720 Research projects were recommended for funding, of which 320 are in the Scientific Research and Technological Development (IC&DT) Projects typology and 400 in the Exploratory Research Projects (PEX) typology. The competition has a global budget allocation exceeding 100 million euros, fully supported by the State Budget.
The recommended projects are distributed across two typologies: IC&DT Projects (maximum duration of 36 months, funding up to 250 thousand euros per project), with 320 projects recommended, and Exploratory Research Projects (PEX) (maximum duration of 18 months, funding up to 60 thousand euros per project), with 400 projects recommended.
The distribution by scientific domains for IC&DT projects is as follows: Engineering and Technologies (24.1%), Medical and Health Sciences (20.6%), Natural Sciences (18.4%), Social Sciences (11.9%), Exact Sciences (10.6%), and Humanities (5.6%). For PEX projects, the distribution is: Medical and Health Sciences (20.0%), Engineering and Technologies (18.5%), Social Sciences (17.5%), Natural Sciences (15.5%), Exact Sciences (11.75%), Humanities (9.75%), and Agricultural Sciences (7.0%).
The majority of recommended projects (51.4%) are led by female researchers. Of the total responsible researchers, 12.6% are of foreign nationality, representing 25 nationalities, with a focus on Italian (2.36%), Spanish (1.67%), and French (1.53%). These foreign researchers are affiliated with Research Centers based in Portugal and coordinate 91 of the projects.
The competition took place between November 2025 and March 2026, with 4,746 proposals submitted, of which 4,723 were admitted for evaluation. The evaluation process involved 33 scientific panels and 598 evaluators from 35 foreign countries.
The provisional success rates are 11% for IC&DT projects and 22% for PEX projects. This competition represents a strategic shift in the funding of R&D in Portugal, consolidating a model based on simplified costs, particularly through the introduction of lump sums in the IC&DT typology, aiming to streamline procedures and enhance the focus on scientific results.
