Structures providing policy-relevant advice on infrastructures

The Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT, started operating in 1997 and is integrated in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, MCTES.
FCT's mission consists in promoting the advancement of scientific and technological knowledge in Portugal, including exact, natural and health sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities. As part of its mission, opportunities in emergent fields are explored, through the financing of institutions, programmes, projects and qualification of human resources, in partnership with universities and other public, or private institutions. Considering its capacity to facilitate interactions among Portuguese participants, FCT is coordinating the ESFRI process.

Policy development with respect to Life Watch

In Portugal the LTER network is in a preparatory phase and FCT is tracking the process.

Contacts

• For ESFRI: Prof. Dr. Lígia Amâncio, Vice-President of FCT, MCTES
  and Prof. Gaspar Barreira, President of LIP, Experimental Physics of Particles and Associated Instrumentation.
• For Life Watch: Prof. Dr. Maria Paiva, DCEA, FCT, New University of Lisbon.