The aim is to identify scientific results capable of being transformed into solutions with tangible impact, whether in industry, the marketplace, or the development of public policy.

Promoting Knowledge Transfer from the Start of a Research Career

The PIONER Awards seek to foster a culture of knowledge transfer from the earliest stages of researchers’ careers. The call is open to researchers from CERCA centres who obtained their doctoral degree between 14 October 2025 and 14 July 2026, and who can present a concrete proposal for applying the results of their thesis.

Applications will remain open until 8 September 2026 at 5.00 pm. In addition to demonstrating scientific excellence, candidates will be expected to present a clear vision of the potential impact of their work.

Selection Process and Awards

The selection process will take place in two stages. Following an initial assessment, ten finalist projects will be selected and announced on 18 September 2026. These finalists will then be invited to present their proposals before an external jury at the final event.

The six highest-rated projects will each receive a prize of €1,000, with the support of the Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació (FCRI).

Project Preparation and Presentation

As in previous editions, participants will have access to an optional pitching training session, designed to help them communicate their proposals effectively to a jury that may not necessarily have expertise in their specific field.

The final event, including the presentation of the finalist projects and the PIONER Awards 2026 ceremony, will take place on 8 October 2026.

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Today, the CERCA Institution welcomed group of students from the VHIR Master’s programme in Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship on a visit aimed at introducing them to how the research system in Catalonia operates and the role played by CERCA centres within it.

During the session, the Institution’s main areas of activity were presented, with a particular focus on innovation and knowledge transfer, especially in the biomedical field. The importance of connecting research with the healthcare system and the market was also highlighted, along with the role of transversal skills in fostering collaboration and multidisciplinary work.

The visit also provided an opportunity to showcase the working communities promoted by CERCA as key spaces for building partnerships and sharing knowledge across centres. The Master’s programme, promoted by VHIR, aims to train professionals capable of transforming knowledge into solutions with a tangible impact on the healthcare system.

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These criteria establish the procedure for publishing studies and reports commissioned from third parties and apply both to government departments and to affiliated public‑sector entities.

The key aspects to be taken into account are as follows:

• Prior review of the document: the commissioning unit must determine whether the document can be published in full or whether anonymisation is required for justified reasons.
• Uploading to GEEC: a single document per file must be uploaded, in PDF format, named according to the file reference number, and attached to the mandatory task “Study/Opinion/Report”.
• Automated publication: the information will be automatically published on the Transparency Portal via the open data dataset.
• Deferred publication (if applicable): in duly justified cases, publication may be postponed by means of a supporting report.

At the link you will find the dedicated section of the GEEC User Guides (invoice management and file settlement), with step‑by‑step instructions on how to add this information in each case.

On a weekly basis, GEEC exports the information to the open data dataset, which is automatically published on the Transparency Portal.

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Immediate impact: more publications and lower costs for research groups

Since the agreements came into force in May 2025, a total of 368 APCs (Article Processing Charges) have been approved, with an estimated cost of €1,346,653.99 absorbed by the agreements. This cost—often invisible but highly significant—relieves research teams of a burden that can influence the decision to publish in open access.

The uptake has continued to increase, and 139 prepaid APCs have already been approved this year, confirming that the CERCA community is progressively integrating these instruments into its regular activity.

The impact on reading is also notable. In 2025, researchers at CERCA centres downloaded 2,116,256 articles from journals included in the agreements.

• 368 APCs approved in 2025
• €1,346,653.99 estimated APC cost
• 2,116,256 articles downloaded

How do APCs work?

When the author submits an article, the journal automatically detects CERCA affiliation and offers the option to publish in open access through the transformative agreement. CERCA validates the request whenever credit is available.

If this option does not appear during the editorial process, the team simply needs to contact CERCA’s reference person for transformative agreements, who will provide guidance and resolve any issues.

Who can benefit?

The main requirement is that the person submitting the manuscript is the corresponding author and has an active CERCA affiliation. This model fosters more equitable access, particularly for predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers who lead manuscripts but do not always have resources to cover APCs.

How to publish

If you want to publish in open access and contribute to open science, consult the list of journals and conditions, or contact us with any questions.

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A new evaluation model to drive excellence

The budget increase will come into effect this year and will be accompanied by a new evaluation model aligned with the mandate of Catalonia’s Science Act (Law 9/2022). The new system will allocate resources based on criteria such as scientific excellence, quality and social impact. Each centre will receive a fixed amount of between €100,000 and €150,000, supplemented by a variable portion linked to objective indicators.

According to Minister Montserrat, “Catalonia’s research system is one of the country’s great strengths and a key part of our knowledge model.” The aim is clear: to enable centres to anticipate global challenges, forge strategic alliances and compete at the highest international level.

Implementing the strategic pillars of the Science Act

The additional resources will accelerate the development of the Science Act’s priority areas, including excellent research, open science, gender equality, integrity, sustainability, knowledge transfer and the strengthening of the Catalan language in the scientific sphere. This boost will help reinforce Catalonia’s role as a European benchmark in research and innovation.

New Joan Guinovart grant programme

During the meeting, a new funding scheme was also presented: the Joan Guinovart call. With a budget of €800,000 over two years, it will fund six annual strategic research programmes co-led by two or more CERCA centres and at least one Catalan university.

This initiative aims to strengthen institutional collaboration, stimulate large-scale projects and support the ongoing implementation of the Science Act across the entire system.

With this double move—more resources and a stronger strategic vision—Catalonia consolidates an ambitious research model, while enhancing the international competitiveness of its centres and their ability to attract and retain talent.

The post The Government increases funding for the CERCA centres by €25 million appeared first on CERCA.

Voluntariat per la llengua, promoted by the Ministry of Language Policy and implemented locally by the Consortium for Language Normalisation (CPNL), is a programme designed to help people practise Catalan through conversation. It works by creating language pairs made up of a volunteer—who speaks Catalan fluently—and a learner—who has basic knowledge of the language and wishes to become more confident and fluent.

The intention of the CERCA Institution is to make it easier for these pairs to form between colleagues within the same working environment, thus encouraging natural learning embedded into everyday life at the centres.

CERCA centres already participating

Several centres within the CERCA system have already begun implementing the programme with positive results. Among them is the Centre for Demographic Studies, which currently has ten active language pairs. ISGlobal, IDIBAPS and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute are also participating, with a total of sixteen active pairs.

Other centres that have joined Voluntariat per la llengua include the Sant Pau Research Institute, the Germans Trias i Pujol Health Sciences Research Institute, and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute.

A programme adaptable to all environments

One of the strengths of VxL is its flexibility and adaptability. Although it has traditionally been aimed at the general adult population, it has successfully expanded into many different contexts thanks to tailored approaches for specific groups. In each case, the dynamics are designed jointly with the organisations or institutions interested in promoting the use of Catalan among their staff or users.

With the incorporation of the CERCA Institution, the programme takes another step forward in consolidating the presence of Catalan in scientific and multicultural environments, reinforcing the CERCA system’s commitment to promoting the language within the research community.

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Mentoring grounded in trust and a feminist perspective

CERCA-REMA weaves a network of relationships between women with diverse professional paths—both in research and in management—who share a common challenge: advancing in their careers within environments where structural inequalities still persist. The mentoring relationships are conceived as safe, trusting and validating spaces, where dialogue is mutual and expectations are realistic. (How can we sustain leadership that does not crack under pressure? How can we break the isolation so many women experience?)

The programme also includes a training pathway designed by Míriam Bayés and Jordina Arnau, featuring workshops on feminist leadership, identifying harassment situations, assertive communication, emotional wellbeing, and the development of sustainable leadership practices.

Broad and diverse participation

The figures highlight the programme’s reach: 61 participants attended the information session, 51 mentoring pairs were formed, and the workshops gathered 322 registrations. It is a community that would hardly have come together outside this framework and that, according to participants, has helped break isolation and fostered strong bonds of professional solidarity.

What we have learned

The reflections shared show that, despite progress, obstacles remain when it comes to reporting sexual and gender-based harassment. Fear of reprisals, lack of trust in institutional mechanisms, and job insecurity continue to act as disincentives. CERCA-REMA demonstrates that training, support, and community-building are essential components in addressing these issues.

The programme also brings to the fore a recurring challenge: the need for continuity. Longer, more flexible spaces that are better integrated into everyday working life would allow deeper work on change processes and make reconciliation easier.

Looking ahead

In 2026, a new line of work will be launched: a specific programme aimed at men, with the goal of promoting their active and shared involvement in eradicating gender-based violence and driving cultural transformation within research environments.

CERCA-REMA has shown that feminist mentoring not only empowers individuals but also transforms groups and institutions. It is a necessary step towards research environments that are more equitable, safer, and capable of recognising all the talent that sustains them.

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The session opened with contributions from Javier Bonet, Director of CIMNE and member of the assessment panel for the United Kingdom’s 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), and Jean Grugel, Principal Investigator at IBEI also a member of the REF 2021 Politics and International Studies panel. They offered insights into the challenges and opportunities that impact assessment represents in their respective fields, stressing that impact is, above all, a collective endeavour. It should not be understood as an individual exercise but rather as a shared process between teams and institutions.

Next, Victòria Miquel, Director of the Research Area (Research Personnel) at AGAUR, and Esther Vizcaíno, researcher at the AQuAS Research Lab, provided a closer look at the Catalan context. They explained how AGAUR is working to incorporate impact assessment into its programmes and how AQuAS promotes projects aimed at generating impact within the health system, using shorter and more targeted models.

The session continued with a presentation by Rebeca Zapata, officer at the Directorate-General for Knowledge Transfer and Society of the Ministry of Research and Universities, who outlined the new call for Grants for Projects with Impact on Society, open until 25 February.

Finally, Núria Benítez, Head of Strategy at I-CERCA, presented the next steps for the Impact Community in 2026. Planned actions include disclosure of some narratives submitted in 2024 so they can be shared with all centres as a working tool. This initiative will strengthen collective learning and support the organisation of much-demanded activities, such as training on qualitative and quantitative indicators, understanding non-result-oriented impact models, addressing the specificities of impact in basic research, training trainers, and developing new tools to advance the culture of impact.

In the coming days, contact will be made with the centres that have volunteered to open their narratives, as well as with the advisory board (RIAAB), to manage the necessary permissions.

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In total, 17 projects led by researchers from Catalan research institutions have been selected in this 2025 PoC edition, 11 of which correspond to CERCA centres, consolidating the system as one of the main hubs for research-based innovation.

These grants, each worth €150,000, enable the validation of the commercial and social potential of emerging technologies stemming from ERC projects.

Overall results of the two 2025 PoC rounds

• 300 researchers have obtained a PoC grant at the European level.
• 17 belong to universities and research centres in Catalonia (out of 42 across Spain).
• 11 projects correspond to CERCA centres (IBEC 5, IDIBAPS 2, ICIQ, ICN2, ICFO, VHIO).
• The remaining grants in Catalonia went to UPF, UB and UPC, ICMAB‑CSIC, the Barcelona School of Economics and the company Neuroelectrics.

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This month we welcomed Miguel Sierra, President of Uruguay’s National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA), who visited to learn first-hand about the activities carried out by CERCA centres in the agri-food field. Dr Sierra has previously collaborated with CERCA as a member of the international advisory panel on impact assessment. His visit now strengthens a relationship that aims to become broader, more cross-cutting and more future-oriented.

INIA maintains a longstanding and solid collaboration with IRTA in areas such as institutional management and research in strategic fields including fruit growing, efficient water management and precision livestock farming. In addition to IRTA, his visit included meetings with other leading centres in the CERCA system, such as AGROTECNIO, CRAG, CREAF, ISGLOBAL and the Beta Tech Center, which offer complementary perspectives on genomics, ecosystems, health and bioengineering—illustrating the scientific diversity of research centres in Catalonia.

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