Fundación General CSIC (FGCSIC) was created in 2008 by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and six private organisations with the aim of facilitating, supporting, promoting and articulating private funding for public research. This creation took place at a highly significant moment for the CSIC, which became a state agency two years ago, and is focusing its activities on a series of complementary tasks with the basic aim of strengthening the relationship between the public and private sectors in order to perform R&D.


Based on this approach, the FGCSIC supports the policy-making cycle, undertakes awareness-raising activities, encourages contact and cooperation between business and research groups, conducts foresight and other studies on the science and technology system, supports Research Organisations on the design, implementation and evaluation of Strategic Planning of R&D and runs calls for proposals for research projects. The FGCSIC is Private non-for profit organisation made up of a team of highly qualified professionals with a broad coverage of the STI system related aspects including Scientific Research, R&D&i Policy, Technological Watch, Management of R&D&i strategies both at public Research Centres and Private companies, diffusion of Scientific knowledge, etc.

More precisely, the FGCSIC's mission can be translated into the following specific objectives:

• To make business and the public at large more aware of the importance of scientific research for overall economic development and social progress;
• To serve as a vehicle for private initiatives to conduct research in public or joint public/private organisations;
• To perform scientific, economic and social foresight studies identifying the needs and problems of society and the research potential of the Spanish science and technology system;
• To carry out strategic studies and define the guiding principles for scientific research;
• To build links between the actors on the Spanish science and technology stage and provide a structure for their interaction;
• To promote and coordinate the implementation of ambitious research projects which are difficult to run solely in the public or private sector.

The FGCSIC has a unique and key placement in the Spanish STI system, due to its private-public “in between” position, in close relationship with CSIC and the Ministry of Science an Innovation (MICINN), other public research organisations (including universities) and other private key stake-holders of the Spanish R&D&I ystem, with no detriment of its independence in the analytical work we carry out.