FCT

National Programme for Scientific Hardware Renewal

INSA
Luísa Ferreira / MCTES

Synopsis

The National Programme for Scientific Hardware Renewal (PNRC) was launched by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with the aim of renewing the national scientific infrastructure, by financing the acquisition, updating and expansion of scientific equipment. A public call for applications was open from December 10, 2001 to April 3, 2002. At the end of this period, 421 applications had been received, involving 5343 different apparatuses, totaling 308.3 M€. As a consequence of the evaluation of these applications, performed in 2004 by international experts, 91.8 M€ were granted by FCT, corresponding to 30% of the totality of the financing requested by the institutions that took part in the PNRC public tender. National Networks of expensive, large-scale equipment were also assembled, in order to share resources amongst the national R&D institutions, and offer, in an articulated way, services based on them to the scientific community. A database is also being developed, as a part of the FCT information system, that besides making available, in a transparent and universal way, relevant information about the PNRC, will also function as a communication nexus with the researchers responsible for the equipment.

To guarantee a continuous updating of equipment and the renewal of the Portuguese research infra-structure, it is foreseen that a new call for applications will open at a date and under conditions still to be defined, but certainly designed in a way aimed at reinforcing the sharing of equipment and resources amongst national R&D institutions.

Revised: October 2009