MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIA, COMERCIO Y EMPRESA

Their core work

Spain's Ministry of Economy acts as the national research funding authority, co-financing transnational research calls through ERA-NET Cofund mechanisms across H2020. Rather than conducting research itself, the Ministry channels national R&D budgets into joint European funding calls, enabling Spanish research teams to participate in coordinated programs on climate, food, energy, health, and marine sciences. It serves as the institutional bridge between Spain's national research priorities and pan-European research agendas, ensuring Spanish alignment with Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) across multiple thematic areas.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In its early H2020 period (2015-2017), the Ministry focused heavily on thematic research alignment — joining ERA-NETs in water management, biodiversity, humanities, cultural heritage, and climate services, essentially plugging Spain into every major Joint Programming Initiative. From 2017 onward, a clear shift emerges toward cross-cutting policy topics: gender equality, open science, international cooperation, and resource efficiency appear prominently in recent projects. This evolution suggests the Ministry moved from pure thematic co-funding toward shaping the structural conditions of European research itself.

Moving from thematic co-funder to active shaper of ERA-wide research policy frameworks, with increasing emphasis on gender mainstreaming and open science — future collaborators should expect strong interest in these cross-cutting dimensions.

How they like to work

The Ministry exclusively participates as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with its role as a national funding body joining multilateral ERA-NET structures rather than leading individual research projects. With 387 unique partners across 57 countries, it operates as a high-connectivity hub embedded in virtually every major European research funding network. Working with this Ministry means gaining access to Spain's national co-funding commitments and its extensive cross-sectoral network, but the relationship is institutional rather than technical.

One of the most broadly connected organizations in H2020, with 387 unique consortium partners spanning 57 countries — reflecting its role as a national funding ministry present in nearly every ERA-NET Cofund action. Geographic reach extends well beyond Europe through projects like LEAP-AGRI (EU-Africa) and IC4WATER (international water cooperation).

What sets them apart

As Spain's central research funding authority, this Ministry is not a research performer but a research enabler — it commits national budget to transnational calls and shapes which topics Spanish researchers can pursue in European programs. For consortium builders, partnering with this Ministry (or its successor entities) means securing Spain's institutional buy-in and co-funding commitment for an ERA-NET or joint program. Its unmatched breadth across 9 sectors and 27 ERA-NETs makes it one of the most diversified national funding participants in all of H2020.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BiodivERsA3
  Long-running (2015-2022) flagship ERA-NET consolidating the entire European Research Area on biodiversity and ecosystem services — one of the Ministry's most sustained commitments.
• BLUEMED
  Strategically important for Spain as a Mediterranean nation, directly shaping the Blue Growth research agenda for the region with EUR 161,898 in funding.
• QuantERA
  Largest single funding contribution (EUR 220,748) and a departure from the Ministry's environmental focus — signaling investment in quantum technologies as a national priority.