The Ministry of Education published, in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU) on December 28, 2021, the Extract of Contract No. 1/2021, which concerns the renewal of the Management Contract signed between the ministerial body and the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) for the next 10 years. The contract renewal aims to “form a partnership to carry out integrated teaching, research, and extension actions, seeking to establish a scientific and technological hub in neuroscience and neuroengineering and transformative action in the areas of education, maternal and child health, and health for people with disabilities”. ISD's activities are developed in two units, installed in Macaíba (RN): the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Research in Health (Anita) and the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS).
The new contract is valid until December 31, 2030, and may be renewed for a period to be established by means of a contractual addendum. The Ministry of Education, through the Management Contract Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (CAACG), is responsible for overseeing the execution of the Management Contract, and is responsible for supervising, monitoring and evaluating the performance of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD). The document was signed electronically by the Minister of Education, Milton Ribeiro, and the ISD's general director, Reginaldo Freitas Júnior.
“The signing of the new management contract with the MEC, this time for a decade, has two very important meanings for the ISD. The first is the explicit recognition by the Federal Government of the strength of our work and the success we have achieved in the areas of activity that we have embraced as priorities, all of which are of strategic interest to the scientific, social and human development of our country. The second represents the institutional security necessary for the continuity and sustainability of our actions, including those that are planned for our future horizon. The Institute continues on an upward trajectory of consolidation and integration, both internally and in relation to the different social segments with which we interact, and this contract renewal is in line with and enhances this strengthening. We are very happy with this victory and even more committed to moving forward with our mission and the new challenges it presents us. Let’s keep doing more and better!”, says the ISD’s CEO, Reginaldo Freitas Jr.
The goals to be achieved by the ISD over the course of this decade, as established by the Ministry of Education, include: 1. Going beyond regional and national borders, strengthening existing ties and establishing new ties with national and foreign institutions; 2. Intensifying integration with the National Science, Technology and Innovation System in order to attract scientific leaders who can consolidate the ISD as an open and multi-user National Laboratory in a capillary manner; 3. Expanding its activities in the context of people with disabilities, strengthening integrated actions between the ISD units and its partners, becoming a national reference; 4. Establishing and strengthening partnerships with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation – MCTI and the Ministry of Health – MS, given the ISD’s operational profile; 5. Implementing and consolidating the infrastructure of the ISD units to enable the achievement of long-term institutional results; 6. Promoting entrepreneurial management focused on the integration of the ISD units in teaching, research and extension activities; and 7. Seek to diversify sources of financial resources, in the public and private sectors, including abroad.
Assistance and Education
The ISD is part of the Health Care Network for People with Disabilities as a Specialized Rehabilitation Center (CNES No. 6058256), authorized by the Ministry of Health in the Physical, Intellectual and Hearing modalities – CER III, through Ordinance/GM/ MS No. 1,430, of October 17, 2016, for the Seventh Health Region of the State of Rio Grande do Norte (Metropolitan Region), covering the municipalities of Macaíba, Natal, Parnamirim, São Gonçalo do Amarante and Extremoz. Ordinance/GM/MS No. 1,842, of August 6, 2021, formalized the change of category of the Specialized Rehabilitation Center, from CER III to CER IV, including qualification to serve people with visual impairments.
CER ISD's actions incorporate the joint work of Anita and IIN-ELS, prioritizing the integration of health care for people with disabilities with teaching and translational research activities, as well as the integration of teaching, service and community. All actions are agreed upon with different levels of SUS management to fill gaps in care and build responses to social demands.
The services are organized by areas of activity and specialized clinics, aimed at users of the Seventh Health Region of Rio Grande do Norte, with some of them having statewide coverage. The clinics are as follows: Parkinson's Disease; Adult Spinal Cord Injury; Childhood Spinal Cord Injury; Microcephaly; Prematurity; Neurodevelopment; Neurogenic Bladder; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); Refractory Epilepsies and Hearing Health.
