Call of R&D Projects 2017: FCT is paying advances of 30%

The projects approved under the Call of R&D Projects in all scientific domains for 2017 are in the final contracting phase. To date, 85% of the acceptance terms of approved projects have been validated by the FCT. 

The advance amount increased from 15% to 30% of the project financing value. The FCT transferred around €80 million to the proposing research institutions, via national funds and European funds from Portugal 2020.

The change in the advance payment amount was the result of a joint effort by the FCT and the PT2020 Operational Programs to facilitate the start and execution of projects. The change in the payment rules provides greater liquidity for the investment required for research, and contributes to simplifying the process of submitting and analyzing expenses in which the FCT is committed, as payment requests will now have larger financial volumes but the minimum number of sample documents remains – that is, the number of documents required to validate expenses will be reduced.

In line with expectations, the approximately 1,600 projects approved in the Call have to finance the contract of a PhD Researcher. With the start of project execution, the first ones are being launched Calls in this context.