Histogram of the evolution of number of grants awarded

Statistics

Fellowships and Grants

Evolution 1996—2009

The statistical information available on advanced fellowships and grants allows to quantify the effort in the improvement of human resources during the last fourteen years, 1994-2008, and to identify trends. This brief analysis is restricted to doctoral and post-doctoral grants taken jointly and to the 1996-2008 period.

From 1996 to 2008 the number of grants awarded each year increased significantly. Nearly eight times (7.7) as many grants were awarded in 2008 as were in 1996 and the total amount of funding rose from 15,666,222 € to 121,116,688 €. The rate of growth was greater during the first six years (1996 to 2002), equivalent to an average annual growth rate of 25%, than it was between 2002 and 2008, when the rate averaged 13%.

The same trend was noted in the number of grants being executed (grants funded in a given year). In this case, growth was slightly lower (5.7), meaning that more money was being spent on each grant: 1267 grants were funded in 1996 compared with 8661 in 2008. During the first five-year period, the average annual growth rate was 22% and in the second 13%.

A different trend is seen in terms of grants awarded per year, with the growth rate accelerating in the second half of the period: between 2002 and 2007, the average annual growth rate was 17%, while between 1996 and 2002, this rate stood at 9%. The number of grants awarded in 2007 was approximately four times (3.7) the number awarded in 1996: 711 new grants were awarded in 1996 compared to 2597 in 2007.

Throughout this period, the number of grants to be executed in Portugal always exceeded the number of grants awarded for execution abroad or considered mixed. In 1996, the former accounted for 52% of the total, while in 2007 they accounted for 64%. Mixed grants, like those to be executed in Portugal, saw a 15% increase over the same period: in 1996 they represented 9% of the total; in 2006, 24%. These increases mean a slight increase in the number of grants awarded for execution abroad: in 1996, 265 grants were awarded; in 2007, 335. In terms of percentages, this signifies a marked drop in the relative weight of grants abroad: from 37% to 13% between the same years.

Another change that should be pointed out is the increase in the number of grants awarded to women: 352 grants were to women in 1996, corresponding to 50% of the grants awarded, by 2007, these figures had increased to 1458 and 56%, respectively.

The demand for advanced training grants has been on the rise. Between 1998 and 2008, the number of applications submitted tripled (2.9). This growth became more marked between 2003 and 2008, with an average annual rate of 15% (between 1998 and 2003 the rate was 8%). As a result, the percentage of applications approved out of the total applications submitted fell from 62% in 1998 to 57% in 2007. Despite this drop in terms of percentage, the actual number of applications approved rose 39% between 2005 and 2006 and, in the particular case of doctoral degree grants, this increase reached 52%.

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Overview

Doctoral Grants

Post-doctoral Grants

Master’s Degree Grants

Notes

  1. In assembling the statistics, the scientific fields assigned to the grants in the respective management process were grouped according to the first level of the Frascati Manual FOS classification / OECD (February 2007 revision).
  2. The regions identified correspond to NUTS level II units.
  3. The figures for grants awarded in 1994 and 1995 include not only grants that were initiated in those years but also extensions of grants that were awarded in previous years.