The President of the Principality has signed today the new regulation, which promotes an economy based on knowledge and innovation. The President of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, signed today the Law of Science, Technology, and Innovation, a regulation that will foster the growth of the regional scientific and technological system with a commitment to increasing funding, strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors, promoting research careers to attract talent, and supporting excellence in R&D and innovation.
The legislative text received yesterday the positive vote of all parliamentary groups of the General Assembly, except for Vox, which abstained. Through the first regulation approved in Asturias to regulate science, technological development, and innovation, the regional government sets as its initial goals to safeguard public investment and encourage private investment, as well as to extend aid and talent attraction programs from five to seven years to align with Europe. This new approach will allow for more foresight and provide greater stability to research and innovation calls.
In terms of the economy, the project aims to reach €1.075 billion annually for R&D+i by 2030, from both public and private funding, representing 3% of the regional GDP and slightly over 4% of the regional budget. The regulation will also promote public-private collaboration through the establishment of controlled environments for testing and trials (sandboxes) and innovative public procurement. At the same time, it will facilitate knowledge transfer and business innovation.
Among many other points, the new law includes the creation of the registry of the Asturian System of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SACI) and the establishment of an Asturian Observatory of Innovation and the promotion of research excellence units. The new legislation consists of a preliminary title, six titles, 69 articles, three additional provisions, a single transitory provision, and a single final provision. The ultimate goal is to outline a roadmap marked by the quality and competitiveness of the Asturian scientific and technological ecosystem that will contribute to promoting an economy based on knowledge, generating technological development, wealth, and employment.
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Barbón: «The Science Law marks a before and after for Asturias and has a name, that of the councilor Borja Sánchez.» The President of the Principality, Adrián Barbón, signed today the Law of Science, Technology, and Innovation, a regulation that guarantees more public funding, as it establishes the commitment to increase funds annually to align with the national and European investment average. «This law will go down in history in Asturias and will mark a before and after. Perhaps we do not realize the importance it has, but in a few years, we will look back and realize that it was a turning point. This law has a name, and it is that of councilor Borja Sánchez,» said the President.
The signing ceremony was attended by the councilor of Science, Companies, Training, and Employment, Borja Sánchez, on sick leave for cancer treatment, and the vice councilor of Science, Innovation, Research, and Digital Transformation, Iván Aitor Lucas. Barbón thanked the work carried out by the council’s team, the people who worked on the legislative text, and the parliamentary groups that voted in favor. The regulation, approved yesterday in the General Assembly with 44 votes in favor and the only abstention from the four Vox deputies, lays the groundwork for the creation of an Asturian CSIC, will facilitate the advancement of innovative public procurement, and will allow for the implementation of experimental test banks to carry out R&D+i projects in public environments with guarantees. Additionally, it will enable the creation of the Asturian Observatory of Innovation, a cooperation space where data, information, and the latest advances will be shared.
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