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R&D Projects

Frequently Asked Questions about Calls (FAQ)

2009 Call in all scientific domains

What are the areas for the 2009 Call in all scientific domains?

The full list is available at http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/projectos/concursos/2009/docs/areas.

Are the rules for the 2009 Call essentially different from the ones in the 2008 Call?
Essentially the rules have not changed although there are a few important changes. Check the introductory section of the current Application Guide.
An application not funded in the 2008 Call can be ressubmitted in the 2009 Call?
No if an appeal was filed. In all other cases you can but there is no automatic mechanism to import data.
Can a PI or team member already with an accumulated percentage of time committed to FCT projects in excess of 100% present a new application?

In accordance with the Regulations it is not mandatory for a Researcher to make application to hold an accumulated percentage of time committed to FCT projects not exceeding 100% at the time of application. Nevertheless, in case the project is proposed for funding and if on its start date holds an accumulated percentage of time committed to FCT projects exceeding 100% (including the new project), then the Declaration of Acceptance will not be made available.

Why am I unable to introduce some URLs?

Some forms now have stricter checking of URLs and we plan to extend that checking to all similar locations. We suggest you browse

http://www.blooberry.com/indexdot/html/topics/urlencoding.htm

2008 Call in all scientific domains

In the 2008 call, are all projects funded at 100%?

Yes, all proposing organization and participants will be funded at 100% except for companies, which will be funded at 50%.

In the 2008 call, what is co-funded at 70%?

When the conditions set forth in the announcement of the call for proposals are met, organizations (except for companies) that are eligible for support under the QREN POFC receive 70% of their funding from FEDER and the remaining 30% from national funding sources.

In the 2008 call, how does the funding work in projects with organizations from various regions?

  • Principal Contractor outside of the Convergence Objective regions – 100% of the funding for the project will come from national funding sources, regardless of the locations of the Participating Institutions.

  • Principal Contractor and all Participating Institutions are located within the Convergence Objective regions – 70% of the funding will come from the QREAN POFC and 30% from national funding sources.

  • Principal Contractor in a Convergence Objective Region and some of the Participating Institutions in Convergence Objective regions and others outside of the Convergence Objective regions:

    • For the organizations located in Convergence Objective regions: 70% of the funding comes from the QREN POFC and 30% from national funding sources.
    • For the organizations outside the Convergence Objective regions – 100% of the funding comes from national funding sources.
What is the full list of scientific domains in the 2008 Call in all scientific domains?

The full list is available at http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/projectos/concursos/2008/docs/areas.

When should the Protocol refered in no. 7, Art. 3, of the Regulations be presented?

The Protocol will not be submitted during the application period but only if the project is recommended for approval. The FCT wil make available a protocol template.

R&D Units evaluated in 2007/8 (or an Associate Laboratory recently founded) by FCT are still not available in the drop down lists used for choosing R&D Units. How can this be solved?

The data collected by the FCT for the purpose of R&D Units evaluation does not necessarily contain all that is needed for dealing with R&D Projects, R&D Unit evaluation is not complete in some areas, updated information about some Units may exist and new information is needed due to QREN funding. All these reasons made FCT opt for requesting that in these cases the Unit Pre-registration form should be filled (available in the application form under Institutions not in the list). Data collected in this way will be compared with data collected by other means thus contributing for more complete information at an earlier date.

Should foreign institutions sign the declaration of commitment?

No. Being institutions without an associated budget, signing the Declaration is not mandatory.

All Calls open since November 2008

I keep having my session in the projects application portal expire. What is this?
FCT has been unable to reproduce this problem in an updated non obsolete browser. Check if your browser is considered obsolete at http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/navegador
What is de minimis support?

It is some form of support granted by the State (or through state resources) to a company, whose value does not surpass a limit defined in EC regulations or a national legal diploma, during a period of three years starting on the date of the first incentive, independently of the form or objective. This type of support, due to its small amount, is not considered to be incompatible with European Union norms on competition, hence no notification to the European Commission is needed.

Supporting legislation:

Portaria nº 184/2009

Establishes the maximum amount of support granted under Commission Regulations (EC) 1998/2006 of December 15, relative to de minimis support.

http://www.pofc.qren.pt/ResourcesUser/Legislacao/Portaria_184_2009.pdf

Regulations (EC) 1998/2006

Relative to the application of articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to de minimis support. It defines the EU framework for de minimis support.

http://www.pofc.qren.pt/ResourcesUser/Legislacao/Regulamento%201998_06.pdf

What is the FCT NIF in order for it to be allowed to check another institution's fiscal status?

503 904 040

What is the FCT NISS in order for it to be allowed to check another institution's social security status?

2000 4040 865

In projects involving animal experimentation, who needs to be certified by Direcção Geral de Veterinária?

The institutions where experiments will be carried out and team members carrying out the experiments (this is not necessarily required of the PI) must be certified to carry them out, through a certificate issued by DGV.

In a menu to choose an institution I find that the institution I want to consider is missing. What should I do?

Above that menu to the right there is a link called Instituições que não constam da lista. Follow it.

Why is that the addition to the project of a researcher through public key fails in some cases?

Several years ago FCT public keys were comprised of the login followed by 4 characters from the password. This was a potential security risk. The researcher should access https://www.fct.mctes.pt/fctsig/preregisto.asp?action=esqueceu and reintroduce the email used for registration. The system will automatically send a login and password reminder plus a working public key.

A grant holder with a Scientific Career Development Grant may integrate the research team of more than one project?

No. The Scientific Career Development Grants, funded in the frame of research projects ( i.e., the grant is supported by the funds of the project) require the grant holder to assume the role of PI with a time allocation to the project of 100%, thus preventing additional involvement in other projects.

The warnings that appear during validation prevent sealing the application?
No, the warnings do not prevent sealing the application. Only errors have that effect. After sealing, the IR will receive instructions on how to handle the situations mentioned in the warnings. Most of these will probably relate to missing information concerning institutions. FCT will request that data directly from institutions in due time.
When an author gives away publication rights to a publisher, how does one make available a copy for evaluation?

Use the web server in your school or center to create a controlled access area with login and password, or with a URL unlikely to be guessed and inside a directory that cannot be listed, and indicate the url (and eventually the login and password) in the application. If you choose controlled access then create a document authentication.pdf with that information. The evaluation panel will receive instructions to access authentication.pdf and to refrain from distributing the material except for the purpose of this evaluation.

Can institutions without a NIPC or NIF (Fiscal Identification Number) be a Principal Contractor or Participating Institution?

No. National Principal Contractors or Participating Institutions, as institutions that may receive funding if and when the project is approved, must have a NIPC (Collective Person Identification Number) and their denomination when applying must perfectly match the one associated to that NIPC.

Foreign Institutions can act as Participating Institutions provided they do not have a requested budget.

Exceptional circunstances concerning foreign institutions are regulated by no. 5 of article 2 of the Regulations.

Retired researchers can participate in R&D projects acting as PI or members of the research team?

From a scientific viewpoint the participation of retired researchers as PI or team members of R&D projects does not affect the evaluation of proposals.

Must the PI have a doctoral degree?

Yes, the PI must have a doctoral degree or possess a comparable qualification on account of being integrated in a career where that is explicitly contemplated. The research career is one such case.

Can Researchers in the Scientific Research Career but with no doctoral degree act as PI of R&D projects?

Yes. Researches with the categories of Assistant Researcher, Principal Researcher or Coordinator Researcher (DL 124/99 of 20th April) can act as PI of research projects even if they do not hold a PhD degree.

How can a researcher verify the amount of time committed to FCT projects?

Although FCT expects that researchers should be aware of such data, each researcher can browse the current status according to FCT records by logging in to https://www.fct.mctes.pt/fctsig/.

Where in the budget can expenses related to voluntary social security contributions of individual grant recipients be included?

Expenses related to voluntary social security contributions of individual grant recipients can be included under Human Resources provided that these are duly justified.

Which categories of costs are considered when calculating overheads and how are the overheads calculated?

According to the Regulations, institutional overheads arising from the execution of the project are considered eligible up to a maximum of 20% of the total eligible direct costs, i.e. the types described in the Regulations and in the Announcement of the Call for Proposals.

Can the Curricula Vitæ of the members of the research team be changed after the project proposal has been sealed?

For the purposes of evaluation, once the proposal is sealed, a copy of the information available on the CVs is linked to the project proposal on the date of the sealing. This means that even though the CVs may be updated later, the changes will not be reflected in the project proposal.

What is the URL for inserting/updating Curricula Vitæ?

The URL is
https://www.fct.mctes.pt/fctsig/cv

What language should the Curriculum Vitæ be written in?

The CV must be submitted in English with the obvious exceptions: postal addresses, publication titles (original title should be used), etc.

Can there be collaboration/participation of organizations at zero cost?

Being a Participating Institution does not require or imply receiving funding through the project.

Which projects should be mentioned in section 5. Funded Projects?

The information should be limited to projects which have been approved through peer-review and that have been completed, are underway or are pending that have been led by the PI of the current proposal. The most relevant projects initiated within the last 5 years should be mentioned, regardless of the source of funding.

What should be included in the section 3.2.1. Literature Review?

The objective of this section is to describe the group’s previous work, any alternative methodologies competing with those proposed in the current project and to justify the need for the proposed innovation. The literature review should by critical, i.e. simply referring to a previous work without commenting on the contribution the work brings to the approach proposed for this project or without mentioning its limitations is neither significant nor useful. Previous results of the PI and the research team are evaluated positively. The reviewers look at this section to evaluate the PI’s vision and knowledge regarding the state of the art and the reason why the PI believes that the methodologies proposed will produce the best results. The PI must convince the reviewers that he/she and the project research team have suitable background and awareness of the open problems in the research area in question.

What information should be included under section 3.3. Bibliographic References?

Include the references cited in the technical and scientific description of the proposal, using a cross-referencing method chosen by the PI. Include the title, the authors’ names in the order that they appear in the publication, the name of the book or periodical, volume number, page numbers and year of publication. If the publications are available online, include the respective URL.

What do you mean by person*month?

É o valor em meses completos equivalente ao total de trabalho do/a investigador/a ao longo do projecto. Para o calcular, começar por estimar a percentagem do tempo completo semanal de trabalho em todas as tarefas de índole profissional que é dedicada pelo investigador ao projecto em cada uma das suas diferentes fases. Exemplos:

  • 1 person at 50% for 6 months = 3 person*month
  • 1 person at 30% for 6 months = 1.8 person*month
  • 1 person at 50% for 2 weeks = 0.25 person*month

The total number of person*month is calculated by adding up the amount of time dedicated to the project for all the phases that must be considered.

What restrictions apply to the percentage of full time that each researcher dedicates to a project?

A Principal Investigator must have a sufficient amount of time dedicated to the project to carry out the proposed activities - no less than 25% of full time. Other members of the research team must also have a sufficient amount of time dedicated to the project in order to carry out the proposed activities.

The sum of the percentages dedicated by each researcher to FCT projects underway may not exceed 100% in the case of full-time researchers and must be commensurately less in other cases.

How many hours per week correspond to full time for a researcher??

The convention adopted by the OECD applies here. A full-time week for a researcher is not a fixed number of hours, but rather the total time dedicated by this individual to carrying out all professional activities, research or otherwise, during or outside normal working hours. The percentage of full time set aside for the project should be estimated in relation to the definition of full time given above.

How is a scientific field for a project defined on the online form?

A project’s scientific field is defined as the principal scientific area and sub-area chosen by the Principal Investigator.

How are proposals evaluated, given the specific nature of the different scientific fields?

The evaluation is done by review panels organized according to scientific field. The aim of organizing the panels according to scientific field is to ensure a priori that each panel evaluates a sufficient number of proposals to be able to compare them. The review process provides for recourse to outside specialists for expert opinions whenever the degree of specialization of a particular proposal does not allow it to be appropriately evaluated by the members of the panel. Each panel is responsible for identifying proposals that need to be treated this way and arranging for the corresponding specialist reviewers. The panel coordinator is responsible for ensuring that this procedure is followed.

To what projects does the list that appears at the beginning of the application form refer to?

The list of projects that appears at the beginning of the form includes proposals that have been submitted by the same Principal Investigator through the current version of the FCT Calls for Project Proposals portal. To access proposals that have previously been submitted by the same Principal Investigator, see the explanation and link at the bottom of the page.

Which documents must be printed and submitted to the FCT?
  • The Declaration of Intent must be duly signed and authenticated. (The Declaration of Responsibility must be signed by the Principal Investigator, the Proposing Organization, the Research Unit and all Participating Organizations). A scanned copy should be submitted to the FCT using the URL indicated on the form. The original should only be sent in if the project is approved.
  • A declaration that there are no outstanding debts to the Social Security System or the tax authorities, if previous declarations sent to the FCT have expired. A scanned copy should be submitted to the FCT using the URL indicated on the form. The original should only be sent in if the project is approved.

A scanned version must be submitted no later than 10 working days after the call is closed or the proposal will not be accepted.

How do I access the Declaration of Intent?

The Declaration of Intent can only be printed out after the proposal has been sealed.

The Call Announcement states:
Project proposals whose Principal Investigators are in a situation of unjustified noncompliance with the regulatory requirements with respect to submission of technical reports from completed projects in which they also served as PI shall not be accepted.
What does this mean?

This refers to the technical progress reports and final reports which must be submitted in accordance with the respective regulations and to any remaining balances from projects.

The Call Announcement states:
Project proposals whose Principal Contractors are in a situation of unjustified noncompliance with the regulatory requirements with respect to submission of financial reports or return of funds transferred to the Principal Contractor relative to previous projects with the same PI shall not be accepted.
What does this mean?

This refers to financial reports or return of funds transferred to the PO in previous projects with the same PI.

What is the maximum number of characters that can be entered in each of the fields on the application?
Field Limit
1. Identification of the project - Title PT 255
1. Identification of the project - Title EN 255
3.1. Summary PT 5000
3.1. Summary EN 5000
3.2.1. Literature Review 6000
3.2.2. Research Plan and Methods 9000
3.2.3. Tasks - Description and Expected Results 4000
3.2.4.a. Description of the Management Structure 3000
3.2.4.b. Description of milestone 300
5. Projects Funded – Results 5000
6. Predicted Outcomes - Actions to publicize scientific activity 3000
8.1. Justification of Human Resources 600
8.2. Justification of Travel Expenses 600
8.3. Justification of Consultants 600
8.4. Justification of acquisitions of goods and services 600
8.5. Justification of patents 600
8.7. Justification of adaptation of buildings 600
8.8.2. List of equipment to be purchased - Justification 600
Are non printing characters taken into account?

Yes. Spaces, line endings, etc. Be pessimistic.

Should the CVs of consultants be submitted?

Given the importance of the Curriculum Vitæ (CV) in evaluating the execution of the project and the research team, consultants should submit their CVs online.

As an alternative to online submission, a public access URL where the consultant’s CV can be viewed can be indicated.

Como introduzir o CV do/a Consultor/a?

The consultant should register in FCTSIG and access https://www.fct.mctes.pt/fctsig/cv to register or update the CV.

The public key should be indicated in the field on the application form for justification of consultants (point 4.3).

How do I enter a foreign institution?

You have two options: write the name if you guess that you (and the community in general) do not need to refer often to this institution and the name is sufficiently well known for identification; in other cases follow the link Instituições que não constam da lista to make it available (2 working days).

Can foreign institutions participate in the project as participating organizations?

Yes, foreign institutions can be participating organizations in the project, but only at zero cost. In situations where there are international agreements or international reciprocity mechanisms duly signed by the FCT, authorized by the governing bodies and expressly indicated in the Announcement of the Call for Proposals, foreign institutions may be funded.

Can foreign researchers be members of the research team?

Yes. If they are affiliated with foreign institutions and travel as part of the project, expenses are only considered eligible if they are submitted through the Portuguese institutions involved.

Can members of the research team who carry out duties in their countries of origin be paid under the project?

Only eligible expenses related to acquisition of services from foreign institutions are considered admissible.

Can expenses relating to payments made to specialists who collaborate on the project be included?

Yes, if the tasks they perform are essential to carrying out the project and provided that the research team does not have the specialized skills needed to carry out these tasks. These expenses should be included under Acquisition of Services.

Can expenses related to technical/administrative personnel who provide direct support to the project be included?

Yes, but only under Overheads and only if they are admissible in the institution’s distribution of overheads system.

Are there set limits for the various funding categories?

No, with the exception of Overheads and Adaptation of Buildings and Facilities.

Can members of the research team who are not faculty or hired researchers be remunerated (human resources or acquisition of services?)?

As a rule, project funding does not cover the cost of salaries or bonuses.

In special cases, salary costs may be included under Human Resources, provided that these are duly justified in the proposal. It must be shown that the recipient organizations have no other alternatives at their disposal in terms of specialized human resources capable of carrying out the proposed work.

The beneficiaries cannot be affiliated with the public administration and the expenses resulting from contract signed are only considered eligible for the period of execution of the project and at the amounts corresponding to the % of full time at which the worker is hired.

Can the work of foreign researchers be remunerated under the project? Or can their work only be contracted as acquisition of services?

According to the Regulations, expenses incurred to acquire goods and services are considered eligible. Therefore, a contract can be entered into to have a service performed at the institutions of origin of foreign researchers.

Can doctoral or master’s students who are receiving a grant from the FCT be members of the research team? Can they be paid for the work they do on the project?

Yes. Doctoral or master’s students who are receiving grants from the FCT can be members of the research team, provided that the subject of their dissertations is appropriate to the subjects of the proposals. Remuneration for members who are receiving an FCT grant is not considered an eligible expense.

Can BDCC or BCC be applied only to coordination of projects or can they be included/used for members of the research team?

BDCCs may be applied only to coordination of projects.

BCCs can be awarded to members of the research team.

Does the Human Resource budget item target preferably funding of individual grants to the detriment of contracts?

The Human Resources item is designed to give preference to funding of individual grants through opening public calls for applications according to the Norms for the award of grants in research projects, for the purpose of involving young researchers in training.

Must the members of the research team be affiliated with the participating organizations?

The members of the research team do not necessarily have to be affiliated with the participating organizations, but they must show that suitable conditions available for them to carry out the tasks they are charged with.

In the Human Resources section, under Other Costs, what types of expenses can be included here in the case of individual grants? Costs of publicizing calls for proposals? Voluntary social security contributions? Personal accident insurance? Funds for cost-of-living increases to individual grants? And what about in the case of a fixed-term employment contract? What costs can be included? Meal subsidies? Severance pay at the end of the contract?

In the case of individual grants, the costs mentioned above may all be included except for cost-of-living increases to monthly maintenance subsidies.

If there is a cost-of-living increase in the grant amounts, this cost can only be covered by transferring funds between budget categories without altering the amount of funding awarded to the project.

With respect to contracts, DL no. 64/A/89 should be consulted. We must point out however that severance pay at the end of the contract is not considered eligible.

If there any limit with respect to the project’s starting date?

The starting date of a project must be within 90 days after the date it is officially approved.

If companies are participating in the research projects, can the expenses borne by these companies be reimbursed at 100%?

FCT co-funding to companies may not exceed 50% of the total cost of the company’s participation. During the course of the project, the companies involved must submit proof of the total expenses, both those that are funded by the FCT and those borne by the company itself.

Do the Declarations of Intent have to be signed and initialed on every page?

The Declarations of Intent must be signed by the highest governing body of the participating organizations and by the PI and initialed on every page of the corresponding part of the declaration.

Are project-related travel expenses for a member of the research team who is an FCT doctoral grant recipient considered eligible?

Yes, provided that the same eligibility rules as those that apply to the rest of the team members are observed and that there is no double coverage of expenses included in the individual grant.

A Post-Doctoral Fellow funded by FCT can act as PI or participate in an application?

Yes, if the activities in the project fall within the Fellowship Plan of Work and no additional payments are received in the framework of the project.

Ongoing revision: November 2009.