In view of the Portuguese economy's current stage of development and its position in the international competitive framework, incentives to corporate investment aim to increase companies' productivity and competitiveness and improve Portugal's specialisation profile. They favour territorial development and the internationalisation of the economy and support investment in the production of goods and services that can be traded or internationalised.
Incentive systems' main guidelines:
a) Focus on investments aimed at increasing companies' productivity and competitiveness, promoting new economic growth potential, favouring territorial development and the internationalisation of the economy;
b) Concentration on supporting activities that have positive economic results and effects on the areas in which they are located and on clearly delimited priorities in improving competitiveness, while focusing and restricting the range of activities covered, the types of investment project sponsored, eligible expenses and selection criteria;
c) Priority to investment in the production of goods and services that can be traded or internationalised and other service and distribution activities that contribute to their development;
d) Sustainability of investments guaranteed by their economic viability;
e) Selectiveness in investments financed in order to meet efficacy targets in achieving results, complemented by fulfilling efficiency goals in physical and financial achievement;
f) Proportionality between the incentive and positive spillover generated by investments supported at national or regional level;
g) Promotion of cooperation by encouraging network-based investments;
h) Respect for the principles of gender equality and equal opportunities;
i) Administrative simplicity seeking the best compromise between reducing the administrative load on promoters and strict respect for Portuguese and EU law;
j) Speedy decisions from the management model of incentive systems compatible with the normal rate of decisions on business and corporate investments.
Three incentive systems were set up on the basis of the characteristics of businesses in Portugal and the need for specialised action to deal with the different stages of development and position in the global market:
- SI I&DT – incentive system for technology research and development in companies, aimed at intensifying the country's TR&D efforts and creating new knowledge in order to increase companies' competitiveness and foster articulation between them and organisations in the science and technology system (STS);
- SI Inovação – innovation incentive system, aimed at promoting innovation in businesses by producing new goods, services and processes that support their progression in the value chain and increase their orientation towards international markets and the stimulation of qualified entrepreneurship and structural investment in new growth potential areas;
- SI Qualificação PME – incentive system for the qualification and internationalisation of SMEs, aimed at promoting the competitiveness of SMEs by increasing their productivity, flexibility and response capacity and active presence in the global market.
From a matrix point of view, the support provided by the incentive systems is boosted by complementary strategic instruments such as collective action and territory- or sector-based collective efficiency strategies.