Instituto Biofisika awarded with the CSIC ASPIRA-MaX Sagrario Martínez-Carrera seal of excellence

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), an organization under the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, has announced the results of the second call for the MaX-CSIC Project, a key initiative to promote scientific excellence in its centers and institutes. In this phase, 29 CSIC centers, including the Instituto Biofisika, have been awarded the ASPIRA-CSIC "Sagrario Martínez-Carrera" distinction, allowing them to advance to the second phase of the project. This achievement comes with funding of up to €300,000 to support the implementation of key aspects of their excellence plans.  

To obtain this distinction, the centers had to submit a Scientific Center Project and design an Excellence Plan based on the self-assessment questionnaire they completed to join Phase I of the program. The evaluation of the scientific project considered aspects such as the state of the art in the proposed topics, the center or institute's capacity to carry out the project, the identification of mechanisms to promote the coordination of research lines and internal synergies, strategies aimed at increasing international scientific leadership, those focused on fostering collaboration, initiatives to enhance knowledge transfer, and efforts to boost scientific, social, and economic impact.

The MaX-CSIC Project is divided into three phases. Centers that pass the first phase, which consists of a self-assessment and an external evaluation by a committee, will receive the ASPIRA-MaX "Josefa Barba" Seal of Excellence, a grant of €20,000 to develop a scientific project, and will become part of the MaX-CSIC Project.  

In the second phase, the selected centers will develop a three-year scientific project and an excellence plan. A committee will evaluate these projects and plans, and centers that pass this phase will receive the ASPIRA-MaX "Sagrario Martínez-Carrera" Seal of Excellence and funding of up to €300,000 for the implementation of their excellence plan.  

In the third phase, the CSIC Scientific Advisory Committee will assess the impact of the DEEP-MaX program on the center. Centers that receive a positive evaluation will be awarded the ASPIRA-MaX "Margalida Comas" Seal of Excellence, the highest recognition for scientific excellence granted by the CSIC presidency.