Regulation for the 2017/2018 Units funding has been approved

The Regulation for FCT 2017/2018 Evaluation of R&D Units has been approved by the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education.

The regulation will enter into force after its publication in the Official Gazette, and applications are scheduled for November.

The assessment of R&D units aims to foster the development and territorial densification of the country's Scientific and Technological System in all areas of knowledge.

The global quality ranking and the multiannual funding of R&D units to be determined by this process will be based on the assessment of the activities carried out since January 2013 and on the activities plan for the next 5 years.

The funding of R&D units with a global rating of “Excellent,” “Very Good,” and “Good” comprises two installments:

Basic Funding, indexed to the unit’s overall rating and to the ratio of researchers with a PhD degree;

Programmatic Funding, granted upon proposal by the evaluation panel, taking into account the unit’s activities plan and the identification of specific needs, which may include: the sharing of salary costs for multiannual scientific employment programs; support for multiannual PhD scholarship programs; support for the unit’s internationalization plan, namely participation in European or International infrastructures and networks; other activities, such as the acquisition of scientific equipment and infrastructures.

Application guidelines will be available on the FCT website following the publication of the regulation in the Official Gazette.