Castilla-La Mancha has launched an ambitious Regional Plan for Scientific Research, Technological Development and Innovation which will be developed until 2028 and aims to become one of the pillars of its production model. With a total budget of around 1.300 millones de eurosThe regional government wants to strengthen R&D&I and consolidate a stable ecosystem for science and innovation in the region.
The regional president, Emiliano GarcĆa-Page, presented this new strategic framework, known as PRINCET 2025-2028, at the Fuensalida Palace (Toledo) accompanied by the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Amador PastorDuring the event, the regional government emphasized that this is a commitment to long haul, designed to give continuity to research policies and avoid the ups and downs that in other crises have hampered science in Spain.
Financial structure of a plan that will mobilize 1.300 billion
The PRINCET project has a mixed financial architecture combining public and private investment. According to data provided by the regional government, the Junta de Comunidades will contribute around 220 million euros, to which will be added over 680 million in private investment and near 400 million from the Higher Education system, primarily universities and affiliated centers.
Overall, the strategy aims to mobilize around 1.300-1.304 billion euros during the period 2025-2028. The Executive emphasizes that the new plan represents a an increase of about 200 million compared to the previous frameworkThis, according to those in charge, reflects a clear intention to consolidate R&D&I as a lever for growth and competitiveness, in line with the priorities set by the European Union.
From a political standpoint, President GarcĆa-Page has insisted that the idea is for public investment to act as private capital's tractor effectso that the increase in the regional budget also translates into a greater commitment from companies in Castilla-La Mancha to innovation and research.
Three major strategic axes and 13 action programs
The new plan is structured as follows: three main strategic lines, deployed through 13 specific programs ranging from direct support to research groups to instruments to promote business innovation.
The first major focus is on consolidation and promotion of the R&D&I systemThis section includes measures to strengthen cooperation between universities, technology centers, research organizations and companiesThe aim is to create stronger collaborative networks and avoid fragmentation of efforts. It also seeks to improve management structures and coordination mechanisms among stakeholders.
The second line focuses on the training and a commitment to excellence and continuous trainingThe main focus here is the research talentFrom pre- and postdoctoral research stays and contracts to mobility programs and initiatives to improve working conditions for scientists in the region. Councilor Amador Pastor emphasized that the human capital It is seen as the most valuable resource in the system.
Thirdly, PRINCET places the company at the heart of innovative actionThis axis is designed to boost private investment in R&D&I and support companies in integrating innovation into their strategies, gaining competitiveness, and improving their position in both the national and European markets. It aims to strengthen instruments such as grants for innovative business projects, public-private partnerships, and support for technology transfer.
One of the new features highlighted by the Ministry is that the demographic challenge It ceases to be an isolated line and becomes horizontally integrated across all lines and programs. That is, actions linked to areas with depopulation problems will be incorporated across the entire R&D&I strategy.
Quantified objectives: more research staff, innovative companies and scientific activity
PRINCET establishes a set of measurable goals which will serve as a reference for evaluating its impact. One of the most prominent is the 10% increase in research staff in the region, with the hope that this increase will also translate into a greater weight of women within the system, until reaching around a 15% female presence in this group.
In the academic field, the aim is to... 6% growth in the number of doctoral studentsThis should help to provide universities and technology centers with new research profiles. In parallel, the plan aims to significantly boost the innovative business sector: it sets as its objective a increase in R&D spending by companies of around 30-32%, as well as a 12% increase in the number of companies spending on innovation.
Regarding scientific production, the regional government has set itself the goal of achieving a 15% increase in high-impact publications or with a growth of close to 23% in the proposals submitted to the European Union's framework program for research and innovationThe aim is to gain visibility in the European environment and attract more competitive resources from Brussels.
One particularly sensitive issue for Castilla-La Mancha is the fight against depopulation. In this area, the PRINCET proposes a very significant increase in actions in areas affected by the demographic challengewith forecasts exceeding 70% and they even envision reaching around 80-85% growth in this type of intervention, thus reinforcing the synergy with the regional law against depopulation.
Immediate calls for proposals: grants for technology projects and centers
To demonstrate that the strategy is not just on paper, the regional government has accompanied the presentation of the plan with Calls for aid with immediate applicationGarcĆa-Page announced a first line equipped with 10 millones de euros destined to to fund around 120 scientific research projectswhich are estimated to provide coverage to more than a thousand researchers in different fields of knowledge.
According to the president, these types of meetings are key to retain talent and prevent the brain drain of researchers to other territories or countries. The idea is that those dedicated to research will find sufficient conditions in Castilla-La Mancha to develop their careers, and that the region will also be able to attract qualified professionals from the outside.
Furthermore, the Executive has indicated that on April Another specific call for proposals is expected to be published, for an amount of 1,3 millones de euros, aimed at supporting projects driven by the technology centers of the regionThis measure aims to provide stability to these entities, considered fundamental for the transfer of knowledge to the productive sector.
GarcĆa-Page himself emphasized that this aid will contribute to to maintain the sector's expectations to sustain the dynamism that has been generated in recent years around regional R&D&I, clearing up doubts about the continuity of public support in the medium term.
Continuity with respect to the previous plan and learning from the crisis
The new PRINCET is not starting from scratch. As Councilor Amador Pastor explained, the strategy incorporates the experience accumulated during the 2021-2024 period, in which the previous plan exceeded expectations in aspects such as the recruitment of research staff, the private investment in R&D&I or the increase in the number of companies that have started allocating funds to research and development.
For the regional government, this background justifies presenting the new plan as a tool "not improvised", with clearly defined guidelines, specific programs, and monitoring mechanisms that allow us to verify, with data, whether the established goals are being met. The intention is to apply coherence and order to research and innovation policies, aligning them with regional growth objectives.
GarcĆa-Page recalled that, in previous economic crises, one of the first areas to be cut was... funds allocated to researchwhich he described as a serious mistake. In his view, pausing policies that require continuity causes a gap difficult to close, and the damage done to science was at the time greater than that suffered by other sectors.
Faced with that experience, the regional government now advocates a long-term vision, in which research is not conceived as an accessory item dependent on the economic cycle, but as a structural component of the economy of Castilla-La Mancha, at the level of the major productive axes.
A plan agreed upon and aligned with the European R&D&I model
Another element that the Executive has wanted to highlight is the degree of consensus with which the PRINCET was born. As has been explained, the strategy has been agreed with unions, business organizations and universitiesso that the roadmap for R&D&I is not just a government proposal, but a commitment shared by the main social and economic actors in the region.
In this regard, GarcĆa-Page insisted that it is a plan intended to move forward "regardless of whether it brings in votes or not"Because, in the president's own words, it is a policy that "is worthwhile" and cannot be neglected. The reference to the national political context was clear when he asserted fundamental strategies versus short-term logic, often dominated by the immediate impact on social media.
The PRINCET's orientation fits with the priorities set by both the European Union as by the Spanish strategy for science, technology and innovation, which emphasizes the need to increase the weight of R&D&I in GDP, strengthen public-private collaboration and move towards a more knowledge-intensive productive fabric.
Although it is a clearly regional initiative, the plan aims for Castilla-La Mancha gain visibility in European competitionsImprove your participation in international projects and consolidate a competitive research network in the European environment, both in terms of investment figures and scientific results.
Socioeconomic impact, employment and demographic challenge
The PRINCET presentation took place in a context that the regional government considers favorable for supporting such an initiative. GarcĆa-Page emphasized that Castilla-La Mancha is experiencing population growth. both in the community as a whole and in areas that until recently suffered acutely from the problem of depopulation.
The president also pointed out that the community recently registered the Best unemployment figure for a January in the last 18 years, something which, in his opinion, reflects a notable increase in the working population compared to the early years of autonomy. In this scenario, strengthening R&D&I is seen as a way to consolidate quality employment and support a shift towards a production model less dependent on traditional sectors.
The plan aims to ensure that science and innovation have a spillover effect on the regional economy as a wholegenerating new opportunities in technological, industrial, and advanced service sectors. At the same time, the territorial component of the strategy, with its emphasis on less populated areas, seeks to contribute to to distribute economic activity more equitably and curb the concentration in large cities.
The combination of R&D&I policies, the law against depopulation, and other public measures already underway has begun to produce results in the form of population increase and improved labor market performance, according to the vision expressed by the Executive during the presentation of PRINCET.
Climate alert and institutional coordination
During the same event, GarcĆa-Page took the opportunity to allude to another underlying concern affecting the region, which is indirectly connected to the field of research: evolution of extreme weather phenomena and its impact on the territory, especially on riverbeds.
Although he acknowledged that jurisdiction over the waterways lies with the hydrographic confederationsThe president indicated that the regional government will remain in place. active in prevention and response efforts to the extent of its capabilities. To this end, it announced the creation or strengthening of a internal working group with the General Directorate of Citizen Protection, with the aim of being alert to possible adverse events.
Climate change and natural hazard management are fields in which the scientific research and technological development They can play a relevant role, from monitoring extreme events to designing resilient infrastructure. Although PRINCET is not limited to these topics, the context in which it is presented underscores the importance of having them. specialized knowledge to address environmental challenges.
In short, the new Regional Plan for Research, Technological Development and Innovation of Castilla-La Mancha is configured as a a major undertaking This initiative combines public and private resources, sets quantifiable targets for research employment, business investment, and scientific output, and integrates the demographic challenge and collaboration among stakeholders into a single roadmap. The region is thus positioning itself to strengthen its standing on the Spanish and European R&D&I map, with a focus on both economic growth and territorial cohesion.
