Generalitat and La Caixa Foundation 250 million for social action, culture and R&D

1. Increased investment in health research
2. More than 1.7 million visitors to cultural centres in Catalonia
3. Undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships to offer greater opportunities

The President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, and the President of the 'la Caixa' Foundation, Isidro Fainé, have signed an agreement between the two institutions on social and cultural action, research and scholarships for this year. 

Under this agreement, the 'la Caixa' Foundation has increased its total social investment in Catalonia in 2025 to 250 million euros, representing an increase of 25 million euros over the previous year. A total of 99 million euros will be allocated to the organisation's social programmes aimed specifically at the most vulnerable groups. 

'Our investment in social action has increased by 10% this year with the aim of promoting the most transformative projects dedicated to fostering equal opportunities. Another strategic priority is the creation of the CaixaResearch Institute, whose building will be inaugurated in 2026. These are all projects focused on contributing to the progress of Catalonia and the well-being of Catalans in the short, medium and long term,' explained the president of the 'la Caixa' Foundation, Isidro Fainé.

Meanwhile, the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, explained that ‘this agreement responds to the Government's priority of promoting equal opportunities, generating prosperity and sharing it, in order to continue building a fairer and more egalitarian Catalonia’. This collaboration also ‘promotes research in the field of health to strengthen the scientific ecosystem and continue to be an undisputed benchmark in Europe’. 

Among the basic objectives set out in the agreement are the fight against child poverty, the promotion of active and healthy ageing, care for people with advanced illnesses and the improvement of working and living conditions for people with disabilities or at risk of exclusion. In addition to these lines of action, the agreement also includes actions in the fields of culture and research and scholarships. 

Some of the priority projects that demonstrate the organisation's commitment to Catalonia, with a special focus on activities in the field of poverty and social action, are as follows: 

• CaixaProinfancia, which focuses on combating child poverty, is aimed at children and adolescents between the ages of 0 and 18 whose families are at risk of exclusion. Since its launch in 2007, this programme has helped more than 123,000 children in Catalonia. 
• The Incorpora programme, which promotes the hiring of groups with greater difficulties in finding employment, has facilitated more than 129,000 jobs since 2006 thanks to the collaboration of Catalan companies and social entities. 
• The Comprehensive Care Programme for People with Advanced Illnesses seeks to improve the quality of care for people at the end of their lives, as well as their families. In Catalonia, more than 81,000 patients and more than 93,000 family members have been cared for since the programme began in 2008. 
• The Older People programme encourages the social participation of members of this group to highlight the value of their experience and position them as active protagonists in society. This project gives them the opportunity to receive training in cultural, social and new technology projects. In Catalonia, there are 205 centres for older people, 53 of which are owned by the organisation and 152 of which are run in partnership with public administrations. 
• As for the Calls for Social Projects, in 2025, 349 initiatives have been supported with an investment of 10.6 million euros. 

Also noteworthy is the outreach work carried out in Barcelona through the Palau Macaya, declared a UNESCO International Centre for Human and Social Sciences in 2024, and the ”la Caixa” Foundation's Social Observatory, a space for debate and reflection that supports social research. 

In the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, the 'la Caixa' Foundation also has a direct social action entity, the Fundación de la Esperanza, whose objective is to promote autonomy and facilitate the social inclusion of people in situations of poverty and vulnerability.

Increased investment in health research

In the field of scientific research, the Foundation supports biomedicine and health projects through various research and innovation calls: The Health Research Call, which in 2025 has promoted 12 projects, with a total investment of 9.3 million euros in Catalonia. 

• The 2025 Health Innovation Call, which has supported 16 projects, with a total investment of 1.9 million euros in Catalonia. This initiative seeks to accelerate the arrival on the market of innovative technologies and products that improve the quality of life of people with chronic diseases.
• The 2025 Health Innovation Call, which has supported 16 projects, with a total investment of 1.9 million euros in Catalonia. This initiative seeks to accelerate the arrival of these innovations on the market to bring them closer to patients who may need them. 

Investment in health research has been strengthened throughout this year to address the work of the CaixaResearch Institute, the first research centre specialising in immunology in Spain and one of the first in Europe. This facility, which is being built opposite the CosmoCaixa Science Museum, in the natural surroundings of Collserola, will be located in a sustainable building with first-class spaces and equipment. The centre will have a clear focus on collaboration with the scientific ecosystem and aims to contribute to innovation and competitiveness in the health sector, which is strategic for the European Union. 

Likewise, the 'la Caixa' Foundation maintains strategic collaborations with research centres and hospitals to generate new biomedical knowledge and transfer it to society, such as the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the Institute for Research on Immunopathologies (IrsiCaixa), the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Centre (BBRC) and the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD).

More than 1.7 million visitors to cultural centres in Catalonia

In the field of cultural and scientific dissemination, the organisation promotes individual and collective development through exhibitions and activities programmed at the CaixaForum network of centres in Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, as well as at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum and the Cap Roig Gardens. 

These cultural and scientific dissemination centres of the 'la Caixa' Foundation in Catalonia received more than 1.7 million visitors between January and October this year. 

The 'la Caixa' Foundation also has partnerships with numerous institutions in the cultural sector, such as the foundations of the Conservatori and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Palau de la Música Catalana, L’Auditori and the Associació Mediterranean Street Art - Projecte BesArt, among others.

Undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships to offer greater opportunities

Another pillar of the Foundation's activity is the awarding of scholarships so that students and researchers can further their education and develop their careers at the best universities and research centres in the world. In 2025, a total of 102 undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships have been awarded to students in Catalonia.