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The evolution of the Portuguese research and development system has generated different funding models of R&D institutions. On this page FCT provides information on the different models that have been implemented since 1994.
The R&D units reviewed in the 2013 Evaluation will be funded via the Portuguese state budget and, whenever eligible, co-financed by EU funds. These are contemplated in the Partnership Agreement between Portugal and the European Commission, Portugal 2020, which lays out the framework for EU investment in economic, social and infrastructural development of Portugal in 2014-2020.
Eligible units are to be co-funded as SR&TD Integrated Programmes the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 in the "Support System for Scientific Research” strand.
The following R & D units have pre-qualified to bid for COMPETE 2020:
2013 Evaluation of R&D Units
Portugal 2020 - Portugal-EC Partnership Agreement
Operational
Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 (in
Portuguese)
SR&TD Integrated Programmes - North, Centre and Alentejo
regions (in Portuguese)
SR&TD Integrated Programmes - Lisbon region (in
Portuguese)
At the Encontro Ciência 2012 meeting, FCT announced a top-up funding programme named “Incentivo”: a measure to stimulate the international competitiveness of both researchers working in Portugal and national institutions, that results in attracting international funding. The results of this programme for 2013 are available here (pdf).
The evolution of the system for scientific research motivated changes to the national funding model for R&D institutions, implemented in 2011. In order to promote and strengthen the skills of national R&D institutions, Associate Laboratories and R&D Units, those that had been evaluated as “Good” or higher in the previous evaluation exercise (2007/2008) submitted strategic projects, that were both of public interest and matched to their activity plans.
Strategic Projects aim to support the activities of institutions within strategic guidelines of their own making, thus fostering progress to organisation and management models that are suitable to new forms of knowledge production, incorporating the growing importance of networks and multidisciplinary research.
Strategic Projects approved in 2011, funded by COMPETE and the State Budget.
The call for evaluation of R&D Units will take place in June and it is expected that the approval of the funding resulting from the evaluation regards the 2015-2020 period.
More information on 2013 - 2014 Funding for Strategic Projects developed by R&D Units and Associate Laboratories.
From 1994 to 2011, FCT applied the Pluriannual Funding model (Financiamento Plurianual). The evaluation system that supported this model consisted of periodic review of reports and activity plans as well as direct contact with researchers and institutions, through visits to all units by panels of international experts. Institutions were awarded a qualitative grade by the panel, which determined the amount of funding to be awarded for the upcoming period. This process was regulated in 1996.