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Gastos internos totales en actividades de I+D en relación al PIB (en porcentaje)
Internal expenditure on R&D activities as a percentage of the GDP. By execution sector. 1990-2005
Source: Spanish Science and Technology System Indicators. 2006.
Total expenditure in 2006 (public and private) on R&D in Spain was ¤11.815 billion, equivalent to 1.20% of the GDP.
In 2006, expenditure by the private sector (companies and non-profit institutions) represented 55.5% of the total expenditure, and the public sector (Administration and universities) represented 45.5%.
The number of people employed in R&D activities in 2006 represented 9.57% of the employed population, with a total of 188,978 people.
According to information from the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), 38.2% of all individuals employed in R&D in 2006 with full-time employees (FTE) were women. Although their incorporation into the science and technology system is slow, it is increasing progressively. Female participation was highest in private non-profit institutions, with a 52.6% participation level, followed by the Public Administration (49.3%). Their representation in private companies was 29.2%.
As regards Spain's situation compared to the rest of the OECD nations, the number of researchers is near the average for Europe of 27, although it is still far from the countries at the top of the list (Finland, Sweden or Japan). Its position for civil R&D expenditure is noteworthy, while its greatest weakness continues to be the number of patents per thousand residents (data: MSTI 2007, OECD).
Science and Technology relationships between the Spanish Central Administration and those of the Autonomous Communities show growing strength and importance over time. Participation by the Autonomous Communities in the advisory bodies of the Interministerial Commission on Science and Technology (CICYT), through the General Council on Science and Technology, has been augmented by the use of direct feedback mechanisms, through active participation in Director General Working Groups to draft the National Plan and through the creation of the Sectorial Conference of Regional Ministries with powers in the promotion of R&D and innovation with the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN). The Ministry has signed bilateral agreements with each Autonomous Community for cooperation and collaboration in the area of Science and Technology, for harmonious development of the National R&D and Innovation Plan's priorities with those of the Regional Research and Innovation Plans.
The publication of notices made by the Autonomous Communities can be found in their corresponding Official Journals or Gazettes.
This greater implication in the coordination of the R&D activities is also reflected in the increase to the percentage of the budget dedicated to these areas. The most remarkable Autonomous Communities by volume are Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia, Valencia and the Basque Country. It is worth noting the R&D intensity index for the Communities of Madrid, Navarre, Catalonia and the Basque Country.
Internal R&D expenditure compared to the regional GDP and number of FTE in R&D in 2006 by Autonomous Community.
(Source: INE, 2006 data)
The current Spanish science, technology and business system was configured as such with the approval of the 1986 Science Act, which includes among its fundamental objectives a greater and better coordination among the different agents in the system. The Central Government, through the public sector, develops the science and technology policies. They are carried out in accordance with the National Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation Plan.
The Interministerial Commission on Science and Technology (CICYT), the leading national agency for scientific and technological policy, is responsible for its planning, drafting, coordination and follow-up. The CICYT is presided over by the Office of the Prime Minister and includes the ministries involved in scientific and technological policy: Ministry of Science and Innovation, Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ministry of the Economy and the Treasury, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The CICYT is assisted by two councils:
The Support and Monitoring Committee has also been created. Part of the CICYT, it is led by the Prime Minister's Economic Office and is responsible primarily for interministerial coordination in planning and follow-up tasks for science and technology aid.
To facilitate the task of leading the development and execution of the R&D and innovation policies, the CICYT has delegated its authority to the Ministry of Science and Innovation www.micinn.es, que es el organismo encargado de gestionar las políticas de investigación, desarrollo e innovación.
The Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) - www.fecyt.es- part of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, is responsible for providing technical support to the scientific and technological decision-making bodies in Spain. The FECYT is the entity responsible for coordinating the Spanish Network of Mobility Centers, a European initiative to facilitate the mobility of researchers in Europe, offering them information on job offers and on different aspects of life, work and culture in each of the European countries. www.euraxess.es.
As it is organized, the Spanish science and technology system includes the following types of participating institutions:
The Public Research Entities are part of the research and innovation system, both as managers of some of the programs in the National R&D and Innovation Plan and as executive agents for many of the research, development and innovation activities financed with public funds.
The following six entities are part of the Ministry of Science and Innovation; the Government of the Canary Islands also participates in the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute.
| Public Research Entity | Website | Info in English |
|---|---|---|
| Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) | www.csic.es | Yes |
| Energy, Environmental and Technological Research Center (CIEMAT) | www.ciemat.es | Yes |
| National Agrarian and Food Technology Research Institute (INIA) | www.inia.es | No |
| Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO) | www.ieo.es | No |
| Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute (IAC) | www.iac.es | Yes |
| Spanish Mining and Geology Institute (IGME) | www.igme.es | Yes |
The following entities are also governed by the "Science Act" for hiring personnel:
| Entity | Website | Info in English |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos III Health Institute | www.isciii.es | Yes |
| National Aerospace Technology Institute (INTA) | www.inta.es | Yes |
| Public Works Studies and Experimentation Center (CEDEX) | www.cedex.es | Yes |
The following public research entities and units carrying out scientific research, technological development and/or industrial innovation belong to other Ministerial Departments:
| Entity | Website | Info in English |
|---|---|---|
| El Pardo Hydrodynamics Experience Channel (CEHIPAR) | www.cehipar.es | Yes |
| Sociological Research Center (CIS) | www.cis.es | Yes |
| Political and Constitutional Studies Center (CEPC) | www.cepc.es | Yes |
| Tax Studies Institute (IEF) | www.ief.es | Yes |
| DGAM - Office Weapons and Material (Ministry of Defense) | www.mde.es | No |
| National Weather Institute (INM). | www.inm.es | No |
| National Transplant Organization. | www.ont.es | Yes |
| National Toxicology and Forensic Sciences Institute (INTCF) | www.mju.es/toxicologia/ | No |
| National Drug Research and Training Research Institute (INIA) | www.pnsd.msc.es/Categoria3/inifd | Si |
| National Geographic Institute | www.ign.es | No |
Universities play a key role in the Spanish science and technology system due both to their teaching activities and their research and development and technology transfer activity. Universities are one of the primary research resources in Spain. In fact, according to data for 2006 from the INE, the weight of the universities in the whole of the system is considerable: the make 33% of the total R&D expenditure and 58% of all researchers and 38% of all R&D personnel work are employed by them.
During the 2006-2007 school year, 73 university institutions (50 public and 23 private) provided university services throughout Spain. Furthermore, the diversification of the university offer occurs not only through the presence of new institutions (public or private), but also through a new curriculum for university degrees. The number of official university degree programs grew from less than 60 in the 1985-1986 school year to 140 in 2006-2007.
Companies represent a benchmark element in the Spanish science and technology system, not only as the entities responsible for applying the knowledge generated through the innovation processes, but also through their complementary relationship with the public R&D system. By execution sector, the business sector represents the largest percentage of the total R&D expenditure, at 55%, which represents 0.67% of the GDP.
On the other hand, according to the National Institute's survey "Statistics on technological innovation in companies 2006", expenditure in technological innovation by the private sector (excluding agriculture) was €16.396 billion in 2006, a 20.2% increase compared to the year before. This expenditure represented 1.8% of the turnover at businesses with innovation-related activities.
Furthermore, 25% of all Spanish companies were innovators during the 2004-2006 period.
There are several foundations that have done important work in the areas of scientific research, technological development and innovation. These foundations act as a platform for inter-disciplinary and intersectorial meetings, analysis and debate. They also promote the dissemination of scientific and technological knowledge, encouraging a scientific and technological culture among citizens.
These foundations include: Fundación Madri+d, Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació (FCRI), the Foundation for the Promotion in Asturias of Applied Scientific Research and Technology (FICYT), the Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology in Extremadura (FUNDECYT), the Seneca Foundation (Murcia), the Campollano Foundation (Castilla-La Mancha), the COTEC Foundation and the IBIT Foundation (Balearic Islands). Many of them are involved in the Spanish Network of Mobility Centers.
These are institutions whose primary missions include favoring the transfer of research results to the production system to enable companies to assimilate them properly. Two of the most important include the Industrial Technology Development Center (CDTI) and the Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office (SPTO).
This heading covers a wide variety of entities whose relevance in the scientific and technological realm has, traditionally, been residual, due to their small size in comparison with the rest. They can be classified into:
The Large Singular Science and Technology Infrastructures (ICTS) are unique or exceptional facilities. Their investment and/or maintenance cost is relatively high compared to the R&D investment budget in their area of activity. Their importance and strategic nature in R&D justify their accessibility to the entire R&D collective and to society as a whole.
For more information on any of the following large facilities, visit the links on the FECYT web page (www.fecyt.es) or on the web page for the Ministry of Science and Innovation (www.micinn.es). There are 24 ICTS in Spain recognized as such by the CICYT Standing Committee:
| Large Facilities | Subject Matter | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish Antarctic Bases Juan Carlos I and Gabriel Castilla | Environment | Antarctica |
| Hespérides Oceanographic Research Vessel | Oceanography, biology, geophysics and marine geology | Spanish Antarctic bases |
| Cornide de Saavedra Oceanographic Vessel | Fishing and oceanography | Spanish coast |
| Maritime Research and Experimentation Channel | Engineering, coastal morphology, climate, environment | Barcelona |
| Technology Center at the Polytechnic University of Madrid's Optoelectronic Systems Institute | Optoelectronics and microelectronics | Polytechnic University of Madrid |
| Calar Alta Astronomical Center | Astronomy | Sierra de los Filabres (Almería) |
| Yebes Astronomical Center | Radioastronomical observation | Guadalajara |
| Computation and Communications Center of Catalonia (CESCA) | IT and communication | Catalonia |
| TJ-II Thermonuclear Fusion Device | Nuclear Fusion | CIEMAT. Madrid |
| High Security Biological Facilities (CISA-INIA) | Biological security | Valdeolmos. Madrid |
| Pico Veleta Millimetric Radioastronomical Institute | Astronomy | Pico Veleta (Granada). Headquartered in Grenoble. |
| Singular Civil Engineering Facilities at the CEDEX | Civil engineering, environment and public works | Madrid |
| Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory (800 MHz NMR) at the Barcelona Science Park | Nuclear | University of Barcelona |
| Teide Observatory (IAC) | Astrophysics | Izaña (Tenerife) |
| Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (IAC) | Astrophysics | La Palma island (Canary Islands) |
| Almería Solar Platform | Solar energy | Tabernas Desert (Almería) |
| IRIS Network of Advanced Online Services for the Spanish Scientific Community | Communication | Public business entity red.es |
| White Room at the National Microelectronics Center | Microelectronics | Autonomous University of Barcelona |
| Doñana Scientific Reserve | Environment, biodiversity | Seville, Huelva and Jaén (Andalusia) |
| Barcelona Supercomputing Center-National Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) | IT | Barcelona |
| El Pardo Hydrodynamics Experience Channel (CEHIPAR) | Hydrodynamics | El Pardo (Madrid) |
| Canfranc Underground Laboratory | Particle physics | Canfranc (Aragon) |
| Sarmiento de Gamboa Oceanographic Research Vessel | Oceanography | Spanish coast |
The National R&D and Innovation Plan is the instrument for the promotion and general coordination of scientific and technical research, technological development and innovation, which establishes the mid-term objectives and priorities for science and technology policy.
The National R&D and Innovation Plan 2008-2001 maintains, as its ultimate objectives, three general principles, which are broad guidelines for Spanish scientific and technological policy:
The National Plan establishes the following strategic objectives:
The objectives of the National R&D and Innovation Plan 2008-2011 are formulated to improve the indicators of the Spanish Science and Technology System and obtain the following results:
| INDICATORS | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Total internal expenditure in R&D activities (as % of GDP) | 2.2 |
| R&D expenditure made by the business sector (as % of the total) | 60.4 |
| R&D expenditure financed by the business sector (as % of the total) | 55.0 |
| Expenditure in innovation (as % of GDP) | 3.0 |
| R&D + Innovation Expenditure Program for Nat. Budget, Chapter I-VII/over total National Budget (as %) | 1.7 |
| Total researchers (per thousand employed citizens) | 7.1 |
| Researchers in the business sector (as % of the total) | 42.8 |
| Number of doctors annually (as number) | 10,470 |
| Scientific production share compared to the world total (as %) | 3.6 |
| Scientific production in international collaboration (as %) | 45.0 |
| Economic return on Spanish participation in EU R&D FP(1) (as %) | 8.0 |
| Patents applied for with the EPO(2) (per million citizens) | 96.0 |
| Innovative companies compared to total number of companies (as %) | 37.8 |
| EIN(3) cooperating with Universities, Public Research Entities or Technology Centers over total EIN that have cooperated (as %) | 62.5 |
| Venture capital investment in initial stages over GDP (as %) | 0.035 |
1.- FP: Framework Program
2.- EPO: European Patent Office
3.- EIN: Innovative Businesses or companies with innovation underway or unsuccessful
The structure of the National Plan is based on four areas, which are directly related to the general objectives of the Plan,, tied to instrumental programs that work towards specific objectives.
To fulfill the objectives of the National Plan, based on the four areas identified, there are six Instrumental Lines of Action, carried out through 13 National Programs, which represent the major actions of the National Plan and are executed through public notices for all SECYT agents:
This includes the instruments whose strategic objectives involve increasing the number of personnel dedicated to R&D and Innovation activities to meet the SECYT growth needs, as well as constant training in the knowledge society and mobility (both geographic and institutional and intersectorial) for researchers, engineers and technologists:
| Instrumental Line of Action | National Programs | Areas | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area 1. Scientific and Technological Knowledge and Skills Generation | Area 2. Promotion of R&D Cooperation | Area 3. Sectorial Technological Development and Innovation. | Area 4. Strategic Actions | ||
| I. Human Resources | Human Resource Training |  | |
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| Human Resource Mobility | | |
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| Human Resource Hiring and Incorporation | | |
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| II. R&D and Innovation Projects | Fundamental Research Projects | | | |
|
| Applied Research Projects | | | | |
|
| Experimental Development Projects | | ||||
| Innovation Projects | | ||||
| III. Institutional Strengthening | Institutional Strengthening | | |
||
| IV. Science and Technology Infrastructures | Science-Technology Infrastructures | | | | |
| V. Use of Knowledge and Technology Transfer | Technology Transfer, Valuation and Promotion of EBT | | |
||
| VI. System Articulation and Internationalization | Networks | | | | |
| Public-Private Cooperation | | |
|||
| R&D Internationalization | | | | |
|
This includes the instruments whose strategic objectives include encouraging the generation of new knowledge, applying existing knowledge to solving problems and taking advantage of the knowledge for innovation.
This includes the instruments whose strategic objectives include strengthening the capabilities of the actors and agents in the Spanish Science and Technology System nationally and internationally by means of support for the institutions and entities that operate in the system and independent medium-term strategies. This instrumental line is new and will be carried out through the following national program:
This includes the instruments whose strategic objectives include increasing the Spain's capabilities in terms of science and technology infrastructures, creating the conditions to make the most of them and contributing to their construction and use by all agents in the system.
All of the above actions will be included in the following national program:
This includes the instruments whose strategic objectives include both the transfer of technology from the research entities to the companies, and even vice versa, and the valuation of the knowledge produced by the research entities and support for the creation of businesses based on that knowledge.
All of the above actions will be included in the following national program:
This includes the instruments whose strategic objectives include contributing to the strengthening and articulation of the R&D and Innovation system, reducing fragmentation, increasing critical mass, strengthening stable public-private cooperation and articulating the regional systems within the national and international context
To finance the actions in the National R&D and Innovation Plan for the four-year 2008-2011 period, 16% year-on-year increases are planned for the expenditure program dedicated to R&D and Innovation in the Spanish National Budget, with a planned expenditure for 2008 of ¤8.078 billion in aid to promote scientific excellence, improve the transfer of technology to the private sector and encourage public-private cooperation.
The National Plan seeks to put new procedures in place in the traditional management mechanisms, with the publication of a single "Terms and Conditions Order" per instrumental line of action, as well as a single notice per National Program. The Strategic Actions can group their instruments into additional notices.
Reducing the administrative load is one of the main objectives of the National R&D and Innovation Plan 2008-2011 to improve the systems for accessing public aids by their beneficiaries. A one-stop service desk system will be installed according to the following criteria:
The Working Program for the National R&D and Innovation Plan 2008-2011 is the short-term planning and scheduling tool for science and technology policy in Spain. Drafted annually, it makes it possible to update the contents, objectives and priorities in the plan and includes the publication calendar for the planned notices.
In 2008, €8.078 billion is expected to be made available to the program as aid to promote scientific excellence, improve the transfer of technology to the private sector and motivate public-private cooperation.
The aid calendar for 2008 is summarized in the following chart:
| Fecha prevista de publicación | Recursos presupuestarios previstos (miles €) | |
|---|---|---|
| Línea Instrumental de Actuación de Recursos Humanos | ||
| Programa Nacional de Formación de RRHH | Febrero | 187.804,98 |
| Programa Nacional de Movilidad de RRHH | Febrero | 44.953,00 |
| Programa Nacional de Contratación e Incorporación de RRHH | Febrero | 223.862,96 |
| Linea Instrumental de Actuación de Proyectos I+D+I | ||
| Programa Nacional de Proyectos de Investigación Fundamental | Noviembre 2007 | 553.000,00 |
| Programa Nacional de Proyectos de Investigación Aplicada | Febrero | 310.800,00 |
| Programa Nacional de Desarrollo Experimental | Marzo | 12.658,00 |
| Programa Nacional de Proyectos de Innovación | Marzo | 12.685,00 |
| Línea Instrumental de Actuación de Fortalecimiento Institucional | ||
| Programa Nacional de Fortalecimiento Institucional | Febrero | 150.000,00 |
| Línea Instrumental de Actuación de Infraestructuras Científicas y Tecnológicas | ||
| Programa Nacional de Infraestructuras | Enero | 1.346.062,54 |
| Línea Instrumental de Actuación de Utilización del Conocimiento y Transferencia Tecnológica | ||
| Programa Nacional de Transferencia de Tecnología, Valorización y Promoción de Empresas de Base Tecnológica | Febrero | 60.000,00 |
| Línea Instrumental de Actuación de Articulación e Internacionalización | ||
| Programa Nacional de Redes | Febrero | 66.589,09 |
| Programa Nacional de Cooperación Público-Privada | Febrero | 849.640,11 |
| Programa Nacional de Internacionalización de la I+D | Febrero | 37.700,00 |
| Acción Estratégica de Salud | Enero | 281.500,00 |
| Acción Estratégica de Biotecnología 1.2. | Marzo | 5.700,00 |
| Acción Estratégica de Energía y Cambio Climático2. | Marzo | 259.500,00 |
| Acción Estratégica de Telecomunicaciones y Sociedad de la Información | Febrero | 735.766,00 |
| Acción Estratégica de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología, Nuevos Materiales y Nuevos Procesos Industriales3 | Sin convocatoria específica en 2008 | 488.000,00 |
| Otras Actuaciones | 2.462.850,54 | |
