'Valladolid, City of Science and Innovation' (‘Valladolid, Ciudad de la Ciencia y la Innovación’) is a distinction that recognises the effort and work well done in the city and also validates the innovation programmes and plans promoted by the City Council in the near future.

It is an inclusive city strategy that puts people and their quality of life at the centre with innovation as a lever for sustainable and intelligent urban growth. And a development based on the pillars of digitalisation, and green and data economy, with a focus on networking with businesses, universities, and citizens.

In fact, the 90 municipalities that are part of the INNPULSO Network and enjoy this recognition stand out because they promote R+D+I and an urban ecosystem with a strong scientific, technological, and cutting-edge components.

The City Council, through the Innovation and Economic Development Agency, IdeVa, and other municipal areas, promotes a strong local innovation ecosystem based on the participation and joint work of public administrations, companies, academic institutions and citizens.

And all this to make Valladolid attractive for innovation with pioneering initiatives in Spain such as 'Valladolid, demonstrator' ('Valladolid, demostrador'), in which the City Council offers urban space, services and municipal assets to companies, start-ups, researchers and all kinds of entities to apply specific innovative projects on the field.

Qualitative leap forward on Innovation

Valladolid was the first city in Castilla y León to receive the award in 2010, the starting point for the creation of the Innovation and Economic Development Agency.

In 2014, the city renewed this recognition and was on the verge of achieving its first Horizon Europe project, REMOURBAN, a successful case of sustainable rehabilitation of the FASA district. Since then, it has made a quantitative and qualitative leap in its roadmap, through national and European funds, such that it is now part of one of Europe's biggest ambitions: the Climate Mission to be a zero emission city by 2030 with innovation at its core to achieve it.

The Valladolid City Council has set the pace with innovative public contracting projects, digital transformation and industry, climate sustainability, social innovation, support for entrepreneurship and training for entrepreneurs, pioneering and smart urban facilities, energy efficiency, sustainable rehabilitation, circular economy, decarbonisation... All of them have nurtured this trajectory which, in part, has been channelled by the Agency for Innovation and Economic Development, IdeVa.

Some of them are included in the Innovation and Smart City Plan of the city of Valladolid, with applied innovation as a specific measure and collaborative work between cities. This is one of the strengths of the city of Valladolid, involved in key European and national networks such as the INNPULSO Network.

Public-private partnerships

This cooperative network that brings together the public and private sector as a working system of alliances has been strengthened in the last year by: the adhesion to the Mission of more than 100 entities of all kinds, the launch of the Automotive Bureau, and the promotion of the Projects and Investment Attraction Office, with the CEOE and the Chamber of Commerce, which will be launched this year. The Digital Content Hub, focused on video games, and the Artificial Intelligence Centre with the University of Valladolid are also clear examples of this networking.