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Today, August 14, FCT released the provisional results of Call FCT-Tenure. This is FCT’s first funding instrument to support the hiring of researchers exclusively in career positions.

The potential impact of this new program designed by the FCT led to the decision, in the current legislature, to increase the number of positions available by 10%. A total of 1,100 permanent positions were thus defined.

With an overall budgeted investment of 197 million euros, FCT-Tenure benefits from the State Budget, as well as from the RE-C06-i06 – Science Plus Empowerment investment, financed by the PRR.

115 institutions from the national scientific and technological system applied for the co-financing of 2,211 positions. Each institution was invited to submit its scientific and innovation strategy for the coming years, as well as the justification for each profile and scientific areas to be strengthened and/or developed with the contracts to be signed.

Of the total number of positions provisionally selected for funding, 988 are for the categories of assistant researcher, assistant professor and associate professor, 105 for the categories of associate professor and principal researcher, and 7 for the categories of coordinating researcher and full professor. The universe of positions recommended for funding includes 702 positions in the research career and 398 in the teaching career. Of these, 34% are in Exact Sciences and Engineering, 36% in Life Sciences and 30% in Social Sciences and Humanities.

Through the FCT-Tenure program, a total of 71 contracting institutions will benefit from funding, including universities, polytechnic institutes, research units, Associate Laboratories, state laboratories, public administration entities, and other non-academic entities. Overall, the positions proposed for funding also involved the establishment of a variety of partnerships in various configurations, with around three hundred scientific institutions and non-academic entities.

Of the 1,100 positions provisionally selected for funding, 811 were submitted as “Chairs” (Research Unit Chairs and Non-Academic Chairs), explicitly emphasizing partnerships and strategic synergies between the contracting institution and other institutions, which include the sharing of responsibilities and scientific objectives between different institutions and entities.

The evaluation process for this edition of Call involved the participation of 208 international evaluators from 25 different nationalities, divided into a coordination and evaluation panel for the institutions’ strategy and 12 scientific evaluation panels for each of the 2,211 positions.

The details of the results of each application can be consulted by each institution on the myFCT platform, with the period for submitting prior hearings running until September 12. Once the prior hearings have been analyzed, the final results will be made public, with the 1,100 permanent positions to be co-financed by FCT.

This program will fund the integration of researchers into both research and teaching careers through Calls . The FCT will co-finance two-thirds of the salary costs in the first three years for both careers and one-third in the second three years, if the hiring is made within the research career or equivalent, regardless of the category in which the researcher is hired.

FCT-Tenure marks the beginning of a new model for the funding of scientific employment by the FCT. While respecting and promoting the strategic autonomy of institutions, it seeks to create a career perspective for researchers, valuing both research and teaching careers in the research activities that support them. The programme replaces the FCT funding model for senior researchers on fixed-term contracts with their stabilization in career positions, making it possible to focus the usual Call Stimulus to Scientific Employment on early career cycles.

The new scientific employment model and the FCT-Tenure program are also in line with the principles underlying the proposal for a new Scientific Research Career Statute (ECIC), which is currently being discussed for submission to Parliament, contributing to more sustainable and attractive career models at all stages of the scientific research career path.

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