The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its mission is to foster, coordinate, develop and promote multidisciplinary scientific and technological research in order to contribute to advancing knowledge and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to train staff and advise public and private entities on these matters.

CSIC plays an important role in scientific and technological policy. Its research is driven by its 120 centers and institutes, which are spread across all the autonomous regions and its more than 10,000 staff. CSIC has 6% of all the staff dedicated to Research and Development in Spain and generates approximately 20% of all scientific production in the country. It also manages a range of important facilities  and infrastructures, and the most complete and extensive network of specialist libraries.

Multidisciplinary

Its multidisciplinary and multisectorial nature means CSIC covers all fields of knowledge. Its activity, which covers everything from basic research to technological development, is organised around three global areas:

Global Areas

Research in CSIC extends in three Global Areas: Society (S), Life (V) and Materia (M), and four connection axes between them (SV, SM, VM, SVM), which allow to address interdisciplinary research, initiatives of excellence and knowledge transfer, and tackle frontier issues in virtually all areas of knowledge.

The synergy between the different centers and institutes, through the research groups, allows CSIC to participate in new challenges and makes it a key player in international research with a recognized innovative character. The 120 institutes carry out basic and applied research at the service of the society focused on pioneering scientific developments. The Interdisciplinary Thematic Platforms (PTIs) oriented to the resolution of great global challenges with high social and scientific impact, represent the CSIC new initiatives to exploit the capacity between the global areas and research groups working together and in coordination, as well as to promote proposals led by young researchers.

Learn more

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) News