3.3.1 Sub-national Networks

SciTech Diplohub – Barcelona

http://www.scitechdiplohub.org/

Nature

Multi-stakeholder network

• Lead: Civil society
• Other stakeholders involved: Regional and local government, Researchers and academia, Industry sector

The network at a glance

SciTech DiploHub, the Barcelona Science and Technology Diplomacy Hub, is a non-profit, independent, nonpartisan civil initiative led by an interdisciplinary, international team of scientists, engineers and foreign affairs and public policy professionals.

SciTech DiploHub is committed to making Barcelona the first city in the world to implement a science and technology diplomacy strategy and to make Barcelona an influential global player in tackling humanity’s grand challenges through science and technology.

Date
November 2018

Place
Barcelona, Spain

Funding
Public-private partnership

Type of Members
Individuals

Rationale and activities

SciTech DiploHub takes advantage of the increasingly relevant geopolitical actor: global cities. Big cities are economic, political and innovation powerhouses discreetly transforming the international scene, becoming essential diplomatic players and increasingly bypassing nation states to create city-centred global policies. At the same time, science and technology are the driving forces in economic and social progress and have become key tools to tackle humanity’s grand challenges. In this exciting context Barcelona has taken the lead with its own science and technology diplomacy strategy.

SciTech DiploHub has launched The Barcelona Manifesto for a City-led Science and Technology Diplomacy supported by 150 world-class scientists, tech experts, public policy and foreign affairs professionals. The manifesto aims to consolidate Barcelona as an innovation capital, ready to position the city as an influential geopolitical actor through science diplomacy.

Barcelona’s science diplomacy action plan includes partnerships among the scientific community, start-ups, policy-makers, NGOs, the diplomatic corps, the private sector and civil society.

The network also aims to empower a global network of top scientists and technology experts educated in Barcelona, Barcelona Alumni, to foster international cooperation, showcase scientific strengths abroad and interpret key global issues.

Finally, SciTech DiploHub wants to pave the way for other global cities committed to developing their own science and technology diplomacy strategies creating a network of networks. In this regard, Barcelona has been one of the world’s first cities to implement a comprehensive science and technology diplomacy strategy (Roig 2018; Roig, Sun-Wang, and Manfredi-Sánchez 2020).

What the experts think

Find out more about the SciTech DiploHub from its CEO below!

Alexis Roig

Barcelona SciTech DiploHub CEO

What is the approach of the Barcelona SciTech DiploHub?

Science and Technology Diplomatic Circle of Boston

Nature

Multi-stakeholder network:

• Lead: Governmental Stakeholders
• Other stakeholders involved: Regional and local government, Regional and local Researchers and academia, Regional and local Industry sector and Regional and local civil society

The network at a glance

The Science & Technology Diplomatic Circle ‘’S&TDC’’ Boston is an association of members from 60+ diplomatic missions and affiliated organizations in the Boston area to promote informal exchange between diplomatic missions in Boston and leaders of government, academia, and industry in Massachusetts.

Date

2014

Place

Boston, USA

Type of Members

Individuals(official representatives of countries and regional entities in the Greater Boston Area). Membership now includes representatives from over 65 diplomatic missions in Greater Boston.

Rationale and activities

The objective of the S&TDC is to offer a platform for activities, seminars and visits interacting with leaders and officials of the government, academia and private sector of Massachusetts. The primary focus is science & technology. In a team effort among the consular diplomats in the Greater Boston area, they focus on visits and encounters to explore the political, academic and private sector of Massachusetts, which shapes the innovation ecosystem. Their mission is to discover new bonds with greater Boston and connect back to their countries in the field of science & technology.