The Government of Catalonia submitted a report entitled Next Generation Catalonia this week, with a proposal of 27 strategic projects* to opt for the Next Generation EU funds Spain will receive from Europe (€150 billion). The projects must promote Catalonia’s ecological transition, digitisation and re-industrialisation under the framework of the new generation of Europe.
The 27 projects were selected from the 542 initiatives submitted by Catalonia’s administration and social and economic stakeholders, including CataloniaBio & HealthTech as the representative of the healthcare and life sciences industry in Catalonia.
The selection criteria were based on the projects’ uniqueness, maturity, cost, commercialisation potential, capacity to invest in future trends, strong leadership, and contribution to Catalonia’s re-industrialisation, fostering territorial balance, fighting climate change and leading to social progress and welfare.
Next Generation Catalonia is based on five focal points: economy of life, ecological transition, digital transformation, knowledge society and transversal vector. In all of these lines, healthcare and the bioeconomy play a significant role with emblematic projects like Health 2030 (project 3, page 26) and Urban Tech Hubs (project 19, page 42), in which CataloniaBio & HealthTech is participating.
The Government of Catalonia has said it will make sure SMEs will have access to these funds, whether through strategic projects or by promoting specific calls.
Additionally, in recent months CataloniaBio & HealthTech has been working closely with the Directorate General for Research and Innovation on the Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation in Health (PERIS) for 2021-2027 and on other initiatives the Catalan government has launched, such as the National Pact for the Knowledge Society (PNSC) and the Catalonia 2020 Strategy, and a proposal to stop COVID-19 and future pandemics.
* This selection was made based on information received as of January 2021 and may be expanded.
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