CONSELHO NACIONAL DAS FUNDACOES DE ESTADUAIS DE AMPARO A PESQUISA

Their core work

CONFAP is the national council representing Brazil's 27 state-level research funding foundations (FAPs), which collectively fund the majority of subnational research in Brazil. In H2020 projects, CONFAP acts as the institutional bridge enabling EU-Brazil scientific cooperation — coordinating Brazilian funding commitments, aligning research agendas, and facilitating access to Brazil's vast network of researchers and institutions. Their role is not to conduct research directly but to mobilize and align Brazilian research funding with European priorities, particularly in environment, water, ocean science, and biodiversity.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2016–2018), CONFAP focused on broad EU-Brazil science diplomacy — building institutional frameworks, policy dialogues, and business-innovation networks through projects like INCOBRA and CEBRABIC. From 2018 onward, their participation shifted decisively toward thematic environmental challenges: water reuse, Atlantic ocean governance, aquatic pollutants, and biodiversity restoration. This evolution suggests a maturation from general cooperation infrastructure to targeted joint programming on specific environmental and ecological priorities.

CONFAP is moving from broad international cooperation frameworks toward co-funding specific environmental and ocean research programs with European partners, making them increasingly relevant for Atlantic-focused environmental consortia.

How they like to work

CONFAP exclusively participates as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a funding intermediary rather than a research performer. They operate in large consortia (91 unique partners across 37 countries), functioning as the gateway to Brazilian research capacity. Working with CONFAP means gaining access not to one lab but to an entire national network of state funding agencies that can co-fund and mobilize Brazilian researchers.

With 91 consortium partners across 37 countries, CONFAP has one of the broadest geographic networks possible — spanning virtually all EU member states plus key third countries. Their unique value is the transatlantic bridge, connecting European consortia to Brazil's state-level research infrastructure.

What sets them apart

CONFAP is not a research performer — it is the institutional key to Brazilian research funding at the state level. No other H2020 participant offers the same ability to mobilize 27 Brazilian state funding agencies as co-funders for European joint programs. For any consortium needing genuine Brazilian research engagement (not just a letter of support), CONFAP is the organization that can activate funding and researchers on the ground.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AANChOR
  Largest EC funding (EUR 177K) and directly implements the Belém Statement on EU-Brazil-South Africa Atlantic ocean cooperation — a flagship trans-Atlantic initiative.
• CEBRABIC
  Second-largest funding (EUR 176K) and unique focus on business innovation cooperation between Europe and Brazil, going beyond pure research into commercial partnership building.
• AquaticPollutants
  Addresses the intersection of water pollution, antimicrobial resistance, and human health — a high-priority ERA-NET topic with direct policy relevance.