Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) is a public, international, research-intensive university that, in just 30 years, has earned a place among the best universities in Europe: it is the 2nd Spanish university according to The World University Rankings (2025) and the 18th best young university in the world (under 50 years), according to the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings (2023). 

Its model is based on quality teaching and research of excellence with an international outlook. UPF currently has 12,667 students (from undergraduate to doctoral) and 2,036 teaching staff.

At the Antic Mercat del Peix, the Barcelona Agora for Societal Wellbeing (BASW) will be located, as an independent and interinstitutional institution based on metadisciplinary knowledge, which will combine cutting-edge research and transformative innovation with active social commitment and effective public participation.

UPF is a university that is strongly committed to the current global challenges, and it works to improve our society’s life conditions. It is also among the 200 universities in the world with the greatest impact in relation to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (2021).

In this regard, the University has implemented a strategic initiative to position itself as a global benchmark in research and innovation around this new concept of Planetary Wellbeing, understood as an integral goal of human development, based on the evidence that human wellbeing (in its broader sense) is heavily dependent on the natural and environmental equilibrium of the planet, and the strength and legitimacy of society’s political, financial, legal and cultural institutions. UPF seeks to respond to this situation through cross-cutting, interdisciplinary work, providing solutions from the different fields of knowledge taught at the University: from health, biology, politics and economics, to the humanities, engineering, law and communication.

The BASW will focus on areas related to social justice, societal resilience, and youth.

In particular, a significant segment of our society, aged between 20 and 40, is currently suffering the consequences of four crises (environmental, financial, social, and health) that have generated a growing intergenerational gap and the loss of rights for these generations in terms of employment, housing, and social benefits. This presents an urgent need for change that establishes new social frameworks to provide the resources for future well-being: creating new adaptable and flexible social models that, like biological systems, can absorb the rapid pace of change and evolve accordingly, and achieving the participation of society, a key actor in the initiative, by guaranteeing rights and equity.

To achieve this, we will go beyond think tanks and adopt the philosophy of a do-tank; that is, we will avoid limiting ourselves to reports and recommendations, and will collaborate with a wide group of partners to support the implementation of our recommendations, assessing, measuring, and monitoring their impact.

We will contribute to the creation of adaptable, inclusive, and sustainable social structures through:

  • A focus on young people and their future, while considering the broader needs of global society.

  • Using Barcelona and Catalonia as a model for high-impact solutions, with intense and strategic collaboration with the Barcelona City Council (Ajuntament de Barcelona) and the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya).

  • A solid foundation of diverse data to develop models for randomized controlled trials and, together with local authorities and communities, implement them.

  • The development of evidence-informed policies and the pathways for their implementation.

  • The measurement and monitoring of the impact of our recommendations.

The Agora is structured through three research programs, each addressing specific areas of interest, as well as three innovation connectors that link the programs with the city and its citizens, thus ensuring the impact of the research.

 

The programs are the core of the Agora and define central themes:

  • Youth: not as mere passive subjects of study, but as active agents who, through their needs and potential, shape the project's driving force. The future belongs to them, and the response to their needs must shape the structure of society's future.

  • Justice: exploring how individual rights and duties come together to address the growing inequalities that characterize today's society.

  • Resilience: empowering young generations to face future challenges and create solid structures that allow society to withstand and recover from various challenges and crises.

The connectors are an innovative practical concept. They have a status similar to that of the programs within the BASW, but instead of having research as their main objective, they will work to guide its collaborative development and implementation. We envision three connectors that will serve as gateways for the results of the programs, working transversally with each of them:

  • Technology: focused on Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, it will provide technical support to the initiative, as well as technological innovations. It will act as a hub for aggregating existing data and developing new methods for obtaining and analyzing new data.

  • Community: it will connect the Agora's themes with the people in the community, the project participants, and provide them with real solutions.

  • Knowledge: the Agora will be integrated into a rich local knowledge ecosystem, thereby creating opportunities for interaction, collaboration, and exchange that will be leveraged to generate new questions and new methods for addressing the social challenges of our time.

We will create avenues to involve society, particularly young people, in how we interact with the data they provide us. That is, the participation of society will be part of the initiative. From the inception of the Agora, we recognize that if people contribute something as important as information about themselves, they must receive something in return. This may be not only information about what is learned from this data, but also how the resulting research can benefit them and others.

The programs and connectors will work together through mission-oriented projects to implement real innovative solutions. Public and private entities interested in the transfer and application of the results will participate in the projects.

Some examples of possible projects are:

  • Active labor market policies

  • Guaranteed income and tax credit policies

  • Generation of tenants: youth emancipation and emerging housing forms

  • Generational Justice Observatory

  • Multidimensional analysis of intergenerational inequalities

  • µData for societal well-being

  • Impact of Artificial Intelligence on youth

  • Sustainable and just future food systems