Centres and Institutes of Technology are a key player in the generation and transfer of technological knowledge into companies. They pick up technology needs of businesses and provide solutions with quality and time required by the exigencies of the market.

Technology Centres and Institutes are mostly private non-profit, with a major technological component and addressed to the SMEs through the provision of a wide range of services.

Its main features are:

• Possessing an independent governance and management of both public and private sector.
• Answer to the company needs, as their incomes are coming from projects with companies.
• Ability to conduct applied research in public competitive programs.
• Counting with Technologists and Researchers with qualified training to go on public R&D calls, including collaborative projects with universities and European projects.
• Flexibility and adaptability to change.
• They are very active Agents in intellectual property and in generation of technology-based companies.

The orientation of their production activity is focused on the idiosyncrasies of each territory and region. Hence the diversity of technological institutes between Latin American countries and regions.