Research Projects

Within the scope of its activity, and with the aim of increasing the knowledge in areas insufficiently studied in the area of Social Sciences, CEPESE has been developing several research projects, many of them with an international scope. Among the financing entities, in addition to the FCT – either through direct financing or through multi-annual financing – other institutions are also relevant, both public and private, such as the European Science Foundation, Municipalities, the Assembly of the Republic, Ministries, Foundations and Entreprises.

Portuguese society and ageing diseases: the Alzheimer Project

The aim of this project is to contribute to the development of a National Alzheimer Plan that still does not exist in Portugal, which requires carrying out scientific research in the context of the Portuguese society.

The Mayors of Vila Nova de Gaia (1834-2019)

This project produced biographies of the individuals who, over almost two centuries, from the re-foundation of the municipality in 1834 to the present day, led the executive branch of Vila Nova de Gaia, focusing on the activities carried out during their respective mandates. Simultaneously, the project included a study on the origins and evolution of the Municipality of Gaia, the legal framework of the Municipality of Gaia and its mayors, the method of acquisition and duration of their respective mandates, and the individual and collective characterization of these personalities.

Cuius Regio. An analysis of the cohesive and disruptive forces destining the attachment of groups of persons to and the cohesion within regions as a historical phenomenon [CURE]

The Cuius Regio project aims at presenting an historical analysis of a group of seven European regions, in order to establish a comparison of the disruptive and cohesive dynamics.

Commanderies of Military Orders: National Profile and International Integration

The aim of this Project, which is funded by the FCT, is to study the Commanderies of Noudar, the Order of Avis, the Order of Vera Cruz de Marmelar, the Order of Hospital, both in the Portuguese and international contexts, highlighting its conception of border and projection in different political spaces.

Hispanic Medieval Nobility: 8th to 16th centuries

This Project aims at compiling a database that allows ascertaining the relations between Northern Portugal and Galicia from the respective nobility groups, during the Middle Ages (8th to 16th centuries).

Political and Economic Relations of Portugal with Russia (1779-1834)

This project aims at studying the political, diplomatic and economic relations of Portugal with Russia since the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Russia until the definite establishment of Liberalism in Portugal (1779-1834).

Artistas e Artífices no Mundo de Expressão Portuguesa (séculos XVI a XIX)

Na sequência do Projecto "Artistas e Artífices do Norte de Portugal (séculos XII-XX)", apoiado pela FCT, este novo Projecto propõe-se alargar o âmbito geográfico, passando a abarcar não só outras regiões de Portugal, mas incluir também o Brasil e outros Estados da América Latina.

21st Century – A New Energy Era? Energy and Environment as Vectors of Transformation in International Relations in the 21st Century

This project aimed to characterize potential developments in the geoeconomic and geopolitical environment of regions supplying oil and natural gas to Portugal, assess supply security issues, and conduct a scenario exercise on possible national energy security strategies.

Emigration from Portugal to Brazil. Demographic Dynamics and Political Speech

This Research Project, funded by the FCT, follows the Project “Emigration from Northern Portugal to Brazil”, and its aims are the construction of a database that will include the individual records of Portuguese who emigrated to Brazil; it already counts with over 400 thousand individual records.

The Mayors of Ponte de Lima (1822-2020)

This research project aimed to produce the biographies of the Mayors of Ponte de Lima from the beginning of Liberalism in Portugal – specifically, with the election of the first Mayor under the new legislative framework – up to the present day. The project sought to understand their actions leading the Municipality and trace the evolution of the legislative framework related to local government in Contemporary Portugal, within which the different Mayors of this Municipality carried out their functions.

History of Agência Abreu (1840-2010)

This Project aims at describing the history of Agência Abreu, one of the oldest travel agencies in the world, in order to establish the origins of the above mentioned company within the context of the Portuguese emigration to Brazil and make a comprehensive collection of relevant documents on the activity of Agência Abreu, in all its different perspectives.

Touristic Porto: Studies on Porto as a Tourism Destination

This Project relies on the participation of researchers from multidisciplinary scientific fields related to tourism, with the aim of publishing a reference work covering Porto as a tourist destination of choice

Portuguese Entrepreneurship in Andorra, London, Nice and Monaco

This research project aimed to identify entrepreneurship initiatives of Portuguese emigrants in Andorra, London, Nice and Monaco, assessing their insertion in local socio-economic, cultural and political contexts, and simultaneously comparing this insertion in the different territories and situations under study, and identifying their presence in the media.

Civil Governments of Portugal. History, Memory and Citizenship

This Research Project, developed following the termination of the civil governments of Portugal, aims to make the survey and inventory of all existing data on those organisms for subsequent deposit on file, and scan sources of permanent nature.

Military Orders and the Construction of Western Society: Culture, Religiosity, Gender and Social Development in Border Areas (12th-15th Centuries)

This project aimed at deepening the study of military orders and their contribution to the construction of Western society, particularly in the border areas, between the 12th and 15th centuries.

The Presidents of the Portuguese Parliament (1821-2015)

This project had as main objective the biographical study of the individuals who presided over the various chambers of the Portuguese Parliament, from the institutionalization of the parliamentary regime in Portugal in 1821 to the present day.

The Provedores of the Misericórdia of Porto (1499-2017)

The Misericórdia of Porto is one of the most important and ancient Portuguese charity institutions. With a history of more than five centuries, it was crucial to make known its “provedores”, that is, the persons that, since 1499, were responsible for its administration, their "head", as mentioned in its original bylaws.

The Mayors of Porto (1822-2013)

Following a previous Project, it was intended with this new project to review and update the information on the biographies of the Mayors of Porto, from the first one directly elected by the population to the current Mayor.

The Franciscan Third Order in Northern Portugal

With this project we intended to study the importance of the Venerable Franciscan Third Order in northern Portugal as promoters of almost always remarkable artistic activities associated with the construction of structures fit for their organization (church or chapel, dispatch house and hospital) and significantly supporting First Orders, to which they are linked.

Bragança in the Contemporary Age (1820-2012)

The project “Bragança in the Contemporary Age (1820-2012)” aimed at analysing the administrative evolution and the demographic, economic, social and cultural structures of that city, as well as the political reality, heritage and the transformations of the urban space, from the liberal revolution of 1820 up to present time.