摘要:The Applied Economic Research Institute (Ipea) was created in 1964 to support the design and implementation of government development plans. Until the mid-1970s, it was mainly identified with the area of economic policy. Currently, its studies cover large and diverse policies and public. By its nature of applied knowledge producer, its path offers fruitful point of view to grasp the history of the country and policy areas to which their researchers were dedicated. Based on documental research, this paper presents the institutional evolution of the Ipea, in the area of social policies. It aims to contribute to building the institute and its production as social and historical objects, a dimension sometimes overshadowed by its representation as island and excellence within the Brazilian bureaucracy.