Privacy and Data Protection Policy

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all individuals who interact with the organization. This policy details how data is collected, processed, shared, and protected, ensuring compliance with applicable legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The protection of personal data is an essential pillar of FCT's activities, which adopts the highest standards of transparency, legality, and accountability. This document reflects the organization's practices and commitments to ensuring legal compliance, protecting the rights of individuals, and promoting trust in personal data processing procedures.

FCT recognizes that privacy is a fundamental right and, as such, is committed to implementing effective measures to ensure data protection, ensuring respect for the choices of data subjects.

This policy provides a comprehensive summary of FCT's General Privacy and Data Protection Policy, with the aim of informing all data subjects who interact with this website in detail about the principles, practices, and commitments adopted to ensure the protection and privacy of their personal information. Through this document, FCT reinforces its commitment to transparency and full compliance with applicable regulations, ensuring that all data collected is processed securely, ethically, and in strict accordance with current legislation, including the GDPR.

For more comprehensive and detailed information on the processing of personal data by FCT, please consult the General Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

Responsibility for Data Processing

FCT is responsible for the processing of personal data, with headquarters at Av. D. Carlos I, 126, 1249-074 Lisbon, telephone: +351 21 3924300.

Data Protection Officer

FCT has appointed a Data Protection Officer, who should be contacted directly via email at dpo@fct.pt for all matters relating to the processing of personal data under this Privacy Policy.

Among other duties, the Data Protection Officer monitors compliance with applicable data processing standards, ensuring compliance with privacy and data protection policies, and is one of the points of contact for clarifying issues related to data processing.

Data Collection and Use

The data collected and used by FCT mainly includes identification data, such as full name, address (home or work), email address, and telephone or mobile phone number. This personal data is essential for direct contact with data subjects in the context of applications, institutional communications, or sending notifications related to ongoing projects and activities.

FCT also processes financial and contractual information necessary to fulfill administrative and financial obligations, such as tax identification number (TIN), IBAN (International Bank Account Number) for payment processing, and information related to contracts and financial obligations associated with services provided or financing granted.

In the context of project applications and Studentships, specific personal data is also collected from researchers, including academic and professional background, detailed curriculum vitae, scientific output (such as publications and research results), and information about affiliated institutions.

Personal data related to scientific and administrative projects and initiatives is also collected, such as project titles, thematic frameworks, and scientific and technical reports submitted within the scope of funded projects. Personal data is processed in order to ensure compliance with the FCT's institutional obligations in supporting and funding science.

Processing of Data relating to this website

The website collects personal data in different contexts to ensure functionality, security, and the fulfillment of specific objectives for interaction with users.

The following data may be collected automatically while browsing the website:

IP address: To monitor security and prevent unauthorized access.
Browsing data: This includes pages visited, date and time of access, and type of device (computer, tablet, or smartphone).
Cookies: Used to improve the user experience, record preferences, personalize content, and collect statistics.

Personal data is also collected through the completion of forms available on the website.

This data is collected in the following contexts:

Recruitment and Service Procurement

Data collected: Full name, email address, phone number, address, CV (in the case of recruitment), and information regarding the desired service.
Purpose: To evaluate applications for recruitment or service procurement.

Public Consultations

Data collected: Name, email address, and opinions or suggestions submitted.
Purpose: To gather public participation on relevant topics or projects.

Expressions of Interest

Data collected: Name, email address, phone number, description of interest expressed, and any relevant documents attached.
Purpose: To identify potential parties interested in collaborations, partnerships, or services.

Applications Calls Studentships Funding Programs and Projects

Data collected: Full name, contact details, CV, academic or professional background, and additional documents required under the terms of the Calls regulations.
Purpose: To evaluate applications according to the criteria defined in the funding programs.

Newsletter Subscription

In this case, consent will be requested to send communications related to news, FCT events, and other relevant information.

Users must check a box indicating that they agree to receive newsletters.
Consent can be revoked at any time via a link included in all newsletters.

Purposes of Processing

FCT processes personal data in accordance with defined, lawful, and transparent purposes, in line with the GDPR. Processing is carried out in accordance with previously established objectives, ensuring the protection of data subjects' rights and respecting the principles of minimization, necessity, and adequacy, and is intended for, but not limited to, the following purposes:

Management of Financing and Co-financing Instruments: Covers the administration of programs, projects, and initiatives that receive financial support from FCT, including application, evaluation, and monitoring processes.
International Relations Management: Relates to establishing and maintaining partnerships and cooperation with foreign organizations and institutions.
Institutional Communication and Event Management: Focuses on event organization, institutional outreach, and interaction with the public and stakeholders.
Human Resources Management: Involves the recruitment, hiring, development, and management of careers and benefits for FCT employees.
Procurement and Public Contracting Management: Refers to the acquisition of goods and services, ensuring compliance with public contracting rules.
Document Archive Management: Involves the organization, preservation, and access to FCT documents and records.
People and Property Security Management: Aims to protect the physical safety and property of FCT employees, visitors, and facilities.
Information Systems, IT Infrastructure, and Application Management: Covers the development, maintenance, and security of FCT's technological systems and applications.
Connectivity Management in Scientific and Higher Education Systems: Focuses on integrating and supporting connectivity between scientific and higher education institutions.
Digital Infrastructure Management for Science, Technology, R&D, and Knowledge: This relates to the creation, maintenance, and development of digital platforms to support science and innovation.

Rights of Personal Data Subjects

Data subjects have the right to be informed about the processing of their data and have the right to request the correction of any inaccuracies, the deletion of data that has been improperly recorded, and the integration of omissions, in accordance with the GDPR and other applicable legislation.

Specifically, you may exercise the following rights, within the limits and exceptions provided for by law:

right of access: the data subject has the right to obtain confirmation from FCT (the controller) regarding the processing of their personal data, as well as to access that data and request information about its processing.
Right to rectification: the data subject has the right to obtain the rectification of inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete data.
Right to erasure: the data subject has the right to obtain the erasure of their personal data, without prejudice to the established retention periods.
right to restriction of processing: the data subject has the right to obtain restriction of processing.
Right to portability: the data subject has the right to receive the personal data concerning him or her collected through this website, in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. He or she also has the right to have the personal data transmitted directly to other controllers.
Right to object: the data subject has the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to their particular situation, to the processing of personal data concerning them, including profiling. The FCT shall cease processing personal data unless it can demonstrate compelling and legitimate grounds for such processing that override the interests, rights, and freedoms of the data subject, or for the purposes of establishing, exercising, or defending a right in legal proceedings.
Right to withdraw consent: the data subject has the right to withdraw consent at any time, provided that the data processing is based on consent and there is no other legal basis for such processing.
right to complain to the National Commission for the Protection of Personal Data (www.cnpd.pt), if you believe that any of the rights listed above are being violated.

Lawful Basis for Data Processing

The processing of common data is carried out based on the following conditions of lawfulness:

Consent: Used when no other legal basis applies, being explicit, informed, free, unambiguous, verifiable, and revocable. Examples include subscribing to newsletters or authorizing the capture of images at events.
Contract Execution: Necessary for the conclusion or execution of contracts, procurement of services and financing, as well as employment or service contracts.
Compliance with Legal Obligations: This relates to compliance with legal requirements, such as reporting data to public entities and actions for scientific and technological development.
Public Interest: Applies to tasks of public interest, such as administrative management and video surveillance for security purposes.
Legitimate Interest: Refers to the need to protect the legitimate interests of FCT or third parties, without prejudice to the rights of data subjects.

Special categories of data, considered sensitive personal data due to their nature, are subject to more restrictive rules and their processing is prohibited, with some exceptions:

Explicit Consent: Required in specific cases, always being clear and express.
Legal Exceptions: Permitted for the fulfillment of obligations or rights, implementation of public policies, or protection of health and life.
Vital Interests: Applies in situations where the data subject cannot give consent, but there is a need for vital protection.
Public Disclosure by the Data Subject: Data made public by the data subject themselves may be processed.
Defense of Rights in Legal Proceedings: Used for legal claims, such as in labor lawsuits.
Significant Public Interests: Related to public policies, such as combating discrimination or promoting inclusion.
Public Health: Necessary to protect against health threats or ensure high safety standards.
Public Interest or Scientific Research File: Data used for statistical, research, or public interest preservation purposes, with strict anonymization or pseudonymization measures.

Data Retention

The retention period for personal data is that established by law or regulation or, in the absence thereof, that which is necessary for the pursuit of the purpose for which it was collected and processed.

When processing data for public interest archiving purposes, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes, FCT may retain some of the data for longer periods, without prejudice to applying the appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of the data subject, in accordance with the legislation in force.

These guarantees involve the adoption of technical and organizational measures aimed at ensuring, in particular, compliance with the principle of data minimization and pseudonymization.

General measures adopted to ensure the security of personal data

To ensure the protection of personal data, FCT implements strict, internationally recognized rules that apply to all those who legally handle personal data.
Accordingly, technical and organizational security measures are implemented to protect the personal data made available to FCT, as well as the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of the data processed. Personal data stored by FCT is encrypted and anonymized whenever possible and subject to access control based on the principle of least privilege.

Notification and complaint

Without prejudice to sending a direct notification to FCT, through the contacts available at https://www.fct.pt/contactos, you can complain directly to the National Data Protection Commission (https://www.cnpd.pt), using the contacts provided by this entity for this purpose.

Changes to the privacy policy

This Privacy Policy may be subject to updates, so we recommend that you consult it regularly. Changes are considered to take effect from the date they are posted on this website, with express reference to the date of the update.

Updated on January 17, 2025