Government opens 95.2 million for social equipment for disabilities until December

The Government has opened a 95.2 million euro tender to requalify and expand Activity and Capacity Centers for Inclusion (CACI) and Residential Homes in mainland Portugal, with applications open between October 22 and December 30, 2026. The decision is contained in Order no. 12924-A/2026, signed by the Secretaries of State for Social Security and for Social Action and Inclusion, and published in the Diário da República on October 22, 2026 (2nd series, no. 205, supplement).

The order approves the call for applications for the Social Equipment Network Expansion Program — 3rd Generation (PARES 3.0) and sets the allocation at 95,200,000 euros. The decree is issued under Article 4 of Administrative Rule no. 201-A/2020, of August 19, which approves the program’s regulations, and the powers delegated by Order no. 9158/2025, of August 4. It enters into force on the day following its publication, namely October 23.

The executive justifies the priority with the Action Plan of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which projects the reinforcement and adaptation of these social responses until 2030, in alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This call follows other openings of the same program, such as Order no. 7230/2026, of June 8, dedicated to Shelter Homes for Children and Youth, for which applications took place between June 15 and September 10, 2026.

Two project typologies and capacity limits

The tender accepts projects of two typologies:

• Typology 1: creation of new places in eligible social responses.
• Typology 2: urgent works, adaptation of facilities, or replacement of materials and equipment, without an increase in capacity.

Applications cover the entire territory of mainland Portugal. In the case of CACI, the limit is two functional units with a capacity of 30 places each, up to 60 people; for Residential Homes, the limit is 30 places. Investments already contracted under call C03-i01 “New Generation of Social Equipment and Responses” of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) are excluded, regardless of the execution status.

Allocation of funds and standard costs

The allocation is divided by social response:

• Activity and Capacity Center for Inclusion (CACI): 39,800,000 euros.
• Residential Home: 55,400,000 euros.

Public funding cannot exceed 80% of the total eligible reference investment, with priority given to projects with higher self-financing. The oversizing factor is 2.0 and the simultaneity coefficient, applicable when the project integrates more than one social response, is 0.9.

The standard construction costs per user are 5,906 euros per place to be remodeled and 29,530 euros per place to be created in the CACI, and 9,318 and 46,592 euros, respectively, in the Residential Home. For mobile equipment, the percentage is 14% in the CACI (4,133 euros) and 10% in the Residential Home (4,658 euros); for architectural projects and supervision, 5% in both responses.

Selection criteria and execution period

In Typology 1, the criteria have equal weighting: Coverage (25%), Capacity (25%), Priority (25%), and Insertion (25%). In Typology 2, Remodeling weighs 40%, Priority 30%, and Coverage 30%. The ranking is descending and, for every two applications from Typology 1, one from Typology 2 is inserted, provided the score is greater than zero.

The maximum execution period provided for in the regulation is 18 months. The conclusion or revision of cooperation agreements is mandatory and must cover 100% of the places intervened in the funded responses.

Applications are submitted via an electronic form on the Social Security website (www.seg-social.pt). Additional information is available at the Social Security Institute, I. P. (ISS, I. P.), by telephone 300 512 370 and by email ISS-PARES@seg-social.pt.

Impact for institutions

The notice addresses the lack of vacancies and deficient facility conditions in responses for people with disabilities, channeling direct funding to IPSS and misericórdias that operate these facilities. With 95.2 million euros available and a three-month deadline, institutions now have a concrete window to present construction, remodeling, and equipping projects, although limited to 80% of the eligible investment and conditional upon proof of property ownership and own financial capacity.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 205, supplement, of October 22, 2026, Part C — Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, pág. 1-6 (official reference: Despacho n.º 12924-A/2026).