In 2012, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation was for the first time selected by tender to manage the EEA Grants for Portuguese NGOs. Thus, the Cidadania Ativa Programme was created. In four years (2013-2016) it supported more than a hundred projects, which directly benefited the lives of more than 80,000 people in Portugal.

During this period, seven million euros were distributed for projects promoted by some two hundred organizations (NGOs and others), both from Portugal and from the European Economic Area – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.