FUNDACAO DE APOIO A UNIVERSIDADE DE SAO PAULO

Their core work

FUSP is the administrative and legal support foundation for the University of São Paulo (USP), one of Latin America's largest and most internationally active research universities. Its role in H2020 is to serve as the institutional vehicle through which USP researchers participate in EU-funded projects — handling contracts, compliance, and financial administration. Their scientific contribution to H2020 spans two distinct areas: the Zika public health emergency response (as a Brazilian anchor in a multi-continental disease preparedness network) and EU–Latin America scientific and cultural policy dialogue. For EU consortium builders, FUSP is effectively the front door to USP's research infrastructure and scientific community in Brazil.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FUSP entered H2020 in 2016 through two simultaneous projects: EULAC Focus, which was oriented toward broad EU–CELAC diplomatic and scientific policy dialogue, and ZikaPLAN, which responded directly to the Zika outbreak emergency. The keyword shift from "EU-CELAC social cultural scientific policy" toward "Zika, microcephaly, congenital brain malformations, Guillain-Barré syndrome, research preparedness" reflects a move from general science diplomacy toward a concrete, crisis-driven public health agenda. Because both projects started in the same year, this is less a temporal evolution and more a dual-track positioning: institutional diplomacy alongside rapid-response health research.

With only two projects from a single year, the trajectory is unclear, but FUSP's involvement in ZikaPLAN positions it as a credible Brazilian institutional node for future EU-funded tropical disease, global health, and pandemic preparedness initiatives.

How they like to work

FUSP joins exclusively as a participant and has never served as project coordinator, consistent with its role as an administrative foundation rather than a scientific lead. Both of its H2020 projects were large, multi-country consortia — reflected in the 46 unique partners across 24 countries generated from just two projects. This pattern suggests FUSP functions as a Brazilian institutional anchor: its value lies in legitimising access to USP's researchers and facilities for European-led consortia, not in driving the scientific agenda itself.

FUSP has reached 46 unique consortium partners across 24 countries through just two projects, a figure that reflects participation in large-scale, internationally distributed research networks. Their partnerships span Europe and Latin America, making them one of the more globally connected Brazilian institutions in the H2020 programme relative to their project count.

What sets them apart

FUSP's defining advantage is its role as the institutional gateway to the University of São Paulo — Brazil's highest-ranked university and the most internationally active research institution in Latin America. For EU consortia that need a credible, experienced Brazilian partner to satisfy geographic diversity requirements or to access Latin American epidemiological data and patient cohorts, FUSP is one of the most institutionally stable options available. Their prior engagement in a WHO-level public health emergency (Zika) demonstrates they can operate under pressure in fast-moving crisis research environments.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ZikaPLAN
  A large EU-funded pan-Latin American research network responding to the 2016 Zika public health emergency, with FUSP serving as the Brazilian institutional anchor and receiving the full EUR 100,076 in EC funding allocated to the organisation.
• EULAC Focus
  A policy-level project linking EU and Latin America–Caribbean scientific, cultural, and social cooperation, positioning FUSP within EU science diplomacy networks at the interregional level.