FCT

R&D Units

The majority of Portuguese scientific research takes place in R&D Units financed and evaluated by FCT.

Laboratório no IST
Luísa Ferreira / MCTES

Financing, evaluation and legal framework

The financing model used is denoted Financiamento Plurianual. It goes back to 1994. The evaluation system on which it is based comprises a periodic evaluation by panels of international experts of reports and activity plans including direct contact with the researchers through visits to all units. This process culminates with the panel attributing a qualitative grade, which determines the amount of plurianual funding to be received. This procedure was regulated in 1996.

The evaluation exercise corresponding to the 2003-2006 period has reached its final stages. It has involved 383 R&D units excluding Associate Laboratories which have their own evaluation system (see below).

The legal framework for R&D units is denoted Regime Jurídico de Unidades de Investigação.

Other legislation and regulations relevant to R&D Units can be found in the page dedicated to legislation, regulations and norms.

Associate Laboratories

The Regime Jurídico de Unidades de Investigação established of existence of Associate Laboratories as research units which demonstrate, in particular through the results of evaluations, capacity to cooperate, in a stable, competent and effective manner, in carrying on specific objectives of the scientific and technological policy laid down by the government.

In August 2008 there are 25 Associate Laboratories and FCT is analysing the attribution of this rank to several R&D units.

Meanwhile, FCT has launched the international evaluation process of all Associate Laboratories for the period 2003-2007. Although already planned by the legislation which established the attribution of the rank of Associate Laboratory, the current evaluation exercise, following the one for all other R&D units, targets establishing a global view of the national scientific system funded by FCT. Among its characteristics are not only the methods which became norm in Portugal in the last decade, namely transparency, public access to decisions, classifications using a comparable well defined standard, existence of an appeal track, but also the policies of selectivity and critical mass increase needed by the insertion of Portuguese research in a global international framework.