Barcelona's science diplomacy: towards an ecosystem-driven internationalization strategy

The paper situates global cities as increasingly central to global governance, policy innovation, and diplomacy, highlighting their roles in climate action, migration, human rights, industrial policy and global health. As knowledge-based economies and digital transformation intensify urban concentration of talent, capital and R&D, cities are adopting internationalization strategies and engaging in plural diplomacies that complement or extend beyond state-centric foreign policy. Science and technology are core to cities’ soft power, shaping international projection through openness, innovation, and attraction of creative classes. The authors pose the research question: what features make up the science diplomacy of the city of Barcelona? The hypothesis is that Barcelona’s symbolic capital enables differentiation via science and technology as sources of soft power. The article introduces SciTech DiploHub as Barcelona’s effort to leverage its innovation ecosystem for city-led science diplomacy.

The literature frames cities as key loci of innovation and globalization, where clustering, network effects, and knowledge-intensive activities drive productivity and international influence (Porter; Ketels; Balland et al.; Castells; Sassen; Taylor). Urban innovation policies have shifted from national technology competitiveness to regional and city-scale strategies, emphasizing hubs, clusters and open innovation. City diplomacy is defined as cities’ formal international strategies with flexible formats involving non-state actors—universities, firms, NGOs—focusing on outcomes rather than treaties (Curtis & Acuto; Acuto & Rayner). City networks (C40, Global Covenant of Mayors) and multilevel governance link local action to global agendas, notably the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda, promoting participation, inclusivity, and data-driven coordination. Science plays a growing role in global governance by informing evidence-based policy on transboundary challenges (Royal Society & AAAS; World Science Forum). However, scholarship cautions that cities and their networks, while influential, cannot fully replace states in domains like climate legislation and remain in maturation (Johnson; Smeds & Acuto). Theoretical perspectives such as Triple/Quadruple/Quintuple Helix stress public policy’s role in coordinating university–industry–government–civil society linkages (Carayannis et al.; Pique et al.). The European Commission cites Barcelona as an exemplar of Triple Helix built on science and international recognition. This framework underpins the case of SciTech DiploHub as a formalized urban science diplomacy model.

The study employs a qualitative single-case study of Barcelona’s science diplomacy initiative (SciTech DiploHub). Data sources include authors’ fieldnotes from the project’s design and execution, recorded during meetings with public and private stakeholders by two co-authors who were promoters/executives of the initiative. A third, external author collected experiences and quotations from public events (e.g., Fundación Carolina 2018; Diplocat 2019; Fundación Banc Sabadell 2019; ESADE 2020) and institutional materials available on the SciTech DiploHub website. The approach is an auto-ethnographic account tempered by an external perspective to counteract potential overconfidence. Publicly available documents on partners, governance, and activities of SciTech DiploHub were used to corroborate claims. The case method aims to trace processes linking causes to observed outcomes, producing knowledge about the case and insights relevant to similar urban innovation ecosystems.

• Barcelona established SciTech DiploHub (2018) as a non-profit public–private partnership mandated to position the city as a global laboratory for city-led science diplomacy, elevating the role of science, technology, and cities in foreign policy and representing the city’s knowledge ecosystem internationally.
• Ecosystem mapping identified key actors: research institutions, universities, tech parks, scientific infrastructures, startups, corporations, foundations, and public bodies. Barcelona’s credentials include: 5th city globally by concentration of top-200 universities (Times Higher Education 2019); 4th most innovative city in Europe and 21st globally (Innovation Cities Index); 5th European hub by startup capital invested (Atomico/Dealroom 2018); 8th European city by scientific production (Nature Top Science Cities 2019); two business schools in global top 15, one ranked #1 (Financial Times 2020).
• Initial challenges: misaligned interests and priorities among stakeholders; reactive internationalization driven by funding pressures; overlapping and uncoordinated multi-level policies.
• Governance innovation: an Ecosystem Board comprising public and private, mostly non-profit entities across science, education, health, tech, finance, and government (e.g., Barcelona City Council; BSC-CNS; VHIR; Pompeu Fabra University; Open University of Catalonia; La Salle–Ramon Llull University; Biocat; Barcelona Tech City; ACCIÓ; major foundations; CADS). Partners provide financial support and confer an ambassadorial, non-executive representational role to SciTech DiploHub—novel in urban soft power practice.
• The Barcelona Manifesto (2018) secured 200+ signatories (university deans, research institutions, former mayors, ministers, business leaders, scientists/technologists), granting broad ecosystem legitimacy.
• Core programs operationalizing soft power: • Barcelona Alumni Network: a global community of scientists, technologists, researchers, and innovation leaders trained in Barcelona and now abroad; 1,000+ members across 30+ countries, fostering partnerships, talent pools, intelligence on trends/markets, and city branding. • Barcelona Science and Technology Diplomatic Circle: regular engagements between 100+ diplomatic missions/international organizations in Barcelona and ecosystem leaders to exchange best practices, initiate collaborations, and promote Barcelona for research, investment, and study; adapted from models in Boston, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Washington.
• Good governance practices emphasized: inclusive, transparent, regular communication channels; alignment of stakeholder agendas; reduction of thematic dispersion; prioritization frameworks; coherence with regional/national levels; and an international cooperation agenda tied to the city’s development strategy.
• Outcomes aligned with research hypothesis: leveraging Barcelona’s symbolic capital and S&T assets to differentiate the city internationally through an ecosystem-driven, multi-stakeholder soft power strategy.

The findings indicate that Barcelona’s science diplomacy is characterized by a formalized, ecosystem-driven model built on public–private collaboration and multi-stakeholder governance. This structure addresses the research question by showing how aligning universities, research centers, industry, foundations, and city government enables the city to exercise soft power through science and technology. The approach shifts from reactive, fragmented internationalization to a planned, coherent strategy that integrates local priorities with global agendas (e.g., SDGs), enhances internal coordination across governance levels, and creates external influence channels via alumni and diplomatic networks. By granting SciTech DiploHub an ambassadorial role and institutional home, Barcelona operationalizes soft power as convening capacity, knowledge brokerage, and coalition-building. These mechanisms reinforce the city’s international visibility, attract talent and investment, and generate scientific collaborations of global interest, demonstrating the practical relevance of Triple/Quadruple Helix frameworks for urban diplomacy. The case suggests ecosystem-led science diplomacy can help cities navigate a multi-scalar governance landscape, amplify evidence-informed policymaking, and complement state diplomacy without entering sovereignty conflicts.

The paper contributes a detailed case of city-led science diplomacy, showing how Barcelona leverages its symbolic capital and robust innovation ecosystem through SciTech DiploHub to institutionalize public–private collaboration, align stakeholder internationalization agendas, and deploy soft power tools (alumni diaspora, diplomatic circle, think-tank functions). The model demonstrates that urban innovation ecosystems can drive internationalization and governance outcomes by integrating science and technology into city diplomacy. Future research should refine the conceptualization and measurement of city science diplomacy, assess its long-term policy impacts and legitimacy, and explore comparative cases across different urban contexts. Scholars and practitioners should examine how coordinated public–private responses can scale in city networks, how to mitigate potential inequalities from concentrated R&D and talent, and how urban science diplomacy interfaces with state and multilateral institutions in emerging global governance arrangements.

• Methodological: single-case study with auto-ethnographic elements; two authors were involved in designing and executing the project, introducing potential bias despite mitigation by an external third author and reliance on public sources.
• Generalizability: findings may not be universally transferable due to Barcelona’s specific symbolic capital, institutional landscape, and maturity of its ecosystem.
• Data: absence of systematic quantitative evaluation of policy impacts; reliance on publicly available documents and fieldnotes limits causal inference strength.
• Structural constraints: as noted in the literature, city networks remain in maturation and cannot fully substitute national legislative power in areas like climate governance, potentially limiting the scope of city-led science diplomacy.