ITACA Forward is a technology-transfer and innovation project that connects ITACA’s research areas with industry and the public sector to accelerate the development of market-ready solutions.
ITACA Forward has six strategic objectives:
• Boost R&D&I projects developed jointly with companies: Sustainably increase the number and quality of these projects, with a special focus on projects with SMEs and companies in the Valencian Community.
• Increase revenue from contracts with companies: Increase revenue from contracts with companies and licensing agreements, diversifying income streams, and boosting the commercialization of technologies developed at the ITACA Institute.
• Strengthen links with the industrial sector: Establish and deepen relationships with industry leaders (companies, business federations, chambers of commerce, and technology centers) to facilitate technology transfer and ITACA’s participation in collaborative projects involving companies (especially SMEs) from the Valencian Community.
• Improve and expand relationships with the public sector: Develop and maintain lines of communication and collaboration with key representatives of the public sector to align ITACA Institute’s innovations with government priorities, such as public health and environmental sustainability.
• Generate market intelligence and align it with research: Systematically collect and analyze market needs to guide the Institute’s research focus toward commercially viable and socially beneficial technologies.
• Promote a culture of knowledge transfer: Foster a culture of creativity and innovation within ITACA, highlighting entrepreneurial thinking and the commercial potential of research results, and connecting researchers (especially younger researchers) with companies in the main productive and technological sectors of the Valencian Community.
The project structures its work into targeted strategies: identifying industry challenges and research opportunities; protecting intellectual property and securing TRL-advancement funding; developing collaborative R&D with companies; strengthening staff capabilities in partnering, regulation, and proposal writing; building and promoting a technology and services portfolio; and deepening relationships with industry associations, technology institutes, and public administrations. Communication actions (multichannel outreach and a periodic newsletter) increase visibility of the project’s initiatives and ITACA’s capabilities, while internal initiatives foster a culture of transfer and entrepreneurship.
The project is part of the Programme for the Strengthening of Scientific Units for Technology Development and Knowledge Transfer to Industry, and has a total eligible budget of €393,688.00, of which €354,319.20 is funded by Ivace+i Innovación and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund ERDF/FEDER Comunitat Valenciana 2021-2027) (Project reference: INNVA2/2025/17).
