Strategic
Plan

2026-2031

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PLAN ESTRATÉGICO 2026-2031

Introduction

This Strategic Plan is already the fifth one promoted by IBEI since its founding in 2004. The previous Strategic Plan, focused on the 2021–2025 period, marked a decisive stage in IBEI’s institutional, academic and organisational consolidation. More than a planning tool, it was an exercise in defining our vision: it clearly set out the model of institute we wished to build, the position we aspired to occupy within the European and international ecosystem, and the structural conditions necessary to ensure its sustainability and growth.

The objectives set at that time responded to a fundamental requirement: to ensure the viability of IBEI as a centre for advanced training and research with a global outlook, capable of competing in attracting talent, securing competitive funding, and establishing strategic alliances with leading institutions. This horizon involved simultaneously strengthening three dimensions: academic quality, institutional robustness, and organisational capacity.

The early years of the Strategic Plan 2021-2025 coincided with an extraordinarily adverse context marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact was immediate on international mobility, teaching dynamics and the financial stability of many higher education institutions. Against this backdrop, IBEI had to activate mechanisms of institutional resilience, adopting emergency measures to ensure the continuity of its activities and protect its human capital.

This phase tested the Institute’s capacity to adapt, but also demonstrated the strength of its community and the flexibility of its organisational model. Once the most critical phase had passed, the Plan’s implementation was structured around two biennial programmes (2022–2023 and 2024–2025), which enabled the strategic objectives to be translated into concrete, prioritised and assessable actions. This sequential planning facilitated more results-oriented governance and a greater capacity to adapt to a changing environment, combining long-term ambition with rigorous operational management.

PLAN ESTRATÉGICO 2026-2031

In the academic sphere, the 2021–2025 period has been marked by highly significant structural advances. The attainment of institutional accreditation (AQU) as a university centre has strengthened IBEI’s autonomy and academic recognition, consolidating its position within the higher education system in Catalonia. The creation of the new Master’s in Public Policy has expanded the range of courses on offer into strategic areas of growing demand, whilst the reform of existing official Master’s programmes has enabled the updating of content, the strengthening of skills and the adaptation of programmes to an increasingly complex and turbulent international environment.

This set of transformations has helped to consolidate a coherent, demanding educational offering aligned with international standards.

At the same time, the research dimension has experienced significant qualitative and quantitative growth. The success in securing high-level competitive projects—including several from the European Research Council (ERC)—has strengthened IBEI’s capacity to position itself at the frontier of knowledge in its fields of specialisation.

This increase in competitive funding has not only consolidated the Institute’s scientific prestige but has also helped to diversify its sources of income and reduce its dependence on a single funding source. Furthermore, in recent years, knowledge transfer activities, professional training and public outreach have been progressively intensified, broadening the social and institutional impact of the research produced, particularly thanks to the leadership of various academic networks funded by the European Union.

During this period, key performance indicators (KPIs) were also introduced, which, taken together, show steady progress in line with the objectives set. A high-quality academic offering has been consolidated, with a recovery and subsequent growth in international demand in the years following the pandemic. At the same time, the financial model has moved towards a more robust balance between teaching income and research resources, further strengthened by integration into the CERCA network, which has brought institutional recognition and an additional framework of standards and quality.

PLAN ESTRATÉGICO 2026-2031

The challenge of the coming years is not just to grow, but to do so in a sustained, balanced and coherent manner in line with the Institute’s founding mission.

Notably, virtually all strategic objectives have been achieved, with results in some cases exceeding initial forecasts. This progress is not solely attributable to sound planning, but to the collective commitment of the IBEI community: the teaching and research team, the management staff, the students and alumni, as well as external collaborators. Equally decisive has been the support of the Board of Trustees and the institutions comprising it, which have provided stability, confidence and a shared vision for the project.

The period has also coincided with a significant renewal of institutional leadership. Between 2023 and 2025, there have been changes in the Institute’s presidency, directorate and management. These transitions, managed within a framework of continuity and with a high degree of institutional support, have involved processes of learning, adjustment and redefinition of priorities. Far from causing disruption, this phase has helped to strengthen governance mechanisms and prepare the Institute to embark on a new phase of development with renewed leadership and a shared vision.

PLAN ESTRATÉGICO 2026-2031

The Strategic Plan 2026–2031 forms part of this trajectory of consolidation and growth, and does so in line with the framework established by Law 9/2022 on Science in Catalonia, which promotes a robust, competitive and internationalised research system committed to the social impact of knowledge. It builds on a solid institutional foundation, an academic team with international experience and standing, and a proven ability to compete in highly demanding environments.

The challenge for the coming years is not merely to grow, but to do so in a sustained, balanced manner consistent with the Institute’s founding mission. This entails achieving a sufficient scale of teaching and research activity to position IBEI amongst the leading European centres in the field of international affairs, without compromising the uniqueness of its model.

This Plan has been enriched by numerous contributions arising from an intensive participatory process, which took place during the second half of 2025, involving the entire IBEI community through various working groups, intensive reflection workshops, meetings open to all staff, and with the involvement of representatives from universities and institutions linked to the Institute.

PLAN ESTRATÉGICO 2026-2031

Thinking

Globally

in Barcelona

Thinking globally from Barcelona is not merely a rhetorical phrase. It expresses the desire to build an intellectual community capable of producing knowledge that is internationally appealing, rooted in the European context but not necessarily from a European perspective.

It involves attracting brilliant students, as well as lecturers and researchers from around the world, and building strong academic networks, actively contributing to debates on international relations, security and development.

In short, the new Strategic Plan aims to consolidate IBEI as a mature, ambitious institution capable of making an impact, through academic rigour and public responsibility, on the most significant global challenges of our time.

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