The inclusion of people with disabilities has implications at various levels, from public policies to access to employment, education, social participation and autonomy in daily life. With different realities, needs and degrees of functionality, these people need social responses capable of supporting more autonomous, participatory and inclusive paths.
According to the report People with Disabilities in Portugal — Human Rights Indicators 2025the country has taken some steps towards integrating these people into the labor market, although significant inequalities persist. In 2023, the employment rate of people with disabilities in Portugal was 64.4%, 6.6 percentage points more than in 2022, even above the European average (54.6%). However, people with severe disabilities continued to have the lowest employment rate (50.9%).
Public investment in this area also remains below the European Union average: in Portugal, in 2023, 1.49% of GDP was spent in this area, while the average public expenditure of the Member States was 1.88%.
It is in this context that BPI and the ”la Caixa” Foundation promote the 17th edition of the Empower Award which once again makes an allocation of 1.1 million euros available to support social projects developed by private non-profit institutions. Applications take place between May 19th and June 18th, 2026.
Capacitar Award: who is it for?
If you represent a private, non-profit institution and have a project implemented throughout the country aimed at improving the quality of life of people with disabilities, mental illness or other conditions, as well as their families, the Capacitar Award is for you. The objective of the award is to boost this type of projects, thus contributing to a fairer and more inclusive society.
What does the Prize mean?
The Capacitar Prize is a monetary prize, which translates into total or partial support for selected applications, and the amount requested cannot exceed 75% of the total cost of the project. The value assigned depends on the project modality:
- Up to €50,000for projects lasting up to one year;
- Up to €100,000for projects with a solution to a problem without social answers, which generate evident transformation in the direct beneficiaries and which have an evolutionary mechanics. These projects may benefit from increased funding if they prove that they also need more implementation time to obtain results (up to two years);
- Up to €150,000for candidate projects under the “Training and labor insertion” line of action, which, due to their complexity, allocate more resources and planning, promoting coordination between different dimensions of intervention (up to three years). In these cases, projects that promote employability and develop integrated, sustainable solutions with systemic impact, capable of generating structural and lasting changes in the socio-professional inclusion of people with disabilities, will be valued.
Until when are applications open?
Applications for the 2026 edition of the BPI Fundação ”la Caixa” Capacitar Award are open from May 19th until June 18thin platform of the BPI ”la Caixa” Foundation Awards. In case of doubt about how to submit the application, the ”la Caixa” Foundation and BPI provide a Support Guide and a Platform Use Manual, on website of the BPI ”la Caixa” Foundation Awards.
