FUNDACION BLANQUERNA

Their core work

Fundación Blanquerna is a Barcelona-based higher education institution focused on health sciences research, particularly on bridging the gap between clinical evidence and real-world practice. They specialize in participatory and co-creation methodologies that help health organizations implement evidence-based interventions more effectively. Their work spans physical activity promotion, women's health (especially maternal care and caesarean decision-making), and knowledge translation — turning research findings into actionable changes in healthcare delivery.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Blanquerna's early H2020 work (2015) centred on physical activity interventions and behaviour change through the SITless project, which was a large-scale health promotion effort. From 2020 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward participatory co-creation and implementation science — methods for ensuring that clinical knowledge actually reaches practice. This evolution suggests a move from studying specific health behaviours to developing transferable methodologies for closing the research-to-practice gap across health domains.

Blanquerna is positioning itself as a specialist in co-creation methodologies that translate health research into practice — expect future work to focus on participatory intervention design and evidence implementation across multiple health domains.

How they like to work

Blanquerna operates exclusively as a consortium partner, never leading projects, which suggests they contribute domain-specific expertise (health sciences, co-creation methods) rather than managing large-scale coordination. With 21 unique partners across 15 countries in just 3 projects, they integrate into broad, diverse consortia rather than small focused teams. This wide network relative to their project count indicates they are well-connected and valued as a specialist contributor in international collaborations.

Despite only 3 projects, Blanquerna has built a surprisingly wide network of 21 partners across 15 countries, indicating strong international integration. Their partnerships span broadly across Europe with no apparent geographic concentration beyond their Spanish base.

What sets them apart

Blanquerna occupies a distinctive niche at the intersection of health sciences and implementation methodology — they don't just study health problems, they develop participatory methods for making solutions stick in real clinical settings. Their co-creation expertise makes them a valuable partner for any consortium that needs to ensure research outputs actually change practice. For a relatively small institution, their reach across 15 countries demonstrates they are trusted as a reliable specialist contributor in large international teams.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SITless
  Their largest project (EUR 742K), a multi-year effort combining exercise referral with self-management strategies to reduce sedentary behaviour — their entry point into H2020.
• Health CASCADE
  Represents their methodological maturation — focused on building a reusable co-creation methodology for bridging the implementation gap between knowledge and action in health.
• QUALI-DEC
  Tackles a concrete clinical challenge (reducing unnecessary caesarean sections) through non-clinical, decision-support interventions — their most applied health project.