The ESIF.COM-BOOST Project stems from the recognition that European citizens in general, and Portuguese citizens in particular, possess limited knowledge about European funds and hold a moderately positive perception of their impact. This project, funded under the Technical Assistance Programme 2030 (PAT2030-FEDER-00023200), aimed to enhance public awareness of European funds through the qualitative improvement of communication efforts under PT2030, a public policy framework consolidating European funds in Portugal. To achieve this, an applied research initiative was developed to identify the primary constraints affecting communication within the process of constructing the public value of European funds. Additionally, it sought to pinpoint key interventions capable of overcoming these barriers and generating causal chains with the potential to strengthen their public value over time. Furthermore, the project identified gaps in knowledge and competencies among media communication professionals, facilitating the development of action proposals for capacity building within audiences directly linked to the media communication ecosystem.

The AgroPro project aspires to provide the agriculture professionals acquaintance with the available airborne technology & software as well as with UAV international legislation & regulations. The acquaintance with mission planning & the available open source and commercial tools.

The aim of the SmartVitiNet project is to (a) scale-up, pilot and bring to the market an innovative holistic phytosanitary and plant protection system based on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, new observational platforms and new ready to use sensors, and (b) establish a Competence Center for Precision Viticulture. The proposed research will utilize complementary knowledge, experiences and infrastructure of all partners to achieve the proposed innovative results. The sustainability of the undertaking will be ensured thanks to the establishment of the Competence Centre for Precision Viticulture which aims to upskill sector professionals, create expert networks, facilitate permanent flows of knowledge transfer between academia, innovative SMEs, viticulture professionals and regional authorities to increase sector competitiveness, while enacting EU environmental policies, reducing sector health impact and risks of food pollution.

Over the past few years, civil applications of Drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) technologies have been transitioning from purely industrial applications to commercial ones and their impact on transport operations can no longer be ignored. The concept of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has been coined to describe a new type of air traffic at very low altitude. Despite the readiness of the technology, the multidisciplinary employee teams of Local Authorities are not prepared for its integration in transport plans. There are no Training Programs for employees of Local Authorities to cultivate the required knowledge and skills to manage UAM, especially from the position of authorising, implementing and controlling UAM operations. Previous experience of Local Authorities with innovative transport services has indicated that early engagement and training of employees constitutes a key factor for the efficient integration of new technologies in transport systems.

The project aims to develop the scientific basis to generate models, processes and new methodologies to comprehensively evaluate impact in social, economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions departing from IMP framework applied to a social entrepreneurship fund of SCML.

This project intends to give a significant contribution in high education, proposing a specific master programme to form innovative managers, researchers and local developers, but at the same time providing a strict connection with industry and society, in a framework of blended learning approach. Precisely, the main aim is to allow SMEs and other kind of companies or institutions identifying good practices and new behaviours to face innovation challenges. The master degree students shall be capable to deal with innovation in traditional sector products, but also with the most advanced technologies, such as nanotechnology, biotech and ICT most innovative tools, with particular attention to the environmental problems in order to achieve sustainable solutions. Concerning sustainability, competences related to the circular economy will be trained, particularly promoting resource productivity with the aim of reducing wastes and avoid pollution. Industrial products and systems should be designed in order to close the loop, recycling and reusing post-consumer waste to make new products. This innovative approach must be fostered, especially among manufacturing enterprises, and the expected results of the master degree will be well prepared managers and researchers, fundamental in implementing sustainable innovation. Therefore, the programme will create competences for transforming knowledge into added value for society, providing entrepreneurship training to innovative participants, supporting with innovative financing (crowd-sourcing) such new opportunities, and interacting for solving environmental problems with new tools and rationale of the circular economy. In term of future impacts, this project will create capacities in managing technology and innovation in social and productive applications while constructing bridges for overcoming the “Valley of Death”, or the “European Paradox”, in a world of uncertainty, sustainability and complexity.