Call of R&D Projects 2017

The process of communicating the results of the 2017 Call of R&D projects in all scientific domains(Notice 02/SAICT/2017) is completed. The list of applications proposed for funding and the summary of the results are made available here.

375 million euros have been allocated to R&D projects to be carried out over the next three years, resulting from the joint funding of FCT, COMPETE2020 and the Regional Operational Programmes of Portugal2020. This is the largest amount of funding ever allocated at Calls for R&D projects in Portugal, a value about three times higher than the total amount involved in the last Call launched by FCT in 2014.

The information now made public includes the number and funding volume of the applications considered eligible, the number and funding volume of the projects to be funded and the minimum scores of the funded projects per evaluation panel. All applicants have been notified by the various Managing Authorities involved and/or by the FCT (when applicable).

For this 2017 Call 4593 applications were submitted, of which 3304 applications were considered eligible, in accordance with the terms of Notice of the Call of Call. There are 1618 projects recommended for funding in all areas of knowledge.

The applications were distributed among 33 evaluation panels, according to the respective scientific area. Each application was evaluated by two internationally recognized researchers, for a total of 417 evaluators, who agreed on their ratings in meetings of each panel. 

Within each panel, proposals were ranked only according to their merit. The ranking results from the evaluation of the quality of the application, which assesses the scientific merit of the project and the team, and the potential for economic and social valorization, including, when applicable, the framework in the Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3).

As established in the Notice of the Call of Call, a similar success rate was guaranteed in all evaluation panels in terms of volume of eligible funding requested. Thus, for each evaluation panel a "cut-off line" was defined associated with the merit of the applications, independent of the geographical location of the applicants and the funding source (Operational Programs or FCT).

The following note includes a brief description of the evaluation process, following the best practices of transparency and scientific rigor. In view of questions raised by some applicants, we reinforce that, within each panel, there are no funded projects with a score lower than an unfunded project.

The projects whose classification is above the "cut-off lines" are proposed for funding in one of the following ways: 1) by COMPETE2020 and by the Regional Operational Programs, with national matching funds provided by the FCT, if the projects fit within the respective budget allocations; or 2) by the FCT, exclusively through national funds, in all other cases.

 A brief summary of the evaluation methodology

The evaluation of the projects submitted to Call was based on two evaluation criteria: A and B.

Criterion A, with a weight of 70% in the final classification, assesses the quality of the project, considering the scientific and technological merit of the project (A1) and the quality of the team (A2), the quality of the proposal and feasibility of the work plan (A3) and the budget reasonability and financial sustainability (A4). The classification of this criterion is entirely defined by the panel of experts in the respective scientific area.

Criterion B, with a weight of 30% in the final classification, assesses the impact of the project, considering the potential for knowledge valorisation (B2), the additionality effect of the project (B3) and the contribution to the achievement of the results set (B4). In the case of projects eligible for structural funds, the strategic impact of the project is also evaluated (having as parameters the degree of insertion in the smart specialization strategy/RIS3 and the response to societal challenges). Criterion B1 is assessed by the Operational Programs (insertion in RIS3) and by FCT (response to societal challenges). Criteria B2, B3 and B4 are assessed by the panel of experts from the respective scientific area.

The scoring of each of the criteria was based on the merit benchmark known prior to Call. As publicly announced, the evaluation by the panel of experts took into account the specificities of the different scientific areas and the diversity of the projects, and was not limited to simple quantitative metrics or a mere counting of indicators. The ratings given by the evaluators were consensual within each scientific panel.