Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP)

In 1969 a group of professors expelled from the universities by the dictatorship founded The Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning – CEBRAP to be a free thinking forum for production of knowledge in Brazil.

Global Center

Active for 50 years, Cebrap stands out in the national scene with research projects, publications and seminars marked by a multidisciplinary approach, academic rigor and impact on public debates. Cebrap carried out more than 500 research projects, worked with about 200 national and international partners and consolidated a position as a high-standard research center, reference in the production of  frontier knowledge in the various human sciences, housing some of the country’s leading researchers and intellectuals and operating as a forum for debate on major national issues.

Cebrap is a global research center which establishes partnerships with institutions, development agencies and civil associations from different countries around the world, such as UK, USA, Germany, France, India, China, Mexico, South Africa, among others. Recognized as the 40th best public policy think tank in the world, according to the University of Pennsylvania ranking (2018), Cebrap carries out impact research both by subsidizing the formulation of new policies and by contributing to the monitoring and evaluation of public actions.

Multidisciplinary Research

Cebrap’s focus is the analysis of the Brazilian reality, with an approach that emphasizes comparative analysis and combines specialization and interdisciplinarity, in constant dialogue among the different theoretical and methodological perspectives of the areas of origin of its researchers: Sociology, Political Science, Demography, Law, Philosophy, History, Anthropology, Economics and Geography.

Cebrap currently houses 41 permanent researchers and 140 associated researchers, 60 of them holding PhD degrees. This academic staff investigates several subjects: Democracy, Collective Action, Development, Innovation, Cities, Urban Mobility, Inequality, Population, Healthcare, Education, Violence, Human Rights, Gender, Race, Religion and Drug Policies. Most of the research projects aim help on the decision making process of public institutions, civil associations and private companies.

Expertise in Research Methods

Cebrap is also known by its methodological skills, which uses both quantitative research, such as surveys, GIS and network analysis, as well as qualitative data, such as case studies, ethnographic techniques, interviews and focus groups. Furthermore, Cebrap develops data visualization projects and conducts thematic courses, methodological workshops and research technique training.

Knowledge Diffusion

Cebrap publishes its research through different media, such as Novos Estudos, which is an interdisciplinary academic journal containing contemporary research; the Virtual Library, the compiling of video archives and articles produced by Cebrap; and the traditional Cebrap Seminars, for fueling discussions on Brazilian political and social reality.

Experience and innovation

Cebrap has achieved a rare generational transition, functioning for decades as an incubator for new researchers, in professional and academic training programs at both national and international levels. The success of these initiatives can be gauged by the large number of researchers who have achieved prominent positions in universities, as well as at different levels of government.

As a result of cross-generational exchanges, research teams at Cebrap combine the long and recognized experience of senior researchers and the vitality and new skills of the younger generation.