The number and the scope of competences of each of the Ministries is established by the prime minister.

Since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure.

Both the process whereby the nationalities and regions were to accede to self-government and the scope of competences that were to be devolved or transferred from the central government, were intended to be asymmetrical in nature.

In terms of the scope of competences, the first additional disposition recognized the historical rights of the "chartered" territories (in Spanish: territorios forales), namely the Basque-speaking provinces, which were to be updated in accordance to the constitution.

Viewed in this light and against the broader scope of competences being advanced under the 2010 Education and Professional Training Programme, entrepreneurship is one of the elements in the reference framework of eight key and basic competences for lifelong education.

Within the scope of competences attributed by Portuguese government strategies and policies for economic and social development, INETI takes up the role of an interface between the results generated by research and development programmes and their technological integration into the private sector (including companies, and other organizations).