Cotec Innovation Foundation Today it is reported that according to newly released data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2022, Spain invested more in R&D than ever before, worth €19.3 billion. This number is 12% higher than in 2021, the largest year-on-year increase since 2007 and the eighth consecutive year of growth. Continuing its analysis, Cotec highlighted that commercial investment in R&D is growing by 12%, to $10,969 million, but that this investment is increasingly concentrated. In 2022, 11,890 companies carry out R&D activities, 2,417 fewer than in 2008. However, these companies invest 2,872 million euros more than these companies. Public investment in research and development rose by 11% to 8.356 million. These figures mean that Spain overtakes Italy for the first time in investment in R&D in nine years, partly due to a sharp decline in the neighboring country, to 1.33% of GDP. Spain, at 1.44%, is still far from the target of 2.12 for 2027.
Good data, exceptional thanks to European funds, still indicate an insufficient pace of reaching the target set by the government in 2020. To achieve this and come close to the investments of more developed countries, it will be necessary to grow five years in a row at a rate of 13%. The foundation explains why, in addition to growth, if the country intends to approach the numbers of more developed countries, it must prioritize investment in science and creativity. Although nominal investment recorded a growth of 12 percentage points last year, investment in research and development as a percentage of GDP only grew from 1.41% to 1.44%. This is because the Spanish economy also grew a lot, by 10.2% in 2022.
Today, Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved the invitation package of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, with a budget of 1,000 million euros. This amount, which comes from the national budget and not from European recovery funds, will be used to finance research projects and pay the salaries of the researchers who will carry out the mission.
The call for knowledge generation projects, which form the basis of basic research in Spain and fund more than 3,000 research groups every year, will be granted for €655 million (5% more than in 2022) expandable to 50 more. This call will include pre-doctoral contracts for researchers who participate in these projects while completing their doctoral degree. In addition, the Government has approved the main call for biomedical research projects, Strategic Action in Health, which will be worth just over €138 million, subject to increase by €40 million.
Regarding funding for researchers, the minimum salaries for people with doctoral degrees increased for the second year in a row. It rises 7.1% this year and accumulates 15% by adding the two years. The minimum wage for aid has also been increased.Juan de la Cierva“, to integrate young researchers, by 10% this year and 30% growth since 2018, and “Ramón y Cajal”, to integrate scholars with distinguished professions, by 5% this year and 19% since 2018 in total, and will include Juan de La Cerva” is an investment of 36 million that can be increased by another 3 million. “Ramón y Cajal” will total 130 million, expandable by another 15.
The government has also authorized a call for assistance’Beatrice Galindo“, valued at more than 19 million euros, expandable by another 325,000 euros. This call aims to attract 100 distinguished professors to Spanish public universities who are currently developing projects abroad. 60 senior teachers of Beatriz Galindo will be appointed on a salary At least 90,000 euros and 40 apprentice teachers from Beatrice Galindo with a salary of 60,000 euros.
In her speech after the Cabinet meeting, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities said, “These calls represent an increase in the budget of more than 65% since Pedro Sanchez became president.” “Since 2018, the science budget has doubled, the highest budget in our country’s history, and the largest public job offer in the science system in the past 15 years has been approved,” he added.
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