Recercaixa

The RecerCaixa programme was launched jointly by la Caixa and the ACUP and is directed by researcher and former UAB Rector, Lluís Ferrer. Its main objectives are to promote scientific research and awareness and to increase the participation of the general public in the process of scientific knowledge creation. Another of the goals is to help consolidate Catalonia as one of the main centres of scientific knowledge creation and to develop a knowledge-based economy. At the same time, it is considered essential to share the research process with the public in order to achieve real social change.

The RecerCaixa programme began with a call for research grants as sources of funding for the best research projects and research groups working in Catalonia. Of particular value are projects that have a transformative vocation, understood as having potential benefits that will reach the public, provide solutions to social problems, create new scientific knowledge or find answers to fundamental questions. The programme is coordinated through an agreement between la Caixa and the ACUP for the 2009-2014 period and currently has a budget of €9 million. It also has the support of Talència for the scientific evaluation of projects. The RecerCaixa programme will focus on outreach activities and the debate about science, as well as the projects financed by the call. The intention is to give a broad perspective on issues of social significance, treating a single subject from different points of view: scientifically, socially and politically.