The Barcelona City Council and ”la Caixa” Foundation fund a long COVID project with IGTP participation
Thirteen research projects have been funded in the fields of health and sustainability
The Barcelona City Council and the "la Caixa" Foundation have awarded funding to 13 projects under the 2025 call for grants, aimed at financing research in the city with up to €2 million. The selected projects were chosen from 77 proposals and will receive up to 80% of their total cost, with a maximum of €150,000 per initiative. One of these initiatives, SuperCAP, which focuses on improving the quality of life of people affected by long COVID, includes the participation of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP).
This is the fifth edition of the biennial call, resulting from the collaboration between the City Council and the Foundation, with the aim of promoting projects in areas such as community health, digitalisation, climate emergency and sustainability. The initiative encourages cooperation between universities, research centres, third-sector organisations, and the economic and social fabric, fostering synergies to develop applied research in strategic sectors. It also forms part of the Science and Innovation Strategic Plan 2024-2027, aimed at strengthening research and scientific careers in Barcelona and its metropolitan area.
The award ceremony, held on 26 January in the Saló de Cròniques at City Hall, was presided over by the Fourth Deputy Mayor and Head of the Science and Innovation Area, Jordi Valls, and was attended by the Deputy Director General for Research and Grants at the "la Caixa" Foundation, Àngel Font. In addition to announcing the projects funded in the 2025 call, the event also presented the progress of the 14 projects awarded in 2023, which focused on challenges such as community health and sustainability and addressed topics including endometriosis and the promotion of healthy eating.
Digital technology for long COVID
The SuperCAP project aims to improve the daily functioning and quality of life of people with long COVID who experience fatigue and cognitive difficulties, through a specific program integrated into the eSalut platform. Following a pilot study that demonstrated its feasibility, the project seeks to optimise the program and conduct a randomised clinical trial to assess its effectiveness in a real-world setting.
The initiative is led by the Fundació Lluita contra les Infeccions, with professionals from the Long COVID Unit of the Infectious Diseases Service at Germans Trias Hospital. It will be developed in collaboration with the Innovation, Health Economics and Digital Transformation Research Group (INEDIT) at IGTP, and with the Associació Afectats Covid Persistent del Garraf (Garraf Long COVID Patients' Association).
The project aims to confirm that the SuperCAP program is an effective tool for reducing fatigue and improving cognitive function, thereby contributing to the recovery and wellbeing of people with long COVID. In addition, it seeks to validate a scalable digital intervention model that facilitates access to personalised resources and strengthens community care, positioning Barcelona as a benchmark in the use of technology for the management of chronic diseases.
Driving health solutions from the Can Ruti Campus
Through projects such as SuperCAP, IGTP promotes collaboration between multidisciplinary teams, healthcare centres and social organisations to translate scientific knowledge into clinical practice and contribute to more innovative, efficient and patient-centred care. As an Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IIS) accredited by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), it coordinates the scientific strategy and research management of the Can Ruti Campus, particularly in national funding calls, in close collaboration with the other centres that form part of the campus.
