The Technological Plan is an action agenda for all the Portuguese society, which aims at mobilizing enterprises, families and institutions for surpassing the modernization challenges the country has been facing during the last years. Within this context, the Portuguese Government has assumed the Technological Plan as a priority in the implementation of its public policies.
Besides, the measures aggregated in the Technological Plan constitute the pillar for Growth and Competitiveness of the Portuguese National Reform Plan, designated National Action Programme for Growth and Jobs 2005-2008.
As a part of the governing programme, already approved of by parliamentary vote, the starting point of the execution of the Technological Plan has coincided with the beginning the XVII Constitutional Government in Portugal.
On November 24, 2005 - after a prolonged period of time, during which the nowadays extinct Unity for Coordination of the Technological Plan (then subordinated to the Minister of Economy and Innovation) collected contributions of the civil society and of different areas of the Public Administration - the Council of Ministers approved the Technological Plan as a reference document and a public compromise with the implementation of a growth and competitiveness strategy based on knowledge, technology and innovation.
As suggested by the Consultative Council of the Technological Plan and also proposed by the Minister of Economy and Innovation, the coordination of the execution of the Technological Plan has been transferred to the structure of coordination of the Lisbon Strategy, whose main mission is to follow up and monitor the implementation of the foreseen initiatives, promoting and supporting projects developed by the Civil Society within the ambit of the Technological Plan.
As a strategy meant to promote the development and reinforcing of growth and competitiveness in Portugal, the Technological Plan is based on three axes:
Knowledge - To qualify the Portuguese for the knowledge society, fostering structural measures which aim at enhancing the average qualification level of the population, implementing a broad and diversified lifelong learning system and mobilizing the Portuguese for the Information Society.
Technology - To overcome the scientific and technological gap, reinforcing public and private scientific and technological competences and recognizing the role played by enterprises in the process of creation of qualified jobs and Research & Development (R&D) related activities.
Innovation – To boost Innovation, helping the productive chain to get adapted to the challenges of Globalization by means of the diffusion and development of new procedures, organizational systems, services and goods.