Science and Technology in Portugal
From 1995 (the year the Ministry of Science and Technology was created in Portugal) to 2011, activities related to science and research in Portugal saw an extraordinary increase, both qualitatively and quantitatively. For example, investment in this area went from 0.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP), a figure much lower than the average for the European Union (EU) of 17 countries, which was 1.8% in 1995, to 1.5%, a figure much closer to the EU average, which was 2.0% in 2011. In an accelerated phenomenon of convergence with the EU, which it would be hard to find a parallel to in other areas, this key indicator has gone from around a third to three quarters of the European average.
This study by Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos aims to explain this transformation through different indicators that measure scientific and technological activity and to ascertain the impact that this transformation has had on Portuguese society, in particular on economic activity, looking at a number of issues:
- the increase in investment in the science sector
- the role of the different players (state, universities, private individuals, the European Union) in this increase in investment
- the production of technological knowledge in Portugal
- training people to work in science
- The national scientific system and technology transfer
- comparing the Portuguese reality with that of other European countries
Through this study, FFMS seeks not only to provide the interested public with more in-depth information about the reality of the science sector in Portugal, but also, by pointing out the problems it necessarily faces, to contribute to the debate on what still needs to be done to improve the quality of scientific production in Portugal.
