Investing in education in Brazil requires more than just focusing on expanding access or improving isolated indicators. The challenge lies in how decisions are structured and how different actors can collaboratively transform initiatives into public policies.
Given the complexity of education in Brazil, which involves millions of students, multiple levels of management, and profound inequalities between territories, piecemeal solutions have limited reach. It is through public policies that decisions achieve scale, continuity, and the capacity to improve access and quality in a more consistent way.
In recent years, the field of education in Brazil has advanced in the production of evidence, the strengthening of organizations, and the development of solutions. However, the impact of these initiatives depends on an additional step: their dialogue with public policies, where they begin to guide decisions in a structured way.
This is where the collaboration between civil society, public administrators, and various organizations becomes crucial. When this process is coordinated, what was once a localized experience begins to influence the functioning of the educational system.
In 2025, this movement materialized on different fronts in the education investment portfolio of the Bem Maior Movement. Agendas driven by supported organizations began to form part of or influence public policies, with impacts ranging from early childhood to teacher training, including inclusion and adaptation to territorial contexts.
The following cases show how this process happens in practice and what it reveals about possible ways to invest in education in Brazil.
1. National Integrated Policy for Early Childhood (PNIPI)
Established by federal decree in August 2025, the National (PNIPI) organizes the State's actions in early childhood from an intersectoral perspective, linking education, health, social assistance, and protection. The development of this agenda involves organizations such as the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation, Todos Pela Educação (All for Education) , and early childhood advocacy networks. Its progress consolidates an agenda that coordinates existing actions and guides their integrated implementation across territories.
2. National Education System (SNE)
The National Education System is a structural milestone approved after years of collaboration between organizations, with the active participation of the Education Now. The initiative establishes a basis for coordination between the federal government, states, and municipalities, strengthening planning and cooperation instruments. It represents an advance in education governance in Brazil, with a direct impact on reducing inequalities.
3. Levers Project
The "Levers for Quality Inclusive Education" Project, an initiative of the Rodrigo Mendes Institute (IRM), has led to formal public policies for inclusive education enshrined in law in 10 municipalities. Over three years, participating networks structured their own policies for the education of children with disabilities, focusing on long-term implementation. The direct result is the expansion of opportunities for approximately 170,000 students, with concrete impacts on their access, development, and autonomy.
4. ENADE for Bachelor's Degrees
The reformulation of the ENADE (National Student Performance Exam) for undergraduate teacher training programs consolidates a national policy for evaluating teacher training from the Ministry of Education and INEP (National Institute for Educational Studies and Research), with contributions from organizations such as Profissão Docente(Teacher Profession). The change broadens the focus of the evaluation, incorporating practical skills and classroom preparation. By redefining quality criteria, the policy creates new parameters for teacher training and directly influences the quality of education in Brazil.
5. Officially approved teaching materials (Tefé – AM)
The production of teaching materials adapted to the local context has been incorporated as a public policy by the Department of Education of Tefé (AM). The content was developed by the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS), considering the cultural, territorial, and linguistic specificities of the region. This initiative contributes to the advancement of educational policies that are more aligned with local contexts, addressing the limitations of standardized teaching models.
6. Digital Child's Notebook (Recife – PE)
The Digital Child's Booklet was established as a municipal public policy in Recife (PE), with the participation of the Center for Innovation in Brazilian Education (CIEB). The tool integrates information on child development, connecting different areas of care. Its implementation strengthens public management by allowing continuous monitoring and supporting more coordinated decisions in early childhood policy.
The role of ISPs in education in Brazil
Transforming initiatives into public policies requires time, coordination, evidence production, and the capacity for influence. It is in this process that private social investment and strategic philanthropy play a role in supporting the development of solutions, strengthening organizations, and creating the conditions for these initiatives to be incorporated by the public sector.
This implies looking beyond the short term. It means investing in institutional capacities, supporting implementation processes, sustaining agendas over time, and contributing to building bridges between civil society and public management. It is about directing resources towards initiatives with the potential to generate structural changes in education in Brazil.
The cases presented show that when this alignment occurs, the impact is no longer restricted to specific organizations or territories, but begins to influence entire systems. This is how investment gains scale and decisions begin to produce lasting effects on education.
To understand how these initiatives connect and how social investment can drive structural change in education in Brazil, access the full 2025 Annual Report.
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