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  • Updated on 23/03/2015

R&D Institutions

Support for Strategic Restructuring of R&D Units

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In compliance with a invitation from the Secretary of State for Science (dated 1 October 2014), this section provides information on the principles guiding the enactment of the support fund for the strategic restructuring of R&D Units.
As announced by the Minister for Education and Science, a special fund to support the strategic restructuring of research units has been set up. This fund will be available to those research units that demonstrated good potential for development and international competitiveness in the 2013 review, but did not obtain a grade that allows them to benefit from strategic funding (that is, did not go through to Phase 2). The aim of this fund is to support the necessary reorganisation of these units, so as to increase their international scientific competitiveness, for the 2017 mid-term review.
By governmental decision, access to the restructuring fund will continue to be based on criteria of scientific merit, which in brief will entail the following:

  1. The fund will support those units that obtained an overall score of 14 or 15 in Phase 1 (as the sum of all evaluation criteria), as well as those units that after Phase 2 are awarded  a final score of 14 or 15.

  2. Awarding of the fund requires submission of a plan for strategic restructuring of the unit, with particular focus on the development of the unit’s potential and the quality of its integrated members (researchers).

Whenever applicable, the plan submitted by each unit may be accompanied by a statement from the rector or president of the university or polytechnic institute that the unit belongs to, on the relevance of the unit to the institutional strategy. In case several units belong to the same institution, the strategic relevance of each should be clearly emphasised.

  1. The units' plans for strategic restructuring will be assessed for administrative issues by FCT, in order to certify the funding requested and alignment with the actions described in the work plan.

  2. All additional funds within this support scheme will be awarded as a multiple of the value specified in the regulation, for each grade and taking into consideration each unit’s size and laboratory intensity. The accumulated value of funding will not exceed the core funding awarded to units with a final grade of Very Good, of equivalent size and laboratory intensity.