The Associated Unit will be established with researchers from UVic-UCC affiliated with two research groups: the SGR group “Societies, Policies and Inclusive Communities” and the “Transformative Innovation Research Group”. The main objectives of the Associated Unit (AU) can be summarised as follows:

- To continue, strengthen and expand, through inter-institutional collaboration, the research trajectory of the team led by the CSIC Research Professor Marta Guadalupe Rivera Ferre, who contributed to its creation during her time at UVic-UCC and will continue working with it from INGENIO. We envisage that other INGENIO researchers will collaborate with this community, turning it into an instrument of inter-institutional cooperation that enables further development and progress in studies on participatory innovation processes and social inclusion in various areas such as health, food, and care.

This collaboration will connect research in two territorial areas, the Valencian Community and Catalonia, where various transformative innovations are currently taking place, such as agroecological-based food systems or formal and informal care systems.

- To establish a Mediterranean axis for the analysis, implementation and evaluation of transformative innovation policies, with a focus not limited to the territorial contexts of Catalonia and the Valencian Community. This collaboration will root in the Mediterranean area the work that INGENIO has been developing as part of the international consortium “Transformative Innovation Policies” (TIPC). The connection with a group pursuing this line of work in Catalonia will increase the experimentation scope of this emerging policy approach, build new capacities both at INGENIO and within the AU, and channel the work that INGENIO develops in Catalonia within this field.

- To deepen and develop the theoretical and applied foundations of the “shared agendas” approach. “Shared agendas” are structured as socio-technical transformation strategies characterised by organised activities carried out by different types of labs, and by the participation of multiple institutions, social actors, academia, administration, and enterprises aligned around shared, high-impact societal challenges. The joint work to be carried out in this area will analyse specific cases of “shared agendas” with the goal of generating metamodels that can be adapted to different challenges and territories.

- To develop, from an intersectional perspective, transdisciplinary research and evaluation focused on the social, political and economic analysis of inclusion processes (social, environmental, nutritional, territorial, health-related) linked to innovation policies and practices, and their democratising potential. This includes analysing practices in formal and informal contexts, with special attention to social innovation processes and the creation of inclusive participation spaces, as well as studying practices and social realities of marginalised and/or invisible groups often excluded from official narratives but particularly relevant in contexts of crisis and social, ecological, and economic uncertainty. Of particular interest are the processes that create spaces where participants have control over resource use and strategic decisions, dynamics in creating horizontal and participatory relationships, questioning the “expert–non-expert” hierarchy, and exploring how these dynamics promote the sustainability of life and communities, both materially and immaterially, within the construction of a commons-based economy and other social and economic spaces.

- To generate a process of collaboration and convergence in the research fields mentioned above. For example, the development of new approaches to food production and consumption, or the creation of social and solidarity economy spaces, can be conceptualised as transformative innovation processes and indeed form one of the main research axes in this field. The establishment of the AU will act as a catalyst for dialogue and collaboration between researchers at INGENIO and UVic-UCC who, until now, have worked independently in these areas. The ultimate goal is to position the participating organisations as European references in the analysis, implementation and evaluation of transformative and inclusive innovation policies linked to territorial needs.

The activity of the Associated Unit aligns with the following focal areas:

· Collaborative processes in the generation and application of knowledge
· Science, Technology and Human Capital
· Transformations towards sustainability

Research projects:
- SWIFT (Horizon Europe)
- REPAST (National Plan)
- FEMVIDA (National Plan)
- PASTINNOVA (PRIMA)

Other activities:
· Participation in international committees – MEDECC Nexus report
· Organisation of conferences and debates on transformative innovation
· Publication of research articles

· Feliu López i Gelats

· Marina di Masso Tarditti

· Sandra Ezquerra Samper