FCT Digital Services
Activity Funded
Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies
Centro de Estudos Transdisciplinares para o Desenvolvimento
Details
Reference
UID/PRR2/04011/2025
UID/PRR2/04011/2025
Project Start Date
2025-01-01
2025-01-01
Project End Date
2026-06-30
2026-06-30
DD1D-54ED-0BCA
Scientific Area
Social sciences
Social sciences
Funding Program
EQUIPAR +2 - UID.PRR2
EQUIPAR +2 - UID.PRR2
Abstract
CETRAD, established in 2002, is an interdisciplinary R&D unit in the social sciences, funded by the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology). Hosted by three universities - the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Lusófona University, and Europeia University - integrating as well researchers from other national and international institutions. With locations in Vila Real, Porto, and Lisbon, has a multidisciplinary team of over 100 dedicated PhD researchers and more than 80 PhD students. CETRAD’s team integrates researchers from a diversity of backgrounds, including anthropology, economics, business& management, social work, sociology, tourism, agrarian sciences, and regional and rural studies. The unit supports postgraduate education across various fields, including Economics, Business & Management, Tourism, Social Work, and Development Studies. Currently hosts two Ph.D. programs - Agribusiness & Sustainability and Development, Societies, and Territories -with plans to introduce new programs in Management and Tourism.
CETRAD's research strategy for 2025-2029 is geared towards advancing the social sciences conceptually and empirically, while bridging gaps between research and policy. With a multidisciplinary team experienced in interdisciplinary research, aims to contribute to complex and integrated scientific approaches, bringing together diverse ontologies and methodologies to address real-world challenges at territorial and organizational levels. Through its research and expertise, CETRAD endeavours to promote innovation, sustainability, and socio-territorial cohesion and inclusiveness in both rural and urban settings. By focusing on the micro-scale and its interaction with regional contexts and the global landscape, CETRAD leads efforts to address the intricate challenges of smart growth, sustainable development, and inclusive well-being in territories and organizations.
CETRAD prioritizes addressing challenges stemming from socio-demographic shrinkage, which significantly impacts a wide array of low-density geographies and urban areas, especially in Southern Europe. This societal issue poses hurdles for effectively implementing global and EU-level policy agendas at local and regional levels, including initiatives like the Green Deal, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the EU digital agenda. Moreover, it presents obstacles for the new wave of regional innovation policies (RIS3), which heavily rely on smart growth, a concept thriving mainly in settings characterized by embeddedness, connectivity, and relatedness, often found in dynamic urban environments. Rising concerns surrounding these agendas and growth models, such as exclusion and widening inequalities, underscore the crucial role of social sciences. They aid policymakers at various levels in comprehending how to integrate contextual, relational, and emotional factors to establish place-adjusted objectives and implement inclusive place-sensitive policies.
Institutions
Main Institutions
- Centro de Estudos Transdisciplinares para o Desenvolvimento (CETRAD/UTAD)
- Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD)
Other Institutions
- COFAC, Cooperativa de Formação e Animação Cultural, CRL (COFAC)
- Associação para a Investigação em Design, Marketing e Comunicação (EUROPEIA ID)
Funding 52.700,61 €
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal
0,00 €
União Europeia - Estrutura de Missão Recuperar Portugal (UE - EMRP)
52.700,61 €