Opportunity and risk for Catalan research in independence debate | THE News 03/10/2017, 14*46

Opportunity and risk for

Catalan research in
independence debate
Catalonia's referendum has brought into sharp focus the potential benefits
of independence for science in the region, but it has also highlighted the
potential pitfalls that researchers could face if relations between the
separatist region and Madrid sour further.

Catalonia is one of Spains richest regions, providing 19 per cent of Spains

gross domestic product. It is home to thriving industry, several top
universities and research centres, and punches well above its weight in
terms of the excellence of its research.

For example, Times Higher Education analysis of Catalan universities'

performance in the World University Rankings shows that the region is
third behind only the Netherlands and Sweden in terms of average scores
for the citation impact of institutions' research, among countries with at
least five entries in the table. On the same measure, the rest of Spain
without Catalonia, meanwhile, ranks 25th.

In the most recent round of European Research Council grants for early
career researchers, 10 of the 22 awards for scientists based in Spain went
to those at institutions in Catalonia, despite the region comprising just 16
per cent of the countrys population.

Advocates of independence argue that Catalonias government has already

acted to free universities from some of the bureaucracy that hampers
academic recruitment and promotion in the rest of Spain, and claim that
independence would allow this process to be accelerated.

Arcadi Navarro, secretary for universities and research in the Catalan

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/opportunity-and-risk-catalan-research-independence-debate Page 1 of 3
Opportunity and risk for Catalan research in independence debate | THE News 03/10/2017, 14*46

government, said that independence would enable him to implement

policy measures that Madrid has so far banned.

They would include the development of a fiscal policy aimed to foster

private donations, whose treatment is now worse than in many other
European countries, said Professor Navarro, director of the department of
experimental and health sciences at Barcelonas Pompeu Fabra University.
Also, we would leverage on private investments to ensure that knowledge
better reaches society.

These would be possible only if the Catalan government had control over
tax legislation, and the power to regulate credit operations and the
mechanisms for venture capital, Professor Navarro added.

Many credit Andreu Mas-Colell, emeritus professor of economics at

Pompeu Fabra, as the architect of the current research system in Catalonia.
Professor Mas-Colell, who served as Catalonias minister of economy and
knowledge from 2010 to 2016, said that the Catalan government placed a
higher priority on research than the Spanish government.

Anything that gives the Catalan government more fiscal resources is good
for research in Catalonia, he said.

However, Professor Mas-Colell cautioned that funding would remain a key

concern, even after independence.

The research system has been quite efficient in transforming core support
from the Catalan government into budgets that on average are three times
larger. This is hard to improve, he said.

Meanwhile, independence brings its own risks. A major question mark

hangs over the relationship between an independent Catalonia and the
European Union, with Madrid determined to prevent a breakaway country
from joining. This could limit Catalan universities access to research

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/opportunity-and-risk-catalan-research-independence-debate Page 2 of 3
Opportunity and risk for Catalan research in independence debate | THE News 03/10/2017, 14*46

funding.

There are shorter-term concerns, too. In the weeks leading up to 1 October,

the Spanish Ministry of Finance and Civil Service took measures to take
control of the financial affairs of universities and research centres.

These measures are unjustified, unnecessary and they are endangering

academic activities in Catalonia, Professor Navarro said, adding that they
damage the credibility of the institutions and individuals working on
international projects.

One researcher affected by the financial restrictions is Roderic Guig,

coordinator of the bioinformatics programme at the Centre for Genomic
Regulation in Barcelona.

I have funding from the European Research Council and the National
Institutes of Health [and] every expense that I have in terms of research
has to be justified to the Spanish government, he said. This direct
intervention of the Spanish government into science will have an impact.

Day to day, it means that administrative staff have to devote extra time to
complete the justifications for spending, which leaves them with less time
to support researchers in other ways, Professor Guig said.

Professor Guig added that these tactics could cause people considering
relocating to Catalonia to rethink their plans, undermining one of the
regions key strengths.

We know that if you want to compete in science you need to be able to

attract the best from the entire world, not only from your country, and this
is something that we managed to achieve, he said.

holly.else@timeshighereducation.com

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/opportunity-and-risk-catalan-research-independence-debate Page 3 of 3