Updated on: 2020-06-29
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| Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? | There is a permanent National Health Council (Conselho Nacional de Saúde), which includes different stakeholders, with the intervention of local councils and professionals, as well as universities and polytechnics, in addition to representatives appointed by the Permanent Commission for Social Concertation (CPCS), National Ethics Council for the Life Sciences (CNECV) and of the Autonomous Regions, as a way of promoting a culture of transparency and accountability to society. It is an independent government advisory body, composed of 30 members, which will guarantee the participation of the various scientific, social, cultural and economic forces, in the search for broad consensus regarding health policy.” More specifically a new National Public Health Council (Conselho Nacional de Saúde Publica – CNSP) has been appointed in the beginning of the year, and which has been a primary advising body to the Ministry of Health in current crisis. The CNSP includes 20 members, representing several stakeholders and experts, more directly involved in public health initiatives, in the public, private and social sectors, as well as experts from academia and research sectors. The recent National Preparedness and Response Plan for new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a strategic tool for preparing and responding to a potential SARS CoV2 epidemic. This plan is based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, being the national reference document regarding planning the response to COVID-19. https://www.sns.gov.pt/noticias/2020/03/... |
| Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? | The Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, organized − in the scope of the Portugal in Europe Research and Innovation Network (PERIN), through the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT), the National Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB), and the National Innovation Agency (ANI) – a Task Force on “Research and innovation for preventing Corona virus in Europe” to give notice of the Portuguese actions and positions for potential enlarged EU joint ventures, which will gain from an enlarged European task force, for articulation of methodologies and, above all, validation/certification of analysis and the communication of results for rhw population at large. Portugal has joined other countries in asking for open access to publications and data on the COVID-19. A broad set of high level officials responsible for science and technology policies at the global level, including the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology and Higher Education, issued a declaration pledging for the main scientific societies to make available, promptly and voluntarily, all publications and data as regards the new corona virus, which triggered the COVID-19 pandemics, either in public repositories and in digital format. International Cooperation SR&TD Projects Portugal - India. In order to support and encourage cooperation between research institutions, universities and R&D centres in India and Portugal, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and Department of Science and Technology of India (DST) hereby announce that a call is open to fund Scientific Research and Technological Development Joint Projects, developed in close collaboration by Portuguese and Indian research teams in the following priority areas of common interest: Biotechnology; Energy; Environment; Infrastructure Sustainability; Climate Change; Disaster Management and Marine Science and Technology. https://www.fct.pt/apoios/cooptrans/indi... |
| Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? | A number of dedicated websites have been developed in order to communicate appropriately evidence based information and recommendations regarding the COVID-19 epidemic, in addition to the direct health support mechanisms and corresponding contingency policies. The Directorate-General for Health (DGS, within the Ministry of Health) has set up a dedicated section with information on COVID-19, including FAQs, recommendations and information videos, information and communication materials for use by third parties, updated information on the incidence and dissemination of the virus and disease, and other documentation. https://covid19.min-saude.pt Everyday DGS organizes a press conference, where updated data is presented and where recommendations are reinforced, and controversial issues or fake news are discussed. These conferences have wide dissemination in the media, and are available afterwards at DGS site. A dedicated site was also setup by the Ciência Viva - National Agency for Science and Technological Culture, which includes videos, articles and FAQs, developed and/or presented by scientists on the coronavirus and COVID-19, including a special section on relevant Citizen Science projects, highlighting the contribution of the wider public to research development in related topics. Specific materials on the corona virus epidemic were produced by Ciência Viva for the school communities. http://www.cienciaviva.pt/covid19/#prote... A wider site has been setup by the Government to present all the measures that are being put forward, not only on health issues, but also regarding the social protection policies to the citizens in isolation, telework, schools issues, etc. as well as to business firms. A wide set of initiatives have been developed and are all listed and presented on this site. https://covid19estamoson.gov.pt Portugal is also developing efforts to disseminate scientific-based information to the general population, and the government has asked researchers, teachers and their R&D units and academic structures to address and communicate the appropriate technical information and mobilize scientific communication efforts to the population. Researchers and academic institutions have taken multiple initiatives in response to the crisis, with several universities having dedicated sections on their websites. In addition, there has been a high presence of officials and scientists and medical experts in the media to discuss the development of the epidemic, the public response and the recommendations for the public. Extraordinary measures to respond to the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19, in the scope of science and innovation (Council Ministers Resolution nº 24/2020, 14th April). https://dre.pt/application/conteudo/1313... RESEARCH 4 COVID-19: Funding for Research 4 COVID-19, 2nd Edition, Proposal submissions 30 April-15 May 2020: Special support for rapid implementation projects for innovative response solutions to COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed R&D projects should contribute to improving the response of health systems to the impact of COVID-19, contributing to better patient management and/or the implementation of public health measures, in line with the provisions of the National Preparedness and Response Plan for new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from the Directorate General for Health (DGS). The second edition focuses on forecasting the future evolution of the pandemic and its impact on health services and society, as well as optimizing the appropriate response to the pandemic at various levels. https://www.fct.pt/apoios/research4covid... Science 4 COVID-19: The “Science 4 COVID19” portal is an initiative of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB), in partnership with public and private health authorities and scientific research institutions, to mobilize the scientific communities in joint Research and Development (R&D) projects and activities aimed at combating COVID-19 in line with the National Directorate of Health (DGS) National Preparedness and Response to Disease Plan, as well as with the strategies of other European and international health authorities. The portal groups metadata, datasets or links, problem registration, research results in epidemiological surveillance and other anonymous public health data necessary to combat the coronavirus epidemic, such as clinical, analytical and demographic results. https://www.science4covid19.pt/en/ COVID-19. FCT Information: FCT webpage, where all the information that is emitted will be made available or indexed, directly or indirectly related to this pandemic situation, and that affects in some way the activity of R&D institutions and the scientific community as a whole https://www.fct.pt/covid-19/index.phtml..... “DOCTORATES 4 COVID-19”: DOCTORATES 4 COVID-19 Call: The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), in collaboration with the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB), opens a call for research scholarships for PhD. The call aims to support the development of knowledge to create the skills needed to respond to the pandemic of the new corona virus SARS CoV2 and the Covid-19 disease, and to future pandemics, that may translate into efficient prevention measures, better healthcare and an effective support to citizens. https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/concurs... Gender Research 4 Covid-19: Funding for Gender Research 4 Covid-19; proposal submissions 15th May-2nd June. Special funding for research projects on the impact of COVID-19 on gender-based inequalities and violence against women. https://www.fct.pt/apoios/GenderResearch... RCTS – Science, Technology and Society Network increases its capacity due to COVID-19 pandemic: RCTS − the national education and research network, also known as NREN (National Research and Education Network) internationally − is the unit of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) responsible for national scientific computing, and offers researchers, teachers, and students a high-performance digital infrastructure to support projects on a national and international level. https://www.fct.pt/noticias/index.phtml.... |
| Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? | Several initiatives have been taken in the current short timeframe of the emergence of COVID-19 crisis: - An urgent research call for special projects has been launched to support innovative projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemia - Research 4 Covid-19 – by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) – application between 24 March and 5 April. A second call is envisioned in one month's time, depending on progress of the pandemia. Both calls have a total funding of €1,5 million and are directed to short-term projects (3 month limit duration and funding per project limited to 30k€, focusing on complementing existing initiatives or reallocating existing human resources). https://www.fct.pt/apoios/research4covid... - An additional research call has been launched, on March 27 with a deadline of May 28, in the context of the National Initiative for Digital Competences (INCoDe.2030) – AI 4 COVID-19 – Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration to strengthen the fight to COVID-19 and future pandemias. These projects require the partnership of research institutes with public administration entities, and must be in line with the National Plan for the Preparation and Response to the Disease by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS). The projects are expected to focus on big data, analytic techniques and models, computational resources and products and results. The total funding available is € 3 million, with a maximum funding per project of € 240k and project duration between 24 and 36 months. https://www.fct.pt/apoios/projectos/conc... - A Call for entrepreneurial ideas has been launched by the National Innovation Agency, ANI, which has already gathered a wide range of technological solutions which have been presented by research centres and innovative firms, on the areas of prevention/diagnostic, treatments, medical and hospital services, home support, business services, teaching/training, work organization and other objectives. https://www.ani.pt/pt/portugal-inovador/... - A platform to mobilize researchers - SCIENCE 4 COVID19 – to contribute to responses to the crisis is also being set up. - As a result of the declaration of National State of Emergency, which imposed limitations on mobility and the requirement, when possible for the implementation of teleworking, and the closure of most public services and businesses except essential ones, MCTES determined the essential services in research and academic institutions to be maintained exempt of the limitations, namely those related to research and analysis on COVID-19, infrastructures requiring permanent maintenance, such as medical, veterinary and biological, those related to technological safety, ICT related infrastructural academic resources, social services for higher education students, and basic administrative services to guarantee regular flow of financial support. - Existing resources to support distance learning and teleworking dedicated to the research and higher education system have been increased to respond to the sudden increase in demand, through FCT/FCCN. These include video platform COLIBRI, MOOC platform NAU, EDUCAST and VIDEOCAST. - Legal procedures were put forward to guarantee that all academic evaluation requiring public exams (e.g. PhDs and Habilitation) can be held through the use of videoconferencing and electronic media. - Research fellowships for degree award from FCT have been given a prorogation to account for the disturbances in the work progress due to the current crisis situation. Prorogation of deadlines in ongoing calls have also been implemented in order to support the significant changes brought about by the crisis, as well as the commitment by the health sciences researchers to the ongoing response. Elegibility of expenditure related to cancelled events due to the coronavirus emergency incurred in publicly funded projects has been changed and guaranteed. |
| Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | - A call for entrepreneurial ideas has been launched by the National Innovation Agency, ANI, which has already gathered a wide range of technological solutions which have been presented by research centres and innovative firms, and are available on the platform, on the areas of prevention/diagnostic, treatments, medical and hospital services, home support, business services, teaching/training, work organization and other objectives. https://www.ani.pt/pt/portugal-inovador/... - Additionally, other initiatives developed by civil society to address the current crisis are also promoted on the site, under which we highlight two specific STI-related initiatives involving open innovation processes for which citizens are invited to contribute: - tech4covid19 – The technological community fights the Covid-19 Pandemic: is a movement of 3000+ people: engineers, designers, marketers, health professionals, among many other specialities who seek to be faster than the virus. Several teams are working 24/7 on several projects to help solving some Covid-19 related problems, such as: accommodation for Health Professionals; Fundraising; Technical information; delivery service; free video medical consultation; personal protective equipment; track infected people; tell the world you’re home; virtual triage assistance; symptom tracking; crowded stores; pets; online shopping; symptom screening; learn from anywhere. https://tech4covid19.org - Project Openair and Vent2Life are platforms gathering different competences to restore medical equipment and provide conditions for its use to address the current crisis, namely regarding ventilators, also involving different firms, laboratories and research centres. Initiatives in several engineering and research centers (including at CEiiA, https://www.ceiia.com/; INEGI, www.inegi.pt, INESC TEC, https://www.ceiia.com/), as well as in several academic institutions. https://www.projectopenair.org https://covid191.outsystemsenterprise.co... - A platform to mobilize researchers - SCIENCE 4 COVID19 – to contribute to responses to the crisis is also being set up. “Science 4 COVID19”: is an open and inclusive call for ideas and the organization of task forces to collect and mobilize ideas from science and innovation players, with a website under preparation by the Portuguese Science Foundation, FCT and the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation, AICIB, in close cooperation with public and private research institutions. - Higher education and research institutions are also mobilizing efforts to respond to the emergency, both by providing expert knowledge and developing research solutions, as well as, mainly in the biomedical area, gathering and donating equipment and support materials to hospitals and health units. Several HEIs have promoted dedicated sites to gather additional external support. One Associate Laboratory, the Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMM) has already developed an autonomous coronavirus test, which has been recently approved and will contribute to enhance the existing capacity to test infections. Other research institutes are also developing autonomous testing procedures. A fast screening kit and system has been developed by the firm Biosurfit (https://www.biosurfit.com/en/) with tests in a Hospital in Lisbon; - The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has set up an Emergency Fund Covid-19 – is a Fund created by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 5 million Euros initial funding, aiming at strengthening the society resilience to the pandemic in 5 main areas: Health, Science, Civil Society, Education and Culture. Funding lines considering in the STI area: to tackle the shortage of protection devices and medical equipment, to support early detection and diagnosis, technology based solutions (as platforms and apps), reinforcement of scientific knowledge on 2019 - Covid-19 (vulnerable groups and risk factors, immunity response to the virus, new treatment strategies, new diagnosis methods, involving Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, IGC); support people in need to access distance learning while schools are closed; Bolsas Mais (fellowships for students with less resources applying to university). |
| Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | The Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, organized − in the scope of the Portugal in Europe Research and Innovation Network- PERIN − through the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation, FCT, the National Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation, AICIB, and the National Innovation Agency, ANI – a Task Force on “Research and innovation for preventing Corona virus in Europe” to give notice of the Portuguese actions and positions for potential enlarged EU joint ventures, which will gain from an enlarged European task force, for articulation of methodologies and, above all, validation/certification of analysis and the communication of results for population at large. Initiatives which are being sought to be promoted and developed at international/European level include: - Need to develop Equipment and Devices: namely Testing kits (PCR and other methodologies), which require enlarging supply of materials and reagents at an European level; Fast development of ventilators for emergency rooms, which require specific valves and other components, available only in a few companies, as well as the adoption of protocols for safe operation (there is the need of coordination of several task forces in Europe beyond actions under the Open AIR project); Other innovative equipment, systems, solutions and devices, which require promoting European joint tasks for innovative products and systems able to generate low cost solutions to prevent the contamination of the virus and COVID-10. - Data systems and policy: COVID-19 information systems for population, with open data policy integrated with data analysis to provide orientations towards advising population at large for prevention measures, as well as to prevent false alarms. This initiative requires access to health data and information of tests of population at large as well as the mobilization of data scientists, and which will gain from an enlarged European task force, for articulation of methodologies and, above all, validation/certification of analysis and the communication of results for population at large. - New solutions/interventions: Coordination of national task forces to foster user-driven innovation and new science-based solutions, which will gain from an enlarged European task force. - Vaccine/new therapies: Need for a major European task force and cooperation to help developing a vaccine and other potential therapies, with major Portuguese biochemical firms working already with international consortia, with tests in China and elsewhere. - Science and society - Social remediation and promotion of social and human actions to foster social resilience: There is a need of European coordination of a task force on risk perception and the development of actions towards the promotion of scientific culture and social engagement towards resilient societies. - Distance education and telework: The sudden strong development and engagement by all higher education institutions in Portugal, with a massive adoption of distance education schemes, highlights the need of European coordination of task force to foster the exchange of schemes, methodologies and practices. There has been an active promotion and support to the Portuguese participation in the recent EC call of proposals on health and COVID-19 related topics for SMEs, by AICIB – National Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation and the National Innovation Agency, ANI. Portugal is also participating in a wider 'Task Force' at EU level, with DG RTD, which has namely contributed to launch a funding line of 47,5 M€ on a new call on “SC1-PHECORONAVIRUS-2020: Advancing knowledge for the clinical and public health response to the [COVID-19] epidemic”. |
| Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? | - A research call has been launched, on March 27, in the context of the National Initiative for Digital Competences (INCoDe.2030) – AI 4 COVID-19 – Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration to strengthen the fight to COVID-19 and future pandemias. These projects require the partnership of research institutes with public administration entities, and must be in line with the National Plan for the Preparation and Response to the Disease by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS). The projects are expected to focus on big data, analytic techniques and models, computational resources and products and results implementing novel research approaches in the context of public administration entities. - Portugal has joined other countries in claiming open access to publications and data on the COVID-19. A broad set of high level officials responsible for science and technology policies at the global level, including the Portuguese Minister of Science and Technology and Higher Education, issued a Declaration pledging for the main scientific societies to make available, promptly and voluntarily, all publications and data as regards the new corona virus, which triggered the COVID-19 pandemics, either in public repositories and in digital format. - A tentative task for COVID-19 information systems for population, with open data policy integrated with data analysis to provide orientations towards advising population at large for prevention measures, as well as to prevent false alarms is being set up by the Portuguese Science Foundation, FCT, in cooperation with health authorities and under the overall coordination of the Public Health Scholl of the University of Porto, under the National Digital Skills Initiative, INCoDe.2030. |
| Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? | Introducing changes in funding rules/conditions and procedures to speed up processes and streamline bureaucratic procedures; Streamlining the launch of European, regional and national calls for tenders/research proposals, in order to significantly diminish the Time-To-Grant; Intensification of transnational cooperation as sharing knowledge and information on needs and capacity will contribute to a more efficient protection of infected citizens and contagion limitation. |
| Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? | A wide set of measures have been announced in response to the expect slump of the economy and ensuing recession. The novel characteristics of the current crisis, that is almost stopping the whole economy, is, nevertheless, hitting different economic sectors with different degrees. Some thriving sectors in Portugal, such as tourism and restaurants, have come to a sudden standstill, while others have been able to maintain a certain level of economic activity. The initial package of measures, beyond the strictly public health measures, have focused on providing financial support to business firms, through a variety of measures, including some directed to the most hit sectors mentioned above, as well as measures aimed to support employment, workers and families. While measures have not been aimed specifically at the STI system, beyond those referred to above, aimed at supporting STI system's contribution to the response to the COVID-19 crisis, the ongoing process of linking of SMEs, start-ups and the research system with larger corporations in broader collaborative initiatives, promoting open innovation and new spaces of co-creation in order to build stronger knowledge and distributed innovation, is expected to have impacts on the economy and on the STI systems beyond the short-term. Additional measures are expected to be developed throughout the response to the crisis and its different stages. All initiatives are listed at: https://covid19estamoson.gov.pt COVID-19 – Business Support Measures: Business Enterprises R&D – COVID-19: Productive Innovation Incentive System (ministerial ordinance/Portaria nº 95/2020), 18/04/20209) https://dre.pt/application/conteudo/1319... Incentive System for R&D and Investment in Testing an Optimization Infrastructures (upscaling) in the context of COVID-19 (ministerial ordinance/Portaria nº 96/2020), 18/04/2020) https://dre.pt/application/conteudo/1319... |
| Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? | [Left blank] |