2026 Call for Proposals
The MIT Portugal Program (MPP) is pleased to announce its 2026 Call for Proposals. The call is now open through May 25, 2026.
Initiatives to be Funded
Types of Proposals
This call will support two types of proposals:
- Joint Integrated Proposals: submitted by a team jointly led by a PI from any MIT school, department, laboratory, or center and a PI from Portugal. The proposal must clearly describe the collaborative activities to be carried out by both the MIT and Portuguese teams. Funding is awarded to both the MIT PI and the Portuguese PI.
- Seed Proposals: submitted by an MIT Principal Investigator (PI) from any MIT school, department, laboratory, or center. The proposal must include a description of collaboration with a Portuguese researcher but not submitted jointly with a Portuguese collaborator. Funding is awarded only to the MIT PI.
All proposals must involve active collaboration with a Portuguese partner.
Project categories
Applicants may submit proposals in one of the following categories:
- Research projects in one or more of the following areas:
-
- Chips/Nanotechnology
- Energy
- AI
- Space
- Climate Science & Climate Change
- Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space
- Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
- Sustainable Cities
- Non-research projects to promote engagement and collaboration in topics and activities that may impact Portugal, such as developing a joint course between MIT and a Portuguese university or an Entrepreneurship & Innovation program.
If you have questions on whether a non-research project is appropriate, you can raise these with mitportugal@mit.edu.
Proposal Scope and Funding
The 2026 call supports innovative collaborative projects between MIT and Portuguese institutions. Because funding needs may differ between partners, two proposal structures are available.
Joint Integrated Proposals
Under the Joint Integrated Proposal track, joint Portuguese and MIT teams may submit joint proposals for innovative projects. These proposals must be jointly led by a PI from MIT and a PI from Portugal. For awarded projects, MIT will provide up to $200,000, including overhead, for one year to the MIT PI, while FCT will provide up to €50,000 for one year to the Portuguese PI.
Seed Proposals
Under the Seed Proposal track, MIT PI’s may submit proposals for innovative projects developed in collaboration with a Portuguese team. Seed awards provide funding exclusively to the MIT Principal Investigator for a duration of one year, at a level of up to $200,000, including overhead. Proposals requesting higher budgets may be considered with appropriate justification. Although funding is awarded only to MIT, all proposals must demonstrate active and substantive collaboration with Portuguese faculty, students, industry partners, or other institutions.
For both Seed and Joint Integrated Proposals, applications to continue previously funded projects at MIT that are still active may be considered, provided there is ongoing collaboration with Portuguese partners. These applications may be submitted as new proposals.
For all proposals, active collaboration with a Portuguese partner is required.
Applicants who need assistance identifying appropriate collaborators are encouraged to contact info@mitportugal.org or mitportugal@mit.edu .
For research proposals, hosting a visiting student or researcher from Portugal at MIT or an MIT student or researcher in Portugal is strongly encouraged; for visits to MIT the Program may help cover associated fees.
Collaborations aligned with Portuguese research projects participating in European initiatives are also encouraged.
Who can Apply
From MIT:
A PI from any MIT school, department, laboratory, or center
From Portugal:
Any research team led by a holder of a doctoral degree that is employed or has a grant contract from the following Portuguese entities
- a Higher Education Institution;
- a State, International, or Associated Laboratory
- Non-profit private institutions whose main objective is R&D activities, including Collaborative Laboratories (CoLab) and Centres for Technology and Innovation (CTI);
- Other non-profit public and private institutions developing or participating in scientific research activities.
Portuguese host institutions must also ensure that their situation is regularized with respect to taxes and social security obligations, as required under the National Regulation on Special Support
How to Apply
The deadline to submit both the Seed proposals and Joint Integrated proposals is May 25, 2026. The Program will evaluate the proposals with the additional involvement of MIT and Portuguese experts and select the awardees. Applicants will be informed of the results by the end of July 2026.
At MIT, funds for new projects will be available for use from August 1, 2026, or upon the expiration date of the existing grant, if applicable.
For Portuguese PI’s funding will be released by FCT.
Seed applications must include a project proposal and a project budget. Integrated joint applications must include a single integrated project proposal and a separate project budget both for MIT and for Portugal. All proposal and budget templates can be found here . All proposals, including budgets, must be submitted via the submission portal on the MIT Funding Opportunities page by MIT PIs or MIT administrators. The proposal and budget do not need to be routed via RAS or Kuali Coeus (KC).
Any proposal – or MIT budget-related questions can be raised with mitportugal@mit.edu. Any Portuguese budget-related questions can be raised with info@mitportugal.org.
At the end of the project, all funded initiatives (both Joint Integrated proposals and Seed Proposals) must submit a single joint scientific report that includes an Executive Summary of up to two pages, summarizing the main achievements, relevance for the MIT Portugal collaboration and key accomplishments/ output indicators. In addition, the Joint Integrated Projects reports must provide a more detailed account of the results and indicators expected for the Portuguese side, including: summary of activities carried out by the MIT and Portuguese teams; main scientific milestones and collaborations; deviations from the original plan (if any) and justifications; research team, identification of both teams and key contributions and student/postdoc involvement, if applicable. Also, for Joint Integrated Projects, the Portuguese PI must submit a final financial execution report to the Portuguese Office/DRI‑FCT, which is required to release the final 20% of the Portuguese funding. All scientific and financial reports must be shared with FCT/DRI.
Evaluation
The following evaluation criteria apply to both the integrated joint proposals and seed proposals:
- Scientific Merit and Originality of Research Relevance of the problem to be addressed and the soundness of scientific approach, originality and innovative character of the research, and strategy to mitigate scientific and technical risk.
- Quality of the workplan: Quality of the workplan to accomplish the overall objectives of the project, including the coherence and feasibility of the proposed activities and milestones. The collaboration plan between MIT and Portuguese Team; and adequacy of the budget.
- Impact and alignment with MPP objectives: anticipated impact of the work in one or more of the following ways: advancing scientific knowledge, readiness level of a technology, solution for a real-world problem, its ability to promote long-term collaborations between MIT and Portuguese teams, or its potential to benefit Portugal in the areas of the MIT Portugal Program.
- Team expertise: Strength and complementarity of the teams in tackling the problem; and potential impact of the project on the research trajectories and careers of the PIs
Each evaluation criteria is scored on the following 1 to 4 scale:
- Exceptional
- Very Good
- Good
- Fair
The final overall score is as follows:
- Exceptional – High priority for funding
- Very Good – Priority for funding
- Good – Marginal priority for funding
- Fair – Unlikely to be funded
The final funding decisions for Portuguese teams are issued by FCT, based on the jointly agreed final assessment. MIT communicates the results to the MIT PIs.
Summary schedule:
|
May 25, 2026 |
Proposal and budget submission deadline |
|
End of July 2026 |
Announcement of funded projects |
|
August 1, 2026 or end of the existing grant |
Funds available for use for new projects |
Please check the FAQ section if you have questions about the seed grants or the process.
For the 2026 Call for Proposals, the MIT Portugal Program (MPP) is seeking innovative proposals in one or more of the following categories:
- Chips/Nanotechnology
- Energy
- AI
- Space
- Climate Science & Climate Change
- Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space
- Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
- Sustainable Cities
- Non-research projects to promote engagement and collaboration in topics and activities that may impact Portugal, such as developing a joint course between MIT and a Portuguese university or an Entrepreneurship & Innovation program. If you have questions on whether a non-research project is appropriate, you can raise these with mitportugal@mit.edu.
Proposals must include an MIT PI and Portuguese PI. Each proposal is expected to demonstrate active and substantive collaboration between MIT and Portuguese researchers. Because funding needs differ between partners, two proposal structures are available:
Joint Integrated Proposals
Under the Joint Integrated Proposal track, joint Portuguese and MIT teams may submit joint proposals for innovative projects, and – if selected – both sides will be funded.. These proposals must be jointly led by a PI from MIT and a PI from Portugal.
Seed Proposals
Under the Seed Proposal track, MIT PI’s may submit proposals for innovative projects developed in collaboration with a Portuguese team. Although funding is awarded only to MIT, all proposals must demonstrate active and substantive collaboration with a Portuguese institution.
A non-exhaustive overview of Portuguese universities and relevant departments for research areas 1 to 4, as well as Innovation & Entrepreneurship labs, can be found here. If you need help finding contact information, please reach out to mitportugal@mit.edu.
|
Proposal submission deadline |
May 25, 2026 (11:59pm ET) |
|
Announcement of funded projects |
End of July 2026 |
|
Funds available for use for new projects |
August 1, 2026 or end of the existing grant |
Proposals that consider hosting a visiting student or researcher from Portugal to MIT, or from MIT to Portugal are strongly encouraged. For visits to MIT, the Program can help with visiting student slots (if your department doesn’t have visiting student slots available), and help cover visiting fees.
This additional funding to cover visiting fees can be requested separately during the grant period and does not need to be requested in the proposal stage.
MIT: Grants will be awarded (by MIT) in amounts up to $200,000 annually, including overhead, for 1 year. Proposals with a higher budget will be considered if appropriate justification for a higher budget is provided.
Portugal: Grants will be awarded (by FCT) up to €50,000 for one year to the Portuguese PI.
Grantees may be asked to participate in activities with Portugal or the MIT Portugal Program, such as workshop requests and the MIT Portugal Annual Conference, typically held in the fall in Portugal.
Please submit the project proposal and project budget via MIT Funding Opportunities by May 25, 11:59 pm ET 2026. Proposals should be submitted by the MIT PIs or MIT administrators.
You can find templates for joint integrated proposal on the MIT Funding Opportunities website and linked below:
You can find templates for joint integrated proposal on the MIT Funding Opportunities website and linked below:
- Any proposal – or MIT budget-related questions can be raised with mitportugal@mit.edu.
- Any Portuguese budget-related questions can be raised with info@mitportugal.org.
The joint team should submit a short final scientific report summarizing the main results of the project. The points below are provided as guidance on the aspects we would ideally like to see reflected in the report; however, MIT may adapt the structure as appropriate, as long as the report adequately covers the scientific activities undertaken by both the MIT and the Portuguese teams.
- Project Identification
- Executive Summary (up to 2 pages)
-
- Brief overview of main achievements.
- Relevance for the FCT–MIT collaboration (could also include: Mobility, exchanges, joint supervision, etc.
- Key accomplishments/ output indicators
- Ex: Publications (highlight joint ones);
- Other outputs: tools, datasets, prototypes, events (optional);
- Main scientific or collaborative indicators achieved
- Work completed
-
- Summary of activities carried out by the MIT and Portuguese teams.
- Main scientific milestones and collaborations.
- Deviations from the original plan (if any) and justifications.
- Research Team
-
- Identification of both teams and key contributions.
- Student/postdoc involvement (optional).
- Attached files (optional)
Checklist of Required Reports Sections
Report Section |
Joint Integrated Projects |
Seed Projects |
|
1. Project Identification |
✓ | ✓ |
| 2. Executive Summary (≤ 2 pages) | ✓ | ✓ |
| 3. Work completed | ✓ | – |
| 4. Research Team | ✓ | – |
| 5. Attached Files (optional) | Optional | Optional |
| 6. Financial Report | ✓ | – |
- must be formally associated with the project with a declaration letter
- hold a doctoral degree by the application deadline, and provide the necessary documentation during the contracting phase
- have an employment or grant contract with the host institution, or alternatively provide a written agreement between the parties at the acceptance stage, in accordance with the applicable provisions of FCT’s Regulation on Special Support.
- may submit only one application as Portuguese PI within this Call
- PIs with rejected final reports for reasons attributable to the researcher, will not be eligible to participate.
- applications already selected for funding by FCT or by other funding agencies cannot be resubmitted to this Call.
- Proposals that correspond to multiple submissions of the same work plan will also not be accepted—whether within this Call, across overlapping Calls, or across Calls in different thematic areas where an approval in one process should automatically exclude the proposal from other concurrent decisions. “Multiple applications” are understood as cases where the work plan is fully or partially shared across submissions. Any related proposals from the same team, submitted either to FCT or to other funding bodies, must be clearly declared at the time of application.
Portuguese host institutions must also ensure that their situation is regularized with respect to taxes and social security obligations, as required under the National Regulation on Special Support.
The budget allocation for eligible Portuguese institutions in this call is € 800,000 (eight-hundred thousand euros)
The funding to be granted under this call is non-reimbursable. The projects will be fully financed by National funds through the FCT budget, applying the option of simplified costs in the form of a lump sum.
The initial advance payment is 80% of the approved funding. The remaining amount, up to the approved funding for each project, is paid upon project completion, through a final reimbursement payment method.
The indirect costs are a fixed rate of 25% of all the estimated direct eligible costs. The expenses for the adaptation of buildings and facilities are limited to a maximum of 10% of the project’s total eligible expenses.
For the simplified costs in the form of a lump sum see the document “Metodologia de Aplicação de Custos Simplificados”[AR1]
a) direct costs
- Expenses with human resources dedicated to or associated with the development of R&D activities related to the implementation of the project, including all components required under applicable labor legislation, as well as costs with grant holders directly supported by the beneficiaries;
- Expenses related to missions/travel within the country and abroad directly attributable to the project;
- Acquisition of instruments, technical-scientific equipment, and specific software demonstrably necessary for the implementation of the project to which they are allocated;
- Depreciation of scientific and technical instruments and equipment acquired prior to the start of the project, which are essential for its implementation and whose useful life still falls within the eligible time period;
- Costs related to the acquisition of raw materials, consumables, and components necessary for the execution of the project;
- Costs related to the acquisition of services from third parties directly linked to project activities and tasks;
- Expenses associated with patent applications, utility models, designs or models, including fees, honoraria, and other related costs;
- Expenses related to the demonstration, promotion, and dissemination of project results, particularly in compliance with national open access policies;
- Expenses related to the adaptation of buildings and facilities when demonstrably necessary for the implementation of the project, namely for environmental and safety reasons;
b) Indirect costs (overheads), with a flat rate of 25% of eligible direct costs, excluding subcontracting.
Portuguese beneficiaries must maintain an organised and auditable project file, ensure that all financial and technical records are complete and traceable, keep documentation for a minimum of ten years, and guarantee that all information required for monitoring, verification and audits is made fully available upon request.
Applicants will be notified of the provisional decision and the evaluation panel’s report within 20 working days after receipt of all evaluation reports. Applicants may submit comments on the provisional decision within 10 working days of notification (prior hearing).
After consideration of any comments received, a final decision will be communicated.
Following notification of the final decision, applicants may lodge a formal complaint to the FCT Board of Directors within 15 working days. Complaints will be assessed on administrative and procedural grounds by FCT, and on scientific merit by an independent review panel. Decisions may be revised in cases of significant error or negligence.
For all matters concerning the evaluation, hearing of applicants, complaints and final decisions relating to Portuguese applicants, and for any procedural aspects not expressly defined in this call announcement, the provisions of the Portuguese Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA) apply. This ensures full compliance with the applicable administrative rules, given that the Portuguese applications are formally handled by FCT.
– If you received an award from the MIT Portugal Program in the past, and that award has expired, you can submit a new proposal under this call for proposals ( seed proposal or joint integrated proposal).
– If you currently have an active MIT Portugal Program seed grant that will expire in summer 2026, you can submit a new proposal to either allow for the continuation of this research project provided it can be demonstrated that your research project includes meaningful collaboration with colleague(s) in Portugal, or for a new project (seed proposal or joint integrated proposal).
If you currently have an active MIT Portugal Program seed grant that will expire in summer 2026, you can request for renewal by submitting a new proposal to allow for the continuation of this research project provided it can be demonstrated that your research project includes meaningful collaboration with colleague(s) in Portugal. Or, you can also submit a new proposal for a new project.
MIT: although you can submit more than 1 proposal, we strongly encourage you to only submit a single proposal that you are most excited about, as only one will be funded. Please note that Portuguese collaborators may only be allowed to submit one proposal.
Please submit a budget for total proposal costs, including all applicable overhead costs at the current research rates for FY 2027 listed below.
| Research F&A Rate | 62.0 % |
| Employee Benefits Rate | 23.7 % |
| Vacation accrual Rate | 9.10% |
Funding may be used for, but is not limited to, MIT salaries (including summer salaries as well as RA, postdoc, and other salaries), tuition for MIT students, materials & supplies, services, equipment, travel & meeting costs to facilitate collaboration with Portugal, and indirect costs.
Funding should not be used for salaries for foreign collaborators.
No, the proposal should not be routed via KC.