Foundation for Science and Technology strengthens support for research in all areas of knowledge

On December 22, 2023, two Calls R&D Projects in all Scientific Fields will be launched: scientific research and technological development projects (IC&DT) and exploratory projects (PeX). With a total budget of €140 million and support expected for more than 880 research projects, applications for Calls two Calls open until February 16, 2024, and adopt, for the first time, the simplified cost methodology.

The Call scientific research and technological development (IC&DT) projects in all scientific fields – 2023 will support a total of more than 480 projects lasting up to 36 months and with maximum funding of €250,000 per project. Compared to Call , the budget allocation increases from €55 million to €120 million in 2023 (an increase of 118%). This Call funded by FCT via the State Budget and co-financed by European funds through COMPETE 2030 and the Regional Operational Programs of the North, Center, Lisbon, Alentejo, and Algarve, promoting synergies between various sources of funding for national scientific research. More information here.

The Call Exploratory Projects in All Scientific Fields – 2023 will support projects lasting 18 months, with a maximum funding of €50,000 per project. The budget allocation is €20 million (with exclusively national funds, provided by FCT) to support a total of more than 400 projects. More information here.

Starting in January 2024, the evaluation process for R&D Units (R&DUs) will begin, with the extension of current funding for 2024 guaranteed, as approved by the Council of Ministers on December 21, 2023. The budget available for each RU to execute in 2024 will be announced shortly and will be at least equivalent to 25% of the funding allocated for the period 2020-2023, considering the balance not executed by December 31, 2023, and/or the reinforcement amount requested for 2024.

In 2023, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) continued its mission to promote the advancement of scientific and technological knowledge in Portugal. Calls, programs, and initiatives were launched to promote support for research in science, technology, and innovation in all areas of knowledge:

• The first edition of RESTART, designed to support researchers returning from parental leave, approved 31 projects in all scientific fields, with total funding of €1.5 million.
• FCT-Tenure, the new FCT funding instrument for stabilizing researchers in career positions, has been launched. It will be biennial, with two editions already planned. The first edition of FCT-Tenure will co-finance the hiring of up to 1,000 PhD researchers, exclusively for permanent positions, with an additional 400 positions expected to be opened in the 2025 edition.
• The new ERC-Portugal program has been launched, already containing two axes – ERC-PT and ERC-PT – with another axis to be launched in the first quarter of 2024, ERC-PT , covering all phases of European Research Council funding.
• The Call Proposals to Stimulate Scientific Employment – Institutional (Associate Laboratories) approved 36 applications for funding and awarded 120 doctoral contract positions, corresponding to a total financial investment of €41.3 million.
• The provisional results of the 6th edition of Call Scientific Employment Stimulus – Individual are now known, in which 400 new employment contracts are awarded to researchers with doctorates in all scientific areas, representing a financial investment of around €126 million.
• The Call the Award of Studentships for Doctorates in All Scientific Fields 2023 awarded 1,488 new Studentships for doctorates, 332 of which were in a non-academic environment. The investment associated with these Studentships €115.3 million.
• Several digital services were made available, notably a 15-fold increase in the computing capacity directly provided by FCT to national researchers through two new supercomputers, Deucalion and MareNostrum 5.
• Cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries has been strengthened through the Call Studentships in all scientific fields within the scope of PALOP Cooperation (Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe) and Timor-Leste, which provides for the award of 30 Studentships designed to support research in these countries.
• In the field of R&D projects, Calls are currently open Calls the National Study of Gypsy Communities and"April 25 and Portuguese Democracy," with budgets of €200,000 and €500,000, respectively.
• Synergies with other government areas were strengthened for the development of R&D activities and the creation of new knowledge through: i) Call Science Studies for Public Policies – Science4Policy, with a budget allocation of €1 million, funded by PlanAPP — Center for Planning, Policy, and Prospective Competences in Public Administration; ii) Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute for Financial Management and Justice Equipment to support advanced training and the development of research projects relevant to the area of Justice; iii) Launch of the “Health+Science” program, with a budget allocation of €9.4 million to foster scientific and technological cooperation between higher education institutions, research centers, and entities under the supervision of the Ministry of Health; iv) Approval of the "Defense+Science" program, with a budget of €8 million to promote scientific research and innovation in the area of national defense.
• In addition to these synergies with other areas of government, in 2023, FCT became, for the first time, a beneficiary of the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), securing €93 million in funding for the Science+Digital and Science+Capacity programs.
• It is also worth mentioning the efforts made to simplify administrative procedures, both in terms of submitting applications and adopting a simplified management system after funding has been awarded, which began with the RESTART Programme was further developed in Calls two Calls projects in all scientific fields in 2023.
• As part of the new transparency policy,“FCT in numbers”was launched, providing the entire national scientific community with access to the FCT databases, which are constantly updated.
• The FCT has also aligned its evaluation processes with international best practices, while promoting more qualitative, robust, and integrated evaluation methodologies. Among other changes, the inclusion of a narrative CV format stands out, allowing for a comprehensive, inclusive, and effective evaluation of the careers of researchers working in Portugal.