Expressions of Interest - Research Data Management (2024)

The Consortium's main objectives will be:

• Promote the creation and development of a networked community of practice for the management of FAIR research data in Portugal, with a view to supporting the creation and transfer of knowledge and best practices;
• Support national scientific and higher education institutions in developing and applying data management skills and action strategies, in accordance with the principles of Open Science and FAIR Data;
• Support convergence with national legislation and European directives on data management and sharing;
• Coordinate and develop three cross-cutting areas considered crucial and transformative:
  • Institutional policies on data management and sharing;
  • Curation of research data throughout the data lifecycle;
  • Training and capacity building in best practices.

• Coordinate, advise, and support Research Data Management Centers, to be selected by FCT;
• Support the convergence of national infrastructures and services with EOSC and with European research infrastructures and networks.

Proposals may be submitted by entities belonging to the Research & Innovation System (SI&I) that are contracting authorities for the purposes of Article 5-A(5) – “Public sector contracts” – of the Public Procurement Code (CCP).

In this regard, the following conditions must be met cumulatively:

1. The FCT and the competing entity are contracting authorities, in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of the CCP.
2. The contract establishes cooperation between the contracting entities within the scope of public tasks assigned to them that are significantly related to each other;
3. Cooperation shall be governed exclusively by considerations of public interest; and
4. Contracting entities do not carry out 20% or more of the activities covered by the cooperation agreement on the open market.

Furthermore, given the cooperative relationship, the proposing entities should have responsibilities similar to those of the FCT and should be governed by the public interest.

It should also be noted that, as mentioned in point 10 of the same Invitation, bidding entities must confirm compliance with the conditions set forth in Article 5-A(5) of the CCP by submitting the Declaration of Commitment contained in Annex I.

The Invitation to create and establish a Consortium states that the proposal must include a minimum of three entities, one of which must be designated as the lead entity.

There is no limit to the number of people responsible for the application. The choice of the person(s) responsible will be taken into account in terms of the relevance of their activity to the application (curriculum vitae) during the evaluation phase.

Entities responding to this Call for the creation and establishment of a Consortium may also submit proposals for the establishment of a Research Data Management Center, under the Call launched by FCT, within the scope of PNCADAI. However, if they are selected to join the Consortium, the expression of interest formulated by the institution for the establishment of a Center, individually or in co-promotion, will not be considered and, in the latter case, regardless of whether the entity is listed as a leader or not.

The agreement shall terminate when all activities agreed upon within the scope of the cooperation have been completed, or on December 31, 2025, whichever occurs first.

The budget allocated to the execution of all activities that constitute its purpose is €780,000, plus VAT at the legal rate in force.

In the case of a contract establishing cooperation between entities, the proposing entity is responsible for incurring the expenses it deems essential for the execution and achievement of the objectives and deliverables described, with a view to the impacts and results set out in the proposal.

Proposals must be written in English, except for the Acronym and Full Title (first item in section 10. Elements to be included in the proposal), which must be identified in Portuguese and English.

The elements that must be included in the proposal are set out in point 10 of the Invitation.

The Curriculum Vitae of the person(s) responsible for the application and of the main elements, completed on the CIÊNCIAVITAE platform, must be published and the relevant records for evaluation by the evaluation panel must have access with the privacy level "Public." These CIÊNCIAVITAE parameters must be ensured until the accepted proposals and the final results of the evaluation process are known.

It is recommended that the curriculum vitae be submitted in English.

Proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation panel composed of independent national or foreign experts appointed by FCT.

The merit of proposals will be assessed taking into account the eight criteria described in point 11 of the Call for Proposals and the award of a score based on a scale of 0 to 5. Applications with a score of 24.00 or higher will be considered eligible.

The following deliverables must be provided during the contract period: the elements to be included in the application proposal, the deliverables for "Consortium Coordination and Management," and the deliverables for "Operational Activity," as designated in point 12 of the Call for Proposals.

The deadline for submitting proposals for the creation and establishment of a Consortium is September 10, at 11:59 p.m.

Proposals must be submitted in English to the following email address: compras@fccn.pt, with the reference RI/00138/2024 entered in the "Subject" field of the email.

Any information about the procedure should be requested via the following email: compras@fccn.pt, by the end of the first third of the deadline set for the submission of proposals.

The recording of the information session, held on August 1, 2024, and promoted by FCT through FCCN – Digital Services, is available for consultation.

The presentation document can also be consulted.

With rare exceptions where questions were addressed directly to the applicant, requests for clarification sent by entities through the official channel compras@fccn.pt, were taken into account in the production of the questions/answers presented here (FAQs). Similarly, questions raised during the clarification session were also considered.