COMUNIDAD FORAL DE NAVARRA - GOBIERNO DE NAVARRA

Their core work

The Regional Government of Navarra is a Spanish public authority that uses H2020 participation to co-fund transnational research calls, attract international talent to the region, and drive Navarra's transition toward sustainable energy and advanced manufacturing. Rather than performing research directly, they act as a regional funding and policy body — pooling resources through ERA-NET instruments, shaping regional innovation ecosystems, and connecting local SMEs and universities to European research networks. Their work spans from co-financing joint calls in personalised medicine and raw materials to running fellowship programs that bring early-stage researchers to Navarra's priority sectors.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2016-2018), Navarra focused on supporting SME competitiveness through advanced manufacturing networks (MANUNET III), digital learning infrastructure (CRISS), and initial circular economy exploration (SCREEN). From 2018 onward, they shifted toward strategic research ecosystem building — co-funding joint transnational calls in personalised medicine and raw materials, coordinating a major researcher fellowship program (WIT), and deepening their circular economy engagement through critical raw materials and resource security. The trajectory shows a clear move from sectoral support projects toward becoming a regional research funding hub that attracts and retains scientific talent.

Navarra is positioning itself as a regional research funding authority that attracts international researchers to its priority sectors — health, energy, and advanced manufacturing — through co-funded calls and fellowship programs.

How they like to work

Navarra primarily joins consortia as a participant (6 of 8 projects), contributing regional funding and policy expertise rather than technical research. Their two coordinator roles — SustaiNAVility and WIT — both centre on building Navarra's own research capacity, suggesting they lead when the project directly serves regional development. With 154 unique partners across 33 countries, they operate as a broad-network connector rather than a repeat-partner organization, consistent with their role in ERA-NETs that bring together many national and regional funding agencies.

Extensive network of 154 partners across 33 countries, reflecting their participation in multi-agency ERA-NET instruments where dozens of funding bodies collaborate. This gives them reach well beyond Spain into virtually all EU member states and associated countries.

What sets them apart

Unlike universities or research institutes, Navarra brings regional government co-funding capacity and policy authority to consortia — they can commit public funds to joint calls and shape regional innovation strategy. For consortium builders, this means a partner who can co-finance research in their priority areas (health, energy, manufacturing) and provide institutional backing for pilot deployments in a midsized European region. Their WIT fellowship program also makes them a gateway for researchers seeking positions in northern Spain's growing R&I ecosystem.

Highlights from their portfolio

• WIT
  Their largest project (€1.3M, coordinator) — an MSCA-COFUND fellowship program to attract international early-stage researchers to Navarra across health, manufacturing, and energy sectors.
• ERA-MIN3
  Long-running ERA-NET (2020-2026) on critical raw materials and circular economy, showing Navarra's commitment to co-funding strategic European research priorities.
• SustaiNAVility
  Coordinator role focused specifically on Navarra's sustainable energy transition — demonstrates their capacity to lead regional energy policy projects.