Catalonia.health facilitates a direct dialogue between member CEOs and the Director General of AEI to explore ways to improve the relationship between the private sector and Spain's research administration.

On Thursday, March 27 of last week, Catalonia.health held an edition of its CEO Council with the presence of José Manuel Fernández de Labastida, Director General of Spain's State Research Agency (AEI). This small-committee meeting format brings together C-level executives from Catalonia.health members to facilitate open and direct dialogues with strategic ecosystem actors.

José Manuel Fernández de Labastida presented to attendees AEI's strategic lines of action for coming years, placing special emphasis on transformative elements the agency is driving:

Call planning and scheduling: Improving predictability of the research funding system so companies and centers can better plan their projects and resources.

Call simplification: Reducing bureaucratic and administrative burden in application and justification processes, especially facilitating access for smaller companies and research groups.

Internationalization and European cooperation: Strengthening Spanish presence in European programs and collaboration with other European funding agencies.

Opening to the international community: Facilitating participation of international researchers in AEI-funded projects and attracting global talent.

Equality, integrity, and sustainability: Incorporating these principles transversally across all agency actions.

Leveraging artificial intelligence tools: To improve internal processes, project evaluation, and detection of collaboration opportunities.

Improved communication and transparency: Better explaining funded projects and the impact of public investment in research.

After the presentation, a debate opened where attending executives could directly convey their challenges, ideas, and proposals to the AEI Director General. This conversation enabled identifying areas for improvement in the relationship between the agency and the private sector, especially on topics such as public-private collaboration, evaluation criteria for business projects, and financing mechanisms for innovation in advanced development stages.

José Manuel Fernández de Labastida valued the meeting very positively: "I had the opportunity to participate in Catalonia.health's CEO Council forum, presenting the State Research Agency and its strategic program, focusing on transformative aspects such as adaptation and design of our calls, internationalization, measures aimed at energizing public-private collaboration, as well as administrative simplification. In the subsequent debate I was able to discuss these elements and learn firsthand about challenges and ideas so we can continue working on continuous improvement of our activity."

From Catalonia.health came the response: "Thank you, José Manuel, for dedicating your time and sharing your experience so generously. Your contribution to the CEO Council was extraordinary for your transparency, proximity, and genuine listening to our members. The open and constructive dialogue you established with our ecosystem's leaders is precisely what makes these meetings so valuable. The conversation you generated will continue bearing fruit. It has been a true honor to have you and we hope to meet again."