FAQs

The online system for submission of proposals to the calls for research and innovation projects will be available through the following link.

a) The Project Leader (PL): should register with the online platform giving his/her personal data and establishing a link to his/her organization. If the organization is not in the list, it should be included by entering its name and identification details (NIF if the organization is Spanish and VAT number if it is Portuguese).

b) The Organization Manager (OM): each organization will designate a sole OM for all research and innovation calls, who should register with his/her personal data. To be approved as the OM, the letter of appointment from the organization must be submitted (see the model or template in the OM profile). The "la Caixa" Programme Office will validate this information prior to granting the OM access to the proposal information (basic details, budget and members of the consortium). The OM must complete and validate the information of the Organization and accept the participation of PL in the call so that it can submit a proposal.

c) The partners or representatives of a civil society organization (CSO): will receive the invitation to participate in the project from the PL. Once the invitation is accepted and following registration in the system with their personal data, they will have access to read the project proposal.

All proposals, whether individual or submitted by a research consortium, need authorization from the requesting Organization to be processed. This requires validation by the organization manager (OM) through the online system. This validation can be done along the proposal preparation process, as it does not limit its edition by PL.

In the case of individual proposals with civil society organizations (CSO) or proposals from research consortia, their members must accept participation in the project proposal through the same online system. Should any such acceptance not be provided, the member in question must be withdrawn (in both the invitation module and the section with information on the consortium members) for the proposal to be processed.

If there are any changes in the field proposal description, in the section classification of the application and/or in the composition of the project team members, invitations will have to be accepted again. We therefore recommend invitations are not sent until these data have been entered and checked.

A validation button is available during the application process to check that the data provided are correct. We recommend to use this validation throughout the process to ensure submission prior to the deadline for applications.

In the case that the project is selected, a legal representative of the Host Organization and the PL will sign the agreement with the ”la Caixa” Foundation.

All submitted projects must address a health intervention related to disease prevention or health promotion; this intervention must be conducted or have been conducted in Spain or Portugal. Projects in which health is a secondary or indirect objective will not be eligible.

Although there are six highlighted thematic areas (mental health, women's health, child and adolescent health, nutrition and healthy lifestyles, healthy ageing, and chronic conditions), projects outside these areas will also be eligible.

Projects must fall into one of the following three categories: pilot studies, retrospective evaluations, and new interventions.

Pilot studies are small-scale preliminary studies to assess the feasibility of larger interventions.

Retrospective evaluations are evaluations of existing interventions using non-experimental retrospective methods.

New interventions focus on the development and evaluation of new health interventions using experimental or quasi-experimental methods.

No. Observational studies or any proposal that does not include an intervention and/or its evaluation are not eligible under this call.

No. Proposals whose main objective is the development or validation of medical devices or pharmaceutical products (including clinical trials at any stage) are not eligible under this call.

It will not be eligible. Only projects whose main objective is health are eligible. If health is only a secondary outcome of an intervention with another main objective, the proposal will not be eligible.

Yes, this Call is not incompatible with other programmes run by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, as long as the proposed budget does not receive funding from these other programmes. Participation in other ”la Caixa” Foundation programmes should be indicated when completing the proposal form.

A medical doctor (MD) without a doctoral degree (PhD) can take part in this Call as a partner or team member of a proposal, but not as Project Leader (PL).

Yes. In addition to the host organization, individual projects can include civil society organizations (such as patients’ associations) and other participant organizations withoug associated budget (such as primary care centres that, for organizational reasons, cannot receive funding).

A research consortium is a group of two or more organizations that work together on a project. For this Call, research consortia can include a maximum of five partner organizations (including the host organization).

A research organization is defined by a unique identification number (NIF if the organization is Spanish and VAT number if it is Portuguese). Each organization may appoint only one partner per proposal, the other members of the organization will be considered team members. In the case of the host organization the partner is the project leader (PL).

Non-profit civil society organizations (such as patients' associations) and other participant organizations without associated budget (such as primary care centres that, for organizational reasons, cannot receive funding) can take part in both individual and consortium projects.

A partner organization, while not being the Host Organization, is part of the research consortium, carries out project activities, and has an associated budget.

Participant organizations are all those that carry out activities in the project, including the partner organizations and the Host Organization, and may also include others that do not have an associated budget but perform some of the project’s activities (for example, primary care centres or similar entities that may carry out some activities but do not directly receive funding).

Yes, the budget distribution by project type will be specified in the guidelines of each edition of the call. In any case, the final distribution will always depend on the quality and specific characteristics of the projects submitted to this call.

A researcher can only apply as a project leader (PL) for a single project. A PL can also appear in different projects as partner or team member if their organization is involved in other research consortium proposals. There is no limit to the number of projects an organization may submit.

No, companies cannot submit proposals as host organizations (HO), participant organizations or civil society organizations (CSO), as these must be non-profit. However, they may receive project funds if they are subcontracted by a proposal organization.

All expenses are eligible as long as they are well justified by the needs of the project and follow the regulations of the organization that receive the funds. Therefore, it is necessary to follow its regulations in the personnel expenses (for example in completing or already contracted personnel), travels or equipment (for the call you can both charge all the expense of an equipment as only its amortization). The organization must take into account that at the end of the project, an audit of all costs can be requested.