Abstract

The Polytechnic of Lisbon (IPL), within the framework of its missions as a higher education institution, has chosen the promotion of Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) as a major goal of the last two quadrennium. In addition to looking for opportunities in highly competitive national and international competitions, the IPL, in order to simultaneously encourage junior researchers at the beginning of their careers, structure innovative lines of research and foster external partnerships, created an internal program for Research, Development, Innovation and Artistic Creation (IDI&CA) projects, a contest open to all areas of knowledge and training in its Schools and Institutes.

Therefore, IDI&CA seeks to promote the advance of Scientific Research and Artistic Creation at IPL, supporting the realization of projects proposed by researchers and their teams, opening up to multidisciplinary and inter-institutional work perspectives. The funding comes from the institutional budget and the main objectives are aimed at consolidating lines and research groups in strategic areas, and at increasing the creation of knowledge and culture, reflected in an growing number of publications, creations and patents from IPL professors.

This contest was created with two complementary purposes: for compensate the huge difficulties in obtaining external financing, making small-scale, short-term projects viable, with our own institutional resources. Furthermore, an attempt is made to contradict a tendency towards the dispersion of researchers in a multiplicity of external units, in order to ensure the constitution of teams and permanent lines of investigation, obtaining a higher degree of consolidation and integration of scientific resources, and ability to define strategic priorities. Throughout its 7 editions, the contest supported a total of 329 projects, in the areas of Technology, Social Sciences and Arts.

The focus of this presentation lies in the commitment to internal research funding, a differential milestone that brought several challenges to IPL, in particular to the team of science and technology managers of the Projects and Innovation Unit (GPEI). The aim of the work presented now is to analyze the learning in the financial and administrative management of projects. Skills acquired throughout the editions of the IDI&CA by the GPEI team, from the proposal for opening a tender, reception and analysis of applications, to the management of funding awarded with validation and framing of expenses, including the monitoring of research results and the accomplishment of strategic goals. This unique work brings together areas of technical competence that are usually divided and dealt by several entities and organisms and, therefore can be useful for other HEI and research units.