The 2023 Strategic Action in Health of the ISCIII allocates 144 million for aid to biomedical and health research contracts and projects

The Strategic Health Action (AES), which is managed by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) as a body under the Ministry of Science and Innovation, is the main annual tool for financing biomedical and health research in Spain. Through public funds and in calls for competitive competition, it grants financial aid for the execution of contracts and research projects that promote R&D&I in health in Spain and the professional career of its research community. The AES is published every year and is co-financed by European Structural and Investment Funds.

The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the agreement authorizing the 2023 AES call, which will have more than 144 million euros to finance all calls for aid, projects and health research contracts, a figure that it will increase with additional calls to be launched over the coming months. The approved call adds up to a total of 144.266.898 euros for 15 grants. This year the AES is subsidized from funds from the General State Budget (PGE), except for the TRANSCAN-3 European projects, which will be borne by funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). Next Tuesday the 21st there will be a public presentation to explain the development of the AES 2023, which can be seen live and openly from the ISCIII YouTube Channel.

The Minister for Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, stressed that the Government has placed health research as a country priority to deal with diseases such as cancer, and that this new call promotes R&D&I in health in Spain , facilitating the development of the research career and offering opportunities for our researchers to continue doing biomedical science of the highest quality. The director of the ISCIII, Cristóbal Belda, explains that AES 2023 seeks to continue strengthening research and scientific excellence, consolidating the impulse given to science in recent years and consolidating the budgetary commitment to innovative and useful biomedical R&D&I for society.

The director of the ISCIII, Cristóbal Belda, summarizes in this video the content and the main novelties of the AES 2023.

Features and news of AES 2023

The AES 2023 seeks to continue improving efficiency, transparency and reduction of administrative burdens. Among the main innovations in this year's call is the adaptation of the AES to two fundamental issues for Spanish science: to the principles of DORA, an international declaration that calls for a series of fundamental changes in how science is evaluated, as the modification that occurred last year in the Science Law, which seeks to consolidate a growing and progressive financing; promote indefinite hiring; improve the postdoctoral itinerary; promote new labor rights for young people; achieve greater professional mobility; promote the transfer of knowledge, and guarantee gender equality.

In addition, AES 2023 continues to promote the creation of permanent jobs linked to post-doctoral programs of excellence, a path that began a few years ago with the Miguel Servet contracts and which this year is extended to the Juan Rhodes. It also highlights the incorporation of the R3 certificate, to which reference is made in the reform of the Science Law, and the inclusion in the AES of the geographical particularities of organizations such as the CSIC and the CIEMAT, which allows two issues: promoting participation of its scientists in science oriented to the National Health System, and promote the possibility that state-level technological centers are eligible entities for research projects in their field.

Along with these issues, new lines of research in health have been added this year, related to the study of the social impact of health policies, digital innovation and chronicity, among others. These lines of research are added to those already established by the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2021-2023, among which are research in vulnerable populations, the reduction of health inequalities, the study of the social determinants of health, advanced therapies and infectious diseases

In short, this new call for Strategic Action in Health seeks to continue promoting R&D&I in health in Spain, facilitating the development of the research career and offering opportunities for our researchers to continue doing biomedical science of the highest quality. quality.

The calls for aid for projects and contracts are distributed according to their belonging to the state R+D+I programs and subprograms defined in the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2021-2023. Throughout the year, in addition to the AES 2023 now published and under its umbrella, additional calls will be launched.

AES 2023 aid included in the State Training Subprogram

▪️ Pre-doctoral contracts for training in health research, in its two modalities (PFIS and i-PFIS): These grants finance contracts for the initial training of researchers in health sciences and technologies.

▪️ Training grants in health research management (FGIN). These aids facilitate the development of a plan of training activities in research management in health sciences and technologies to be carried out at the ISCIII.

▪️ Rio Hortega Contracts. Intended for the hiring of professionals who have completed the period of specialized health training, for the development of a training plan in research in health sciences and technologies that combine this activity with the care activity corresponding to their specialty, thereby promoting the incorporation of young researchers into the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation System (SECTI).

▪️ Sara Borrell Contracts: Its purpose is the recruitment, in centers with clinical-care activity, of recently graduated doctors in the field of health sciences and technologies, to perfect their training. Once again, these contracts promote the incorporation of young researchers into SECTI.

AES 2023 aid included in the State Incorporation subprogram:

▪️ Health research management contracts in the Health Research Institutes (IIS). These aids are aimed at financing contracts within the Health Research Institutes that can collaborate in their usual tasks.

▪️ Contracts Miguel Servetus, this year only in one of its modalities (Miguel Servet I, since Miguel Servet II is merged with I). These contracts are intended for doctors with an accredited research career in clinical-care centers, who are also granted additional funding for the execution of their research activity. Additionally, additional aid is established for the center in the event that it commits to creating a stable job once the financing of the contract ends, without prejudice to the elements of access to that position that each entity proposes in accordance with the applicable regulations.

▪️ Juan Rodés contracts. This modality of contracts seeks to ensure that the beneficiary centers can hire research staff that are integrated into the care flows of the center itself, devoting a minimum of 50% of its activity to research, always under the umbrella of the Health Research Institutes (IIS). ). This year additional aid is established for the center in the event that it commits to creating a stable job once the financing of the contract ends.

▪️ Contracts for the intensification of research activity in the National Health System (SNS). These are grants aimed at hiring professionals who can carry out the assistance activity of principal investigators of Research Projects or International Joint Programming Projects granted in the AES 2019 or 2020 calls, with the aim of helping the beneficiary center to the care activity carried out by researchers with clinical obligations does not have an impact on the development of care flows.

▪️ Contracts for bioinformatics technical personnel to support research in the IIS. These contracts are aimed at professionals who carry out scientific-technical activities in the Health Research Institutes (IIS) aimed at offering bioinformatics services to all the research groups of the Health Research Institutes (IIS).

In the State Mobility Subprogram (State Program to Develop, Attract and Retain Talent)

▪️ Grants for the mobility of research staff, in its two modalities (M-BAE and M-AES). These aids finance stays for research staff with a contract subsidized by the AES, in national or foreign R&D centers, or in Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence and María de Maeztu Units of Excellence.

AES 2023 grants included in the State Knowledge Generation Subprogram:

▪️ R+D+I projects in health. Grants aimed at financing stable lines of research, avoiding the fragmentation of groups, encouraging the participation of research staff who carry out care tasks in the National Health System as principal investigator of projects, and helping in the generational transition of lines of research directed by senior research staff towards young research staff, among other issues. These projects change their name and are now called Health R+D+I Projects with a single action, and include an increase in indirect costs of up to 25%.

AES 2023 grants included in the State Knowledge Transfer Subprogram:

▪️ Technological development projects in health (DTS). Grants with the same purpose as IPs, but aimed at promoting market-oriented translational research. This year these projects are published in two modalities: Proof of Concept Projects and Technological Validation Projects of prototypes.

▪️ Independent Clinical Research (ICI) projects. Oriented to answer clinical questions of high value for the health system but without commercial interest for third parties. In 2023, the consolidation of the financing of this type of projects continues and researchers from Public Research Organizations (OPI) are allowed to be principal investigators of these projects.

▪️ Incorporation of new groups to the Network Biomedical Research Center Consortium (CIBER). The incorporation of 9 research groups distributed among 6 CIBER areas is called, which this year includes the CIBER of Rare Diseases.

AES 2023 aid included in the State Subprogram for Internationalization:

▪️ International collaboration projects. Until 2021 they were called International Joint Programming Projects and last year they changed to their current name; They will be financed through a direct concession system. The purpose of these grants is to finance consortium international research projects that have successfully participated in competitive joint international calls that are the subject of multilateral research and innovation program agreements. In the first phase, projects related to the ERA-Net Cofund on Translational Cancer Research (TRANSCAN-3) initiative will be called, charged to PRTR funds and, subsequently, the rest of the projects of this program. Among the novelties in these international grants, the increase in the financing of projects with IC to 25% stands out and the incorporation of research carried out by primary care researchers in the partnerships of Transformation of Health Systems (THCS) and ERA4HEALTH (Equity in health).