The participation in research networks at national and international level has been an important field of activities since the beginning of CEIFA’s activities. In 2001-2002 it participated in two EU-funded research projects (ESTO and AIRP) that analyzed the relationship between academia and society in different European countries and developed criteria for SD-oriented research. Between 2002 and 2004 CEIFA participated as a RTD-performer in an EU-funded CRAFT research project (WAMBUCO) which has been the first European research project focusing on C&DW (Construction and Demolition Waste) at the site. The conclusions of this project were quite remarkable as it uncovered unexpected high prevention potentials of C&DW at the construction sites all over Europe. The project also showed the urgency of transferring the conclusions of the project to training activities, and allowed the elaboration of useful guidelines for waste management in practice. After the end of the project, CEIFA has particularly been concerned with the elaboration of manuals for training schools for the most important training center of the construction sector in Portugal (CENFIC). Further manuals and other didactic materials developed by CEIFA are also being used in the large professional training centre of the electric and electronic industry (CINEL). These activities were completed through training courses for the training staff of those schools. With those projects, CEIFA has become familiar with the coordination and management of interdisciplinary working groups and international consortia and was invited in 2004 to coordinate a large international consortium with 43 partners under the scientific direction of the Technical University of Lisbon. Presently, CEIFA is involved in a further European Project “Waste-Tool” (a Leonardo da Vinci Project) that aims at developing an e-learning tool for C&D waste management at the construction site.

Currently the enterprise offers strong consulting expertise in matters related with waste management and material logistic alongside the whole value-added chain. The main clients are from the building sector, waste management services, the fuel and the electric and electronic industry. For the later, a large project at sectoral level is being implemented with a network of Portuguese enterprises that search for solutions for waste of electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE). Currently CEIFA’s attention concerning the construction sector is shifting towards the levels of planning and decision-making, thus eco-architecture and sustainable urbanism are increasingly becoming fields of CEIFA’s activities. Since Mai 2005 CEIFA coordinates an EU-Project in the framework of the Marie-Curie Program, under the ToK-scheme (transfer of knowledge). The project (TOKforCEIFIADE) – Building Capacities for Change Management in Portugal – aims to enhance CEIFA’s scientific capacities and international networking. For this purpose during the next years several experienced researchers from other countries will be integrated as guest researchers in CEIFA’ s team and work with us in the development of new research projects and innovative activities.

CEIFA has also increasingly played the role of a knowledge bridge between universities and practitioners. Several actors from civil society and public bodies request CEIFA’s advise in matters related with the implementation of EU-legislation. It also cooperates with university institutions by offering internships to students from the ISCTE (Institute of Business Studies of the University of Lisbon), and the Institute for Environmental Engineering of the New University of Lisbon. Moreover, Presently, CEIFA participates

One year ago CEIFA launched an initiative for the building of the first science shop in Portugal. The Loja do Saber has been launched in October 2004 as a non-profit association. Its main goal is to promote the transfer of knowledge between those who have it and those who need it in order to build capacities for a sustainable development in Portugal.