It is a private and non-profit entity, whose prior accreditation has to be submitted for analysis and approval by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, according to Law 8958/94, Decree 7423/10 and Interministry ordinance 191/12 MEC/MCTI.

They can support federal higher education institutions (HEIs) and/or national institutes of science and technology (ISTs) like Embrapa.

No, the accreditation of a Support Foundation is linked to a given higher education or scientific-technological institution. However, a Support Foundation can support other institutions with the consent of the HEI/IST to which it is accredited. In that case, the foundation is referred to as authorised foundation. Furthermore, the authorisation has to be submitted and approved by Brazilian Ministry of Education, through the technical group – GAT (e-mail: gat@mec.gov.br), in the terms of the inter-ministry ordinance MEC-MCTI 191/12 and art. 4 par. 2 of Decree 7423/10.

On the Ministry of Education's web portal it is possible to find more information about the processes of accreditation and authorisation of research support foundations.

Accredited foundations

• Research and Development Support Foundation – FAPED;
• Edmundo Gastal Research and Development Support Foundation  – FAPEG; 
• Agricultural Research Support Foundation – FUNDAG.
• Environmental and Agricultural Research Support Foundation – FUNDAPAM;

Authorized foundations

• Arthur Bernardes Foundation – FUNARBE, accredited by the Federal University of Viçosa;
• Foundation of Institutional Support to Scientific and Technological Development – FAI UFSCar, accredited by the Federal University of São Carlos.

The nature of the link between Embrapa and the Foundation (accreditation or authorization) does not change the process of establishing a partnership through Embrapa's Units.

Once it is accredited/authorised, the Support Foundation shall then establish a General Partnership Agreement with Embrapa, in the terms of Resolution 180/2019.

After such umbrella agreement is established, Embrapa's Units can start instruments of implementation like agreements and contracts according to each concrete case.

Those custom Instruments of Implementation have to contain specific goals and deadlines (art. 1 of Law 8958/94 and art. 8 of Decree 7423/10).

Embrapa edited Resolution 180/2019, which establishes guidelines, procedures, rights and duties of Support Foundations, in order to regulate the activity of staff.

The Support Foundation is exclusively responsible for the Accreditation/Authorization alongside MEC/MCTI, with the support of Embrapa's innovation team.

Embrapa's Technological Innovation Team (NIT, acronym in Portuguese) is responsible for entering into General Partnership Agreements.

The Embrapa Units concerned are responsible for signing Instruments of Implementation for each concrete case.

According to the Service Instruction 4/2019, agreements, contracts and similar instruments established by Embrapa with Support Foundations can provide for operational expenses and administrative costs related to the execution of the contractual object of said legal instruments, in the terms of the article 74 of Decree 9283/2018.

The amount to be negotiated with partners is up to 15% (fifteen per cent) of the total funding involved.

The abovementioned limit can include operational and administrative expenses by the Support Foundation, by the Embrapa unit(ies) involved in the contractual execution, and by the Embrapa Technological Innovation Team. The amount for such expenses must be expressly stipulated in each negotiated agreement, contract or correlated instrument, and identified in the respective budget for the work plan or service proposal.

For each specific case, the figure must include all the usual divisible and indivisible costs required to achieve the implementation of the respective agreement, contract or similar instrument.

Out of the negotiated maximum of 15% of the total funding:

• 70% (seventy per cent) must be used to cover the Support Foundation's operational and administrative expenses for the implementation of the contractual object;
• 20% (twenty per cent) must be used to cover the operational and administrative expenses of the Embrapa units involved in the implementation of the contractual object
• 10% (ten per cent) must be used to cover the operational and administrative expenses of the Embrapa Technological Innovation Team (NIT) that will support the implementation of the contractual object.

Exceptionally, the percentage of up to15% (fifteen per cent) can be adjusted upon the submission of technical justification to approved by the NIT, respecting the abovementioned minimum of 70% (seventy per cent) to a maximum of 100% (one hundred per cent) for the Support Foundation, as well as said 30% (thirty per cent) for  Embrapa unit(s) involved in the execution of the contractual object.

In contracts for the provision of services, the percentages within the amount of up to15% (fifteen per cent) can be freely adjusted by the Embrapa unit(s) involved in the implementation of the contractual object, up to the maximum limit of 70% (seventy per cent) for the Support Foundation..

Each signed implementation instrument must have a technical manager, who is usually the project coordinator/leader, and a financial manager, duly established by a service order given by the head of the Embrapa unit(s) involved. Both managers have to monitor the project online through the Support Foundation's website.

In addition, the Support Foundation has to submit quarterly and annual reports of the project implementation to said technical and financial managers.

Once the project is over, a technical report has to be submitted by the Technical Manager to the General Head of the Unit, who will forward it to the CTI for analysis and approval.

As for the financial allocation, the Support Foundation will be responsible for elaborating the final report and attaching all the documentation demanded by Embrapa and funding bodies to demonstrate executed expenses, and submit it to the General Head of the Embrapa unit. The General Head of the Embrapa Unit forwards said final report to the Unit's Financial sector for analysis and appraisal, before it is submitted to Funding Bodies and archives.

The process of overseeing and rendering accounts and the entire relationship with Support Foundations is subject to analysis by the Internal Audit service.

For the calculation of the abovementioned 2/3, only the technical team directly involved in the project is considered, as Decree 7,423/10 art. 6 par.1 stipulates that Project Work Plans have to be defined with the precise teams from the supported institution (item III).

Law 8,958/94 forbids Support Foundation from hiring spouses, companions or third-degree direct or collateral relatives by blood or by consideration of: civil servants at Higher Education and Science and Technology Institutes who work as executives of their respective Research Support Foundations.

It also vetoes hiring higher executives of the HEIs and ISTs the Foundations support; or contractors whose owner(s) or shareholder(s) are executives or other staff members in such HEIs and ISTs.

In addition, it bans hiring spouses, companions or third-degree direct or collateral relatives by blood or by consideration of their own executive leaders or of civil servants at the HEIs and ISTs they support.

Personnel is hired through a selection process. Selecting personnel to compose project technical teams is Embrapa's attribution, in the person of the Project Coordinator. Meanwhile, selecting personnel for support (non-core) activities is the attribution of the Support Foundation, which shall check the legal framework for the hiring in compliance with current legislation: fixed employment, freelance contractors, internships, etc. The selection and hiring will observe the principles of impersonality and morality.

Yes, they can. The Support Foundations can celebrate their own legal instruments with third parties without Embrapa's direct participation, provided that if Embrapa's goods and services are used, the Support Foundation will make due reimbursements. However, to use the HEIs' and ISTs' goods and services, the Foundation has to obtain the express consent of the supported institution (Law 8958/94, arts. 1-B and 6), according to the HEI/IST bylaws.