Science and Technology Office of the Congress of Deputies

Oficina C, the Spanish Science and Technology Office of the Congress of Deputies, is a service of the Congress of Deputies in collaboration with the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). Our mission is to gather scientific and technological evidence on topics of interest to the Congress and to organise activities to foster dialogue between the scientific community, Deputies, and society. In the pursuit of contributing to the strengthening of scientific and technological evidence assessment in parliamentary work, we have set up a long-term vision, Horizon C. Horizon C serves as a tool to define the service we want to offer, monitor our actions, and drive constant improvement of our protocols and implementations.

Oficina C was formally launched in 2021. The C in its name represents many of the values we share: Congress, chamber, collaboration, community, and citizens. In 2022, the office brought in five new officers (in addition to the three coordinators) to finish setting up the working Team C. One of our main tasks is to produce Reports C, short scientific evidence documents that draw on extensive literature and expert interviews on topics of interest for Congress. Reports C seek to give Deputies better access to interdisciplinary scientific knowledge and strengthen their connection with science for public policy. To systematically produce Reports C, we have also designed and laid out a standardised working plan, Method C. We organise activities to bring together the scientific community and the Congress of Deputies. Our flagship initiative is Week C, a pairing scheme in which researchers and Deputies share experiences for a week.

Oficina C is backed up by a Scientific and Technological Advisory Committee comprised of 12 representatives from the leading institutions of the Spanish Science and Technology public system. Our Advisory Committee has different functions, including the following. They make recommendations and advise Oficina C, contribute to the proposal of topics of interest, propose experts and researchers, and engage in working groups. Oficina C stands by its principles: general interest, scientific rigour, independence, impartiality, transparency, openness to society, engagement, and innovation.

Spain is a member of EPTA since November 2021.