The Accessibility Innovation Network of Catalonia: Media, Education and Culture (that is, the AccessCat Network) emerged in 2023. During a period three-year period, the goal of the AccessCat Network was to become a benchmark in knowledge transfer in the field accessibility to information and communication.

Now, the Government of Catalonia has renewed its support, renewing the Network within the call for grants for R&D&I networks to carry out programmes for the valorisation and transfer of research results (XARDI). Thus, AccessCat will continue its activity during the 2026-2028 period.

Three years of growth

Since it was founded, AccessCat has seen constant growth. In 2023, it began with 12 research groups from 8 institutions, bringing together over 175 researchers. Now, it will welcome 2026 with 22 research groups from 11 institutions, totalling over 270 researchers. 

The Network’s main mission has been to disseminate and transfer research and its results. For this reason, during its first three-year period, the Network has managed to catalogue 10 technologies, 22 services, and 35 online open educational resources, all developed by its research groups. These can be consulted in the Network’s online catalogue. 

To perform these transfer tasks, it has also welcomed over 70 affiliate entities (from institutions to companies and third-sector entities), who have regarded the Network as an opportunity to establish direct contact with researchers, universities, and research centres. 

At the same time, the Network has delivered accessibility training, both internal and external (one of the most representative examples being The AccessCat Training Capsules). The Network has also funded, organised, and coordinated awareness-raising and transfer activities, international missions, participations in the drafting of high-level documents and standards, as well as demos and showcases. Moreover, it has funded the development of innovative solutions in accessibility.

The New AccessCat Network

The results from the 2023-2025 period are highly positive. For this reason, AccessCat celebrates its renewal through the XARDI call for grants, which will enable the Network to continue its work in the transfer and valorisation of research in accessibility to information and communication for a further three years.

The Network now begins the 2026-2028 period with renewed objectives and a new structure. Its main mission remains to foster collaboration, discussion, and the creation of opportunities among groups, companies, institutions, and entities. It will also continue to provide added value through innovative and useful solutions for a diverse society in which every person has the right to access media, public administration, culture, and education. 

One of the most outstanding features of AccessCat during its first three years is that it is mainly comprised of groups in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). Reflection on transfer in SSH has helped shape these first years of the Network and, because of this, it intends to continue exploring possible valorisation pathways specific to this field, without overlooking other more traditional transfer methods.

Another new feature of this renewed network is its structure. To strengthen its connection with other agents in the ecosystem, it will incorporate a category of participating entities of a business nature. These will differ from affiliate entities, and each one will have a clearly defined role in contributing to the Network’s objectives. In total, there will be six participating business entities: the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster, the Open Administration Consortium of Catalonia, the EduTech Cluster, La Confederació (Employers’ Association of the Social Third Sector of Catalonia), Respon.cat, and the WeMind Cluster.

The AccessCat Network expects these changes to introduce new and agile mechanisms in order to continue building bridges between research and the social, business, and institutional fabric. AccessCat aims to be an active and innovative agent within the context of Catalan networks, and these new measures respond to the goal of driving cutting-edge solutions that provide answers to real challenges and energise the socioeconomic environment.