It is with a feeling of confidence and purpose that we entered the second decade of the 21st century, convinced that with strategy, determination, collective action and qualified investment, it will be possible to overcome the complexity, scope and systemic nature of the collective challenges that we will have to face.
The transformation of the industrial production system, which has been in operation for more than a century, will be an essential condition for the energy transition imposed by the carbon neutral goal in 2050. The new industrial system will have to be able to make better use of the goods produced along the entire life cycle, effectively responding to the scarcity of raw materials and reducing waste throughout the production, distribution and consumption chain.
The good news is that the deficiencies of the industrial model have solutions with the knowledge and technologies that are already available and at prices that tend to be increasingly accessible. The expansion of Revolution 4.0 will allow us to create and consolidate possibilities for technological innovation and thus generate new solutions to problems that today seem unsolvable.
In order to fulfil the political goals established for the next decade, Portugal will have to accelerate the pace of transition and gain relative speed, which will enable a path of convergence towards the most advanced economies. Digitalization is the force with the greatest potential for productivity gains, but, at the same time, it generates risks of social exclusion, which will have to be anticipated and mitigated. Thus, we need to win the most difficult battle, that of qualifying people. Only then will it be possible to reconcile the conditions for a sustainable economic, social and ecological transition.
In a phase of the economic cycle that is expected to be more unfavourable and demanding due to the foreseeable slowdown in the global economy, which coincides with the transition from public support programmes to Innovation, context conditions must be strengthened in order to allow companies to execute ongoing investments plans and, in many cases, strengthen them.
In this new cycle, COTEC will actively contribute to the goals of getting closer to the group with the most competitive countries. After the mobilization and demonstration of 4.0, it is now a question of gaining scale in the intervention. Knowing that only one in four Portuguese companies is prepared to take advantage of the possibilities that open up with the technological revolution, an intervention of a capillary nature and of proximity is required. This approach will only be possible in a network, learning from those who lead and sharing and disseminating knowledge, and working in cooperation with companies and business associations, public bodies and interface institutions. The business community will benefit from benchmarks, models and tools for innovation management, such as INNOVATION SCORING, THEIA and THRUST, which make it possible to accelerate and increase the return on technological investments and knowledge in companies.
As a leading innovation institution, we reaffirm our purpose to continue to support the Portuguese economy and companies in their mission to create wealth and prosperity for all.
Isabel Furtado
Chairman of the Board
Tools for a structured approach to innovation
– Innovation Scoring
This is an online tool that enables national organizations to carry out a free self-diagnosis of their capabilities and innovation performance. It aims to contribute to the strategic reflection of companies, or other organizations, on their innovation processes, allowing not only a deeper knowledge of the different dimensions that support such processes, but also the identification of areas for potential improvement.
– THEIA
Technological and Holistic Engagement for Industry 4.0 Assessment, Industry 4.0’s maturity assessment model, is an essential tool for self-diagnosis of SMEs, through which it is possible to understand their position, how they are preparing themselves and, above all, identify the areas they should focus on. Already available on the COTEC Portugal website, it is based on a questionnaire of 30 questions that guide the company to understand where it is today and where it intends to be in three years’ time.
– THRUST
Tool available online and based on three pillars: process management (evaluation of what is done); standards and certification (evaluation of the implementation of standards and certified supports in the company and in specific sectors); and training (evaluation of the implementation of accredited training or training in standards.
Developed in partnership with:
