Skip to main content

Expression of Interest for the National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures

FCT has launched a call to scientific institutions, individually or in consortia, to submit an Expression of Interest to integrate the National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures of Strategic Interest (RNIE) as a research infrastructure, with a view to its upgrade, modernization and strengthening for the period 2022-2027. The call for expressions of interest is available here and the form for responses will be available between November 18, 2021 and January 11, 2022.

Integration as a research infrastructure into RNIE will be possible in the following ways:

  • Continue to integrate RNIE as a research infrastructure, without changes in the composition of the respective consortium or its object of action;
  • Continue to integrate RNIE as a research infrastructure, with changes in the composition of the respective consortium, namely by merger of two or more research infrastructures, or its object of action;
  • Integrate RNIE with new research infrastructure projects.

With this expression of interest we also intend to prepare the update of the Research Infrastructures Regulation and the launch of Calls for a new RNIE infrastructures financing cycle, to be supported by national and EU funds through the Portugal2030 program.

You can access the invitation:

  • the infrastructures currently integrated in RNIE (modalities 1 and 2);
  • R&D institutions, namely R&D units, Associate Laboratories, collaborative laboratories and technological interface centers;
  • the State Laboratories or International Laboratories with headquarters in Portugal;
  • private non-profit institutions whose main purpose is Research and Development (R&D) activities;
  • other public and private non-profit institutions that develop or participate in R&D activities.

In 2013, FCT carried out the Call for the creation of a National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures of Strategic Interest (RNIE). At that stage 40 infrastructures were integrated in the Roadmap, which are included in the first RNIE published at the end of 2014. The science and technology infrastructures are part of the national scientific and technological system and are considered strategic to support research and development (R&D), being a reference at national level and also internationally by being inserted in external networks, namely in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI).

By May 2020, 16 new research infrastructures have been integrated in the RNIE through four dispatches of the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education. In June 2020, FCT published the first update of the National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures - RNIE 2020, integrating a total of 56 infrastructures.

More information about RNIE is available here.