On April 09th, Fiotec, through its Project Initiation team, submitted six proposals to the Finep - Thematic Centers 2024 call for proposals. The public selection aims to support National

Centers for Scientific and Technological Research Infrastructure of a Thematic Nature, in the areas of Energy Transition, Ecological Transition, Digital Transformation, Health and Defense.

The idea is to strengthen the structures already established that are characterized by the effective carrying out of Applied Research, by supporting specific research projects that make use of the intended infrastructure in the thematic areas of Energy Transition, Ecological Transition, Digital Transformation, Health and Defense, through the implementation and improvement of the infrastructure, preferably multi-user, necessary to meet the challenges to be faced by the country in these respective areas.

The six Fiocruz technical-scientific units that submitted proposals were: Bio-Manguinhos, Farmanguinhos, Carlos Chagas Institute (Fiocruz Paraná), Fiocruz Ceará, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (Fiocruz Pernambuco) and Fiocruz Rondônia.

Among the initiatives submitted, five were focused on the thematic area of health and, strategically, one proposal (Fiocruz Rondônia) was focused on the thematic area of ecological transition. The bid notice states that even if there is more than one approved proposal from the same entity, i.e. from all Fiocruz units, only one of them can receive funding. Thus, the Rondônia unit did not compete internally, only with other institutions and entities.

"Our expectations are very high, because Fiocruz has been awarded almost every request for proposals in the last three years. So far, a total of 29 proposals have been approved. In 2024, 17 proposals were approved, totaling almost BRL 200 million in funds. Of these 17 proposals, 13 have already been contracted, totaling almost BRL 166 million," celebrates Fiotec's Initiation analyst, Marcia Perdonati.