The Spanish Federation of Technological Centers Fedit celebrates three decades of driving applied research and bringing innovation to thousands of companies. To mark the milestone, on Wednesday we spoke with President Laura Olcina and Director Áureo Díaz-Carrasco. From its birth in 1996 through the consolidation of the Cervera program, the organization has helped turn technological centers into a strategic infrastructure for Spain’s competitiveness, industrialization, and technological autonomy.
The technological centers are not universities, consulting firms, or mere testing laboratories. They are private, nonprofit organizations specializing in generating technological knowledge, developing R&D&I projects, and transferring their results to the market. Their role is especially relevant for SMEs, which often cannot afford their own scientific equipment, advanced facilities, or in-house research departments.
Fedit was born precisely with the aim of strengthening these entities, fostering private research, and boosting business competitiveness through technology. Thirty years later, the federation has become the leading representative organization of Spanish technological centers and counts 60 members, after the latest incorporations approved last June.
1996: The Union of Two Innovation Models
The history of Fedit began in March 1996, when the Spanish Federation of Innovation and Technology Entities was created. The new organization emerged from the merger of the Federación Española de Asociaciones de Investigación Industrial, FEDIN, and the Federación Española de Organismos de Innovación y Tecnología, FEIT.
The birth of the entity coincided with a first wave of creation and consolidation of technological centers in different autonomous communities. It also occurred in parallel to the approval of Royal Decree 2609/1996, which introduced the concept of Center of Innovation and Technology and established an official registry for these organizations.
That movement helped begin to organize a previously fragmented ecosystem. The centers had different origins, sectoral specializations, and territorial models, but shared a common mission: bringing technological knowledge closer to industry and helping companies innovate.
2008: The Recognition of the Technology Center Model
One of the federation’s major milestones came in 2008. After years of institutional advocacy, the initial concept of the Center of Innovation and Technology evolved into the current technology center model.
The Royal Decree 2093/2008 regulated these organizations at the national level and created a specific public registry. The regulation defined them as nonprofit entities aimed at improving business competitiveness through knowledge generation, the conduct of R&D&I activities, and applying them to the market.
The registration requires proving experience, solvency, own resources, and the ability to develop and transfer technology. In practice, the regulation helped establish common standards and to differentiate technology centers from other providers of business services.
That same year, the Science and Innovation Commission of the Congress of Deputies unanimously approved two non-legislative proposals recognizing the results of these centers and their role within the Spanish System of Science and Technology. For Fedit, this represented important political and institutional support for the model it had championed since its inception.
2010: An Identity
In 2010, the organization adopted its current name: Spanish Federation of Technological Centers.
The change was not merely nominal. It reflected the evolution of an organization that had already become the industry’s main interlocutor with the public administrations, the business sector, and the rest of the scientific and technological actors.
Since then, Fedit has focused on consolidating this model, promoting cooperation among its members, fostering an innovation culture in companies, and ensuring that these entities participate fully in shaping Spain’s science, technology, and innovation policies.
The federation also strengthened its international presence. It is currently part of the Executive Committee of the European Organization for Research and Technology Services, EARTO, and is a founding member of the Executive Committee of the International Network for Small and Medium Enterprises, INSME.
Withstanding the Economic Crisis
The first major resilience test for the model came after the financial crisis. Beginning in 2009, centers faced a sharp decline in public funding.
According to Fedit’s chronology, between the highs and lows of the period, market revenue dropped 26%, while public funding fell by as much as 48.4%. The lowest point for public funding was reached in 2016.
The survival and subsequent growth of many centers during those years depended on their ability to secure projects with companies, compete in national and European calls, and diversify their revenue streams. The crisis thus reinforced one of the model’s essential features: its orientation toward the real needs of the productive sector.
2019: The Birth of the Cervera Networks
Another pivotal moment came in 2019, when the Cervera program for Technological Centers, managed by CDTI, was launched.
Fedit views the rebound of cooperative programs among centers and the creation of this instrument as the result of intense engagement with the Government. The first call carried a budget of 40 million euros and funded strategic programs developed in collaboration by several centers.
The objective of Cervera is to strengthen the scientific and technological capacities of the centers, advance networked work, and amplify their role as a driver within the innovation system. Its projects span fields such as artificial intelligence, advanced materials, quantum technologies, the energy transition, health, smart manufacturing, the circular economy, and security and defense.
The program has solidified since then. In its first four editions — 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 — it financed 45 projects with the participation of 62 technologic centers and awarded €182.4 million in subsidies. In 2026, CDTI announced a new call with up to €70 million.
2020: Technology at the Service of the Health Emergency
The pandemic again tested these entities’ capacity to respond. Throughout 2020, numerous companies affiliated with Fedit adapted facilities, equipment, and research lines to collaborate in the manufacturing of health materials, validate products, develop diagnostic systems, and support administrations and businesses.
The mobilization underscored one of the model’s strengths: the ability to rapidly transform scientific knowledge into applicable solutions. The centers not only participated in the immediate response but also in the recovery phase, assisting companies that needed to digitalize, automate processes, develop new products, or strengthen their supply chains.
A Network with More Companies, Projects, and Professionals
The growth in recent years allows us to gauge the federation’s current scope. Data for 2024 show that the 52 centers included in the annual Fedit report together surpassed €917 million in revenue.
These organizations employed nearly 10,800 professionals, of whom more than 8,500 were researchers and around 1,700 held doctorates. During that year they carried out more than 23,700 innovation projects and provided services to more than 29,000 companies.
Revenues rose by 6.5% and employment increased by 3.5% versus the prior year. Additionally, the Centers captured roughly 13% of the returns from the European Union’s Framework Programme for R&D&I, a figure notable given the level of competition in EU calls.
The federation now represents nearly 90% of the entities registered in the National Registry of Technological Centers. Its presence has also broadened in bodies such as the Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council, Spain’s Permanent Representation to the European Union, CDTI, EARTO, and the CEOE.
An Impact Exceeding €7.7 Billion
The anniversary also served to quantify the economic impact of the sector. An independent study by the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (IVIE) estimates that the centers integrated into Fedit generate a total impact of €7.702 billion in GDP, 127,371 full-time jobs, and €3.947 billion in public revenue.
The analysis calculates that for every euro invested in the Technological Centers, €11 of GDP are generated. For every million euros of expenditure, 181 jobs are also created.
The effect does not come solely from the centers’ direct activity. The study also analyzes the improvement experienced by companies that collaborate with them. Surveyed companies attribute a median 2% increase in sales and a 0.8-point rise in profitability.
85% report achieving the objectives set in their projects, 93.5% rate the quality of the professional relationship positively, and 73.5% say they would work again with a Technology Center.
