Objective
The “la Caixa” Foundation is launching the ninth edition of its call for proposals for research projects in biomedicine and health. The goal of this call is to identify and support promising initiatives that demonstrate scientific excellence and have the potential for social impact, in basic, clinical, and translational research.
Submitted projects must fall within the following thematic areas:
- Neurosciences
- Oncology
- Related cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
- Infectious Diseases
- Enabling technologies in the four thematic areas mentioned above
Financial Aid: Duration and Amount
Project proposals must have an implementation period of up to 3 years and may be:
- Individual grants: submitted by a single research organization (applicant organization). They may receive funding of up to €500,000.
- Research consortia: submitted by a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 research organizations, coordinated by the applicant organization. They may receive grants of up to 1,000,000 €.
Both types of proposals may include nonprofit civil society organizations, such as patient associations. Incorporated companies may not participate in the project as collaborating entities.
A total of up to €21,500,000* may be awarded to support the selected projects. The intention is to distribute the funding roughly equally among the different thematic areas, but the final distribution will always depend on the quality and specific characteristics of the projects submitted in response to this call for proposals.
* This amount is subject to final approval by the “la Caixa” Foundation.
The Francisco Luzón Foundation may co-fund a project on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)**.
Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) may co-fund a project on type 1 diabetes (T1D)**.
The “la Caixa” Foundation and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) are collaborating through the Iberian Initiative for Biomedical Research and Innovation (i4B) as part of this call for proposals. Under this initiative, the FCT will be able to fund additional projects from among the highest-ranked proposals led by Portuguese organizations**.
** For more details, please refer to the call for proposals.
Whether proposals are submitted individually or by a consortium, and whether they involve basic, clinical, or translational research, does not serve as a selection criterion during the evaluation process. The only selection criteria for evaluating proposals are those detailed in the call for proposals.
A description of a budget that is appropriate for the activities to be carried out is a factor that is taken into account in the project evaluation process.
Beneficiaries
Applicant Organizations (Host Organizations, HO). Projects led by researchers from nonprofit research organizations located in Spain or Portugal are eligible to apply for this call for proposals.
ProjectLeader(PL). The principal investigator from the applicant organization must also serve as the project leader, who submits the proposal in response to the call for proposals and oversees the overall implementation of the project.
Research Performing Organizations(RPO). Any nonprofit research organization located in any country worldwide that carries out activities within the project. In individual projects, the sole research organization is the applicant. In research consortia, there must be a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 research organizations (including the applicant organization). Research organizations with the same tax ID or VAT number are considered a single organization.
Principal Investigators(PI). Each research organization must have a principal investigator responsible for carrying out the project activities conducted at that organization.
Civil Society Organizations(CSOs). In addition, both individual projects and research consortia may also include up to three nonprofit civil society organizations whose primary activity is not research (for example, patient associations).
Companies. Established companies cannot be members of the project, but they can receive funding as subcontractors.
Overall, the combined budget of all organizations not located in Spain or Portugal may not exceed 30% of the total project budget.
Team members. All members of the project team must be affiliated with the applicant organization, civil society organizations, or organizations in the research consortium.
Application Criteria
The guidelines for this call for proposals (available only in English) contain details on all eligibility criteria and requirements for submitting a proposal in response to this call.
Active Health Projects. Project leaders (PLs) who were selected in the last three editions of Health Research are not eligible to serve as PLs for new proposals in this edition.
Minimum score in the previous round. In order to enhance the quality of the proposals, Principal Investigators (PIs) and Project Leaders (PLs) of projects that received a score below 5.50 (out of a maximum of 8) in the peer review conducted by remote experts in the previous call (2025) may not serve as PLs in proposals for this call (2026).
Looking ahead, Principal Investigators (PIs) and Project Leaders (PLs) of projects that receive a score below 5.50 (out of a maximum of 8) in the remote expert review for this edition will not be eligible to serve as PLs in proposals for the next edition. Likewise, Principal Investigators (PIs) and Principal Investigators (PIs) of proposals rejected during the content eligibility review process in this edition will not be eligible to serve as PIs in proposals for the next edition.
Projects that involve studies whose results are subject to rights of any kind held by a for-profit entity prior to the application deadline are not eligible. The “la Caixa” Foundation reserves the right to reject proposals that clearly benefit for-profit organizations.
Project Selection
Proposals are selected through a rigorous process that meets standards of quality, impartiality, objectivity, and transparency.
It consists of a formal and content-based eligibility phase, a remote review phase (preselection), and an in-person evaluation phase conducted by committees of experts in each of the subject areas.