Architecture, urbanism and design occupy a crucial role in contemporary society having a deep impact in the definition of people’s quality of life. Investigation carried out on these fields must guarantee a high level of rigor and scientific quality. CIAUD, the research centre in Architecture, Urbanism, Design and Ergonomics of the Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon, has designed an internal initiative aimed to improve the scientific research culture through innovative approaches, as well as to promote high-level scientific indexed publications. In the period 2021-2023, internal competitive calls for "embryo projects" were launched offering a funding of €7.500 to develop early-stage research initiatives, in exchange for the preparation of a competitive R&D application and the publication of an article indexed in ISI/Scopus indexation platforms. The applications were evaluated by external international panels ensuring that the supported projects align with the best global practices, standards, and relevant actual themes. The results of this strategic initiative have already shown that it not only promotes innovation and scientific excellence but also serves as a stimulus for researchers, representing a significant step toward the development of more integrated, interdisciplinary research with high social and scientific impact. To further enhance competitive R&D, CIAUD plans to maintain an annual investment in embryo-projects for 2025-2029, in order to leverage IC&DT and exploratory investigation projects for junior and senior researchers looking to start new lines of investigation and to foster new scientific research and technological development projects, boosting large-scale funding at the European level. This paper aims to share the experience and demonstrate how this initiative can provide a valid methodological approach to improve the culture of the R&D practices and support early career researchers to be competitive in open R&D calls.

Keywords: Research methodologies, R&D practices, Embryo projects, Innovative approaches.