Call for Exploratory Research Projects in all Scientific Domains 2024

The consolidation and reinforcement of the National System of Science and Technology are key priorities of the national science and technology policy. These efforts aim to enhance national and international competitiveness in science and technology, foster innovation, and facilitate knowledge transfer. They also align with the global aspirations outlined in the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, promoting and strengthening scientific and technological institutions through the active participation of research teams in projects is particularly significant. To support these goals, FCT launches this call to fund exploratory research projects across all scientific domains, focusing on original projects for younger researchers, and on ideas or concepts with a high degree of novelty that demonstrate disruptive potential, compared to previous work, for more experienced researchers.

Research teams, from the following non-entrepreneurial Portuguese entities of the R&I system can apply for funding:

• Higher education institutions, their institutes and R&D units;
• State, international or associated Laboratories with head office in Portugal;
• Non-profit private institutions whose main objective is R&D activities, including Collaborative Laboratories (CoLab) and Centres for Technology and Innovation (CTI);
• Other non-profit public and private institutions developing or participating in scientific research activities.

Projects may be presented individually and have a maximum duration of 18 months.

Applications must be presented to FCT, in English, from December 19, 2024, to February 25, 2025, at 17:00 Lisbon time, using a specific online form and submitted through myFCT platform.

The PI, the core elements, as well as the remaining elements of the Portuguese research team, are responsible for submitting an updated version of their CV in English on the CIÊNCIAVITAE platform.

The Statement of Commitment for the Principal Contractor will be available on myFCT platform, for agreement by the head of the Principal Contractor or someone appointed by him, following the deadline for submission of applications and up to March 11, 2025 at 17:00 (Lisbon time).

The evaluation is conducted by panels of independent experts affiliated with foreign institutions, organized by scientific domain, scientific area, and subarea (corresponding to an adaptation of the FOS classification from the OECD’s revised Field of Science and Technology Classification in the Frascati Manual).

Each application is assessed by the evaluation panel corresponding to the combination of the main scientific area and subarea selected by the PI in the application form. Transferring the application to a different evaluation panel is not allowed.

The methodology for selecting and ranking applications is based on the Merit of the Project (MP) indicator, which relies on the following evaluation criteria, detailed in the Guide for Peer Reviewers:

A. Scientific quality (A1) and innovative nature (A2) of the project from an international perspective.

B. Scientific merit of PI and the research team (B1), including the impact of project execution on the PI's career development and/or research (B2).

C. Feasibility of the work plan and proposed performance indicators, as well as budget reasonableness.

The Merit of the Project is calculated according to:

MP = 0.40 (0.50 A1 + 0.50 A2) + 0.35 (0.60 B1 + 0.40 B2) + 0.25 C

National funds will finance the projects through the FCT budget. The budget allocation is € 24 million.

The maximum funding per project is € 60.000,00 (sixty thousand euros).

The funding to be granted under this call shall be non-reimbursable, applying the option of simplified costs in the form of a lump sum. The contribution is paid upon presentation of evidence and results that demonstrate the effective completion of the project as contractually agreed.

Regardless of the project’s approved funding amount, the initial advance payment for the project is 75% of the approved funding. The remaining amount, up to the approved funding for each project, is paid upon closing of the scientific and financial components of the project, through a final reimbursement payment method.

Within the scope of this call, the indirect costs are a fixed rate of 25% of all the estimated direct eligible costs. The expenses for the adaptation of buildings and facilities are limited to a maximum of 10% of the project’s total eligible expenses.

The Call is subject to this Announcement for submission of Proposals, by FCT Projects Regulation, published in Regulation No. 999/2016, in its current wording, i.e., amended and republished by Regulation no. 5/2024 and corrected by the Declaration of Rectification no. 366/2024/2, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 100, of May 23, 2024, and by other applicable national and community legislation.

Before submitting a proposal, applicants are advised to read the documents of the call, all available at the call’s webpage.

For information related to this call, please contact concursoprojetos@fct.pt.

None of the information published on this webpage overrides the official Announcement for Submission of Proposals.