The Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE), the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), three research centres linked to Pompeu Fabra University, have passed the first assessment stage towards obtaining the Severo Ochoa distinction for scientific excellence, called for the first time by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Last week, the representatives of the 22 finalist centres defended their candidatures in Madrid during a meeting with the minister for Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia. Eduard Vallory, Josep M. Antó and Luis Serrano, directors of the Barcelona GSE, CREAL and CRG, respectively, presented their arguments and the merits for which they believe the Severo Ochoa distinction should be awarded to their centres.

Ten centres will be selected from among the 22 finalists to be awarded the distinction. The results of the evaluation will be made public in November and the chosen centres will receive one million euros over a four-year period.

75 candidates, 22 finalists and 10 winners

Of the 75 candidatures presented, 60 were accepted and just 22 passed the first stage. They are from three areas of knowledge: ten in Physical Sciences and Engineering, nine in Life Sciences and Medicine, and three in Social Sciences and Humanities.

The three selection committees in charge of the evaluation are comprised of prestigious international scientists including several Nobel Prize winners and they are entrusted with the task of evaluating in this first stage, in which they have taken into consideration those centres that stand out due to their scientific relevance, organization, research strategy and international competitiveness.

Most noteworthy among the requirements for participating in the first stage are first, having a chief scientist with a recognized international presence and proven track record related with directing and managing science and secondly, endorse a critical mass of outstanding scientific production. This means having at least ten principal researchers in competitive research projects, as well as accrediting scientific production among the centre or unit's main researchers, whose international impact were greater than 50% the world average in the respective areas of recognition.

The first stage of evaluation involved assessing the scientific relevance of each candidature (quality and impact of its scientific production, most significant milestones and distinctions, the track record of the chief scientist and principal researchers); the organization of the centre or unit and its human resources strategy (organization and management of research activities, proven ability in training, selection, mobility and attracting talent), as well as its competitive positioning in the international sphere.

As regards territorial distribution, Catalonia is the most highly represented autonomous community, with 12 centres among the 22 finalists. This is followed by Madrid (7), Andalucía (1), the Canary Islands (1) and the Community of Valencia (1).