Clarification on the evaluation of the FCT Call 2013

Following a number of queries and requests for clarification received by the FCT and its Governing Board regarding the evaluation process for Call 2013 FCT Call , the FCT would like to clarify the following:

A – Evaluators and panel members

1. The entire evaluation process was conducted in strict compliance with the provisions set out in the Evaluation Guide published on the FCT website and in accordance with the applicable regulations;
2. For the 2013 edition, it was decided to use a single evaluation phase;
3. The results of the evaluation (single phase) are the responsibility of an evaluation panel of recognized international merit composed exclusively of foreign scientists with no connection to Portuguese institutions;
4. To support the panel's decisions, each application was evaluated separately by, as a rule, three external evaluators, two of whom are foreign and one Portuguese, all of internationally recognized scientific merit;
5. The way in which the external evaluations were used in the evaluation process is the sole responsibility of the panel members and will be communicated to the candidates in the form and with the content determined by the panel and expressed in the Evaluation Guide published on the FCT website;
6. This procedure is similar to other Calls recently Calls by the FCT, such as the Call Exploratory Projects in IC&DT in all Scientific Domains – 2013.

B – Preliminary hearing and hiring

1. As a result of the Evaluation Panel's opinions, on November 26, 2013, FCT informed the candidates proposed for funding of its intention to finance the employment contracts that these researchers would establish with the host institutions;
2. In the same communication, the FCT stated that for these candidates, "If the decision is favorable, the prior hearing of the interested parties is waived, pursuant to Article 103(2)(b) of the Code of Administrative Procedure," considering the selection process to be concluded for these candidates;
3. Candidates not recommended for funding were assured of their right to a prior hearing and appeal under the terms provided for by law. They were also informed that the deadlines would only begin to run after the ratings and comments of the evaluators and/or panel members were made available on the computer platform, in the candidate's area;
4. The FCT duly ensured the legal framework and budgetary availability to support applications which, following the arguments presented at the prior hearing, may have the non-funding decision reversed;
5. The FCT therefore ensures that the Call associated procedures will be conducted in strict compliance with the legal provisions for researchers whose applications were not proposed for funding.

C – Delays and signing of program contracts

1. The panel meetings ended on November 22, 2013, but due to IT problems with the evaluation platform, it has not been possible to make the ratings and comments entered by the evaluation panel available to date;
2. FCT takes full responsibility for this IT problem and is making every effort to resolve it quickly;
3. The speed of the process of signing program contracts between the FCT and the host institutions is due to the need to conclude employment contracts between the host institutions and FCT researchers by the end of 2013, in accordance with the 2013 state budget law. Therefore, in order not to prejudice the selected candidates, the FCT has decided to promote the signing of program contracts with host institutions on a single day, December 2, 2013, which will thus be in a position to sign individual employment contracts with FCT researchers proposed for funding without further delay;
4. The list published by the FCT on November 29, 2013, does not represent the final ranking list of candidates referred to in the regulations. This will be published when all regulatory procedures have been completed.

FCT, December 3, 2013

UpdateDecember 11, 2013

Yesterday (December 10, 2013), the scores obtained by candidates in the evaluation exercise were published on the FCT Investigator platform, and notification emails were sent to candidates. Each candidate has access, in their personal area, to their final score and the comments made by the evaluation panel and/or external reviewers. Each candidate also has access to the ranked list with the final scores of all candidates. This list is also available on the FCT website.