[Challenges for the discussion of a complex institutional mission: the case of a health research institute].

This study is based on an adaptation of the Strategic Démarche Approach applied to the Evandro Chagas Institute of Clinical Research (IPEC) in Brazil, from April to July 2009. The results are related to the experience of the Leishmaniasis Laboratory. A strategic analysis of four homogeneous segments was performed, considering the administration of care and specific teaching and research indicators. In both portfolios, all segments showed competitiveness and an appropriate response to mission goals. However, the second portfolio (teaching/research) showed a greater concentration of production in one segment. A highlight was the presence in the work team of cultural traits consistent with the objectives of cultural change. This experience, by operating indirectly in furtherance of the features of the new culture that emerges, revealed the potential of the method in question, to effect policies, processes and resources in a democratic and communicative way, which contributes to the operationalization of the guidelines of the Brazilian Unified Health System.