Generalitat of Catalonia

1. Background on the Government of Catalonia’s policy on research and innovation

The last twenty-five years have been a period of great changes and advances in the field of science and technology. This is reflected in the policies on research and development applied by different countries. In Catalonia, as in the rest of Spain, it can be said that during these years, there has been a generation of a veritable system of science-technology-enterprise, which did not exist previously, the modernisation of research structures, and the start of technology transfer processes and the boosting of innovation.

These processes have come about simultaneously with the changes experienced by Catalan society, which has become more dynamic and open while its economy was becoming significantly internationalised and tertiarised. In fact, during this period, the progressive consolidation of the democratic system, State structuring of autonomous regions, the approaching of Catalonia and Spain to the economic and social reality of western countries and progressive integration into Europe have defined new, changing frameworks of reference in regard to tendencies and policies in the field of research and development.

In this respect, it must be borne in mind that in the last ten years, the very concept of innovation and, even more, its relationship with research and development capabilities and with the competitiveness of the enterprises of one or another country or region, have acquired the importance they have today.

In Catalonia, within the framework of the Statute, the Government of Catalonia started to develop a set of initiatives and actions aimed at promoting research and development activities just after its restoration in 1980.

Thus, the Government of Catalonia created several bodies to apply its policy on science and technology, such as the Interministerial Council for Research and Technological Innovation (CIRIT), in 1980, whose aim was to co-ordinate the research and development activities of the different ministries of the Government of Catalonia and the Centre for Innovation and Business Development (CIDEM), in 1985, to give support to the world of business in the processes of incorporating technology and in their internationalisation.

In the Spanish State, the announcement of the University Reform Act (LRU) in 1983 constituted a decisive moment for the creation and development of the Spanish system of science and technology, not just because it was the starting point in the renovation of universities, but also because explicit recognition was given to the importance of university research activities for the country’s social and economic progress. In fact, this act and the 1986 act on science were the start of the process of modernisation and improvement that science and technology have undergone in Catalonia and throughout the Spanish State in the last twenty years.

We must not forget that Spain’s joining of the European Union in 1986 made it possible for Catalan researchers to gain access to sources of research funding that existed in Europe and, in particular, to those of the different framework programmes on research and development.

Concerning Catalonia, during the eighties, in accordance with the Statute, the Government of Catalonia prepared for the transfer of state resources assigned to promoting research and the handing-over of the state research centres that existed in Catalonia, as well as the enactment of a Catalan law on the planning and promotion of research. Nevertheless, the sentence passed by the Constitutional Tribunal in 1992 against the appeal by the Government of Catalonia against the Science Act has so far prevented these hand-overs from materialising. In fact, the only transfers that did take place were in agriculture, which made it possible to create the Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA) in 1985.

So, despite not having transferred the research and development centres located in Catalonia or their resources, the transfer of the competencies and resources regarding higher education and universities to the Government of Catalonia, which took place in 1990, allowed the progressive creation of research centres that aimed to reinforce the existing scientific areas or promote new ones.

These events led to the materialisation of special measures on research and development whose institutional aspects were concretised with the creation in 1992 of the Commissioner for Universities and Research and, a few years later, the Ministry of Universities, Research and the Information Society (DURSI) in 2000.

Analysis of the evolution of the policy on science and innovation over the last twenty years in Catalonia, shows that this has been based on a cumulative process of actions and instruments born at different times for different reasons, often referring to the state or community framework. These disperse actions, however, have followed a trajectory that may be grouped in three stages in accordance with three main strategic objectives: an increase in the country’s scientific base (first and main objective of the eighties), to disseminate knowledge by means of the creation of intermediate technology transfer bodies (the nineties) and to optimise the capacity of businesses to incorporate innovation in all areas as a strategic process of Catalonia’s productive fabric (start of the 21st century).

During the first stage, the eighties, it should be remembered that no Spanish national plans were set in motion in the State until 1989. In 1993, Catalonia saw, as a result of the creation of the Commissioner for Universities and Research, the start-up of the first Research Plan for Catalonia, which was followed by the second (1997-2000) and the third (2001-2004). The research plans had a fundamental role in the policy of the Catalan Government to promote research and development, which made it possible to prepare a number of well trained pre-doctoral and post-doctoral researchers which led to a considerable increase in the size of the system, especially in the universities area, at the heart of which currently some 70% of the scientific production of Catalonia takes place. The research plans have also been useful for the establishment of priority areas, the creation of research networks and centres, and the jump onto the international circuit for Catalan research via support for international co-operation. The Third Research Plan for Catalonia (2001-2004) was the last one to be applied and coincided with the First Innovation Plan for Catalonia for the same period. This coincidence made it possible to engage in joint actions for the transfer of the results of research to the different productive sectors. That meant a first attempt to give a common reference framework which integrates actions in the field of research and development with actions in the field of technology and innovation. Now this attempt is reinforced and boosted within the framework of the new Research and Innovation Plan 2005-2008.

The Innovation Plan 2001-2004 was set within the European Commission’s Regional Innovation Technology Transfer Strategy (RITTS) programme. The aim of the Plan was to achieve rigorous entrepreneurial demand, conscious of the importance of innovation to compete and of incorporating innovation as a strategic business approach. To satisfy this demand, the generation of applied technology and collaboration between universities and businesses was promoted. Also, as innovating involves taking technological and financial risks, agents were needed to share a part of this risk in order to avoid social splintering, and so access was facilitated to sources of public or private funding willing to run part of this business risk.

The three poles of the research and innovation system considered were, therefore, the following:

• The business pole: actions to create rigorous demand.

• The scientific and technological pole: actions to create competitive technological supply.

• The financial pole: actions to obtain quick resources.

The Innovation Plan 2001-2004 meant an important leap forward and an initial structured proposal to complete the technology transfer infrastructures, to stimulate demand and to create financial instruments to give support to projects with specific profiles. Likewise, these conditions have been seen to be insufficient to make significant headway in the ability of businesses to innovate and to specialise in high technology sectors. Thus, the strategic focus of the Research and Innovation Plan 2005-2008 specifies priority actions with the co-ordination of sectoral policies with generic policies on innovation and defines steps to reinforce the organisation of the research and innovation system.

Therefore, the correction of these and other shortcomings, as well as the strengthening of the more favourable aspects of the current state of the research and innovation system in Catalonia constitute the challenges and the main objectives of the new Research and Innovation Plan for Catalonia 2005-2008.

2. Basic data on the research and innovation system in Catalonia

Situation of research and development in Catalonia: the public sector and the private sector

In recent years, the efforts made by Catalonia in research and development have become clear in the continuous increase of the resources allocated to them. Expenditure by Catalonia on research and development, according to the latest data for 2003,is 1,876 million euros, which accounts for 22.84% of the total expenditure made in the Spanish State for R&D. Thus, Catalonia is in second place in absolute value in financing of research in the autonomous regions.

This figure is 1.38% of the GDP and puts Catalonia in fourth place behind Madrid (1.81%), the Basque Country (1.42%) and Navarre (1.41%) and above the average for the Spanish State (1.10%).

Despite this growth, Catalonia is still quite a way behind the more developed countries of the European Union and the OECD. For example, expenditure by Japan on research and development was 3.07% in 2002; the United States, 2.64%, and the EU-15, 1.99%. In Europe, in particular, the figures for the following countries are notable; Germany (2.51%), Finland (3.49%), Sweden(4.27% in 2001), Denmark (2.40% in 2001), Belgium(2.17% in 2001) and France (2.20% in 2002).

Figure 1. Development of Catalan expenditure on research and development in million euros. Total expenditure and by sector.

Figure 2. Development of Catalan expenditure on research and development in million euros. Total expenditure and by sector.

The structure of expenditure on research and development is similar to the average for the European Union. Approximately two thirds of this expenditure is from the private sector and a third from the public sector.

Table 1. The structure of expenditure on research and development for 2003

Expenditure on research and development for 2003 (thousands of euros)
Total expenditure on research and developoment			1.875.855
Private sector	66,59%	Businesses	1.243.740
		IPFSL	5.335
Public sector	33,41%	Public Administration	170.393
		Higher education	456.387

Participation by the private sector is lower than in the most advanced regions and countries such as Ireland, Lombardy and Piedmont, where businesses contribute over 70% of the expenditure on research and development. Thus, despite participation by the private sector being similar to the mean for Europe, the effort made by businesses is 0.91% of the GDP, far lower than the European average (UE-15: 1.30%, according to data for 2002).

Figure 3. Structure of expenditure on research and development by Catalonian, spain and the EU (in %). Data for 2002.

 

The financing of research and innovation by the Catalan Administration

Research and innovation activities in the different ministries of the Government of Catalonia respond to the need to solve the problems that modern society creates in the fields of action of these ministries.

Every year, data is gathered on the research and innovation activities of all ministries of the Government of Catalonia. This enables us to know the financing by the Catalan Autonomous Administration as regards the maintenance costs of the research and innovation structures and with regard to the cost of investment in the activities carried out, both belonging to the centres and those derived from annual public open competitions. It is clear, however, that the different ministries also pursue research activities financed by other means, which are not the object of this analysis.

For the time being, the Ministries do not administer their own research budget and each area’s actions are managed and financed by the ministry or ministries of the Government of Catalonia interested in said area.

The following table shows the financing for research and innovation for the different ministries of the Government of Catalonia.

Innovation in Catalonia

In 2000 Catalonia stood out as being the first autonomous community in expenditure on technological innovation with 2,751,103 thousand euros, that is 2.42% of the GDP. Technological innovations comprise, in addition to the expenditure on research and development, the acquisition of machinery and equipment, the purchase of other external know-how, training, the introduction of innovations on the market, and design and other preparations for production and distribution. The sector in Catalonia that devotes the most resources to innovation is that of machinery and transport materials, followed by chemicals and wood, paper, publishing and graphic arts.

Table 2. Financing for research and innovation by the Ministries of the Government of Catalonia

MINISTRIES	2000	2001	2002	2003
AGRICULTURE, STOCKBREEDING AND FISHING	8.366.689,51	8.805.563,84	9.390.197,85	9.290234,26
SOCIAL WELFARE	1.081.100,57	2.015.747,80	2.920.591,13	5.147.461,48
CULTURE	1.173.776,64	2.705.707,46	2.273.059,19	2.402.076,82
ECONOMY AND FINANCES	205.065,33	451.423,42	471.958,23	398.809,57
EDUCATION	3.103.987,11	3.096.777,32	2.780.434,14	2.991.288,60
GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS	348.286,51	358.258,70	427.419,95	449.994,76
INDUSTRY, TRADE AND TOURISM	10.153.077,78	11.844.577,91	21.958.670,03	16.128.309,4
INTERIOR	965.165,34	637.903,68	1.676.438,10	725.691,01
JUSTICE	228.023,99	212.984,18	(1)	(1)
ENVIRONMENT	2.942.723,55	4.863.021,61	4.447.025,35	3.402.408,19
TOWN AND COUNTRY TOWN AND PUBLIC WORKS	3.186.482,04	4.277.674,59	5.125.252,70	4.131.409,15
PRESIDENCY	339.091,03	657.898,71	1.166.648,93	830.583,09
HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY (3)	55.894.125,71	56.933.876,65	61.067.969,88	65.879.699,00
EMPLOYMENT	1.570.985,54	786.597,00	(2)	(2)
UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH AND THE INFORMATION SOCIETY	198.942.819,71	212.746.771,93	233.617.265,60	259.496.487,28
TOTAL	288.501.400,36	310.394.784,80	347.322.931,08	371.274.452,61

Figures in euros. Data provided by the ministries
(1) In 2002 the Ministry of Justice merged with the Interior forming a new Ministry of Justice and the Interior.
(2) In 2002 the Ministry of Employment merged with that of Industry, Trade and Tourism to form the new Ministry of Employment, Industry, Trade and Tourism.
(3) Calculated against general expenditure of the health system based on international conventions.

 

Table 3. Expenditure on innovation in Catalonian and Spain by sector. Data for 2000

	CATALONIA	SPAIN	CAT./SP. (%)
MACHINERY, TRANSPORT MATERIALS	753.301	2.794.085	27
CHEMICALS	370.858	731.143	50,7
WOOD, PAPER, PUBLISHING AND GRAPHIC ARTS	212.276	682.639	31,1
TEXTILES, DRESSMAKING, LEATHER AND FOOTWEAR	179.634	290.957	61,7
FOOD, DRINKS AND TOBACCO	177.291	701.949	25,3
METAL MANUFACTURING	98.061	386.306	25,4
METALLURGY	87.624	316.917	27,6
RUBBER AND PLASTICS	70.206	238.484	29,4
NON-METAL MINERAL PRODUCTS	58.435	417.053	14
MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURING	56.009	213.051	26,3
EXTRACTION AND OIL INDUSTRIES	3.416	77.935	4,4
TOTAL FOR INDUSTRY	2.067.111	6.850.519	30,2

Source: INE

 

Table 4. Proportion of businesses with innovative activities (as a %). Data for the 1998-2000 period

	Total	Industry	Services	Small Buss.	Medium Buss.	Large Buss.
UE-15*	44	47	40	39	60	77
Belgium	50	59	42	45	64	76
Denmark	44	52	37	40	54	67
Germany	61	66	57	55	72	86
Greece	28	27	33	26	32	45
Spain	33	37	25	30	45	67
France	41	46	34	31	52	76
Ireland	65	75	52	n.d.	n.d.	n.d.
Italy	36	40	25	33	56	71
Luxembourg	48	49	48	42	59	95
Netherlands	45	55	38	39	59	79
Austria	49	53	45	42	65	89
Portugal	46	45	50	40	67	76
Finland	45	49	40	40	54	74
Sweden	47	47	46	42	60	72
United Kingdom	36	39	33	32	47	57
Iceland	55	54	56	51	70	79
Norway	36	39	34	33	45	64

Source: EUROSTAT-Community Innovation Survey i INE.
*Data for the European Union do not include Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

 

Medium and high-tech sectors: number of companies

In Catalonia there are 1,084 businesses in the industrial sector for high and medium-high-tech-content and services based on knowledge, which constitutes 28.55% of the total for the State.

Catalonia is at similar or slightly higher levels than the most advanced autonomous communities.

Figure 4. Number of high and medium-high businesses. Data for 2002

Table 5. The autonomous communities with the highest number of occupied workers in medium and high-tech sectors compared to the total number of workers. Data for 2001

Autonomous Communities (thousand people)	High-tech industrial sectors	Medium-high-tech industrial sectors	High-tech services	Total number of workers in medium and high-tech sectors	percetage over the total number of workers
Aragon	3,5	45,1	8,8	57,4	12,17%
Catalonia	54,3	245,1	73,6	373	13,49%
Madrid	60,4	80,8	164,8	306	13,55%
Navarre	0,6	27,9	3,8	32,3	13,59%
Basque Country	9,6	72,2	23,3	105,1	12,05%
Total	158	718,9	418,5	1295,4	8,12%

Source: INE.

 

High-tech industrial sectors: pharmaceuticals industry, office machinery and computing materials, electronic components, radios, television and communications, medical instruments, precision instruments, optical equipment and watchmaking, and aeronautical and space construction.
Medium-high-tech industrial sectors: chemical industry, except the pharmaceuticals industry, machinery and equipment, electrical appliances, the automobile industry and other transport materials.
High-tech services: post office and telecommunications, computing activities and R&D.

 

In these sectors of the Catalan economy, the most noteworthy are the chemical industry, which generates over a quarter of the total added value of the Catalan economy, the automobile industry (22%), the machinery and equipment sector (close to 19%) and the pharmaceuticals industry (12.6%).

Figure 5. Added value in the Catalan industrial medium and high-tech sectors. Data for 2000

 

 

The foreign market, in 2002, high-tech products generated 11.26% of Catalan exports. This percentage is greater than the 8.56% for the Spanish State, but it is far lower than the almost 20% presented by the Europe of the fifteen.

Human resources: personnel working in research and development

In Catalonia, the number of people working in research and development activities full time increased 1.9 times in five years, and grew from 17,773 in 1997 to 33,410 in 2003. Even so, the proportion that Catalonia constitutes within Spain remains at around 22.1%, so Catalan growth was similar to that of the Spanish State.

In the international field, Catalonia and Spain, in the number of researchers per thousand over the total number of positions, are below the mean for the European Union of the fifteen. Despite this, Catalonia, with a figure of 5.5 researchers per thousand workposts, is very close to the European average of 5.6 per thousand, while it is still a long way behind the OECD average, of 6.6 researchers per thousand workposts, the United States (7.9 per thousand), Scandinavian countries (around 10 per thousand) and Japan (9.7 per thousand).

Table 6. Total number of people working in research and development equivalent to full time

YEAR	CATALONIA	Annual growth	SPAIN	Annual growth
1997	17.773	---	87.420	---
1998	20.023	12,66%	97.098	11,07%
1999	21.896	9,35%	102.238	5,29%
2000	25.107	14,66%	120.618	17,98%
2001	26.037	3,70%	125.750	4,25%
2002	28.034	7,67%	134.258	6,77%
2003	33.410	16.09%	151.487	11,37%

Included as persons working in research and development are all those directly involved in research and development activities regardless of their degree of responsibility or functions. Source: INE 2004

 

Table 7. Researchers in research and development (in full time equivalent) and per thousand over total occupation. Data for 2000

	Researchers in Full Time Equivalent	Per thousands workposts
Germany	259.214	6,7
Austria**	18.715	4,7
Belgium*	30.219	7,8
Canada*	90.810	6,1
Catalonia	14.812	5,5
South Korea	108.370	5,2
Denmark*	18.438	6,7
Spain	76.670	4,9
USA***	1.114.100	7,9
Finland	26.162	11,4
France*	160.424	6,8
Greece*	14.828	3,8
Netherlands*	40.623	5,1
Ireland*	8.217	5,1
Italy*	64.886	2,9
Japan	647.572	9,7
Portugal*	15.752	3,3
United Kingdom**	157.662	5,5
Sweden*	39.921	9,6
UE-15*	919.313	5,6
OECD Total*	3.235.631	6,6

*Data for 1999 **Data for 1998 ***Data for 1997. Source: OECD-Science and Technology Statistical Compendium.

 

From a qualitative point of view, it can be seen that in the academic field there is a very direct relationship between being a researcher and being a PhD; in fact, all research and development activity carried out in universities is in the hands, principally, of PhDs or graduates in pre-doctoral training. On the other hand, in the private sector, the presence of PhDs is low and there is a predominance of graduates, engineers or technicians.

Also, in the Catalan system of research, development and innovation, the percentage of researchers in the private sector is low, when compared to the European average or with other countries.

Table 8. Distribution of the number of researchers by sector. Data as a percentage

	Businesses	Higher Education	Administration
Catalonia (2003)	38,1	48,4	13,5
Spain (2003)	24,0	58,0	17,0
European Union - 15 (2002)	50,0	35,0	13,0
USA (1997)	82,0	12,0	4,0
Japan (2000)	65,0	28,0	5,0

Source: INE (2004) for data on Catalonia and Spain, R&D expenditure and personnel in Europe 1999-2001, S. Frank, Statistics in Focus, EUROSTAT (2003).

 

As far as analysis by sex is concerned, we can see a scissor curve in which the percentage of women is higher than men at the early stages of researcher training (degree holders and pre-doctoral graduates), but as of the doctorate stage, there is an inflection which ends with a ratio of 85:15.

Figure 6. Analysis by sex. 2002-2003 academic year

 

The number of women in charge of the 478 consolidated research groups in existence today (awarded in the open competitions of 2001 and 2002) is 77.

In the awarding of grants, there is a balance between the number of grants awarded to men and awarded to women.

Results of research and development: scientific publications and patents

Scientific publications

The publication of articles in specialised scientific journals, as a principal means of disseminating basic research results is an indicator of the density, dynamism and internationalisation of a society’s system of science and technology.

Catalonia’s scientific production for the 1981-2002 period constituted 22% of that of the Spanish State. Approximately 28% of articles published in the State from Catalonia are done with international collaboration.

Compared to the countries of Europe, per capita scientific production for 2001 put Catalonia in fourth place with 0.45 articles per researcher, after Italy, Holland and the United Kingdom (0.48, 0.45 and 0.44, respectively). Despite this, if quality is taken into account, measured according to the number of quotes made from each article, Catalonia is ranked below the European average.

As far as the scientific fields are concerned, in Catalonia production in biomedicine and health sciences stand out.

Figure 7. Grants awarded by the Government of Catalonia between 1990 and 2004 versus application, classified by sex

 

 

  Table 9. Quantitative and qualitative comparison of Catalan scientific production

Countries	Articles 1999-2000	Quotations 2002	Quotations/Articles
USA	504.502	3.745.861	7,42
Netherlands	36.933	266.400	7,21
EU - 15	622.492	3.759.858	6,04
Catalonia	10.967	58.465	5,33
Spain	42.329	211.057	4,99
Japan	137.121	666.702	4,86

Sources: number of articles (NCR) and number of researchers: Statistics on Science and Technology in Europe (EUROSTAT 2004).

 

Figure 8. Scientific production of Catalonia by broad fields. Data for 2001 and 2002

 

 

 Patents

In regard to the number of patents, according to data from the Spanish Office for Patents and Trademark, in Catalonia during 2003, 713 national patents were applied for by residents, which accounted for 25.43% of the patents applied for in the Spanish State. Catalonia is also noteworthy for being the first autonomous community for applications for European patents, but this position changes in comparison with other countries. In Catalonia in 2001, 392 European patents were applied for, that is to say, 62 applications per million inhabitants, while the mean for the European Union was 168.33 applications per million inhabitants.

Table 10. Applications for European patents per million inhabitants in different countries

	Dta for 2001		Data for 2001
Switzerland	512,12	Belgium	160,92
Sweden	382,98	Norway	156,14
Finland	377,43	France	150,18
Germany	320,36	United Kingdom	138,35
Netherlands	255,43	Iceland	117,94
Denmark	225,74	Ireland	92,93
Luxembourg	216,59	Canada	85,69
Japan	186,89	Italy	80,6
Austria	180,31	Catalonia	62
USA	177,28	Spain	28,75
EU – 15	168,33

Source: EUROSTAT.

 

Participation in State and European programmes

The data available show that the degree of competitiveness of the Catalan science and technology system has been increasing in Europe. This trend seems to be confirmed in the results of the first call of the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006). Specifically, in the fifth framework programme, Catalonia got 20.9% of Spanish projects.

Furthermore, the returns obtained by Catalonia through the participation of researchers from Catalonia and businesses in the competitive calls for proposals of the different programmes of the Spanish R&D plans have been clearly positive; for example, participation in the Ramon y Cajal programme (2001-2003) was 26.3% and participation in the Torres Quevedo (2001-2003), 21%. Thus, participation in the calls for financing for research and development actions by the CDTI (Spanish Centre for Industrial Technology Development) reached 28.3% (2002).

Table 11. Percentage return over the total for Spain of the European Framework Programmes

Framework Programme	Percentage return over the total for Spain	Million Euros
Third (1990-1994)	14,7	34,40
Fourth (1994-1998)	17,7	75,50
Fifth (1998-2002)	20,4	127,9

Source: CDTI (Spanish Centre for Industrial Technology Development) and Gaceta SOST, issue 55 (2004).