FAQs

It is up to the partner HEIs to select the business ideas in the competition and fill in the application form.
Any individual application that is not recognized as selected by the Higher Education Institution itself for this purpose will not be accepted.

Only one idea per Higher Education Institution should be chosen to represent it at BfK Ideas..

For each category, the jury selects a winner. ANI reserves the right not to award a prize in a given category if it is found that none of the entries is above a certain minimum score of excellence (i.e. thereshold), to be determined according to the evaluation criteria.

The categories can be found in the Rules of the respective edition of the competition.

It is up to the HEI, when completing the application, to classify the idea according to the sectors in the competition.

Yes. All Portuguese HEIs are eligible to select and reference business ideas from their students, teachers and/or researchers.

Only the HEIs listed are BfK Ideas partners, and they are the only ones eligible to select and reference business ideas from their students, teachers and/or researchers.
If any Portuguese public HEI is not on the list of partners and would like to join the BfK Ideas competition, please contact us via online form.

Yes, BfK Ideas is aimed precisely at business ideas and not at mature projects.
BfK Ideas is intended to empower idea promoters and leverage their business potential.

There is nospecific application phasefor the BfK Awards.

ANI is associated withinnovation competitions andawards in Portugal, in which it awards aspecial prize BfK Awards. Para seres selecionado you should submit your application to one of the competitions or préif it fits in with your project or company.

The BfK Awards is awarded to one of the finalists of the partner competition/award, but is governed by its own set of evaluation criteria. The objectives and specific evaluation criteria of each competition/award are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the organizing partner.

In cases where the partner competition/award has an international scope, the BfK Awards are awarded to one of the national finalists in the competition.

Application deadlines and the timing of award ceremonies are the sole responsibility of the organizing partner of each competition/award.

The formsáThe application forms for each competition/préThe application forms for each innovation competition/prize with which ANI is associated include, à the necessary fieldsáfields à gathering information to assess the criteriaéCriteria BfK Awards. Caso seja necess áAdditional informationadditional information, the NIA mayá proceed à collect the necessary dataáIn a later evaluation phaseo.

The "Tree of Knowledge" is an exclusive piece of art by Leonel Moura, which represents the winner's scientific excellence and social, environmental and economic impact. To prove the authenticity of this distinction, the winners also receive an award certificate signed by ANI.

Other prizes may be considered, depending on the terms of the partnership with the organizers of the innovation competitions/awards with which ANI is associated.

The allocation of funding from the Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy Fund (FITEC) is governed by the provisions of Council of Ministers Resolution 84/2016 of December 21, Decree-Law 86-C/2016 of December 29 and Ministerial Order 258/2017 of August 21. What are the objectives
and what is Base Funding for?

This funding will serve to empower the Interface Centers through the allocation of multi-annual funding, which will allow them to increase their levels of financial stability and define medium-long term strategies. This initiative is part of the Interface Program and its main objectives are:

• Promoting the Interface Centers' relationship with higher education institutions;
• The development of your internal capacity;
• An increase in qualified human resources;
• Promoting internationalization;
• The development of new areas of competence.

The Core Funding will be used exclusively to support the development of non-economic activities of a pre-competitive nature (acting on "market failures") by these Centers, and is not intended for commercial activities. The funding will be based on an action plan with quantitative and qualitative objectives, which will serve as the basis for evaluating it. The level of overall funding for Interface Centers will be linked to the achievement of these objectives.

Entities recognized as Interface Centres (IC) under the terms of Article 7(3) of Ministerial Order No. 258/2017, of August 21, may apply for funding on the date they submit their application to the respective Notices, provided their tax and social security situation is in order. However, the FITEC Executive Committee will regularly issue Notices, depending on existing budget availability, to allow applications from entities not yet recognized as ICs on the date of entry into force of this regulation.

The budget for the next 6 years is 80M€.

The allocation for the first year of funding for Call No. 1 is €12M.

The application consists of two main parts:

• Part A asks for a detailed characterization of the Interface Centre with the identification of quantitative objectives (KPIs for characterization and future performance), also including a SWOT analysis, technological and innovation objectives - more details are available in the application guide.
• Part B calls for the preparation of a Strategic Action Plan - SAP (which should reflect the institution's overall strategy and not just the part relating to the funding to be requested) and a Global Investment Plan (corresponding to the entity's overall investment plan, which should be a tool for demonstrating the sustainability and feasibility of the SAP and the capacity for efficient management of resources) - more details are available in the application guide.

Yes. Each entity can receive a maximum of €3M distributed over the 3 years of funding, taking into account the classification obtained in the evaluation process and the average sales and services provided by each entity (2013-2015).

No. The maximum incentive to be contracted, for each entity and per year, will correspond to a maximum of 33% of the average sales and provision of services for the period 2013-2015, without prejudice to the additional restrictions laid down (annual maximums, evaluation, etc.).

On the date of the Annual Progress Reports, based on existing certified financial statements, for the second and third year of funding, the maximum contracted value may be revised downwards - if the financial statements made available show a decrease in the PSV in relation to the average used for the calculation at the time of the application.

Example: A given CI has an average PSV for the period 2013-2015 of 1 million. The maximum amount contracted for the three years of the incentive is 990,000 euros for the three years. Without prejudice to other applicable restrictions, the contracted amount (€990,000) will in any case be the maximum eligible for that entity.

Applications open until May 23, 2018.

See the question "Will all Interface Centers receive the same amount of multi-annual funding?".

This standard should be applied to the accounting and disclosure of subsidies and other forms of government support. The accounting policy adopted should be disclosed, as well as the nature and extent of the subsidies from which the entity has benefited.

The application and form must be written in Portuguese, and in English in the fields marked.

Non-economic activity means activity that is not commercial or competitive on the market. For this purpose, the European Commission's definition will be used, according to the Commission Communication - Framework for State Aid for Research, Development and Innovation (2014/C 198/1)¹.

¹ http://www.pofc.qren.pt/ResourcesUser/2014/Legislacao/JOUE_2014_C198_01_RegulamentoIDI.pdf

The European Commission considers that the following activities are generally non-economic in nature:

a) Primary activities of research organizations and research infrastructures, in particular:

• Education in order to obtain human resources with more and better qualifications;
• Independent R&D activities aimed at more knowledge and understanding, including collaborative R&D in which the research organization or infrastructure engages in effective collaboration;
• Broad dissemination of research results on a non-exclusive and non-discriminatory basis, for example through teaching, open-access databases, public publications or software;

b) Knowledge transfer activities, when carried out by or jointly with the research organization or infrastructure (including its departments or subsidiaries), or on behalf of other similar entities, and when all profits from such activities are reinvested in the primary activities of the research organization or infrastructure.

• The non-economic nature of these activities is not prejudiced by the subcontracting of the provision of corresponding services to third parties through the organization of public tenders.

If a research organization or research infrastructure is used for both economic and non-economic activities, public funding is covered by state aid rules only to the extent that it covers costs related to economic activities.

If the research organization or infrastructure is used almost exclusively for a non-economic activity, its funding may, in its entirety, be excluded from the scope of the State aid rules, provided that the economic use remains purely ancillary, i.e. that it corresponds to an activity that is directly related to the functioning of the research organization or infrastructure, or is necessary for it, or is intrinsically linked to its main non-economic use, and is limited in scope. For the purposes of this framework, the Commission will consider this to be the case if the economic activities consume exactly the same inputs (such as material, equipment, labor and fixed capital) as the non-economic activities and if the annual capacity allocated to those economic activities does not exceed 20 % of the overall annual capacity of the relevant entity.

Without prejudice to the previous two paragraphs, when research organizations or infrastructures are used to carry out economic activities, such as renting equipment or laboratories to companies, providing services to companies or carrying out research under contract, the public funding of these economic activities will, as a general rule, be considered State aid.

However, the Commission will not consider that the research organization or infrastructure is a beneficiary of State aid if it acts as a mere intermediary, transferring to the final beneficiaries all the public funding or any other advantage acquired through that funding. This is usually the case in the following instances:

a) Both the public funding and any advantage acquired through the funding are
quantifiable and demonstrable, and there is an appropriate mechanism to ensure that they are
fully passed on to the final beneficiaries, for example through a reduction in
prices.

b) No other advantage is granted to the intermediary because it is selected by public tender or because public funding is available to all entities that meet the necessary objective conditions, so that clients, as final beneficiaries, are entitled to purchase equivalent services from any relevant intermediary.

If the conditions set out in the previous paragraph are met, the state aid rules apply at the level of the final beneficiaries.

Note: see Commission Communication Framework for State aid for research , development and innovation (2014/C 198/1)

This analysis will have to be done on a case-by-case basis, according to the European Commission's definition of non-economic activities. However, if Sales and Service Support activities are considered, they could be considered economic activities.

Investment in buildings is not eligible. Expenditure on property rents is also not eligible.

Acquisition and amortization can be considered.

No overhead costs are taken into account.

• Start of the calendar year?
• Application submission?
• Contract support for three years?

Expenditure for funding purposes is only eligible from the deadline for submitting the application - May 23, 2018. The entity is free to submit a strategic activity plan starting no later than the moment the contract is signed.

If this is established during the execution of the project, the unrealized amount can be allocated to another activity, provided it is justified and related to the project. If this is established at the end of the 3 years of the project, the remaining funds can be included in the next base funding period.

As stipulated in paragraph 5 of Chapter XV of the Basic Financing Regulation, "In the event of a mid-term evaluation, the FITEC Executive Committee, on the basis of a reasoned proposal from ANI, may alter the funding amounts, without prejudice to the maximum amounts set, in accordance with the budget allocation provided for in the Notice, and under the terms laid down therein."

Example: if €100,000 is planned to be spent on a piece of equipment in year 2, and the investment is made for a lesser amount, the remaining funds can be reallocated to another item, subject to justification by the entity and assessment by ANI.

With regard to the hiring of qualified human resources by interface centers, objective 3 of the regulation is clear in its reference to young doctorates and other young specialized staff. Chapter V(2)(b) states that, in order to strengthen scientific employment, a training program is needed to justify the hiring of X human resources for an indefinite or uncertain term.

The hiring of eligible human resources in this context must have an additional effect on the entity's initial number of HR and not simply a conversion of category or functions of existing HR.

Example: if the hiring of the doctorate concerns a human resource who has already been hired (albeit in a different role or category), the "human resources under contract" KPI will remain the same, with no additionality effect.

Doctoral students carrying out research at the organization (including those funded through research grants) can be hired after completing their doctorate (and the end of the grant to which it was associated, if applicable). Expenditure on research grants is therefore not eligible.

The plan to be evaluated consists of an overall strategy and budget for the three-year period. The combination of funding sources is important and will be taken into account for the evaluation. If there is the possibility of professional internships in the interface centers, financed by the Institute for Employment and Professional Training, I.P. (IEFP), these will be considered positively.

Link: https://www.iefp.pt/documents/10181/7118590/Regulamentos+EP_2+revis%C3%A3o-23-01-2018/32b038b4-24bb-457e-843e-2168fa43743f

Yes, Third Party Agreements (including the assignment of qualified human resources) can be accepted.

No, they can't have legal personality.

The merit of the application will be taken into account by applying the following coefficients to the terms calculated in the previous questions:

• Excellent - 100% of the maximum incentive;
• Very good - 80% of the maximum incentive;
• Good - 60% (sixty percent) of the maximum incentive;
• Insufficient - no funding.

For evaluation purposes, the proposal can only obtain maximum points if it includes at least 20% of the expenditure to be financed in qualified human resources.

After the competition closes, the evaluation period will take place within 40 working days, plus 10 working days as a prior hearing period.

The final decision must be communicated within 5 working days of the evaluation period and prior hearing.

The 80% percentage refers to the amount of funding in the first year and for applications considered "excellent" - whose evaluation corresponds to 100% of the funding. 20% of the incentive for the first year will be blocked, and its payment will be conditional on the overall assessment of the plan's implementation, i.e. the full realization of the three-year plan.

For example: an entity has an approved three-year plan of €1.5 million and therefore, for the first year, €500 thousand. That entity will see 20% of that amount, €100,000, held in escrow, which will be released after the final assessment of the three-year plan, if it is fully implemented.

The proposed positioning of the application is based on various objectives and funding sources. Although the basic funding is for specific actions within an overall strategy, the assessment will focus on the overall proposal and its implementation. In view of this, the KPIs assessed are those relating to the total plan.

For example: if the overall plan includes the hiring of 3 PhDs, even if only 1 PhD is funded through the basic financing, the assessment will be made on the overall action planned for the organization, i.e. the hiring of the 3 human resources.

As far as the form is concerned, it asks for information about the organization's characterization and outlook, which has already been used in previous versions. Despite this, there is nothing to prevent the organization from suggesting new indicators or metrics in view of the planned positioning.

The application is made on the basis of the years of funding, starting in May 2018. The three-year period ends in May 2021.

In the first year of financing (2018), a single transfer will be made 30 days after the financing contract is signed.

No. The total value of transfers relating to Core Funding may not exceed 40% of the total maximum contracted amount to be funded in the 2018-2020 three-year period.

The remaining transfers (2019-2020) will be made 30 days after submission and evaluation of the half-yearly and annual reports requested. As payments are made in advance, some kind of adjustment to the amounts already financed may be made, if applicable, after the final assessment of the overall implementation of the plan.

Implementation will be monitored by evaluating the implementation reports of the activity plan approved with the application.

Expenses associated with carrying out activities must be accounted for in accordance with current accounting standards. In order to show the costs and income of non-economic activities and to safeguard against possible audits, this accounting must be segregated by project.

Given that the funding is intended for non-economic activities - within the meaning of the European Commission's Communication on the Framework for State Aid for Research, Development and Innovation (2014/C 198/01) - the Interface Center must demonstrate that it is able to identify economic and non-economic activities in its accounts in a segregated manner, and the entity must therefore maintain an analytical accounting system for this purpose.

In order to show this separation of activities, each entity must include a specific section in the Annex to the Balance Sheet and Income Statement, in the Annual Report, aggregating the costs, income and financing of each of the major cost centers (Economic Activities and Non-Economic Activities).

The regime approved by Decree-Law 57/2016 of August 29 only applies to the hiring of doctoral graduates on a fixed-term basis, using public funding, to carry out scientific research, technological development, management and science and technology communication activities in SCTN institutions, with a view to their strategic development and strengthening investment in science and technology.

Within the scope of Basic Multiannual Financing, this decree-law applies to both public and private entities.

Without prejudice to compliance with the other provisions, the opening of the tender procedure must be published on the website http://www.eracareers.pt , administered by the FCT.

No, the regime approved by Decree-Law 57/2016, of August 29, applies to the fixed-term hiring of doctoral graduates for R&D and other related activities (see above). The hiring of PhDs on an open-ended basis must be carried out under the terms of the Labor Code and other applicable legislation.

However, if the contract is awarded through a call for tenders, it must be advertised on the portal http://www.eracareers.pt, administered by the FCT.

As stated in Notice 01/FITEC/2018, for the purposes of fulfilling Objective 3 of the Core Funding (Strengthening scientific employment by hiring young doctoral graduates and other young specialized technical staff), only doctoral graduates aged no more than 40 (forty) years in the year of hiring will be admissible.

Yes. As also mentioned in Notice 01/FITEC/2018, for the purposes of fulfilling Objective 3 of this Core Funding, the Interface Center must demonstrate that it has hired at least 50% of the PhD students on an indefinite basis.

The 1st implementation report is due 6 months after the signing of the financing contract (December 2018), and at the following intervals:

• Year 1:
  • Half-yearly Interim Report, within 30 days of the end of the first semester, from the date the contract was signed (December 2018).
  • Annual Progress Report, within 90 days of the end of Year 1 (the start date of Year 1 is set out in clause 4 of each TIC contract).
• Year 2:
  • Half-yearly Interim Report, within 30 days of the end of the first semester;
  • Annual Progress Report, within 90 days of the end of Year 2.
• Year 3:
  • Half-yearly Interim Report, within 30 days of the end of the first semester;
  • Final Report, within 90 days of the end of Year 3.

The start of the funding period for each Interface Center is the one mentioned in clause 4 of the Funding Agreement ("Funding Period"). This date marks the beginning of Year 1 of funding.

• Example 1: a TIC whose project started in June 2018 will only have to submit its 1st implementation report in June 2019. This 1st report corresponds to the Annual Progress Report for Year 1.
• Example 2: a CIT whose project started in November 2018, will have to submit the 1st execution report in June 2019 (which corresponds to its Half-Yearly Progress Report), submitting the Annual Progress Report in November 2019.

ANI has made available a guide with the rules for publicizing the support, mentioning the situations in which the funding obtained should be publicized, the logos to be considered, the minimum dimensions of the publicity material and the necessary templates.

No, the start date of the project, recorded in clause 4 of the Financing Grant Agreement, cannot be changed. The end date of the project is 36 months after the start date.

Any change or occurrence that puts or is likely to put into question the assumptions regarding the access conditions that allowed the application to be approved must be communicated.

For example:

• significant changes to the structure of the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) that could jeopardize the implementation of some of the planned activities;
• significant changes in the planned investment;
• significant changes in the objectives to be achieved.

It is not necessary to communicate or request prior authorization for minor adjustments to the planned investment amounts or to the dates for acquiring services and equipment. These situations should be reported in the half-yearly and annual execution reports. These documents should summarize the most relevant aspects that occurred in the period to which they refer, as well as the results achieved and deviations from what was planned in the application.

Applications to SIFIDE must be submitted by the end of May of the year following the financial year.

The completed form should be sent electronically to here.

Once the application has been checked for compliance (duly completed form and verification of all requested attachments), the company will be sent the respective proof of the Tax Credit application, for the purposes of Article 40(1) of Law No. 162/2014 of October 31.

Companies with a tax period other than the calendar year must submit their application to SIFIDE II by the last day of the fifth month following the end of the tax period to which the R&D expenses relate (in line with the spirit of the law, which stipulates the last day of May for companies with a tax period equal to the calendar year).

The criteria used to identify and distinguish R&D activities include the presence of an appreciable element of novelty and/or the resolution of a scientific-technological uncertainty. For more information see aqui.

• Proof of regularized tax and contributory status at the time of application;
• Corporate income tax return for the year in question;
• Annual report for the reference year (or analytical balance sheet, profit and loss account and notes to the balance sheet and profit and loss account);
• Balance sheets for the cost centers of the projects, the R&D department or the company;
• Form per Ecodesign project and respective annexes - where applicable.

It is not necessary to attach any expenditure documents. It is sufficient to fill in the expenditure tables on the application form correctly.

For the current financial year, the rates in force are:

• Basic rate - 32.50% of expenditure incurred in the year of application;

• Incremental rate - 50% of the increase in this expenditure compared to the average of the previous 2 years, up to a limit of 1.5 million euros.

For IRC taxpayers who are SMEs according to the definition in article 2 of Decree-Law no. 372/2007, of November 6, who have not yet completed two financial years and who have not benefited from the incremental rate, a surcharge of 15% applies to the base rate.

Yes, in the appropriate percentage of participation in the project(s) and as long as they participate directly in the R&D activities.

In the case of resources with level 1, 2 and 3 qualifications, according to the National Qualifications Framework, as well as other levels, who participate indirectly in R&D activities, these can be charged under "Operating Expenses".

In this case, the corresponding expense will be considered at 120% of its amount, and the company must present the actual value of this resource on the form.

Yes, except for all expenses incurred within the scope of projects carried out exclusively on behalf of third parties, namely through contracts and the provision of R&D services.

Within the scope of SIFIDE, the figures in the applications are compared with the information in the databases of the financial support systems, and the eligible expenses are those considered in those programs, provided that they are also eligible under the terms of SIFIDE.

Yes, whatever the nature of the subsidy (Portuguese State or European Commission) it will always be deducted from the eligible expenditure, however the application form must state the total expenditure per item.

In this case, the company must convert it to a grant using the new simulator available here.

Ecodesign" is the definition used in DIRECTIVE 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 21, 2009.

The company must fill in a form (available soon) for each of the Ecodesign projects, which must be attached to the SIFIDE application.

In the"total cost" field, all expenses relating to wages, salaries or wages and salaries must be taken into account:

• the entity's charges on remuneration;
• insurance for accidents at work and occupational diseases;
• social action expenses;
• staff training costs.

Remuneration, wages and salaries" should be taken into account, including, in addition to wages and salaries, bonuses, percentages, commissions, shares, allowances or bonuses, attendance fees and other ancillary remuneration, even if periodic, fixed or variable, whether contractual or not.

In addition, they must be taken into account when calculating staff remuneration:

• Absence allowances;
• Subsistence allowances and amounts earned for the use of the employer's own car;
• Funds for travel and representation expenses;
• Amounts earned, even as compensation, for changing workplace.

Operating costs are eligible, up to a maximum of 55% of the costs of staff with a minimum level 4 of the National Qualifications Framework directly involved in R&D tasks. accounted for as remuneration, wages or salaries for the financial year.

To date,these entities are recognized at .

In the case of expenditure under point e), universities, state and associated laboratories, R&D units and other technological infrastructures are also recognized as being fit to carry out R&D activities.

We suggest you consult the Guide to Recognition of Good Standingas well as the Regulations.

National entities interested in obtaining recognition must submit the application form, available at "ENTER" after registering the company.

The form consists of two parts:

1. Identification of the company in its various quadrants;
2. Identification of the areas of activity in which the company wishes to be recognized, accompanied by the following set of documents:

• Declarations issued by 2 entities of the National Scientific and Technological System (SCTN), duly signed by the Head of the SCTN entity, supported by a technical opinion signed by an expert/specialist from the same entity, attached, substantiating the domains/areas requested in accordance with the ENEI;
• Permanent Certificate, as well as Model 22/Report of Accounts;
• Detailed description of R&D activities using the template;
• Response to the National Scientific and Technological Potential Survey (IPCTN) or, in the case of Portuguese academic, scientific and technological spinoffs and start-ups not yet covered by the IPCTN, a Declaration by the ROC/CC accompanied by a reasoned statement from the entity of origin, incubator or interface center;
• Organization chart, highlighting the employees working for the entity and carrying out R&D activities, as well as the documents proving their employment, namely the respective employment contracts or proof of registration of human resources with Social Security.

Recognition is valid until the eighth financial year following the one in which it was requested, in accordance with Article 37-A(2) of Decree-Law no. 162/2014 of October 31, in the wording currently in force.

Entities whose good repute has been recognized for more than 8 years are subject to reassessment and may be contacted by the National Innovation Agency to update their information. If they wish, entities can request a reassessment by submitting an application for recognition of good repute, as indicated in the previous question.

According to Article 2 of the Regulation currently in force, entities resident in Portuguese territory and non-residents with a permanent establishment in that territory, and subject to verification of the following requirements:

• Demonstration of the realization of a investment in research and development (R&D) activities equivalent to at least 7.5% of its turnover in the financial year preceding the one in which the request for recognition is submitted, by: i) The entity making available the relevant data provided within the scope of the Survey on National Scientific and Technological Potential (IPCTN);

  or ii) In the case of spinoffs and start-ups with a Portuguese academic, scientific and technological base, not yet covered by the IPCTN, through the presentation of accounting proof of turnover and investment in R&D, namely through a statement from the ROC/CC certifying the amounts declared, as well as a reasoned statement from the original entity, incubator (certified or recognized by IAPMEI) or interface center, describing the scope of the activities carried out since its creation.

• Existence of specialized human resources in the domains and main areas of activity, in accordance with the National Strategy for Intelligent Specialization (ENEI), and explicit demonstration that they are linked to the entity, namely through the presentation of the respective employment contracts or proof of registration of human resources with Social Security.

The following documents must be attached to the form:

• Two declarations issued by entities of the National Scientific and Technological System (SCTN), duly signed by the Head of the SCTN entity, in accordance with draft supported by a technical opinion signed by an expert/specialist from the same entity, attached, substantiating the fields/areas requested in accordance with the ENEI;
• Permanent Certificate, as well as Model 22/Accounts Report;
• Detailed description of R&D activities according to the template;
• Response to the Survey of National Scientific and Technological Potential (IPCTN) or, in the case of Portuguese academic, scientific and technological-based spinoffs and start-ups not yet covered by the IPCTN, a Declaration by the ROC/CC accompanied by a reasoned statement from the entity of origin, incubator or interface center;
• Organizational chart, highlighting the employees with employment ties to the entity and who carry out R&D activities, as well as the documents proving their employment ties, namely the respective employment contracts or proof of registration of human resources with Social Security.

All these documents must be submitted in the "Documents" tab of the form, and for each line referring to a type of document, several can be submitted in a zipped folder.

The evaluation is based on the following criteria:

• R&D projects already carried out and in progress;
• History of the organization;
• Significant previous experience in the areas/fields requested;
• Curriculum of the R&D team;
• Employees' ties to the organization;
• Infrastructure/facilities/equipment to support R&D activities.

After the application for Recognition of Good Standing has been submitted:

1. Conformity checks are carried out in accordance with the admissibility criteria;
2. In the event of admissibility, an invitation to schedule an online meeting of approximately 45 minutes is sent;
3. After the meeting, ANI notifies the organization of the decision to grant, partially grant or reject the application;

After receiving the decision, the organization can request the SELO ID promotional materials and communication guide from ANI by emailing: sifide@ani.pt.

Considering the cross-cutting nature of the projects and companies applying for the Recognition of Suitability, there is no one template for this purpose. The entities' experts are free to present their arguments as they see fit.

SCTN entities are not asked to officially certify the suitability of companies, but only to provide external technical input for the assessment carried out by ANI, which includes a meeting with the applicant company. This declaration is not binding and the recognition of suitability and awarding of the R&D seal is the sole responsibility of ANI. In this sense, what we ask for is a technical opinion from one of the entity's experts in the area(s) requested, highlighting their experience in joint projects, the competence of the applicant's team, or any other elements they may be aware of, to accompany the Declaration duly endorsed by an institutional head of the declaring entity.

No. The startups e spinoffs must submit a statement from the ROC/CC certifying the investment in R&D and invoicing for the previous financial year, as well as a reasoned statement from the original entity, incubator or interface center describing the scope of the activities carried out since its creation.

All other companies must send the IPCTN.

Article 40: "Entities benefiting from SIFIDE undertake to report annually, within two months of the end of each financial year, to the Agência Nacional de Inovação, S. A., through a map of indicators to be made available by the latter, the results of the activities supported by the tax incentive granted, during the five years following the approval of the incentive."

It is ANI's understanding that companies should respond to these indicators 2 months after the end of the application evaluation, since the results of the activities supported by the tax incentive granted are requested.

The indicator map should be sent to sifide@ani.pt.

Companies that do not submit applications in consecutive years are subject to this obligation for the 5 years following the approval of the incentive.

All companies that have obtained a tax credit for R&D activities approved by SIFIDE must respond.

Regardless of whether or not they submit an application to SIFIDE, they must respond to the survey within 5 years of the credit being granted.

The aim is to obtain information on the results of projects approved, in progress or completed in the reference year. The year of application should be taken as the reference, not the year in which the survey was completed.

If the company has only ongoing projects in the reference year, they should simply fill in the "Annual Activity" tab. If they present projects that ended in the reference year, they should also respond to the project tab.

No. They just have to answer the question and not add any new rows or columns.

This tab shows the results of all projects approved under SIFIDE, whether they are in progress or were completed in the reference year.

In the "Job creation" box, the number of jobs created in all areas of the company should be counted, provided that they originate in the R&D activities that benefited from SIFIDE.

In the "Industrial property" box, only the number of registrations/licenses made as a result of projects approved by SIFIDE should be indicated.

When calculating the "Turnover of SIFIDE-supported projects", only products or services that originated from SIFIDE-supported projects should be taken into account.

The "Exports" table should only include exports that originated from projects approved under SIFIDE.

The "Collaborative projects" box should include contracts signed with entities and/or companies during the course of (or after the conclusion of) projects supported by SIFIDE. For example, during the execution of the project, the company may contract another with a recognized identity in the practice of R&D activities.

Not necessary. Point 3 should only be filled in if a project actually ended in the reference year.

They should only list the projects completed in the reference year, and the information should be updated in the following 5 years, recording developments and adding some more that have been completed in the meantime.

You can consult the list of Funds certified by ANI here.

It is a Fund whose Management Regulations are in accordance with the SIFIDE legislation in force at the time.

The investment made should be included in point f) Participation in the capital of R&D institutions and contributions to funds intended to finance R&D.

In addition to the usual documentation, it is necessary to attach:

• Fund Management Regulations;
• Proof of subscription of Shares;
• Proof of investment (bank transfer).

No, the investments cannot relate to the same expenses that are the subject of other public support, for example, with the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and Portugal 2030 (PT 2030).

Therefore, if the investments relate to the same expenses, this will result in non-compliance with the rules governing the Funds, with additional CIT assessments being issued.

Not in accordance with Article 37(9) of the IFC, they do not need to obtain or apply for recognition as a Technology Sector Company.

Yes, as long as they are incubated in a certified incubator.

You must go to the ANI website, fill in the online form and submit the requested documents.

Yes, you must be incubated in a certified incubator or have invested at least 7.5% of your turnover in R&D in the previous year, even if you have already been in business for 6 years.

No. In order to be eligible for investment in R&D by funds, they must obtain recognition of their suitability in terms of Research & Development under Article 37 - A of the Investment Tax Code.

They are separate applications, both of which have to meet the respective eligibility requirements.

According to article 2 of Ministerial Order no. 295/2021, of July 23, " Employers with registered offices or effective management in Portuguese territory, as well as non-resident employers with a permanent establishment in this territory, who carry out, as their main activity, a commercial, industrial or agricultural activity, and who cumulatively meet the following conditions, are considered to be subject to this regime:

1. a) Are not considered, during the period referred to in point b), to be micro, small or medium-sized enterprises, under the terms set out in the annex to Decree-Law no. 372/2007, of November 6, in its current wording;
2. b) Have recorded a positive net result in the accounting period for the calendar year 2020 or, if the accounting period does not coincide with the calendar year, for the accounting period beginning on or after January 1, 2020, in accordance with the respective accounts approved by their governing bodies, under the terms of the applicable legislation.."

The expression "(...) carry out, on a principal basis, an activity of a commercial, industrial or agricultural nature (...)" is an expression enshrined in tax legislation, namely in article 3 of the IRC Code, which establishes in its paragraph 4 that "For the purposes of this Code, all activities consisting of carrying out economic operations of a business nature, includingtheprovision of services, are considered to be of a commercial, industrial or agricultural nature." Therefore, it should be understood that the regime is also applicable to entities that carry out, on a principal basis, any business activity.

As established in Article 7(3) of the Ordinance, the level of employment must be maintained "in the months between October 2020 and the month preceding the month of application", in accordance with Article 3(3).

Pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Ordinance, the average number will be calculated by Social Security, based on the number of workers employed by the entity at the end of October 2020 and the number of workers employed by the entity in the month prior to the month in which the application is submitted.

According to Article 2(2) of Ordinance 295/2021, "The maintenance of the level of employment is considered to be observed whenever, by the end of the month prior to the month of application, use or training of public support or tax incentive, where applicable, the entity has an average number of workers at its service equal to or greater than the level observed in October 2020."

At the same time, under the terms of Article 3(5)(a), the legislator established "the prohibition on terminating employment contracts under the collective redundancy, redundancy due to job extinction or redundancy due to unsuitability modalities provided for in articles 359, 367 and 373 of the Labor Code, approved in the annex to Law no. 7/2009, of February 12, in its current wording, as well as initiating the respective procedures until December 31, 2021, without prejudice to the provisions of article 2(d) of Law no. 7/2009, of February 12, in its current wording.º 7/2009, of February 12, in its current wording, respectively, as well as to initiate the respective procedures, until December 31, 2021, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph d) of article 2 of annex V of Law no. 27-A/2020, of July 24".

These provisions of the Ordinance are the implementation of the provisions of Article 403(4) of Law No. 75-B/2020 (State Budget Law for 2021).º 75-B/2020, of December 31 (State Budget Law for 2021), which determines in its paragraph a) that the granting of the public support and tax incentives in question implies, for the entities covered by this regime (that is, for companies with a positive net result in the 2020 period that do not qualify as micro, small or medium-sized enterprises ) "The prohibition on terminating employment contracts under the modalities of collective dismissal, dismissal for termination of employment or dismissal for unsuitability, provided for, respectively, in articles 359, 366 and 377ofthe LaborCode,aswell as initiatingthe respective dismissalprocedures.º, 367 º and 373 º of the Labor Code, as well as from initiating the respective procedures until the end of 2021."

Consequently, companies that have terminated "employment contracts under the terms of collective redundancy, redundancy due tothe termination of employmentor redundancy due to unsuitability" or have started the procedures for terminating employment contracts under one of these terms by the end of the year will not be able to take advantage of the tax benefit in 2021.

In the event of a reduction in the level of employment identified by Social Security, the company must be given the opportunity to demonstrate that this reduction is due to the occurrence of one of the situations provided for in Article 4(1)(b) of Ministerial Order 295/2021, of July 23, and therefore should not be taken into account for the purposes of verifying the maintenance of the level of employment.

In addition, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of the same article, entities subject to the regime may also demonstrate that, in the overall calculation of the entities with which it has a corporate relationship of reciprocal holdings, control or group, even if not subject to the regime, the level of employment has been maintained, under the terms and conditions set out in this regime, with only those entities having their registered office or effective management in Portuguese territory or the permanent establishments of those entities located in Portugal being counted for this purpose.

Yes. Failure to comply with the duty to maintain employment levels will result in the suspension of the right to use these benefits during the tax period beginning on or after January 1, 2021.

However, the benefits may be used in subsequent periods, provided that the necessary legal requirements are met, as well as the submission of the respective applications..

No. A company is not obliged to demonstrate compliance with the criterion at group level and can take advantage of the tax incentives even if there has been a reduction in employment at group level.

Under the terms of the extraordinary and transitional incentive scheme for maintaining jobs, enshrined in article 403 of the State Budget Law for 2021 and subsequently regulated by Ministerial Order no. 295/2021, of July 23, access to public support during 2021 and the use of tax incentives in the tax period beginning on or after January 1, 2021, by the entities subject to it, would be conditional on compliance with certain requirements regarding the maintenance of employment levels.

As such, it should be clarified that this regime only applied with reference to the 2021 tax year/period.

Therefore, since no legislation has been produced to renew the validity of this scheme for subsequent years/tax periods, we hereby inform you that the extraordinary and transitional incentive scheme for maintaining jobs will not remain in force for the 2022 tax period and subsequent years.

No. The notice clearly stipulates that only SMEs and Small Mid Caps are beneficiaries (and non-business entities from the research and innovation system - ENESII - in co-promoted projects).

All calls for applications have a section on the documents required to submit an application. Whenever applicable, you must submit the documents referenced in the specific notice. The following situations stand out:
1) If the company is not an SME, a declaration proving that it is a Small Mid Cap must be submitted, according to the model attached to the Notice;

2) The rules for drawing up the Technical Annex must be strictly observed, using the draft provided, without making any changes to the points referenced in the document;

3) The beneficiary/consortium must ensure that the information required to validate the balanced economic and financial situation is submitted. Check the FAQ "What elements must be submitted to validate the balanced economic and financial situation?".

If an interim balance sheet is submitted for the date of the application (or for an earlier date, but not more than 3 months before the date of the application), certified by an ROC in accordance with the terms of the FAQ "What elements must be submitted to validate the balanced economic and financial situation?", which allows the ratio to be verified, the application is eligible. Otherwise, it will be considered ineligible when the eligibility conditions are analyzed.

No. In these situations, an interim balance sheet must be submitted for the date of the application (or for an earlier date, but not more than 3 months before the date of the application), certified by a Chartered Accountant in accordance with the terms set out in the FAQ "What elements must be submitted to validate the balanced economic and financial situation?", in order to verify compliance with the ratio. If the interim balance sheet data shows compliance with a financial autonomy ratio of more than 15%, the application is eligible. Otherwise, it will be considered ineligible when the eligibility conditions are analyzed.

At the moment there is no underlying legislation defining the concept of high technological intensity, so this point of the EITHR is not yet applicable.

The General Regime for the application of Portugal 2030 and the respective funds, approved by Decree-Law no. 20-A/2023 of March 22, and Ordinance no. 103-A/2023 of April 12, amended by Ordinances no. 328-B/2023 of October 30 and no. 181/2024/1 of August 8 (REITD), contains the following definitions in paragraphs y) and r) of no. 3:

"'industrial research' means planned research or critical research aimed at acquiring new knowledge and skills for the development of new products, processes or services or aimed at significantly improving existing products, processes or services, including digital products, processes or services, in any field, technology, industry or sector, taking into account, inter alia, digital industries and technologies, such as supercomputing, quantum technologies, blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, big data and cloud computing technologies. Industrial research includes the creation of complex system components, and can include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment of simulated interfaces with existing systems, as well as pilot lines, when necessary for industrial research and, in particular, for the validation of generic technology. Industrial research generally corresponds to TRL 2 to 4".

"Experimental development" means the acquisition, combination, configuration and use of relevant existing scientific, technological, commercial and other knowledge and skills for the purpose of developing new or improved products, processes or services, including digital products, processes or services, in any field, technology, industry or sector, taking into account, inter alia, digital industries and technologies, such as supercomputing, quantum technologies, blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, big data and cloud or edge computing technologies. This can also include, for example, activities aimed at conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services. Experimental development may include prototyping, demonstration, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of actual operating conditions, where the main purpose is to introduce new technical improvements to products, processes or services that are not largely established, and may include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot project that is necessarily the final commercial product and is too costly to produce to be used only for demonstration and validation purposes. Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes to existing products, production lines, manufacturing processes and services or to other ongoing operations, even if such changes are likely to represent improvements and corresponds, as a rule, to Technology Maturity Levels (TRL) 5 to 8."

Technical activities must therefore be classified according to whether they fall within one definition or another.

It should be noted that fundamental research activities do not fall within the scope of the type of projects analyzed and managed by ANI, and that paragraph 3 of the REITD also contains other important definitions such as the Technological Maturity Level (TRL).

Check the FAQ "How to classify management and promotion and dissemination activities?" for activities associated with technical management and promotion and dissemination.

Public procurement for innovation (or public procurement for innovation) is when public buyers seek to acquire the development or application of cutting-edge innovative solutions to meet the medium- to long-term needs of the public sector. It is a tool aimed at providing taxpayers with public services of the highest possible quality and efficiency. In certain cases, it is possible to respond to challenges in the public sector through innovative solutions that are almost or already available on the market in small quantities and do not require further research and development (R&D). It is in these cases that public procurement of innovative solutions (PPI)¹ can be used to put these solutions into practice. In other cases, the challenges facing the public sector require such technologically demanding improvements that they are still far from the market stage and need more R&D. Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP)² can then be used to compare the pros and cons of alternative competing approaches and gradually reduce the risks of the most promising innovations by designing solutions, creating prototypes, developing and first testing products. By developing a forward-looking public procurement strategy for innovation that uses CFP and PPI in a complementary way, the public purchaser can drive innovation on the demand side, thus enabling the public sector to modernize public services more quickly and at the same time create opportunities for companies in Europe to obtain a first customer reference and gain international leadership in new markets.

¹ Translation note: In this text we will use the acronym PPI ("Public Procurement of Innovative solutions"), as it is the one used in all international texts.

² Translation note: Likewise, this text will use the acronym PCP ("Pre-Commercial Procurement"), as it is the one used in all international texts

The public procurement of innovation involves 3 phases and several steps per phase:

1. The preparatory phase, which covers the following stages:

• identifying and assessing the needs of the buyer (and end users);
• checking needs against what already exists (prior art analysis & patent search);
• checking needs against what the market can offer (open market consultation);
• formulation of the economic arguments for the buyer to initiate an innovation purchase (how to establish the requirements in terms of functionality/price to be applied to innovative solutions so that the purchasing process leads to a positive result in terms of cost/benefit ratio);
• preparation of the tender documentation (including the establishment of intellectual property rights (IPR), confidentiality and standardization requirements).

2. The competition phase (recruitment), which includes the following stages:

• carrying out the tender procedure (publication of tender documents, submission of tenders, evaluation of tenders, award of contract);
• In the case of an IPP, the conformity test may take place before or during the tendering phase.

Note: The compliance test is purely optional and takes place before the contract is awarded. Since the purpose of this test is to verify that the potential suppliers' solutions meet the minimum requirements for the tenders to be eligible (e.g. compliance with standardization, certification requirements), it must be carried out before the contract is awarded.

3. The contract execution phase (after the contract has been awarded), which covers the following stages:

• permanent monitoring and evaluation of the final results of the R&D (PCP) or the application of the solution (PPI), payment to the supplier(s);
• In the case of a CFP, this process is repeated for each phase of the CFP, followed by a selection of R&D suppliers who will continue to the next R&D phase.

The limits of what R&D can cover under the CFP are defined by the following legal frameworks:

• o 2014 EU framework for state aid for research, development and innovation;
• the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO GPA).

According to the 2014 EU Framework for State Aid for Research, Development and Innovation, in order to exclude any state aid from a CFP procedure the subject matter of the contract must be covered by one or more of the research and development categories defined in the framework and the duration of the contract must be limited. In addition, it may include the development of prototypes or a limited quantity of first products or services in the form of a series of tests, but the purchase of products or services in commercial quantities must not be the subject of the same contract. The categories of R&D defined in the State Aid Framework that can be covered by the CFP are:

• "basic research", i.e. experimental or theoretical work carried out primarily with the aim of acquiring new knowledge about the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any direct commercial application or use in mind;
• "industrial research", i.e. planned research or critical research aimed at acquiring new knowledge and capabilities for the development of new products, processes or services or for making a significant improvement to existing products, processes or services. It includes the creation of components of complex systems, and may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment of simulated interfaces with existing systems, as well as pilot lines, if necessary for industrial research and, in particular, for the validation of generic technology;
• "experimental development", i.e. the acquisition, combination, configuration and use of relevant existing scientific, technological, commercial and other knowledge and capabilities with the aim of developing new or better products, processes or services. This can also include, for example, activities aimed at conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services. Experimental development may include prototyping, demonstration, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions, where the main objective is to introduce new technical improvements to products, processes or services that are not substantially fixed. This may include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot project, which is necessarily the final commercial product and which is too costly to produce to be used only for demonstration and validation purposes. Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes to existing products, production lines, processing processes, services and other ongoing operations, even if such changes are likely to represent improvements.

As explained in the Framework for State Aid to R&D&I, the different categories of R&D can also be considered to correspond to levels of technological readiness 1 (fundamental research), 2-4 (industrial research) and 5-8 (experimental development). As the CFP is motivated by a specific purchasing need (with a concrete use in mind), fundamental research is not its objective. However, it is possible that in order to complete the industrial R&D necessary for the CFP, it is also necessary to deepen some aspects of fundamental research. Thus, the CFP usually covers activities such as the exploration and design of solutions, the creation of prototypes, up to the original development of a limited quantity of first products or services in the form of a series of tests. Pursuant to Article XV(1)(e) of the WTO GPA 1994 and Article XIII(1)(f) of the WTO GPA 1994, these activities are usually carried out in the form of exploration and design of solutions.Under Article XV(1)(e) of the 1994 WTO GPA and Article XIII(1)(f) of the 2014 Revised WTO GPA, which defines original development as the frontier where R&D ends, the original development of a new product or service may include some production or supply in order to incorporate the results of testing under real conditions and to demonstrate that the product or service in question can be produced or supplied in quantity and to acceptable quality standards, but does not include production or supply in quantity with a view to establishing commercial viability or recovering research and development costs.

An unmet need or challenge in a CFP or IPP is a requirement or set of requirements that (...) [os compradores] have at present or (preferably) that (...) [eles] will have in the future, which current products, services or devices cannot satisfy, or can only do so at excessive cost or with unacceptable risk. An unmet need or challenge often becomes apparent when a buyer has to solve a problem that negatively affects the efficiency of its internal operations or the quality of the public interest service it offers to citizens, or when4 a buyer has to implement political objectives or legislation. [1] Cf. Department for Business Innovation & Skills, "Delivering best value through 10 innovation. Forward Commitment Procurement. Practical Pathways to Buying Innovative Solutions", November 2011. Available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3
2446/11-1054-forward-commitment-procurement-buying-innovativesolutions.pdf

An open market consultation consists of an open dialogue between the buyer(s) and the market, in which the buyer(s) ask for the market's opinion in order to identify the market's ability to meet their needs. All potentially interested economic operators present in the market are invited to participate in the open market consultation (by publishing an open market consultation notice in the European Union's public procurement database, the European Tender Database). An open market consultation will reveal whether the need is met by a readily available commercial solution or whether R&D (PCP) or near-market innovation (PPI) is required to meet the need. When the solution to meet the need is not readily available, the open market consultation will help the public purchaser choose the right way to procure innovation. If R&D is still needed to meet the need, CFP is the appropriate option (possibly followed by IPP). If there are already suitable innovative solutions close to the market stage that have already passed through the R&D phase and are ready for commercialization by a first customer (or launch customer), PPI is the appropriate option.