This work was taken from my Master’s Dissertation in Political Science, defended in 2010. It therefore takes a snapshot of the reality of Capes between 2007 and 2009. Capes has always worked in the field of education, especially in stricto sensu postgraduate programmes, in the form of master’s degrees, doctorates and post-doctorates. However, since 2007, it has had a new remit in its scope of action: basic education. The general aim of this book was to analyse the changes that have taken place in Brazil’s public education policy and their effects on Capes, especially in its organisational structure, decision-making process and organisational climate, following the inclusion of basic education in its scope of action. The scientific research, as well as being based on the knowledge already developed on the subject in specialised literature, was conducted using a coherent methodology that enabled the study’s objectives to be achieved. Questionnaires, interviews and surveys were used. Through the results obtained from this research, it was possible to evaluate the policies to be adopted in order to improve the institution’s performance.