Beques per a projectes de recerca de l'Institut d'Estudis de l'Autogovern (Modality 4 — institutional grants for universities and research centres)

What the grant covers

Your institution gets between 5,000 EUR and 50,000 EUR for a single research project. The topic is how political power is shared across territories, with a focus on Catalonia and its self-government. You have 24 months to carry out the project. The money comes from the Institute for Self-Government Studies (IEA), part of the Presidency Department of the Catalan Government. For 2026 the total budget is 249,474 EUR, split across several projects. You receive 80% up front once the grant is awarded and the last 20% after you document the finished work.

Who can apply

• Applicant type: Only institutions can apply, not individual researchers. Individuals take part as members of a project team.
• Eligible bodies: Public and non-profit private universities in the Catalan university system, their affiliated or inter-university institutes, CERCA-recognised social science research centres, and non-profit research bodies set up or backed by the Catalan Government or public universities.
• Topic: Your project must be original and unpublished. It must analyse how power is distributed across territories, with special attention to Catalonia. Preferred fields are law, political science, sociology and political philosophy. Projects that only organise courses, seminars or conferences do not qualify.
• Research team: Members can come from Catalonia, the rest of Spain or abroad.
• Language: You must write the project report in English.

How to apply

Institutions apply online through tramits.gencat.cat or EACAT. For the 2026 round, you can apply from 7 to 29 September 2026. Projects are scored in two stages. First, the AGAUR agency runs a technical review (up to 40 points, with at least 25 needed to advance). Then the IEA selection committee assesses the project (up to 60 points) on how well it fits the IEA's priorities and its impact on Catalan self-government.

How realistic are your chances?

This funding is narrow: only Catalan universities and recognised research centres qualify, and the project must fit a specific theme around the territorial organisation of power. With a total budget of about 249,000 EUR and grants of up to 50,000 EUR each, only a handful of projects are funded per round. An eligible institution with a strong, clearly relevant proposal that meets both scoring thresholds has solid prospects.