Call IC&DT Projects in the Montesinho Natural Park region

The FCT is accepting applications from July 15 to September 30 for the submission of proposals for Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects (IC&DT) to promote Research and Development (R&D) activities to be carried out in the Montesinho Natural Park region, which is part of the Natura 2000 Network and the United Nations Iberian Meseta Biosphere Reserve.

The budget allocation for this Call projects is €1.5 million, with a maximum funding limit per project of €250,000 and a duration of up to 36 months.

The Montesinho Natural Park is a mountainous area with unique characteristics, constituting the last mountain range in northeastern Portugal, which still belongs to the northwestern peninsula, and borders the Iberian Meseta. Proposals submitted must take into account future projections and new knowledge in five thematic areas: 1) observation and knowledge of the land; 2) climate and climate change; 3) sustainable agrarian systems, including agriculture, forests, and agroforestry systems, and the valorization of their products from a bioeconomy perspective; 4) sociocultural dynamics; and 5) biodiversity and biological resources, natural and cultural heritage, and sustainable regional development.

This program aims to attract internationally renowned research groups to work in close cooperation with teams from Portuguese institutions. As such, candidate projects must adopt a multidisciplinary perspective and international context, facilitating partnerships with experts and institutions of recognized merit.

The following may apply to the program, individually or jointly: Non-business entities in the R&I system, such as higher education institutions, their institutes, and R&D units; State or international laboratories based in Portugal; Private non-profit institutions whose main purpose is R&D activities; and other public and private non-profit institutions that develop or participate in scientific research activities. Companies of any nature and legal form may also apply, provided they are involved in IC&DT projects led by non-business entities in the R&D system, within the scope of effective collaboration.

The launch of the Montesinho International Research Program and the Montesinho Observatory – Dionísio Gonçalves will take place this Friday, June 19, at 2 p.m., in the Library of the School of Technology and Management of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, in a session attended by the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, the Secretary of State for Science, Technology, and Higher Education, João Sobrinho Teixeira, the Secretary of State for the Valorization of the Interior, Isabel Ferreira, and the President of the Foundation for Science and Technology, Helena Pereira. See program here

More information at IC&DT Projects Montesinho Natural Park.