This doctoral thesis deals with the presence of a philanthropic foundation in the emergence of new sciences and technologies in a non-hegemonic country. The case of the United States – Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC) in the emergence of micro and nanotechnology in Mexico. This research work, part of a series of observations on the development dynamics of these emerging technologies in this country. During these observations, it has been pointed out a strong presence of the FUMEC in this has attracted the attention of this research on the functions performed by the foundation in these processes. This doctoral thesis questions the modeling of relations actors, traditionally taken into account in the processes of technological change (State, University and Industry), as philanthropic organizations have not been considered in the studies of technological change. This research proposed to extend the range of actors to take into account in theoretical models in these studies. In other words, this thesis proposes to take into account the non-governmental and philanthropic organizations as central players in technological changes. Throughout the text, this work shows the importance of the position and action of the FUMEC in the installation of infrastructure, creation of scientific networks, human resources training, knowledge transfer, commercialization and dissemination of microsystems technology in Mexico. The analysis of the philanthropic organizations functions and actions in these processes not only confirms the importance of these organisms, but also highlights the influence of these organisms in scientific and technological policies in non-hegemonic countries
