Spain
Facts & FiguresSpain
Where
Research infrastructure
In 2019 there were 135,331 full-time researchers in Spain (1). Spanish National Research Council, a State Agency with the consideration of a Public Research Organization of the Spanish General State Administration, has 120 research institutes out of which 51 are of joint centres with other institutions, primarily universities (2). There are also 8 centres functioning as research support units that provide technical and administrative support to two or more institutes (2). Spain has 75 universities – 50 public and 25 private (3).
Research funding
Research strategy
Research governance, compliance and integrity
Spain has several bodies for RI – the Ethics Committee of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Spanish Research Ethics Committee (CEEI), the National Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction and the Commission for the Donation and Use of Human Cells and Tissues.
From 2011 the Ethics Committee of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has been a member of European Network of Research Integrity Office (ENRIO) and responsible for raising awareness of researchers about the importance of research integrity (8). Its aim is also to prevent research misconduct and unacceptable research practices (8). To that end, the Committee has created the Code of Good Scientific Practices of CSIC, the CSIC Manual of Conflicts of Interest and the Spanish National Statement of Research Integrity. CSIC is also responsible for dealing with ethical conflicts. Any individual or institution can bring a case to the attention of the Committee, whose field of competence is limited to CSIC and its employees (8,9).
There are also a number of Spanish national associations for ethics assessment of research, centred mainly in bioethics and biomedical research. They include the National Association of Research Ethics Committees, the Network of Ethics Committees in Universities and Public Research Centres in Spain and the Spanish Association of Bioethics (10).
All the autonomous communities have Research Ethics Committees and Research Ethics Committees for drugs that perform the ethical assessment of research projects performed in the region. These committees have a special accreditation regulated by the Royal Decree 1090/2015 (11). The Research Ethics Committees and ad hoc commissions are in charge of settling scientific integrity problems. They are independent and their decisions can be binding, although there is a right of appeal. The official list of proven misconduct regulated by authorities is not publicly available at the moment (12).
Spanish policies and initiatives to support ethics practices in the private industry mostly concern corporate social responsibility. Any industry can create an independent Research Ethics Committee or ascribe to any existent Research Ethics Committee, but each Research Ethics Committee must be authorized by the regional autonomies through an accreditation process strictly controlled by the health authorities. Large companies may have their own good practices codes, especially in the pharmaceutical sector (10).
Aside from Research Ethics Committees, professional organizations can also sanction research misconducts. For example, deontological commissions related to the professional organizations act independently to sanction the professionals involved in research misconducting (12). If misconduct affects human beings, Justice system starts a process of investigation (12).
The protection of whistle-blowers is not addressed in regulations related to RI. There is no specific law on whistle-blower protection for employees in Spain so citizens must personally come forward in order for their claim to be investigated. The only legislative regulation loosely related to whistleblowing is a provision allowing citizens to anonymously report conflicts of interest of high-ranking officials and members of Parliament and a whistle-blower e-mail hotline that allows anonymous reporting of anticompetitive behaviour (13).
| Bodies for RE+RI | Scope |
| Ethics Committee of the Spanish National Research Council | Investigates, trains and promotes RI. It also issues reports and formulates recommendations about ethical and deontological principles related to research activity. |
| The Research Ethics Committee of the Carlos III Health Institute | Contributes to improving the health of all citizens through the promotion of research and innovation in Health Sciences and Biomedicine and through the provision of groundbreaking scientific and technical services and educational programmes directed towards the National Health System. |
| The Spanish Bioethics Committee | Issues reports, proposals and recommendations for public authorities at state and regional level on matters related to the ethical and social implications of Biomedicine and Health Sciences. It is also responsible for establishing the general principles for the production of codes of good practice in scientific research and for representing Spain in supranational and international forums and bodies involved in bioethics. |
| The National Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction | Provides guidance on the use of assisted human reproduction techniques and collaborates with public administrations with regard to this matter. |
| The Commission for the Donation and Use of Human Cells and Tissues | Advises and guides research with biological samples of human embryonic nature and contributes to the updating and dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge in this matter. |
Laws and regulations
A number of laws regarding RE and RI are officially instated in Spain.
| Law | Scope |
| Act on Universities (La Ley Orgánica 6/2001 de Universidades) | Promotes the action of the General Administration of the State in the structuring and cohesion of the University system, deepens the competences of the autonomous communities in the field of higher education, increases the degree of autonomy of the universities and establishes the channels needed to strengthen relationships and reciprocal links between University and society. |
| Law for Science, Technology and Innovation (Ley 14/2011, de 1 de junio, de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación) | Deepens the vertebration of relations and the dialogue between science, technology, innovation and society. |
| The Law on Biomedical Research (Ley 14/2007, de 3 de julio, de Investigación biomédica) | Establishes standards in areas that have not been regulated yet or that have been fragmentary or unrelated to the changes occurred in recent years, such as genetic analysis, research with human biological samples, in particular those of an embryonic nature, or biobanks. |
| Royal Decree 2132/2004, Of 29 October, Laying Down The Requirements And Procedures For The Development Of Research Projects With Stem Cells Taken From Surplus Pre-Embryos
|
Regulates the use of the human pre-embryos for the research purposes. |
| Order SCO/393/2006, Of 8 February, Which Establishes The Organization And Functioning Of The National Stem Cell Bank | Establishes the organization and operation of the National Bank of Cellular Lines. |
| Organic Law 15/1999, of December 13, on the Protection of Personal Data | Guarantees and protects, with regard to the processing of personal data, the public freedoms and fundamental rights of natural persons, and in particular their personal and family honour and privacy. |
| Royal Decree 1527/2010, of November 15, regulating the Guarantees Commission for the Donation and Use of Human Cells and Tissues and the Registration of Research Projects
|
Regulates the use of human cells and tissues and the registry of research projects. |
| Royal Decree 1716/2011 of 18 November establishing the basic requirements for the authorization and operation of biobanks for biomedical research and the treatment of biological samples of human origin, and regulating the operation and organization of the National Register of Biobanks for biomedical research.
|
Establishes the basic requirements for authorization and operation of biobanks for biomedical research. |
| Royal Decree 53/2013 of 1 February laying down the basic rules applicable for the protection of animals used in experimentation and other scientific purposes, including teaching.
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Establishes the basic rules applicable for the protection of animals used in experimentation and other scientific purposes, including teaching. |
| Law 6/2013, of June 11, amending Law 32/2007, of November 7, for the care of animals, in their exploitation, transport, experimentation and slaughter.
|
Establishes a set of principles regarding the care of animals and the regulation of the corresponding sanctioning regime in case of non-compliance with animal welfare regulations. |
Measures to promote good scientific practices and open science
RI training
There is no mandate for RI training but some universities and institutions have integrated a module about research integrity in their existing program about research ethics (Autonomous University of Madrid, University of Barcelona, University of Oviedo and National University of Distance Education). Several members of the CSIC Ethics Committee give lectures regarding research integrity and responsible conduct of research. Research Ethics and Research Integrity have been included as topics in the CSIC Management Training Course aimed to CSIC’s Directors and Managers (8).
RI dialogue and communication
In a Knowledge Transfer study 2010-2012, Spain positioning is about average (56%). Spain is one of the countries with a low level of innovation and weak knowledge translation policies.
(14). Research Results Transfer Offices, that are part of each university, aim to promote and facilitate cooperation in Research and Development activities between researchers and companies (15).
The academic system is perceived corrupt. Academic corruption survey of 5,725 people who studied in 11 European countries showed the highest levels of perceived corruption in Ukraine and Spain (16). Since 2002, the percentage of the population understanding science and technology as bringing more benefits than harms keeps growing every year (17). The research integrity s occasionally discussed in the lay press. The most relevant newspapers at the national level (EL Pais and El Mundo) published several articles about cases of scientific misconduct in Spain.
RI incentives
Spain provides Research and Development tax relief through a hybrid tax credit and social security contributions exemption for qualified research staff. Both of these incentives are mutually exclusive in their use except for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (18).
| Initiatives | Scope |
| CSIC Management Training Course | Training |
| The National Accreditation Entity | Accreditation |
| The National Research Award | Support |
Guidelines
Spain
A total of 5 guidelines were found. Add a Guideline.
- Spanish Law on Science, Technology and Innovation (March 2022)
- Conflicts of Interest (CSIC, Spain) (January 2022)
- Good-Practice Guide for Scientific-Academic Publishing (CSIC, Spain) (January 2022)
- Code of Good Scientific Practices of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIS) (October 2021)
- Spanish National Statement on Scientific Integrity (October 2020)
Andrijana Perković Paloš, Elsa Amin contributed to this report. Latest contribution was Oct 22, 2021
