Organization

FUNDACION ESADE

Barcelona business school contributing innovation management, governance expertise, and market adoption strategy to EU research consortia across multiple sectors.

University research groupsocietyES

H2020 projects

As coordinator

Total EC funding

€4.2M

Unique partners

249

What they do

Their core work

ESADE is a leading Barcelona-based business school that brings management, innovation strategy, and governance expertise to EU research consortia. Their core contribution lies in open innovation frameworks, co-creation methodologies, and policy analysis — bridging the gap between scientific breakthroughs and their adoption by industry and society. They specialize in translating research outputs into business models, designing innovation ecosystems, and analyzing global governance architectures. Their work spans from smart city transformation strategies to gender equality standards in higher education.

Core expertise

What they specialise in

Open innovation and co-creation managementprimary

4 projects

Central role in INSPIRE (open innovation toolbox for SMEs), ATTRACT and ATTRACT2 (co-innovation in detection/imaging ecosystems), and SCALINGS (co-creation in science and innovation).

European governance and global strategyprimary

3 projects

Coordinated ENGAGE (new governance architecture for Global Europe), participated in GLOBE (global governance future scenarios), and MERID (EU-Middle East research diplomacy).

Smart city strategy and urban transformationsecondary

2 projects

Contributed to REPLICATE and mySMARTLife — both lighthouse city projects focused on smart mobility, urban planning, and citizen engagement.

Gender equality in higher educationsecondary

1 project

Coordinated EQUAL4EUROPE, developing gender equality accreditation standards for arts, humanities, medical, social science, business, and law institutions across Europe.

Detection and imaging innovation ecosystemsemerging

2 projects

Participated in both ATTRACT phases — their largest single funding (EUR 631K in ATTRACT2) — managing innovation pipelines connecting research infrastructures with industry.

Health systems and public health policysecondary

1 project

Contributed management and scaling methodology to SCALA, addressing alcohol use disorder prevention across Latin American municipalities.

Evolution & trajectory

How they've shifted over time

Early focus

Open innovation and smart cities

Recent focus

Innovation ecosystems and governance

In the early period (2015-2018), ESADE focused on science diplomacy, open innovation professionalization for SMEs, and smart city transformation strategies — essentially helping translate innovation policy into practice. From 2019 onward, their work shifted toward large-scale innovation ecosystem design (ATTRACT/ATTRACT2 detection and imaging programs), global governance analysis, and institutional standards (gender equality). The trend shows a move from project-level innovation consulting toward systems-level ecosystem architecture and policy design.

ESADE is moving toward designing large-scale innovation ecosystems and European governance frameworks, making them increasingly relevant for projects that need to connect research infrastructure with industry adoption at continental scale.

Collaboration profile

How they like to work

Role: active_partnerReach: Global41 countries collaborated

ESADE overwhelmingly participates as a partner (12 of 15 projects) rather than leading, which is typical for a business school contributing specialized management and strategy expertise to technically-led consortia. They coordinated only twice — both in governance and institutional topics where their expertise is central. With 249 unique partners across 41 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub rather than a loyal repeat-partner organization, making them a strong network node for consortium building.

An exceptionally broad network spanning 249 partners in 41 countries, reflecting ESADE's role as a cross-sectoral contributor that joins diverse consortia. Their geographic reach extends beyond Europe into Latin America (SCALA) and the Middle East (MERID).

Why partner with them

What sets them apart

ESADE occupies a rare niche: a top-tier business school that actively participates in technical EU research consortia, contributing innovation management, business model design, and governance expertise that most engineering or science partners lack. Unlike typical university departments, they bring MBA-trained thinking about market adoption, scaling strategies, and organizational change. For any consortium that needs to demonstrate pathways from research to market impact, ESADE is a credible and experienced partner.

Notable projects

Highlights from their portfolio

ATTRACT2
Largest single funding (EUR 631K) — managing the pan-European detection and imaging innovation ecosystem connecting 170+ research infrastructure projects with industry adoption.
ENGAGE
One of only two projects ESADE coordinated, designing future governance architecture for the EU's global role — reflects their core policy and strategy strength.
EQUAL4EUROPE
ESADE's other coordinated project, creating gender equality accreditation standards across European higher education — shows institutional leadership capacity.

Cross-sector capabilities

Energy and smart grid market designHealth system scaling and public health managementSecurity and global governance policyInnovation ecosystem design for deep-tech sectors

Analysis note: Strong profile with 15 projects across diverse sectors. ESADE's contribution is consistently on the management, strategy, and governance side rather than technical — their value is in how research gets organized, adopted, and governed rather than in the science itself. The business school context is clear from project roles and keywords.