Artificial intelligence in the Azores: management for marinas, associations and public bodies

In the Azores, a single organisation often has services, clubs or berths on different islands. Information ends up split across local spreadsheets, and finding out what is happening on another island means a phone call or waiting for an email.

A management platform only solves this if it meets three practical conditions: it works from any island, it shows every island's data on the same screen, and its support hours are clear in Azores time.

• Access from any island

  The platform runs in the browser, with nothing to install on each computer, and every island works on the same records. A native app is available as an add-on.

• Support from 8:00 to 17:00, Azores time

  Support runs on working days from 9:00 to 18:00 Lisbon and Funchal time. As the Azores are one hour behind all year round, support is available from 8:00 to 17:00 local time.

• One view across the islands

  Dashboards bring the whole organisation's activity together, such as the free berths in each marina or the members whose registration is due for renewal, instead of a separate report for each island.

The marinas and leisure boating facilities run by Portos dos Açores follow a single tariff, approved by Ordinance No 14/2024 (in Portuguese)(opens another website). The berth charge depends on the vessel's class, which is set by its length (eleven classes in the non-resident table), on the period of use and on the owner's tax residence. Owners whose tax address has been in the Azores for more than 183 days pay the resident rate; everyone else pays the non-resident rate.

In practice, every berthing contract needs three pieces of information that are correct and kept up to date:

• The vessel's class, which changes if its registered length changes.

• The period contracted: daily, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual.

• The holder's residence status, with the document that proves it.

Water and electricity are charged on top, and the ordinance provides for exemptions, reductions and surcharges. When all of this sits in spreadsheets, a wrong class or residence status is repeated on every invoice that follows.

ForMarinas records each berth by pontoon and class, with the contract, the holder and the rate per metre, and keeps each vessel's insurance, certificate of seaworthiness and radio licence. How a particular marina's resident and non-resident rates are reflected is worked out during requirements gathering and described in the proposal.

According to the study The 100 Largest Cooperatives 2024, by CASES(opens another website), 8 of Portugal's 100 largest cooperatives are Azorean, mostly from the island of São Miguel.

For federations, associations and professional bodies, ForAssociations keeps each member on a single record, together with their club or delegation, the fees paid and their seasonal registrations. A federation with clubs on São Miguel, Terceira and Faial sees all of them in one place and gets an alert before a licence expires or when a fee goes unpaid.

Cooperatives have needs of their own, such as cooperative members, produce deliveries and seasonal campaigns. For these, the custom service starts from the same core and builds the modules for the sector.

The Autonomous Region of the Azores has its own legal framework for public procurement, which applies to the regional government, the Azorean local authorities and the regional public institutes. Guidance No 8/2026 from the Azores 2030 managing authority (in Portuguese)(opens another website) summarises the most common procedures for buying goods and services.

• Direct award

  When the contract value is below €75,000.

  Source: Guidance No 8/2026 from the Azores 2030 managing authority (in Portuguese)(opens another website)

• Simplified direct award

  Up to €15,000, awarded on the basis of the invoice.

  Source: Guidance No 8/2026 from the Azores 2030 managing authority (in Portuguese)(opens another website)

For operations co-funded by Azores 2030, the same guidance(opens another website) recommends inviting at least three suppliers in a direct award. The choice of procedure always rests with the public body, according to the estimated contract value.

For municipalities, parish councils and regional services, ForGov includes a public procurement module that tracks procedures, contracts and the accumulation of direct awards. The price is set in the proposal, itemised line by line.

• Marinas, boating and ports

  ForMarinas

  Berths, visitor stays and vessels from several marinas on one platform, with each pontoon's occupancy in view and alerts before a certificate or contract expires.

  See the solution: ForMarinas

• Federations, associations and professional bodies

  ForAssociations

  Members, clubs and delegations from every island in a single database, with fees, registrations, competitions and events linked to each member's record.

  See the solution: ForAssociations

• Public administration

  ForGov

  Residents' applications, service across every channel and public procurement, with deadlines and stages visible to each department.

  See the solution: ForGov

Calls under the regional programme are published on the Azores 2030 portal, and national calls on the Portugal 2030 portal. If the purchase is co-funded, the procurement rules in the guidance above form part of the expenditure check, so they are worth confirming before the procedure is launched.

AIOBI does not guarantee the eligibility of any application. Please always check with the managing authority of each programme.