FCT execution reaches a new high of €533 million in 2020

The financial execution of the FCT in 2020 (provisional data as of January 6, 2021) shows a new annual maximum of around €533 million, growing 4% compared to 2019 and 39% since 2015 (when it was €383 million, as illustrated in Figure 1). The FCT's financial execution includes an investment of €520 million and operating expenses of around €13 million.

The continued growth in FCT implementation has been based on a clear S&T policy focused on the qualification and employment of skilled human resources (Figure 2) and on the enhancement and diversification of scientific institutions, thus resulting in an effective process of European convergence and attracting centrally managed EU funds (Table 1).

 Growth in recent years is associated with the following main programs (Figure 2):

1. Advanced training, with Studentships directly supported by the FCT totaling 2,155 new Studentships awarded in 2020, representing a 118% increase compared to the 985 new Studentships in 2015.  Meanwhile, the revision of the Studentships regulations Studentships 2019 updated the value of Studentships line with the evolution of the national minimum wage, which will lead to an increase in the value Studentships in 2021. Studentships funded by FCT represent an annual investment of around €91 million and 17% of FCT's total investment.

2. Scientific employment, through the funding of contracts for PhD researchers, which has gradually replaced Studentships and reinforced the value and internationalization of scientific employment. Scientific employment has resulted in a profound change in the structure of FCT's implementation, representing an investment of around €126 million in 2020, tripling compared to 2015, and corresponding to 24% of the total investment. This investment has strengthened our institutional capacity and presence in European and international networks.

3. Institutions, including multi-year support for R&D Units, Associate Laboratories, Collaborative Laboratories, and S&T Infrastructure and Equipment, representing an investment of approximately €113 million and 21% of the total.

4. R&D projects, including support for R&D activities within the scope of projects supported by FCT in all scientific areas, as well as the implementation of thematic R&D programs such as the prevention and fighting of forest fires, Vale do Côa, the training of public administration with Artificial Intelligence, projects within the scope of the pandemic and Covid-19, among others. In 2020, investment in R&D projects amounted to €108 million, representing 20% of the total;

5. International cooperation , with an investment of €52 million and 10% of the total, including participation in S&T organizations (e.g., CERN, ESA, ESO, EMBL, INL, AIR center, among others) and international partnerships, as well as strengthening the GoPORTUGAL program – Global Science and Technology Partnerships Portugal;

6. Advanced computing, scientific culture, and community support, including access to publications and communications, with an investment of €30 million and 6% of the total, including activities by the Agência Ciência Viva (Live Science Agency), access to the B-On Library and the Science, Technology, and Society Network (RCTS), and implementation of the INCoDe program.2030, the Advanced Computing Strategy, ACT2030, and the installation of the Minho Advanced Computing Centre, MAAC, as well as the financing of the FCT's information and communication systems.

Operating expenses amount to less than 3% of total investment, demonstrating high efficiency in public expenditure management, especially when compared to other agencies that finance and evaluate science and technology activities. In 2020, operating expenses amounted to €13 million, corresponding to 2.4% of total expenditure.

The FCT was created in 1997 with a budget of around €100 million, growing until 2001, when it executed around €220 million, and then between 2005 and 2010, when it reached around €480 million. Subsequently, the total amount executed decreased to around €380 million in 2015 and 2016, but has since grown again, reaching a maximum of €533 million in 2020.

Figure 1. Comparative evolution of FCT financial execution between 2015 and 2020

Figure 2. Evolution of investment expenditures by area in 2015 and 2020

Table 1. Evolution of FCT financial execution (Operating and investment), 2015–2020