Taking into account the particular situation experienced by Polytechnic Higher Education in Portugal, the study formulates a set of strategic proposals in order that the Porto Polytechnic Institute (PPI) may consolidate its trajectory of reactiveness and growth observed in the last decade. The study develops a methodology of assessing the trends affecting the PPI's supply and demand of higher education. It analyses the functions education, research, training and articulation with the community and recommends orientation changes in each of these functions capable of leading to a global strategy for the institution which could be applied by each of the seven schools integrating the PPI. The study is particularly aware of the challenge faced by the higher education public policy in taking into account the strong heterogeneity of the polytechnic institutions in Portugal, stressing that the PPI is the bigger and most important Polytechnic institution in Portugal, and also underlining the need to avoid the destruction of resources that inevitably would be produced targeting the PPI as a medium-sized Polytechnic institution.