Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) has renewed its accreditation as a CERCA centre (Research Centres of Catalonia) with a B+ qualification.

VHIR is officially part of the ecosystem of Research Centres of Catalonia (CERCA) since 2015. Every four years, CERCA centres must pass an evaluation carried out by a panel of independent experts under the principles of quality, transparency and objectivity. Scores range from D (the lowest) to A (the highest).

The CERCA model is characterised by the achievement of ambitious scientific and technological milestones driven by the centres but also by the implementation of a series of joint policies and strategies. The centres optimise their assets and share common actions and best practices.

The evaluation committee was made up of: Dr. Lisardo Boscà, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols (chair); Prof. Richard Trembath, King's College London/King's Health Partners, UK; Dr. David Churchman, InSpired Health Outcomes Limited, UK; Dr. Carlos Diéguez, Facultad de Medicina de Santiago de Compostela/CIBEROBN; Dr. Lluís Rovira, president of CERCA (speaker); and Dr. Toni Bassaganyas-Bars, CERCA (Dr. Rovira's assistant).

The main blocks that have been evaluated for the period 2018 - 2021 have been scientific production, knowledge and technology transfer and management or governance.

The evaluation committee has highlighted that VHIR has experienced a positive evolution in the last evaluation period, which is especially visible in its participation in European competitive projects and in the growth and high level achieved in scientific production and clinical trials activity, as well as in the culture of innovation that is spread throughout the Institution. In this regard, they highlighted the excellent results of innovation in areas such as neurology and cardiology.

"Having obtained such a high score in this evaluation has been possible thanks to the commitment, dedication and effort to achieve excellence of all the people who are part of VHIR", highlights Dr. Begoña Benito, director of VHIR.

Finally, the evaluation committee also wanted to state in its report that the grading system is now different and more demanding than in previous evaluations. Nowadays, it is more difficult to obtain a high grade and the fact that VHIR has obtained a B+ grade, which is the same grade it obtained in the last evaluation in 2016, should be taken as an unequivocal sign of improvement.