The research group on Public Policies, Institutions and Innovation (PI2) mobilizes knowledge in political, social and administration sciences, demography, sociology, spatial planning and public administration, so as to fulfil GOVCOPP’s objective of studying public policies and governance practices, focused on new forms of organising and managing public services – known in European Union jargon as services of general interest (SGI).

The Competitiveness, Innovation and Sustainability research group analyses the factors underlying the economic efficiency of production systems, subject to constraints related to a sustainable use of resources and conservation of the environment, including problems and needs of firms and regions.

The Systems for Decision Support research group aims to develop expertise in the design and deployment of methods and techniques coming from statistics and operational research to support complex decision making processes, namely in the areas related to the research group's activities, such as supply chain reengineering, regional science, urban economics, and financial economics.

The Tourism Development research group analyses regional innovation systems in a specific sector of paramount importance to the Portuguese economy: tourism. As such, GOVCOPP tourism research highlights the importance territorial structure of Portugal, which is linked to natural and built heritage and to an appropriate supply of services and infrastructure.