AI PORTUGAL 2030 - NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR AI

AI Portugal 2030 - Estratégia Nacional para Inteligência Artificial

Start date :2019
End date :2030
Name of responsible governmental body :
  • Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT;Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia)
Description :
  • The AI Portugal 2030 strategy aims to foster a collective process mobilizing citizens at large and key stakeholders in particular, towards building-up a knowledge intensive labour-market with a strong community of forefront companies producing and exporting AI technologies supported by research and innovation communities involved in excellent high level research.
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Objectives:
  • AI Portugal 2030 Vision is based on seven pillars:
    1. Promoting a better society: sustainability, resources management, employment;
    2. Fostering AI skills and "digital minds” for all: education, long-life learning, attraction of talent;
    3. Promoting new jobs and developing an economy of AI services: AI as a service, development of data and model markets;
    4. Fostering Portugal as a living lab for experimentation of new developments: urban transformation through Sustainable Cities, sustainable energy networks; biodiversity, from forests and green economy to marine species and blue economy; autonomous driving; cybersecurity; quantum materials for AI (in particular, taking advantage of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, the INL), which hosts the Quanta Lab and the Academic Hub of the IBM Q Network); adaptive learning curricula for students;
    5. Securing AI niche markets through key specialized services in Portugal: natural language processing, with application to automatic translation and other automatable services; real time AI, with application in secure business and financial transactions; AI for software development; AI for edge-computing;
    6. Contributing to new knowledge and developments through AI research and innovation.
    7. Providing better public services for citizens and businesses, increasingly evidence-based by using the vast amount of data that can be available.
  • The Action Plan includes seven action lines:
    1. Inclusion and Education: disseminating generalist knowledge on AI.
    2. Qualification and specialisation.
    3. Thematic areas for research and innovation in European and international networks.
    4. Public administration and its modernization.
    5. Specific areas of specialization in Portugal with international impact.
    6. New developments and supporting areas in European and international networks.
    7. Facing societal challenges brought by AI: Ethics and safety.
  • AI Portugal 2030 proposes actions such as:
    - Digital Innovation Hubs to facilitate the uptake of AI;
    - Specific Innovation vouchers for AI;
    - Specific calls for projects for the application of AI in the public sector;
    - Creation of Colabs to foster cooperation between leading companies and research centers;
    - Qualification Vouchers to increase the skills of the labour force;
    - Talent attraction through the program "Study and research in Portugal";
    - Awareness and support actions to promoting more participation of research centers in H2020 and Horizon Europe.
OECD AI principle adressed:
  • Inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being
  • Human-centred values and fairness
  • Transparency and explainability
  • Robustness, security and safety
Relevant policy area covered:
  • Corporate governance
  • Public governance
  • Social and welfare issues
Related to a theme:
Direct beneficiaries:
Estimated budget expenditure (range per year):
  • 1M-5M
Background including shifts in the policy initiative:
  • This strategy is fully aligned with the Coordinated Action plan of the EU and their Member States and is included in INCoDe.2030, the Portuguese initiative to foster digital skills.
    AI Portugal 2030 is promoted by INCoDe.2030 Coordination Structure, in cooperation with the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT), the Portuguese Innovation Agency (ANI), Ciência Viva and the Portuguese Agency for Administrative Modernisation (AMA).
    AI Portugal 2030 was launched in February 2019 by the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, following:
    - 6 public discussion meetings beginning in October 2018.
    - The launching in 1 March 2018 of the Mobilizing Program to Foster AI in Public Administration, by the Science and Technology Foundation – Portugal (FCT): that already held 2 calls for projects in March 2018 and March 2019.
    - The launching by FCT in December 2018 of 3 Collaborative Laboratories (CoLABs), required to involve industry and R&D Units of Higher Education Institutions (universities and Polytechnic institutes), with activities in AI, namely: the Digital Transformation in Industry CoLAB, the Smart Farm CoLAB and the CoLAB on Cyber-physical Systems and Cyber Security.
Policy initiative is a structural reform:
  • No
Evaluated:
  • No
Link to evaluation or reports:
  • N.A
Public access URL:
Funding from the private sector:
  • No
Type of evaluation:
  • N.A
Evaluation provides input to:
  • N.A
Evaluation performed by:
  • N.A
Policy instruments :

National strategies, agendas and plans

  • Type : National strategies, agendas and plans
  • Name in English : Portugal's National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence
  • Country : Portugal
  • Public access URL : https://www.incode2030.gov.pt/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/julho_incode_brochura.pdf
  • Strategy mainly prioritises : Public research capabilities | Education and skills | Societal challenges (e.g. social inclusiveness); environmental challenges (e.g. sustainability) | R&D intensity (e.g. GERD as a % of GDP)
  • - Quantifiable target, Deadline : Education and skills: To increase dramatically the qualifications of the labour force, in particular the technological qualifications, while promoting inclusion and awareness at all levels of education
  • - Quantifiable target, Deadline : Public research capabilities: To improve the front-line position in fundamental and applied AI research of the Portuguese Academia (universities, polytechnic schools and research institutions) measured in terms of publication impact, international leaderships, and international collaborations.
  • - Quantifiable target, Deadline : R&D intensity (e.g. GERD as a % of GDP): To significantly increase in the number and volume of knowledge-intensive AI companies displaying a considerable R&D effort and increased collaboration between academia and companies/public sector
  • - Quantifiable target, Deadline : Societal challenges (e.g. social inclusiveness); environmental challenges (e.g. sustainability): “AI and sustainable energy systems”, “AI, environment and biodiversity”
  • Societal challenge(s) emphasised : Environmental sustainability
  • Implementation mechanism : Action plan

Regulatory oversight and ethical advice bodies

  • Type : Regulatory oversight and ethical advice bodies
  • Name in English : The AI PORTUGAL 2030, National Initiative on Artificial Intelligence identifies the need of “transparency (the ability to explain the decisions) and auditability (the ability to trace the flow of decisions and actions from humans to algorithm) in order to promote safety and ethical principles, including privacy protection and fairness” and the need of “best practices to assess AI projects in terms of risks to safety and ethics and mechanisms to detect and prevent misuse of advanced AI techniques”. Specific procedures to ensure this are not defined yet.
  • Description : The AI PORTUGAL 2030, National Initiative on Artificial Intelligence identifies the need of “transparency (the ability to explain the decisions) and auditability (the ability to trace the flow of decisions and actions from humans to algorithm) in order to promote safety and ethical principles, including privacy protection and fairness” and the need of “best practices to assess AI projects in terms of risks to safety and ethics and mechanisms to detect and prevent misuse of advanced AI techniques”. Specific procedures to ensure this are not defined yet.
  • Country : Portugal

Public consultations of stakeholders or experts

  • Type : Public consultations of stakeholders or experts
  • Name in English :
  • Country : Portugal
  • Stakeholders contribute to : Policy design
  • Method : Conferences and public hearings | Expert groups/committees
  • Number of participants : Less than 25
Last updated : Jul 17, 2023
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