Catalan innovation is above the European average

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The category of territories considered by the European Commission as "strong innovators." A milestone for science and the Catalan economy, which for more than a decade had fallen into the category of "moderate innovator" due to the ravages of the financial crisis. According to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023, an index published every two years, Catalonia has progressed significantly from 2020 to 2022, placing it above the European average. “In this edition, the territory has climbed 27 positions, reaching position 108 out of a total of 244,” says Xavier Ferràs, professor specializing in innovation at Esade. Investment in R&D is low and demonstrates the limited impact of Next Generation funds in 2022 According to the report, Catalonia obtained this distinction in the 2012 report and has recovered it eleven years later.

The very detailed analysis indicates that autonomy currently stands out in the scientific publications produced by public organizations, in university training, in the digital skills of society and also in the sale of innovative Job Function Email Database products by SMEs, in the registration of brands and employment in the ICT services sector. “The results demonstrate the efforts of the public and private sectors to digitalize and reindustrialize the economy since the pandemic broke out. Likewise, the relocation of the industry to the local market, driven by the health crisis, has also had an influence,” says Ferràs, who doubts the impact of the Next Generation funds. In fact, the report indicates that Catalonia suspends investment in R&D in both the public and private sectors, because it is below the European average, which demonstrates the limited impact of European aid.



Public and private innovation does not grow at the same rate as the economy as a whole In fact, the advanced indicator of the Cotec Foundation ensures that Spanish investment in R&D would suffer a slight decline in 2022, going from 1.43% to 1.42% of GDP, which shows that public innovation and the sector Private sector does not grow at the same rate as the country's economy as a whole. The European Commission also warns that in Catalonia the creation of jobs linked to innovation as well as collaboration between SMEs in this area continue to be improved. Catalonia is in the same category as Madrid or the Basque Country With respect to other communities in Spain, Catalonia is in the same category as Madrid and the Basque Country (the latter, with the best result in the State). In previous editions, both communities were already within this category. This year, Navarra has also been considered "strongly innovative." As the graph reflects, the rest of the communities are “moderate or emerging innovators”, in line with other regions in southern and eastern Europe.