FCT: DCEA - Teses de Doutoramento
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- Towards Reduction: Exploring the links between Oneness and Fashion ConsumptionPublication . Areias, Salomé Pimentel; Disterheft, Antje; Gouveia, João; Fischer, DanielIn the 15 years preceding the Paris Agreement, global garment production doubled from 50 billion to a hundred billion pieces per year, despite the world population comprising only 7% of that figure. Over the following six years, consumption surged at an unprecedented rate, surpassing 75% of all resources used throughout the 20th century. Despite efforts to curb overconsumption through reuse and repair policies, these initiatives often encourage the production of more durable and life-extendable products that are still ultimately destined to landfills, if governments keep overlooking the subconscious triggers of consumerism that remain embedded and profitable in market systems. The growing environmental and psychological impact of consumerism and fashionables has prompted growing research into alternative approaches within environmental science. One such emerging perspective is oneness, a concept reclaimed from psychoanalysis and ancient mystical traditions and now gaining attention in environmental psychology. Oneness describes an ineffable reality where all existence is fundamentally one and thus underscores an important perception about the self – it transcends the individual to include everything else (i.e., others, living beings, nature, the universe), which might involve a profound sense of collective self-protection in the midst of climate emergency. This research identifies the potential of oneness as a driver of consumption reduction, unveiled by oneness’ positive correlation with pro-environmental behaviour as well as with other variables suggesting a realignment with a foundational truth or essential well-being. The aim of this research is to examine the predictive potential of oneness in fostering consumption reduction, particularly in fashion, due to its close links to impulsive buying and self-identity construction. A mixed-method approach integrates a semi-systematic literature review with a keyword search relating interconnectedness, sense of self, environment, and consumption; an implicit association test (IAT) on oneness combined with semi-structured expert interviews; and a social experiment tracking consumer behaviour at a clothing market stall. Predictive modelling in R analyses correlations between oneness IAT scores and purchasing behaviour, exploring interactions with voluntary simplicity and sustainable consumption scales. The literature review showed that all identified linkages between a deep integration of self in unity with an ‘other’ and pro-environmental consumption were found to be positive. It is also positively linked to mindful practices defined by high states of awareness. Further exploration in review revealed that environmentally responsible consumption is often driven by guilt, which can paradoxically trigger denial, suppression of political claims, and engagement in hazardous consumption patterns. The novel assessment tool on oneness, developed in this research with input from expert interviews, showed valid results in the pilot-test. The implicit association test demonstrated content validity, construct validity, criterion-related validity, and internal consistency reliability, according to the psychometric analysis it underwent. The market experiment revealed a marginal yet inconclusive negative correlation between oneness and buying behaviour, suggesting that participants with higher oneness IAT scores were slightly less likely to engage in purchases. This work discusses the measurability of oneness, future methodological refinements, and practical applications of findings, emphasizing the need to honour the radical and mystical nature of oneness in recognizing its transformative potential within inner and collective worlds.
- Source-to-sea Landscape: a pathway to the sustainability of water resourcesPublication . Michels-Brito, Adriane; Saito , Carlos; Ferreira , JoséWater is a vital and transversal element of the biosphere, flowing across ecological, territorial, and political boundaries. However, despite its interconnected nature, the governance and management of water remain fragmented. Over recent decades, several integrative strategies and approaches have sought to promote greater coordination across systems and scales, achieving significant progress. Nonetheless, environmental degradation continues to intensify, and the implementation of these initiatives remains limited by rigid institutional structures, sectoral compartmentalization, and spatial discontinuities along the land-water continuum. The Source-to-Sea approach has emerged as a promising strategy to address existing fragmentation by promoting the Integration of flows, systems, and actors along the entire continuum, from headwaters to the ocean. Within this framework, the present study aimed to assess whether the Source-to-Sea approach constitutes a substantive innovation or merely a reformulation of principles already established in previous integrative models. To address this, the study adopted a qualitative, analytical-deductive methodology, combining content analysis and analytical matrices, structured in three main articles that provided: (i) a conceptual diagnosis of the Source-to-Sea, Integrated Water Resources Management and Integrated Coastal Management approaches, revealing that the Source-to-Sea approach contributes to a new systemic understanding of the land-sea continuum, encompassing ecological and human interdependencies and influences, but lacking an explicit territorial framework that situates water management within a broader spatial unit; (ii) the theoretical formulation of the Source-to-sea Landscape approach, integrating landscape-based concepts to overcome the identified limitation; and (iii) an assessment of the normative applicability of the new approach, through a critical analysis of European directives related to freshwater and marine governance. Based on these three stages, the research consolidated the Source-to-sea Landscape proposal, which distinguishes itself by expanding the territorial, ecological, and social scope of previous approaches and innovatively integrating ecological and human processes into a single governance and management framework. This differentiation is reflected in: the incorporation of an integrated analysis of environmental processes from the land to the ocean, overcoming the compartmentalization between coastal and Inland zones; the expansion of the understanding regarding the relationships between social processes and water bodies, recognizing the landscape as an expression of these Interactions and also considering its historical transformation; the incorporating of the hydrosocial cycle perspective, which recognizes the inseparability of land and water; and in the articulation with principles of Integrated Water Resource Management, Integrated Coastal Management, the European Landscape Convention, and the Hybrid Landscape Approach, which Integrates biophysical and sociocultural dimensions into a unified landscape perspective, thereby proposing a coherent methodological structure that is sensitive to the dynamic interconnections between natural and human systems. Furthermore, the approach incorporates principles of adaptive governance and continuous learning, promoting collaborative scenario building, iterative monitoring, management of uncertainties, and feedback across scales and territories. In this way, the Source-to-Sea Landscape constitutes an innovative methodological and normative proposal that articulates territory, society, and water through a hybrid territorial perspective, anchored in the landscape and sensitive to the physical, ecological, social, and cultural dimensions along the land–freshwater–marine continuum. Its methodological structure, composed of four iterative steps (Comprehension, Involvement, Planning, Execution & Monitoring), enables adaptive, participatory, and multilevel governance. The critical analysis of the main European directives related to water and marine governance (the Water Framework Directive, the Groundwater Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive) revealed both the conceptual alignment of Source-to-Sea Landscape with these instruments and its capacity to identify gaps, synergies, and integration pathways not yet addressed by traditional approaches. By proposing normative mechanisms, multiscale coordination, and collaborative platforms, the approach demonstrates its practical applicability in the European context, as well as its potential for adaptation to other territories. Thus, it contributes to strengthening ecosystem resilience, promoting territorial justice, and consolidating a new paradigm of systemic environmental governance. In this way, the Source-to-Sea Landscape reconstructs the relationship between source and sea, nature and society, vision and action. In doing so, it paves the way for an innovative framework of environmental governance and management, based on systems thinking, territorial cohesion, and normative coherence, thereby consolidating fundamental pillars for achieving sustainable development.
- Mapping memory, emotions, and aspirations — a cultural map of Lagoa de Albufeira towards sustainability. A Critical Ethnographic Study of Online Community NarrativesPublication . Oliveira, Daniel Gomes Batista de; Mesquita, Mônica; Teixeira, ZaraPeri-urban coastalscapes are undergoing rapid and complex transformations under the combined pressures of urbanisation, tourism, and environmental fragility. These processes are not only material but also immaterial, shaping how people live, remember, and imagine their places. Yet community perspectives are often marginalised or absent in planning and sustainability research, leaving gaps in how the lived experience of change is recognised and represented. This thesis addresses that problem by asking how online community narratives reveal the drivers of transformation in a peri-urban coastal lagoon and how such narratives can be analysed and synthesised into a cultural map of the place. The problem is both fascinating and challenging because peri-urban coastalscapes cannot be reduced to single- system issues, such as housing, mobility, or environmental conservation. In the case of Lagoa de Albufeira, located in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area of Portugal, people do not experience these dimensions in isolation but as entangled processes that affect their everyday lives. At the same time, digital arenas such as Facebook groups have become central spaces where these concerns are expressed. They represent a new form of public dialogue, one that brings together memories of the past, emotions of the present, and aspirations for the future. Recognising these discussions as knowledge in their own right is therefore crucial for sustainability research. The thesis develops an innovative methodological approach that combines netnography of Facebook groups, Paulo Freire’s notion of generative themes, and critical cartography. Recurring issues raised in community discussions are identified and translated into creative thick representations: visual artefacts that combine narratives, images, archival materials, and cartographic elements. Together, they culminated in a cultural map of Lagoa de Albufeira’s coastalscape that captured both material and immaterial drivers of change. This process does not produce “the” map of Lagoa de Albufeira, but a situated counter-story that visualises the coastalscape as a dynamic space of conflict, attachment, and hope. The results demonstrate that Facebook is not a peripheral arena but a critical site of local spatial knowledge production, where an informal yet politically relevant discourse on sustainability emerges. The creative thick representations proved to be rich analytical devices that reveal the complexity of the coastalscape while also serving as communicative tools with strong visual appeal. They open possibilities for outreach beyond academia and for stimulating new ways of thinking about the place among residents, users, policymakers, and broader audiences. The thesis, comprising three papers, contributes theoretically by linking landscape theory with emotional geographies, environmental anthropology, and sustainability studies. Methodologically, it develops a hybrid practice that weaves together ethnographic inquiry, Paulo Freire’s radical pedagogy of generative themes, and critical cartographic practices of representation. Empirically, it sheds light on the perspectives of a peri-urban coastal community confronting rapid transformation. The research reveals that online community narratives carry grief and frustration but also pride, care, and hope. These affective dimensions are crucial for understanding how peri-urban coastalscapes are lived and transformed. By bringing them into view, the thesis highlights the need for sustainability research that is reflexive, inclusive, situated, and responsive to how communities themselves envision more local sustainable futures.
- The function of the gut microbiome of macrobenthic species under different sediment contaminationPublication . Neves, Joana Filipa Marujo; Arteaga, Jorge; Martins, Marta; Adão, Maria HelenaOs ecossistemas estuarinos são ambientes dinâmicos e produtivos, mas particularmente vulneráveis a pressões de origem antropogénica, incluindo a contaminação inorgânica associada ao sedimento. Estes contaminantes, em especial os metais traço, podem perturbar a biogeoquímica sedimentar e afetar os organismos bentónicos. Neste contexto, o microbioma intestinal de invertebrados que habitam o sedimento tem-se revelado uma ferramenta promissora para a avaliação ambiental, devido à sua sensibilidade às condições locais e ao seu papel na fisiologia, imunidade e função ecológica do hospedeiro. Esta tese de doutoramento centrou-se na avaliação do impacto da contaminação inorgânica sedimentar na estrutura e função predita do microbioma intestinal do berbigão Cerastoderma edule (Linnaeus, 1758), uma espécie bivalve estuarina de ampla distribuição e relevante do ponto de vista ecológico. Foi adotada uma abordagem integrativa que combinou: (i) a caracterização in situ das comunidades macrobentónicas e da geoquímica sedimentar ao longo de um gradiente de contaminação no estuário do Sado; (ii) a análise in situ dos microbiomas intestinais bacteriano e fúngico através de metabarcoding dos marcadores 16S rRNA e ITS; e (iii) um bioensaio controlado in vivo para avaliar as respostas do microbioma à exposição a sedimentos enriquecidos com mercúrio. A caracterização ambiental revelou variações tanto nas características sedimentares como no estado ecológico entre os locais estudados, sendo que as áreas próximas de fontes antropogénicas apresentaram maior enriquecimento em metais traço, particularmente mercúrio, e menor qualidade ecológica com base em índices macrobentónicos. Por outro lado, locais mais distantes ou menos expostos evidenciaram níveis de contaminação mais baixos e comunidades bentónicas mais saudáveis. Estes gradientes ambientais refletiram-se também na estrutura e função do microbioma intestinal de C. edule, com comunidades bacterianas mais diversas e funcionalmente distintas nas áreas impactadas, e respostas fúngicas específicas por local. A inferência funcional destacou alterações em vias metabólicas relacionadas com o enxofre e o azoto, mecanismos de stress e resiliência microbiana. O bioensaio confirmou que a exposição de curto prazo a sedimentos enriquecidos com mercúrio induz perturbações na estrutura bacteriana significativa e reestruturação funcional, enquanto as comunidades fúngicas permaneceram estáveis do ponto de vista taxonómico, mas com alterações funcionais. Os resultados obtidos apoiam o conceito do microbioma intestinal como um bioindicador integrador da qualidade ambiental, capaz de detetar perturbações ecológicas precoces. Este trabalho contribuiu para aprofundar a compreensão das interações entre hospedeiro, microbioma e ambiente, preencher as lacunas no conhecimento na área da ecotoxicologia sensível ao microbioma e reforçar os esforços para uma avaliação mais ampla da saúde ambiental.
- Molecular insight on the toxicity of mixtures of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons to improve environmental guidelinesPublication . Matos, Beatriz Isabel Manso de; Martins, Marta; Branco, Vasco; Diniz, MárioPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent environmental pollutants with toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic properties. They are usually present in the environment as a mixture of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic compounds, that may induce interaction effects whose mechanisms remain poorly understood. This thesis investigates PAH toxicity using both in vitro and in vivo approaches, focusing on key toxicological endpoints, including gene and biochemical responses related with PAH detoxification mechanisms, oxidative stress and genotoxicity. By examining PAH interactions within complex mixtures, in different ratios, in cellular models and whole-organism studies, it provides insights into their mode of action and implications for environmental and human health risk assessment. An optimized pancreatin digestion method enabled the isolation of fish hepatocytes for PAH toxicity assessment. Primary hepatocytes of S. aurata showed that, in general, exposure to mixtures of phenanthrene (Phe) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) significantly altered several biochemical responses with the Phe:B[a]P 2:1 mixture, leading to a 70% increase in DNA damage and enhanced CYP1A expression (5-fold). In juvenile S. aurata exposed for 42 days, PAHs triggered organ-specific effects, including oxidative stress in gills and liver, and a 7-fold increase in hepatic GST3 expression after Phe:B[a]P 2:1 exposure. MDS analysis further identified biological response patterns, providing insight into how fish cope with PAHs. To assess interactions between PAHs in mixtures over Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) activation, in vitro experiments using HepG2 cells were conducted. Results showed that AhR activation, a major regulation pathway of CYP1A mediated metabolism, varied with mixture composition, exhibiting antagonistic interactions at lower concentrations, likely due to Phe competition with other PAH compounds. Overall, these results highlight the complexity of PAHs mixture toxicity and its context- dependent effects. While individual PAHs triggered distinct biochemical responses, mixtures altered toxicity patterns. For instance, the 2:1 Phe:B[a]P mixture showed synergistic effects in fish models but antagonistic interactions in HepG2 cells. Previous studies in PAHs mixtures toxicity suggested that they might interact synergistically or antagonistically depending on the toxicity model. Furthermore, our findings suggest that different ratios and types of PAHs in mixture can activate not only CYP1A1 but another pathways, highlighting their unpredictable behaviour emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive risk assessment approach.
- Hard-to-reach energy users in just energy transitions: Identifying target groups and piloting local actionPublication . Sequeira, Miguel Macias Marques; Gouveia, João; Melo, JoãoEnergy lies at the heart of urgent transformations. Climate change and energy poverty are uttered global priorities. However, despite well-known solutions, energy transitions are not yet at the needed pace. Citizens have been pushed to the frontline with high hopes for their uptake of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Still, multi-faceted barriers stand in the way of participation. These are particularly stark for hard-to-reach energy users which can be broadly defined as those who are difficult to reach or hard to engage or motivate by policies and interventions. While this concept has attracted attention, it still lacks systematisation and operationalisation. Moreover, how to activate hard-to-reach groups remains a key research gap. Without faster, deeper, and broader adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy, and more effective citizen engagement, energy transitions will remain off track. In this context, this research has the goal of increasing knowledge on how to engage hard-to- reach energy users in just energy transitions. First, it systematises and characterises profiles that may be classified as hard-to-reach and estimates their size at multiple scales from the European to the national and local levels. Second, it operationalises the concept for the ex- ante assessment of energy policies and for the ex-post evaluation of on-the-ground projects. Third, action research is applied to three case-studies in Portugal, namely a digital one-stop shop for home renovation, a physical energy support one-stop shop, and a renewable energy community, for a closer look on approaches that seek to activate hard-to-reach groups. Fourth, recognising their common but ambiguous presence, it engages with local organisations to critically assess their roles as middle actors in energy transitions. This research shows that hard-to-reach groups are significant at multiple scales, highlighting, for instance, low-income households, multi-family buildings, people with ill-health and disabilities, tenants, and micro-enterprises. It demonstrates that intersectionality compounds vulnerabilities and that variations exist across nations and regions. Data gaps are found for the most marginalised and the wealthiest profiles. This work argues that policymakers can still do much more to recognise hard-to-reach groups and to deploy targeted and tailored measures. Local action seems more effective at engaging hard-to-reach audiences, for instance, through trusted messengers, but has limitations on impact assessment and persistency. Digital platforms can be useful tools in the energy transition toolbox but do not address hard- to-reach groups. Instead, greater potential is found in local actions; for instance, one-stop shops can deploy face-to-face support and energy communities can produce and share solar power. Local stakeholders can play diverse roles, such as communicating with vulnerable households. However, many organisations face challenges and, if successful partnerships are to be established, dedicated funding and capacity building are a must. Local action relies heavily on the efforts of dedicated individuals and organisations, making their sustainability, upscaling, and replication challenging without stronger institutional backing at all levels of government. Finally, this research's outputs are useful for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners working on energy transitions at multiple scales. A more sustainable, just, and democratic energy system is within reach, but it requires unprecedented commitment by all actors.
- Comportamentos de “littering” dos residentes em bairros com forte presença de imigrantes. Caso de estudo: Morro do Banco (Itanhangá)Publication . Silva, Patrícia Helena Alves da; Martinho, Maria da GraçaAs favelas brasileiras são áreas densamente povoadas com muitos moradores de baixa renda e acúmulo significativo de lixo. Nesta investigação utilizou-se como caso de estudo o Morro do Banco, uma favela no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, que abriga uma comunidade composta principalmente por brasileiros e venezuelanos, e onde o lixo é um problema persistente. Este estudo investiga as causas do lixo nesta favela e examina as diferenças de percepções e com- portamentos de littering entre os residentes brasileiros e venezuelanos, abordando uma lacuna de pesquisa em favelas multiculturais. Para atingir estes objectivos utilizaram-se métodos quantitativos e qualitativo, designadamente observações visuais, entrevistas a responsáveis e servidores da coleta domiciliar e limpeza das ruas, entrevistas a actores chave da comunidade, e um inquérito por questionário, realizado face a face a uma amostra de 150 moradores do Morro do Banco, que foi subdividida em dois grupos: 95 brasileiros e 55 venezuelanos. Os resultados indicam que a presença de lixo está ligada principalmente à falta de contêineres para descarte e coleta de resíduos, bem como ao fato de os moradores não descartarem os resíduos nos locais e horários designados. Há uma notável ausência de campanhas de consci- entização destinadas a resolver o problema. Embora ambos os grupos reconheçam a questão do lixo, os residentes venezuelanos são menos conscientes dos serviços públicos e relatam ob- servar níveis mais baixos de lixo do que os residentes brasileiros. Além disso, os brasileiros tendem a atribuir mais responsabilidade às autoridades locais, enquanto os venezuelanos atri- buem a responsabilidade ao governo central. Os venezuelanos também expressam menos apoio a ações de fiscalização que envolvam penalidades em comparação com os brasileiros. Estes resultados destacam a necessidade de campanhas de conscientização direcionadas e po- líticas inclusivas para combater efetivamente o lixo em favelas multiculturais.
- Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Soil. New Approaches for Environmental MonitoringPublication . Brinco, João Eduardo Rodrigues Sedas; Guedes, Paula; Ribeiro, Alexandra; Silva, MarcoEnvironmental monitoring is a very important part of dealing with soil contamination problems. As an essential support for life on land, soil should be protected and monitored. This dissertation is centered on the development of methodologies for pesticide residues analysis in soil, which are of great relevance due to being widely applied on agricultural soils and by having known detrimental effects. The first work presented comprises a method development and monitoring campaign of empty pesticide packaging from Portugal in order to determine their hazardousness. The compounds most found in this monitoring along with those frequently reported in the relevant literature as being present in European Union (EU) soils were used to construct a list of priority analytes to focus on. This list contained thirteen currently used pesticides and one degradation product; of these, the herbicide glyphosate is the most challenging in analytical terms. A literature review on currently used methods for pesticide residue analysis in soil was conducted, along with a side-by-side comparison of their properties. QuEChERS was found to be the most widely used and promising extraction method currently em- ployed. However, none of the methodologies studied seemed particularly fitted to extract "multiclass" pesticides along with glyphosate, and thus a new form of extraction using semi-disposable Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) fibers on an aqueous soil slurry was developed, and combined with solid-liquid extraction followed by chemical derivatization in order to permit this analysis in a single run employing Gas Chromatography coupled to tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The same semi-disposable SPME fibers were also applied to the development of a new "on-the-fly" detection method for pesticides in soil which forgoes traditional sampling and extensive lab-work. The fibers are inserted directly into the soil, after which they are retro-extracted onto a suitable solvent and analysed through GC-MS/MS. The proposed method was tested for monitoring on an electrokinetic remediation experiment at the lab scale. Results show that this new methodology cannot be used for accurate quantification, but may be employed in qualitative analysis for detection of contaminants above a certain confidence threshold.Throughout the work different pieces of software were written in the Python language to perform calculations, mostly for experimental design and quantification/validation. These were compiled and documented in a package called Chromapy, which is now freely available for use and modification.
- Impact of microplastic ingestion on marine biodiversity in life cycle impact assessmentPublication . Casagrande, Naiara Machado; Martinho, Maria da Graça; Sobral, Maria Paula; Verones, FrancescaIn the last decades, large amounts of plastic from anthropogenic activities have reached the aquatic ecosystem. Once plastic is in the environment, species are exposed to it, being physi-cally and chemically affected. Impacts can stem from both macro- and microplastics, as well as from chemical additives from the plastics. The additives are incorporated to the plastic products during the manufacturing process with distinct functions, such as plasticizers, heat and light stabilizers, pesticides or flame-retardants. Aquatic species, exposed to these sub-stances can be harmed due to their potentially toxic effects. However, life cycle impact assess-ment still needs a complete model for assessing the environmental consequences of these ad-ditives. In this thesis, we present a database of physical properties of microplastics, such as size, type, colour, polymer, and chemical composition, which influence ingestion and affect aquatic species. Furthermore, we calculated 25 effect factors for plastic additives on aquatic ecosystems representing 25 additives in 19 effect factors for single chemicals, four for over-arching categories (alkylphenols, benzophenones, brominated flame retardants and phos-phates), one for other and a Generic effect factor. The factors are representative for 73 aquatic species belonging to nine different phyla. These factors were integrated with fate and exposure factors to derive characterisation factors for the leaching of additives from spherical micro-plastic particles (microbeads and spheres) of varying sizes (1μm, 10μm, 100μm, 1000μm and 5000μm) composed of eight different polymers, including EPS, PS, PA/Nylon, PP, HDPE, LDPE, PET, and PVC. This research advances LCIA by providing new data for as-sessing the ecotoxicity of plastic additives and their environmental impacts related to plastic pollution.
- Processos colaborativos em planeamento para a sustentabilidade - da teoria à prática, um contributo para o modelo de avaliaçãoPublication . Ferreira, Filipa Maria Gomes; Vasconcelos, Lia; Freitas, JoãoAtualmente, a sociedade vive uma era ímpar da informação e de desenvolvimento tecnológico. Embora essa situação pareça promissora, o facto é que, simultaneamente, novas preocupações decorrentes da sobre-exploração dos recursos do planeta refletem um afastamento da sociedade em relação aos ideais de sustentabilidade. Este contexto gera um aumento de questões complexas que requerem soluções holísticas e integradas, e que frequentemente estão envoltas em controvérsia, desafiando as instituições e os modelos de democracia existentes. Isto levou a que as políticas públicas modernas sentissem a necessidade de novas estruturas e de vínculos mais interativos entre as instituições e a sociedade civil. Emergem, assim, nas últimas décadas e com um aumento exponencial, os processos de participação pública apoiados em formatos de mobilização intensa, como são os processos colaborativos de co-construção de conhecimento. No entanto, apesar do reconhecimento dos benefícios destes formatos, estes encontram, muitas vezes, resistência na sua aplicação. Parte dessa resistência pode estar relacionada com a ausência de instrumentos adequados para avaliar a sua eficácia e dar a conhecer aos envolvidos os resultados. A bibliografia evidencia lacunas a este nível, especialmente associadas à dificuldade de medir resultados que surgem de forma progressiva, mas por vezes mais sustentada, deixando assim de fora a avaliação do grau de sustentabilidade do projeto e a sua capacidade transformadora. Estes resultados - intangíveis - do processo participativo englobam parte dos benefícios gerados na tomada de decisão associados a este tipo de processos, ao transformarem os envolvidos e, consequentemente, a sociedade tornando-a mais sustentável. Em paralelo, a literatura revela que a avaliação da participação pública não é utilizada na prática nem como prática, existindo um distanciamento entre os critérios ao nível teórico e o modo de os operacionalizar na prática, afetando a sua integração na avaliação formal do processo Esta investigação contribui para a melhoria de duas lacunas de conhecimento identificadas: 1) as metodologias de avaliação dirigidas aos resultados intangíveis e a longo prazo, e 2) a operacionalização da avaliação como prática no terreno. Numa primeira fase, o processo metodológico envolveu a exploração das várias metodologias de avaliação comumente utilizadas recorrendo a análise bibliográfica e a um conjunto de testemunhos da experiência de avaliação de processos de participação, permitindo compreender e reforçar o quadro conceptual da avaliação, juntamente com a aplicação da metodologia SWOT. Com base nos resultados e de forma a responder às lacunas identificadas, foi desenvolvida uma solução holística, apoiada em tecnologias digitais, que permite agilizar a operacionalização e a acessibilidade a modelos de avaliação. Esta solução constitui, numa primeira parte, o Repositório de publicações com a avaliação de processos de participação. Numa segunda parte, é proposto o Sistema de Planeamento e Gestão da avaliação que integra a avaliação dos intangíveis e resultados a longo prazo (pós-processo), representando uma ferramenta holística que permite refletir e decidir sobre o processo de avaliação de uma forma orientada e, desta forma, contribuir para a introdução da avaliação no planeamento de processos colaborativos de co-construção de conhecimento. Conclui-se que a abordagem proposta contribui para reforçar o papel destes processos colaborativos na promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável, ao evidenciar os seus resultados através da avaliação.