Multi-year Evaluation and Funding of Academic Clinical Centers 2022

The Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB) has communicated the provisional results of the first evaluation and multi-year funding of Academic Clinical Centers (CAC) to all applicants.

The external evaluation of CACs is coordinated by FCT, which has delegated this task to AICIB, together with the Central Administration of the Health System, I.P. (ACSS), in close coordination with the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES), the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), and after consulting the National Council of Academic Clinical Centers (CNCAC).

The application submission period ran from January 10 to April 11 this year, in accordance with the terms of Call Notice of the Call Call Twelve applications were submitted and accepted by the respective CACs for funding, with seven applications provisionally selected, representing a total investment of €1.4 million, supported by national funds included in the FCT budget. The provisional list of projects recommended for funding under Call availablehere.

The evaluation of applications and the preparation of the overall classification and funding proposal was carried out by an independent evaluation panel, consisting of five (5) internationally recognized evaluators of merit and competence. Each proposal was evaluated and classified based on three criteria: a) merit of institutional coordination; b) value of collaboration; and c) collaborative organization. Funding was proposed for applications that obtained an overall rating of "sufficient" (2.5 points) or higher on a scale of 0 to 5, as provided for in the Evaluation Guide.

The evaluation process involved analyzing applications, public presentations by the CACs followed by discussions with the evaluation panel, and on-site evaluations, with the evaluation panel visiting each CAC during September and October.

The preliminary hearing period is currently underway, as established in the Administrative Procedure Code in force and provided for in Article 16(1) of Regulation No. 735/2021, which sets out the terms for the external evaluation of academic clinical centers.