The Regional Ministry for Sustainable Economy, through the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE), and all 11 Technology Institutes in the region, are busy mobilising industry to guarantee the supply of approved health products such as face masks, hydroalcoholic gels, visors, etc., and develop innovative solutions in an attempt to help alleviate the shortages being experienced at present.
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, regional technology institutes have placed all their capabilities, knowledge, and infrastructure at the service of the Valencian Government to combat this crisis.
In addition to collaborating with IVACE, and implementing measures in companies and business and professional associations, the 11 Technology Institutes are coordinating various new solutions aimed at guaranteeing medical equipment supplies.
For the moment, efforts being made by the institutes focus on the certified production of materials such as masks, visors, respirators and hydroalcoholic gels in record time, apart from developing initiatives to optimise the distribution of home medication for chronically ill patients so they do not have to be transferred to health centres.
In addition, technical advice is being provided to industries in various sectors where production capacities have been placed at the service of the medical sector. Footwear, textiles, plastic, metal, ceramics, ICT, toys, logistics… All these sectors are working intensively to increase equipment supplies as quickly as possible, due to nationwide shortages.
Medical device approval from technology institutes is therefore more necessary than ever to guarantee the quality of products required for medical use in the wake of social and business demands for solutions for the pandemic. Technology institutes have therefore been working uninterruptedly to streamline and reduce the certification and approval periods down to a minimum.
Accordingly, the Regional Minister for the Economy, Rafa Climent, highlighted that “at the Ministry for Economy and, in particular at IVACE, we believe that the role of technology institutes is key in promoting and reinforcing business innovation processes in all the various initiatives that are essential for this health emergency today”.
Close collaboration between companies and online platforms
Another approach initiated by IVACE and technology institutes which will be set in motion over the coming days is a free online platform that “will be made available to the business community,” Climent pointed out, “to help solve the health emergency we are currently undergoing by channelling the supply of both solutions and business capabilities for manufactures, and products considered to be most urgent at present.”
Additionally, since the state of emergency was declared on 13 March, various institutes are collaborating with the volunteer association Coronavirus Makers, apart from collaborating with the Spanish Federation of Technology Centres (FEDIT) in response to all these new challenges.
R&D&I at the service of businesses
The coronavirus emergency has brought collaboration even closer between the Regional Ministry for the Economy, through IVACE, and the region’s Technology Institutes, in a drive to promote better competitiveness throughout the business fabric through R&D&I, technology and high added value services.
In such an unprecedented situation, this linkage has generated innumerable initiatives where people are working together to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, showing the true power of collaboration for the future.
As stated by Valencia’s Technology Institute management, “from the onset of this situation, we have been collaborating intensely with companies and the ministry, mainly through IVACE, placing our resources at their disposal, and helping to identify, coordinate and channel the region’s existing industrial capacities with the aim of contributing to the containment of the pandemic as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible.”