Instituto Serrapilheira is a Brazilian private non-profit foundation established in 2017 that provides grants and programmatic support exclusively to basic science researchers and science communicators in Brazil, the first private organization of its kind in the country.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science Research Funding and Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Science research grants
• Science communication funding
• Fundamental science nonprofit
• Research grant programs
• Science journalism support

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Instituto Serrapilheira is a Brazilian private non-profit foundation that distributes grants to early-career scientists conducting fundamental research in natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science, with individual grants ranging from R$100,000 (initial) up to R$700,000 (renewal). It also funds science communication projects, including journalism, podcasts, and a column in Folha de S.Paulo, and runs interdisciplinary collaboration programs and training initiatives such as the Training Program in Quantitative Biology and Ecology.

Product overview

Instituto Serrapilheira is Brazil's first private non-profit institution for fostering science, operating in two main areas: science research support and science outreach. Its science program identifies and supports young scientists conducting cutting-edge research in natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science through public funding calls. In science outreach, it supports journalism and media projects including podcasts (O quê? Por quê?, Pod Paiter), the Ciência Fundamental column in Folha de S.Paulo, and collaborative networks like Serrapililha Networks. The institute also runs a Training Program in Quantitative Biology and Ecology in partnership with ICTP-SAIFR and is piloting an Ecology Center for tropical research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ciência Fundamental (Fundamental Science): A science column in Folha de S.Paulo newspaper featuring articles by young Brazilian scientists on fundamental science topics. Launched in January 2020 as a blog and officially became a column in 2025.
• Programa de Apoio à Ciência (Science Support Program)
• Programa de Jornalismo e Mídia (Journalism and Media Program)
• Programa de Formação em Ecologia Quantitativa (Training in Quantitative Ecology Program)
• Serrapilheira Networks
• Centro de Ecologia (Ecology Center)

Products and services

• Programa de Apoio à Ciência (Science Research Grants Program) Competitive grant program providing up to R$100,000 in initial funding to young scientists for fundamental research projects, with renewal options of up to R$700,000 over three years plus up to R$300,000 in diversity bonuses. Targeted at early-career researchers and postdocs in Brazil.
• Programa de Jornalismo e Mídia (Journalism and Media Program) Grant program funding science journalism and media projects, including podcasts, documentaries, and journalism investigations, with grants ranging from R$26,500 to R$55,000 per project. Targeted at Brazilian science communicators, journalists, and media producers.
• Serrapilheira Networks (Redes Serrapilheira) Interdisciplinary collaboration program providing approximately R$31,800 to R$31,915 per project to encourage partnerships between scientists, science communicators, and researchers across different disciplines. Targets supported researchers and communicators within the Serrapilheira ecosystem.
• Programa de Formação em Ecologia Quantitativa (Training Program in Quantitative Biology and Ecology) Free training program developed jointly with ICTP-SAIFR to prepare researchers in transdisciplinary life sciences research at the intersection of biology, mathematics, physics, and computer science. Targeted at graduate students and researchers from Brazil and Latin America.
• Ciência Fundamental (Fundamental Science Column) Science column and blog published in Folha de S.Paulo featuring articles on fundamental science topics written by young Brazilian scientists supported by Serrapilheira's communication team. Targeted at Brazilian general public readers.
• Strategic Projects | Ecology Center Pilot Pilot initiative to establish a center dedicated to ecological and environmental research and public policy, bringing together experts in hydrology, biodiversity, ecology, mathematics, climate science, archaeology, anthropology, public policy, economics, and communication. Targeted at interdisciplinary researchers focused on tropical ecology and environmental policy.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98 research projects and 34 science outreach projects supported since 2017
• +3 more outcomes

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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Various Brazilian Universities and Research InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Serrapilhea Networks program stimulates collaborations between supported scientists and science communicators, and between researchers from different fields. Includes partnerships with universities across Brazil for interdisciplinary projects in life sciences, geosciences, computer science, journalism, and more.
• ICTP-SAIFR (South American Institute for Fundamental Research)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Joint partnership to launch the Training Program in Quantitative Biology and Ecology, providing free training in life sciences with focus on mathematics, physics, and computer science applications. First edition held online July 2021. The program aims to create a generation of scientists skilled in transdisciplinary research at the intersection of biology and quantitative methods.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2020Collaboration with Agência Lupa and UNESCO on CoronaVerificado project, producing analytical content on COVID-19 misinformation. 26 columns published in Folha de S.Paulo and UOL website between June and September. Project analyzed spread of identical misinformation across continents.
• IDOR (D'Or Institute for Research and Education)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020Partnership to invest R$5 million in interdisciplinary COVID-19 research projects. Five research projects grouped into viral biology, mathematical modeling, and immunology areas. Includes ModCovid19 study and other initiatives.
• Agência LupacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Fact-checking collaboration on COVID-19 misinformation. Produced analytical content for CoronaVerificado platform, part of Latin American alliance of fact-checking organizations and global Coronavirus Facts Alliance.
• Folha de S.PaulocoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Science communication partnership producing the 'Ciência Fundamental' (Fundamental Science) column/blog. Series of special reports on COVID-19 impact across Brazilian cities, combining text, photography, infographics, and video. Also published CoronaVerificado columns.
• NaturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Partnership to hold international conference 'Nature Conference: Advances in Metabolic Communication' in Rio de Janeiro. First-of-its-kind collaboration bringing together global experts in metabolism research. Serrapilheira provided 10 student scholarships for the conference.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kavli Foundation: US private foundation supporting basic science in astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics. Comparable as a private science philanthropy that funds individual researchers and prizes for fundamental science, similar in spirit to Serrapilheira's focus areas.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: US private foundation supporting original research and education in science, technology, economics, and mathematics. Comparable as a private non-profit funding fundamental research and science communication through grants to individuals and institutions, with a similar mission profile to Serrapilheira.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: US private foundation funding scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and patient care improvement. Comparable as a private philanthropy with a science and environment portfolio, including support for early-career researchers and conservation research aligned with Serrapilheira's emerging Ecology Center.
• European Research Council (ERC): Pan-European public funding body supporting investigator-driven frontier research across all fields. Comparable as a grantmaker exclusively focused on fundamental, investigator-initiated research with multi-year individual grants, but publicly funded and geographically restricted to Europe.
• Wellcome Trust: UK-based private foundation funding fundamental biomedical and public-health research. Comparable because it is a large private science philanthropy that funds individual researchers and science communication, though operating globally and at far greater scale than Serrapilheira.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: US-based private biomedical research organization supporting individual investigators and science education. Comparable as a private non-profit channeling capital to early-career scientists and science communication, though focused on biomedical sciences and far larger.
• Simons Foundation: US private foundation funding mathematics, basic sciences, and autism research. Highly comparable as a private philanthropy that funds fundamental research in mathematics and natural sciences — directly parallel to Serrapilheira's core mission, though at substantially greater scale.

Emerging players

• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI): US philanthropic LLC funding biomedical science and education through grants and direct research programs. Comparable as a relatively newer private science philanthropy with strong science-communication orientation and substantial grant-making capacity, though focused on biomedical rather than broad basic science.

Direct peers

• FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation): Brazil's flagship state-level research funding agency. Direct peer because both are Brazil-based grantmaking bodies funding fundamental science, with overlapping researcher applicant pools and similar mission to advance Brazilian science — FAPESP is much larger and state-funded, while Serrapilheira is private.

Regional players

• CNPq (Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development): Brazilian federal government agency that funds research, fellowships, and science human-capital training across the country. Comparable because it is the dominant domestic public funder for the same researchers Serrapilheira targets, though government-backed and at vastly greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/instituto-serrapilheira

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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Frequently asked questions about Instituto Serrapilheira