Originally created as a research institute within the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH in Portuguese) of the State University of Campinas, it is today one of the most important public policy think-tanks in economics and related areas in Brazil. It is also a great supplier of policy makers in the country, such as: Celso Furtado, influential economist in the country, Aloizio Mercadante (Senator, SP), Luciano G.Coutinho (recently appointed as chairman of BNDES), José Serra (governor of São Paulo) and many others.