The Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) has successfully passed its annual certification audit, held on April 9th and 10th, reaffirming its commitment to the highest standards of quality and innovation. The external evaluation has renewed the institute’s certification under the UNE 166.002:2021 standard, relating to R&D&I Management, and the UNE-EN ISO 9001:2015 standard, a global benchmark for Quality Management Systems.
The audit, conducted by an independent entity, focused specifically on two of IDIVAL’s key structures: the Valdecilla Biobank and the Innovation Support Unit.
Benchmark Standards: A Guarantee of Excellence
The UNE 166.002:2021 standard establishes the requirements for designing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an R&D&I Management System. Its aim is to help organizations promote research and innovation in a structured, systematic, and sustainable way, ensuring that innovative ideas are effectively managed from conception to application and market transfer.
Meanwhile, the UNE-EN ISO 9001:2015 standard certifies the existence of a robust Quality Management System, focused on customer satisfaction and continuous process improvement.
Valdecilla Biobank: Driving Biomedical Research
The Valdecilla Biobank has once again demonstrated its commitment to continuous improvement, consolidating its position as a strategic infrastructure for biomedical research in Cantabria. This resource provides researchers with access to high-quality biological samples and associated clinical data, under strict ethical and legal standards. The certification endorses excellence across all Biobank processes, from sample collection and processing to storage and allocation for scientific projects.
Compliance with the ISO 9001 standard in the Biobank ensures that every procedure is standardized and controlled, guaranteeing sample traceability and reliability — critical factors for scientific progress.
Innovation Support Unit: A Comprehensive Ecosystem to Drive R&D&I in Healthcare
IDIVAL’s Innovation Support Unit has been recognized for its strategic management of innovation and its fundamental role in knowledge transfer within the healthcare sector. The unit offers a comprehensive range of services covering all stages of the innovation process:
Identification, development, and support of innovative ideas, accompanying healthcare professionals and researchers from the earliest stages through to the valorization of results.
Management of industrial and intellectual property, including the protection of inventions through patents and intellectual property registrations.
Promotion of technology transfer and the creation of technology-based companies (spin-offs).
Fostering of an innovation culture through training programs, awareness initiatives, and idea contests.
Encouragement of public-private collaboration, facilitating connections between the healthcare system and the business sector.
Support for the valorization and development of projects through strategic partnerships.
In addition, the Innovation Support Unit stands out for two particularly strategic areas of activity:
Usability Evaluation
IDIVAL provides usability evaluation services for healthcare products and solutions, conducting thorough analyses through interaction tests with end users (professionals and patients). These evaluations help optimize the design, functionality, and safety of new devices, applications, or processes, ensuring they truly meet the needs of the healthcare environment.
The methodologies applied include field studies, heuristic tests, interviews, and other advanced techniques that help identify improvement areas and increase the chances of successful innovation adoption.
Development of Prototypes and Innovative Solutions
The unit also facilitates the development of functional prototypes for innovations emerging from clinical and research settings. Through its prototyping program, IDIVAL helps transform ideas into initial products or solutions that can be validated in real-world settings.
This support is key for maturing technologies at early stages, increasing their value, validating their clinical usefulness, and improving their market transfer or healthcare system implementation opportunities.
Digital Support Tools
A standout element is the use of Fundanet Innova, a digital platform developed with IDIVAL’s participation, which allows comprehensive management of the innovation lifecycle: from idea collection and feasibility analysis to development, transfer, and follow-up.
Thanks to this comprehensive strategy, IDIVAL makes a decisive contribution to strengthening Cantabria’s healthcare innovation ecosystem, promoting solutions that improve clinical practice and directly benefit patients.
A Strategic Commitment to Quality and Innovation
The renewal of these certifications not only demonstrates compliance with regulatory requirements but also highlights IDIVAL’s firm commitment to integrating quality, innovation, and continuous improvement as strategic pillars of its activity.
This track record consolidates IDIVAL as a national benchmark in biomedical research and healthcare innovation, fostering an environment where science and technology translate into tangible benefits for society.
