Direção de Projectos (DP)

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) has developed an initiative to register and propagate unique identifiers (DOI – Digital Object Identifier) for national public funding.

With the aim of promoting the reuse and interconnection of data on funding awarded, this action is part of the SciPROJ infrastructure, the national database that aggregates records of national and international funding that supports science and technology activities carried out in Portugal.

Funding awarded by the FCT to R&D Projects, R&D Units, Scientific Employment and Studentships Advanced Training will be covered.

Objectives

The aim of this project is to assign unique, internationally recognized identifiers to funding managed by the FCT. This will make it possible to unequivocally associate funding with the scientific results that result from it, as well as with the researchers and institutions that implement that funding.

The aim is for the funding DOIs to be widely known and used by the beneficiaries of the funding, as well as efficiently integrated into the various science management systems.

All this to allow the potential of DOIs to be maximized and to promote transparency and open access to information on scientific activity in an agile and effective way.

Phases of the initiative to date 

Phase 0 took place during 2023 and was aimed at preparing the procedures. Next, in phase 1 – called the pilot project, from October to December 2023 – 6000 FCT funding records were selected. The guiding principle behind this selection was to ensure that DOI was assigned to funding with a start date equal to or greater than 2019.

Phase 2 began in January 2024. Once the elements to be improved have been verified and the structure/rules for sustainability for assigning DOIs have been created, the most recent funding (which has been contracted by FCT) will be recorded, as well as older funding, but with the potential to produce outputs where it is possible to integrate the unique funding identifier.

Who is part of the initiative 

The project brings together the PTCRIS teams and the Funding Information Systems Area (ASIF) of the FCCN unit, as well as the FCT departments responsible for the funding covered.

Find out more 

Anyone wishing to find out more can contact identificadores.ptcris@fct.pt.