CoLAB: Evaluation panel meets on February 18

The next meeting of the Evaluation Panel for Applications for the Award of the Title and Designation of Collaborative Laboratory (CoLAB) is scheduled for February 18 and 19. At this meeting, applications submitted by January 15, 2019, will be evaluated. The public presentation of proposals will take place on February 18. A new Application Submission Guide has been published for this evaluation exercise.

The process of creating CoLAB began in 2017. It is an Call , with periodic meetings of the jury to evaluate the applications submitted. To date, two evaluation exercises have been carried out, in which 21 CoLAB titles have been awarded from among 30 applications submitted.

The aim of the Collaborative Laboratories is to bridge the gap between academia and business, directing skilled employment towards a productive market that will boost the Portuguese economy. The CoLABs will be funded by regional operational programs, with a total amount of around €50 million over the next three years. The FCT will add €10 million to the funding, corresponding to 20%, for expenses not resulting from the hiring of human resources.

CoLABs will generate around 750 direct jobs, spread across various regions of the country. It is expected that 3 to 4 times more indirect jobs will be created, due to the needs of other companies and institutions that will partner with collaborative laboratories to produce products and services to be marketed nationally and internationally.

Collaborative Laboratories are associations or consortia established between research institutions, private companies, and civil society organizations. Consortia are composed of research units, Associate Laboratories, higher education institutions, intermediary and interface institutions, technology centers, companies, business associations, and other relevant partners from the productive, social, or cultural fabric, such as State Laboratories, local authorities, and institutions associated with local organizations, hospitals, museums, archives, or social institutions, whether national or international (participating entities).