La Caixa Foundation – Iberian research and innovation initiatives

The cooperation between FCT and La Caixa Foundation, which has been in place since 2018, is intended to be permanent and multidisciplinary, aimed at supporting and stimulating new research and innovation activities and Portugal's positioning in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, based on four lines of funding and promotion of research and innovation projects.

Iberian Initiative for Biomedical Research and Innovation – i4b

Through the CaixaResearch Health Program, this initiative supports biomedical research projects of excellence with the aim of identifying and promoting the most promising initiatives, those with the highest scientific excellence and the greatest potential value and social impact, in the field of basic, clinical, or translational research in five specific areas: oncology, neuroscience, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and enabling technologies in those thematic areas.

Iberian Initiative for Research and Social Innovation – i4s

Through the Social Research Program, this initiative encourages studies and projects that address contemporary social challenges, such as inequality, inclusion, and well-being, strengthening the foundations for innovative and effective social policies that enable a deeper understanding of the present and future social challenges facing Spain and/or Portugal.

Promotes Program

The Promove Program aims to support innovative initiatives in strategic areas for the development of inland regions with border dynamics that can be replicated in other regions with similar characteristics, by supporting three initiatives: Innovative pilot projects, Ideas with the potential to become innovative pilot projects, and Mobilizing R&D projects.

CaixaImpulse Health Innovation Program

Theprogram helps transfer scientific knowledge to society and encourages the creation of new products, services, and companies related to life sciences by supporting innovative biomedical projects, helping them validate their assets and define their valorization and exploitation strategy, and bringing them closer to the market.

All initiatives under this partnership share the principle ofmatching funds, whereby FCT matches la Caixa's contribution to research and innovation projects led or participated in by Portuguese institutions and researchers that are selected as the best in each Call .

This program benefits or has benefited from funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan, being one of the measures included in investment RE-C06-i06 – Science Plus Training and contracted between FCT and the Recuperar Portugal Mission Structure.