The CSIC is a State Agency that is considered as a Public Research Organization of the Spanish General State Administration with its own unique legal status. The CSIC carries out its functions through a multiplicity of organizational structures lacking their own legal character. The research institutes through which the CSIC performs its scientific and technical research activity are notable in terms of their importance and number. Each institute is integrated within one of three thematic Global Areas.
- CSIC research activity is carried out with full scientific autonomy and is organised through research groups that form the different departments according to topic areas. CSIC management activity is carried out following a decentralized and responsible system.
- For their internal operation, the institutes have their own management (Management, Deputy Manager(s), Board), administration (Administrative Manager) and advisory bodies (Scientific Faculty).
The CSIC currently has 120 research institutes distributed throughout the national territory, with the exception of the Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología in Rome (Italy). Of these 120 institutes, 51 are joint centres with other institutions, primarily universities.
There are also eight centres classified as research support units, which provide technical and administrative support to two or more institutes.
The Spanish State Research Agency annually awards the distinctive Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence and María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence with a double objective:
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Accredit centres and units of excellence that demonstrate scientific leadership and impact at global level, with the capacity to contribute to the advancement of knowledge frontiers and to generate high-impact results, as well as attract talent.
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Fund strategic research plans for four-year periods. Accreditations can be renewed at the end of each period for another four years.
Since 2012, ten CSIC institutes (including six joint centres and four joint institutions) have been accredited as the Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence and six units have been accredited as María de Maeztu Units of Excellence, receiving a total of €52.000.000 in public funding. In addition, the following institutes have renewed their accreditation: Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas (ICMAT), the Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ), the Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT), the Instituto de Neurociencias (IN) and the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), receiving an additional funding of €20.000.000.
Furthermore, together with other entities, the CSIC forms part of the Centro de Investigación en Nanociencia y Nanotecnología (ICN2) and of the Centro de Recerca Agrigenómica CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB, which have also been accredited as Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence. The former, ICN2, has also renewed its accreditation.
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE SEVERO-OCHOA
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| INSTITUTO DE FÍSICA TEÓRICA (IFT) | ||||||||||||
| ESTACIÓN BIOLÓGICA DE DOÑANA | ||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE TECNOLOGÍA QUÍMICA (ITQ) | ||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE NEUROCIENCIAS (IN) | ||||||||||||
| CENTRO NACIONAL DE BIOTECNOLOGÍA (CNB) | ||||||||||||
| INSTITIUTO DE FÍSICA CORPUSCULAR (IFIC) | ||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE CIENCIA DE MATERIALES DE BARCELONA (ICMAB) | ||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS MATEMÁTICAS (ICMAT) | ||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE ASTROFÍSICA DE ANDALUCÍA (IAA) | ||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE DIAGNÓSTICO AMBIENTAL Y ESTUDIOS DEL AGUA (IDAEA) | ||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS DEL MAR (ICM) | ||||||||||||
| CENTRO DE BIOTECNOLOGÍA Y GENÓMICA DE PLANTAS (CBGP) | ||||||||||||
| CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIÓN EN NANOCIENCIA Y NANOTECNOLOGÍA (ICN2) | ||||||||||||
| CENTRE DE RECERCA AGRIGENÓMICA CSIC-IRTA-UAB (CRAG) |
UNITS OF EXCELLENCE MARÍA DE MAEZTU
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
| BIOLOGÍA ESTRUCTURAL (IBMB) | |||||||||||||
| DEPARTAMENTO DE REGULACIÓN GÉNICA Y MORFOGÉNESIS (GEM-CABD) | |||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE FÍSICA DE CANTABRIA (IFCA) | |||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE ROBÓTICA E INFORMÁTICA INDUSTRIAL (IRI) | |||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE FÍSICA INTERDISCIPLINAR Y SISTEMAS COMPLEJOS (IFISC) | |||||||||||||
| CENTRO DE ASTROBIOLOGÍA (CAB) | |||||||||||||
| INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS DEL ESPACIO (ICE) | |||||||||||||
| CENTRO ANDALUZ DE BIOLOGÍA DEL DESARROLLO (CABD) |
Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca
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Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos
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Estación Biológica de Doñana
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Instituto de Análisis Económico
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Instituto de Investigación en Inteligencia Artificial
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Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia
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Instituto de Química Médica
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Instituto de Acuicultura Torre de la Sal
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Instituto de Ciencias del Espacio
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