Cooperation between university and government to evaluate Primary Health Care in the Brazilian National Health System

This article analizes the role of the university in institutional cooperation with the Brazilian Ministry of Health to implement the Program for Access and Quality Improvement in Primary Care. It is a qualitative research based on a case study that combined document analysis and interviews with key government and academia actors. The cooperation aimed to carry out the External Evaluation of the Program and the census of the Basic Health Units in the country. Dozens of academic institutions mobilized their institutional apparatus to carry out activities for the formulation and operationalization of the evaluation, support for management and academic, and gave qualification and political and technical legitimacy to the project. This process developed under the influence of the country's political-institutional context and the interventions guided by the institutions.