FCT presents the Atlas of R&D Units

FCT has presented the Atlas of R&D Units (Atlas of Research Units 2022) during the conference "25 years of FCT in Science: Opportunities and Challenges", which took place at the Thalia Theater on January 14. The conference opened a cycle of 12 sessions to mark FCT's 25th anniversary this year, which will address important issues for the future of science in Portugal and Europe.

The Atlas of R&D Units is an FCT publication that gathers information on the 312 R&D Units selected for funding in the latest FCT evaluation process, including data on their area of activity, the work carried out, the number of PhD researchers, among others. These units were part of the latest evaluation process, carried out in 2017/2018, which approved total funding of 531 million euros for the 2020-2023 period.

R&D Units can be entities integrated into different universities or polytechnics, or form partnerships between universities, or have an independent status and operate autonomously. As a whole, around 19,000 PhD researchers carry out research activities in R&D Units funded by the FCT.

The evaluation is based on an analysis of the report on activities carried out in previous years and the plan for the following period, and is complemented by direct contacts with researchers and units through visits to the units. FCT has been evaluating R&D units every 4-5 years since 1996, using panels of international experts in areas such as Exact Sciences; Natural Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering and Technology Sciences; Social Sciences; Arts and Humanities; and Thematic Areas.

The assessment of scientific quality and the analysis of the relevance, merit and timeliness of the activity carried out by the researchers associated with the R&D unit's application dictate the quality rating to be awarded to the Units. The overall classification of "Excellent", "Very Good" and "Good" awards the Units two types of funding:

- Base funding, indexed to the overall classification of the unit and the weighting of doctoral researchers within it;

- Programmatic Funding, awarded at the proposal of the respective evaluation panel based on an assessment of the activities planned by the R&D Unit and the detection of specific needs.

Through the process of evaluating and funding units, the FCT aims to foster the development and enhancement of the National Science and Technology System (SNCT) in all areas of knowledge and its territorial strengthening.

ANNEX:
Atlas of Research Units 2022