The recent Philea Research Forum took place on the 7th and 8th of March in the incomparable setting of the CARIPLO Factory in Milan.

The Forum was an exceptional opportunity to meet again with some of the most important philanthropic foundations from all over Europe. The theme of the Forum focussed on how foundations can contribute to shaping future innovation ecosystems.  

We had the opportunity to participate in a round table (Foundations as hubs of knowledge and innovation). Here, we shared our insights in the field, including an experience closely linked to one of our most transformative initiatives for the health innovation ecosystem in Spain and Portugal; the CaixaImpulse Innovation programme. 

This programme was first launched in 2015 as a unique joint venture between a philanthropic entity (“la Caixa” Foundation) with 40 years of experience in research grant-making, and its Venture Capital branch (Caixa Capital Risc), who hold extensive knowledge of start-up creation and scale up. The programme was designed to support academic researchers in the field of biomedicine and health. Working in hospitals and universities, these researchers aimed to transfer the results of their scientific research from the lab to the patient, also known as ‘from Bench to Bedside’. 

This year CaixaImpulse Innovation celebrates an important milestone – its 10th edition. Although it has evolved over the years, its core remains the same and has been the reason for its success: a careful identification of excellent projects along with the scientific entrepreneurs leading them, and adequate financial support combined with a personalised and flexible accompaniment programme. 

This accompaniment includes mentoring by renowned experts, and the flagship of this initiative; a training programme focused on innovation. A series of sessions that seek not only to train future entrepreneurs to lead innovation projects but also to contribute to improving the proficiency of other members of their research centres who may be also interested in technology transfer. The results of this effort can already be seen in the 42 companies that have emerged from the programme, which have secured significant amounts of additional funding and are getting closer to bringing their products, services and treatments to those who will benefit most: patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare systems, as a whole.

There are still many challenges ahead, some of which were discussed during the Forum. For example, there is a need for foundations to take the lead in promoting global innovation by fostering cross-border collaborations, improving communication and advocacy channels and working more inclusively to involve local communities that may become beneficiaries of future innovations. We hope that the current efforts being made by foundations in the social, environmental and health fields will continue to bear fruit and respond to the increasingly global challenges faced by public administrations and society in general. Continuing to work on nurturing and improving innovation ecosystems is the key to success.

Alexandre Esteban is the Programme Manager at “la Caixa” Foundation and Ignasi López is the Director of Partnerships with Research and Health Institutions at “la Caixa” Foundation.