AEI — State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación)

Funds Spanish science competitiveness through grants, innovation support, and technology transfer collaboration.

AEI is Spain's national research funding agency under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. It runs the competitive calls that implement the 2024-2027 State Plan for scientific and technical research and innovation. The agency sits at the centre of Spain's national research funding system, with 533 calls visible in its public search portal.

Its programmes fund research projects, human-resource contracts, excellence accreditations, scientific equipment, and international cooperation. The current ATRAE 2026 call has a budget of EUR 40 million and awards of up to EUR 1 million, or up to EUR 1.2 million when the principal investigator has had at least five years of research ties to US institutions. Eligible applicants include public research bodies, universities, public health institutes, and other non-profit research entities.

AEI uses annual competitive calls and a standard public search portal to surface opportunities across talent, transfer, excellence, and international collaboration. Recent open routes include the Severo Ochoa and Maria de Maeztu centres, the RYC programme, Europa Excelencia, and the R3 certification line. For applicants, the agency rewards strong institutional backing, clear research leadership, and a proposal that fits the specific programme rather than a generic project brief.