This year marks 10 years since accreditation of the first Institutes of Health Research (IIS) by the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). The IIS are research entities articulated around hospitals and primary care centers of the National Health System (SNS), with the participation of universities, public and private research centers and companies. In the IIS, multidisciplinary teams with researchers from various fields (clinical, academic, innovative, business ...) work jointly and transversally to generate knowledge that can be applied quickly in improving health of the population.

Its main objective is to consolidate the collaboration between professionals who investigate in biomedicine, making health needs of the population addressed in an integrated way from basic research, to clinical and applied research, to finally develop solutions for the patient.

Keep success and improve

Pilar Gayoso is the coordinator of IIS Program at ISCIII. As she recalls, the program reaches a decade of life this year, since the first IIS were accredited throughout 2009. Currently there are 31 accredited Institutes, in which 162 institutions are involved (health centers, universities, agents of the health Administration, companies, public research organizations such as CSIC...). After ten years, the analysis of the model evolution raised the need to optimize it to maintain its success, so ISCIII is working both in evaluation, as in accreditation and work monitoring of IIS.

Cristóbal Belda, deputy director of Evaluation and Promotion of Research at ISCIII, explains with Gayoso that "a deep revision and update of IIS program is being addressed", affecting the aforementioned accreditation, but also in the follow-up of the institutes work. With this process, ISCIII seeks to conduct IIS so that they "reinforce the principles of transparency, social responsibility, scientific integrity, gender equality and diversity management," says Gayoso.

The final goal is to improve evaluation, accreditation and monitoring process, to ensure that Institutes develop efficient processes and achieve quality results, generating knowledge that is transferable to health system and also allows an economic return. For this reason, during the accreditation, analysis focuses on the orientation towards needs of the population, ethics and good practices of the IIS organization, as well as quality and scientific relevance of the results achieved, and value of health innovations they produce. Accreditation of IIS is renewed every five years.

Belda and Gayoso remember that the reason why IIS emerged is still present, despite improvements in recent years: "The National Health System is excellent in health care, but there is a gap between the generation of scientific and health knowledge and clinical reality".

IIS, together with other ISCIII´s entities such as the Network of Biomedical Research Centers (CIBER), seek to reduce this gap and achieve that advances in research to generate wealth in the SNS and translate it as soon as possible in health improvements for the entire population.

List of IIS accredited by ISCIII

On February 25, 2009, the first five Health Research Institutes were accredited, and by the end of 2010 the number had already reached ten. In 2011, another six were added; two more in 2012; another four in 2014; seven in 2015, and this year the last two have arrived, for a total of 31. They are the following:

- Instituto de Investigaciones Médica August Pi y Sunyer (IDIBAPS)

- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS)

- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL)

- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Universitario Vall D'Hebron (IR-HUVH)

- Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud Germans Trias y Puyol (IGTP)

- Fundación para la Investigación del Hospital Universitario La Fe (IIS-La Fe)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela (IDIS)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital La Paz (IdiPAZ)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital Universitario La Princesa (IIS-Princesa)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz (IISFJD)

- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau)

- Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS)

- Instituto de Investigación Hospital 12 de Octubre (i+12)

- Fundación para la Investigación del Hospital Clínico de Valencia (INCLIVA)

- Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Biodonostia (IIS Biodonostia)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Clínico San Carlos (IdiSSC)

- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL)

- Instituto Hospital del Mar de Investigaciones Biomédicas (IMIM)

- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Lérida (IRB Lérida)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Puerta de Hierro (IDIPHIM)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Biocruces (IIB Biocruces)

- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA)

- Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria Virgen de la Arrixaca (IMIB)

- Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (IDIVAL)

- Instituto de Investigación Biomédica A Coruña (INBIC)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón)

- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (IBS Granada)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdisNA)

- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdisBa)