The objectives of the OQD are:

• To conduct studies on the quality of democracy in Portugal and on issues related to representative institutions;
• To establish itself as a reference program on the study and measurement of quality of democracy, both at the national and international levels;
• To gather and disseminate relevant data and information on democracy in Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOPS);
• To contribute to the production of knowledge regarding democracies in Portuguese-speaking countries.