Portugal presents the National Smart Regions Strategy (ENTI)

The first National Smart Regions Strategy (ENTI) was formally presented on December 18th, 2023.  

Under the motto "transforming data into action", the government initiative is seen as a benchmark for making life easier for people and businesses through data, focused on efficient and sustainable land management based on innovation and transparency.

A ENTI visa ainda “gerir de forma eficiente recursos essenciais como a água, a mobilidade ou a energia, para otimizar o funcionamento das cidades, zonas rurais, florestais e áreas de proteção, e desenvolver territórios conectados que proporcionem desenvolvimento económico, inclusivo e sustentável”, conforme pode ler-se no comunicado oficial do Governo Português.

In the same statement, which quotes the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Administrative Modernisation, Mário Campolargo, it can also be read that the initiative comes as a "set of guidelines to accelerate the municipalities’ transformation and position Portugal as a digital nation" and "seeks to contribute to more informed and evidence-based decision-making and leverage an even smarter management of the essential resources in the regions".

ENTI has an investment of 60 million euros under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and the active involvement of local authorities, regional coordination and development commissions, inter-municipal communities, and other entities, as well as companies in the areas of technology and telecommunications, higher education institutions and bodies integrated into the national science and technology system.

As a public policy instrument, it also provides for the implementation - through technological solutions - of 16 strategic initiatives and 31 local recommendations to anticipate, manage and plan the needs of territories, covering both urban and rural areas.

The ENTI presentation session took place at the Rectorate of Universidade Nova de Lisboa and was attended by the Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, and the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Administrative Modernisation, Mário Campolargo.