The Navarra Medical Research Institute (IdiSNA) has been certified as a Medical Research Institute by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, by Ministerial Decree of 24 January 2019.

This certification means IdiSNA meets all the quality requirements and high technical standards set forth by Royal Decree 279/2016, of 24 June, on the certification of biomedical or medical research institutes.

The whole process took a great deal of effort in terms of evidence and document submission for a pre-audit and on-site audit performed by a highly specialised technical team from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), who checked compliance with all the relevant requirements.

The certification must be renewed on a five-year basis. Renewal involves an assessment of the institution’s scientific activity and management practices.

The relevance of the certification

The certification granted to IdiSNA, a recognition to excellence, is bound to have an impact on the design of the Medical Research Strategy in Navarra. Moreover, it enables IdisNA to enter ISCIII’s calls to certified research institutes.

In addition, being certified as a Medical Research Institute whose infrastructure includes hospitals, research centres and universities means IdiSNA can become more competitive internationally, getting better access to European funding.

Internally, this certification comes as an acknowledgement of all the professionals from a variety of institutions that are part of IdiSNA, contributing to integration and to the development of its Strategic and Scientific Plan.

Strategic bet

IdiSNA is a strategic bet by the Community of Navarra, framed within the Navarra Regional Development Strategy RIS 3. It is also a real strategic alliance between participating institutions, all of them committed to excellence through cooperation and networking, giving prominence to the scientific contributions of each participant.

Furthermore, IdiSNA stands for a unique regional research model in that it covers the whole quality medical research area in Navarra while making room for true innovation. In this sense, IdiSNA is the first regional research centre whose activity is based on public-private cooperation and whose members include two large hospitals, two research centres and two universities.
At the core of IdiSNA are the Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN) and Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN). Around them are the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and the University of Navarra (UN), Navarrabiomed and Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), the Navarra Public and Occupational Health Institute (ISPLN), primary health care centre and other medical centres related to the Health Department. The medical researchers work in all these institutions.

Today, IdiSNA has over 900 researchers, grouped into 104 research teams and 10 fields of knowledge.

Of all the research teams, 23 per cent include researchers from different centres (both public and private). This adds a multidisciplinary layer to the whole – a must for quality research.

History and background

In 2005, the Government of Navarra took the first steps towards the establishment of a research centre. Unfortunately, these early efforts did not bear fruit.

Present-day IdiSNA was established in 2010 under an agreement between the Health Department and the University of Navarra.

In May 2017, the Public University of Navarra joined the agreement. This gave IdiSNA its final shape.

The full social and professional consensus on the strategic relevance of IdiSNA in Navarra today is the best guarantee for the development of medical research in the region in the future.

Photo: From left to right: Iñigo Lasa, Director of Navarrabiomed; Rosario Luquin of IdiSNA; José Andrés Gómez, CUN Managing Director; Alfonso Carlosena, UPNA Chancellor; Fernando Domínguez, Head of the Navarra Health Department; Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero, UN Chancellor; and Antonio Merino, CHN Managing Director.