In the Spanish Science and Technology System (SECYT), there are four structural areas of activity: the public research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) system; R&D&I support organizations; companies; and society. In recent years, R&D expenditure in Spain (1.07% of GDP in 2004) has grown at a considerable rate, more than 25% annually, as a result of the public and private commitment to expanding research activities in Spain.

The construction of the Centre of the ESS in Bilbao reflects a determination to place Spain at the highest levels of scientific excellence within the Map of the Large Scientific Infrastructures.

There is also the Map of Unique Scientific and Technological Facilities (ICTS), which contains more than fifty facilities engaged in different areas of research distributed throughout Spain. This agreement regarding the map heralds an unprecedented fostering of research in Spain.

Public research organizations (OPI) carry out most of the R&D&I activities, financed with public funds, and often manage some of the programmes included in the national plans. The main OPI is the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). There is also the Energy, Environment and Technology Research Centre (CIEMAT), Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME), Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), National Agricultural and Foods Research and Technology Institute (INIA), and Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands, in which the government of the Canary Islands is also involved.

The CSIC, the largest public research organization in Spain, has a staff of 2369 scientists and 3896 pre-and post-graduate researchers distributed throughout 134 institutes and units associated with universities and other institutions (2006).

The CIEMAT carries out technological research and development projects and is considered a benchmark, representing Spain at a technical level at international forums and advising government agencies in those matters under their purview. The staff of the CIEMAT consists of approximately 1200 people, of which 47% are university graduates.

Spain has shown its steadfast resolve in the development of a coherent strategy for neutron sciences in Europe in the light of the Centre of ESS in Bilbao:

• 20 years as scientific member of ILL, with a total investment of 41 million euros since 1986
• increasing contribution to ISIS, 9 million euros of total investment since 2005
• important scientific production, 2.122 documents from 1997 to 2007
• active user community with more than 250 members, equivalent to 10% of European neutron users community
• growing subject breadth of research over the years
• increase in the output of the most active institutions
• increase in the number of active frequent scientist authors
• Spain ranks eighth in the world for scientific output and sixth for the number of citations per document of the twenty countries with most output in the field
• a high level of international collaboration in the field
• Spanish research in this area is closely linked to Spanish researchers' growing access to neutron sources in other countries around the world, which form the backbone of research in the area  

Over half of the Spanish scientific production is done in collaboration with France (54.8%), this is due to the fact that ILL is the first neutron source to which Spain adhered. Spain collaborates closely with United Kingdom (15%), Germany (13.4%) and the United States (13.9%). Source: ISI Thomson

The construction of the ESS in Bilbao reflects a determination to place Spain at the highest levels of scientific excellence within the Map of the Large Scientific Infrastructures.