"If we want to solve the great challenges of our time, we have to invest in science today, not tomorrow." With this statement, Bill Gates synthesizes an undeniable truth: scientific research is the most powerful tool to build a better future. Research is the engine of progress, health, and prosperity. And scientific patronage is one of its fuels.
Democracy is not only built with votes, but also with acts of participation and solidarity. In this sense, scientific patronage is one of the most mature expressions of active citizenship: individuals and institutions that decide to trust in science and bet on knowledge as a path to social transformation.
Data from the Spanish Fundraising Association confirm it: citizen collaboration with non-profit organizations continues to grow. More than 40% of the Spanish population already collaborates with some organization, and there is still 60% that could join. These figures show that solidarity is growing and, even better: that it still has a long way to go.
In Catalonia, this trust in research finds fertile ground. Our scientific system is world-class, with institutions capable of attracting talent and competitive resources. According to data from the Generalitat, Catalonia is the third region in the European Union that attracts the most European funding for research and innovation projects, with more than 1,000 million euros captured in the Horizon Europe 2021–2027 program. This figure represents 3.54% of the European total, double what it would correspond to by population. A success that demonstrates that Catalan research competes and triumphs at the highest international level.
At the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, this link between science and citizen commitment has a deeply human origin. When Pasqual Maragall made his Alzheimer's diagnosis public, he uttered words that marked our nature: "I want to help defeat this disease and I will do it personally and accompanied by all those who want and can help me."
Today, more than 100,000 member individuals make this purpose a reality, financing the biomedical research we carry out from the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation's research center, dedicated to the early detection and prevention of Alzheimer's. It is a living example of collective patronage, where trust becomes progress, and commitment, hope.
Patronage today takes many forms: becoming a member of an entity, leaving a solidarity legacy, or promoting initiatives such as races and events. At the same time, this solidarity needs to receive fair tax recognition. In this regard, we celebrate that the Government of the Generalitat de Catalunya has taken a step forward with the proposed draft law for the Promotion of Patronage.
When we trust in science, we move the world forward. Scientific patronage is the conviction that research has the power to transform the future. As Pasqual Maragall said, "nowhere is it written that Alzheimer's has to be invincible." Relevant scientific research will help us demonstrate this, and scientific patronage will be one of the essential forces that will make it possible.
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