Two foundation partners join the RoRI Consortium

RoRI’s projects and strategic priorities are determined by its Partnership Board, made up of representatives of its Core Partners. 

We are delighted to announce that two new partners have joined this Board: King Baudouin Foundation from Belgium and “la Caixa” Foundation from Spain. This brings the total number of RoRI’s Core Partners to seventeen, drawn from eleven countries. 

“la Caixa” Foundation (Fundación “la Caixa” or LCF) has an annual budget of 600 million euros, earmarked for the development, expansion, and consolidation of large-scale projects in social welfare, education, research and innovation and culture. 

LCF has long utilised data analysis to improve the design, implementation and impact of its activities. With a firm alignment with RoRI’s mission, LCF wants to continue to generate and use data and evidence to improve funding practices, share lessons and learn from RoRI’s international partners, and support research on research projects.

Ignasi López Verdeguer, Director of Partnerships with Research and Health Institutions, said:

“By joining RoRI, “la Caixa” Foundation wants to continue enhancing its impact in the Spanish and Portuguese research ecosystem by improving its funding instruments through innovative evidence based science policies.” 

Also joining us is the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF), a Belgian public benefit foundation. In 2023, they awarded over 4,000 grants with a budget of 130 million euros.

“Being a small research funder, it is very important that our resources are invested efficiently to be impactful and fair”, said Sofie Bekaert, Senior Program Coordinator.

“We are convinced that a paradigm shift in research culture is needed to achieve a more strategic, open and inclusive research system. We believe RoRI to be a great co-creative environment to help us advance towards these goals.” 

Welcoming these new partners to the consortium, James Wilsdon, RoRI’s Executive Director said:

“ King Baudouin Foundation and “la Caixa” Foundation are two of Europe’s most innovative foundations investing in science and research. I’ve been deeply impressed by the work they are doing to rethink funding practices, foster experimentation, and build a more diverse and inclusive research ecosystem. 

By joining RoRI, they will be able to exchange evidence and insights with their peers at the forefront of the funding community. As a consortium, RoRI is building the evidence we need to accelerate change in how research is funded, practised, communicated and evaluated. LCF and KBF now add weight and wisdom to this mission, and we warmly welcome them on board!”

Image banner credit: “la Caixa” Foundation, annual gathering with researchers from the CaixaResearch Health Call at Cap Roig