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RIS3CAT communities are associations of companies and stakeholders in the Catalan R&I system that work in coincident sectors and cooperate to incorporate R&I into production activities.
 20.06.2016

Biocat and Leitat will coordinate two of the five RIS3CAT Communities

The RIS3CAT Community for Digital applications in biotechnology and health therapies –coordinated by Biocat from its headquarters at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)– is one of the first RIS3CAT Communities to which Government of Catalonia, through ACCIÓ, has allocated 19.1 million Euros from the ERDF fund (European Regional Development Fund). Leitat –whose BioMed Division is based at PCB– will also coordinate a further RIS3CAT Community for New diagnostic devices and big data applied to health, in which Intelligent Pharma, located at PCB, leads one of the four projects: 'Diabetes as an accelerator of cognitive derioration in Alzheimer´s disease: Integral approach and treatment adherence'.

 

The first five RIS3CAT communities belong to areas where Catalonia has more growth potential: Digital applications in biotechnology and health therapies(coordinated by Biocat); Sustainable and efficient energy (coordinated by IREC); Healthy and safe food (coordinated by IRTA); Eco-friendly mobility and new diagnostic devices (coordinated by FICOSA) and Big data applied to health (coordinated by Leitat).

The tasks involves five major research and innovation business projects that will be carried out til 2020 by 138 companies, 64 research and technological agents in Catalonia and other organizations such as clusters or business support organizations which will invest 43.8 million Euros to implement  their respective action plans in the form of high-impact collaboration projects in terms of innovation over the next three years. 65% of this investment corresponds to businesses and 31% to research and technology agents. In total, five projects will be developed by 1,300 Catalan professionals with a technical, scientific and business profile.

Four hundred and forty-six businesses and organizations have submitted an application to this call. In a second stage, a new call will be announced to increase the number of RIS3CAT Communities, a process that will be completed in 2020. Until then, EUR 72 million Euros from the ERDF wil have been allocated.
 

RIS3CAT, a benchmark in Europe

RIS3CAT Communities are voluntary business associations and R&D+i system agents.These communities are an essential and innovative element of RIS3CAT strategy approved last year by the Catalan government in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the European Union and the 2020 European Strategy. 

The ultimate goal of RIS3CAT, a pioneering strategy in Europe that will transform the Catalan business sector, is to consolidate innovation as an engine of sustainable growth, competitiveness of the productive fabric, and social cohesion through the involvement of all stakeholders, from business, universities and technology and research centers to public administration and citizens, through collaborative innovation projects that can benefit from the funding of 406 million Euros from the ERDF.