“What we have had until now, with very important results, does not respond to the challenges that Portugal faces in the European context. It is a system that has to look to the future and understand the place that Portugal wants in the European research space,” stressed Fernando Alexandre in statements to journalists.

Fernando Alexandre announced for the beginning of next year a “major national discussion” on Portugal's strategic priorities in the areas of research and innovation.

“We will have to make choices, something we haven’t wanted to do in recent years,” said the official, considering that the government is undertaking a “profound reform” in the area of ​​science, research, and innovation.

The Minister of Education emphasised that Portugal will have a funding agency that does not manage an annual budget as before, “with marginal variations,” and will instead have medium- and long-term planning.

“We will have a five-year budget – the only area where this happens – something that researchers have been demanding for a long time and that doesn’t exist in many European countries,” he stressed.

Highlighting that this is “a major step forward in the funding of science in Portugal,” Fernando Alexandre noted that this model requires different management, “because having a five-year budget means making choices and stating the country’s priorities.”

Priority areas

The priority areas for investment, which will have to be approved by the government, will result “from consultation with the scientific community, companies, innovators, and all institutions of the scientific and technological system.”

At the beginning of the year, the secretariat will release the methodology for the national discussion on the science and innovation sector, which will begin in February and conclude by the end of the year.

According to the Minister of Education, the program contract with the future agency will be awarded in 2027 for a period of five years, until 2031.

The future Agency for Research and Innovation is part of the Foundation for Science and Technology and the National Innovation Agency, and its creation was promulgated by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The note from the Presidency of the Republic states that the decree creating the agency was promulgated "given that the commitment to consult relevant entities in the matter was fulfilled and that the Government accepted changes that the President of the Republic considers essential."