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FRONTIERS OF KNOWLEDGE AWARDS

BBVA Foundation

The BBVA Foundation expresses the social responsibility engagement of the BBVA Group, along with its firm commitment to the advancement of the societies where it does business. The central planks of the Group’s culture and strategy are the promotion of knowledge, digital technology and innovation, and scrupulous respect for the ethical principles characterizing the plural society of the 21st century, which it views as key drivers of ongoing value creation for people and a source of new opportunities and choices for individuals and groups.

The BBVA Foundation promotes scientific research of excellence through grants for team research projects, the dissemination of outcomes to society through channels including workshops, lectures, publications and exhibitions, advanced training initiatives, research awards in partnership with scientific societies, and the annual grant scheme “Leonardo”, funding the personal projects of researchers and cultural creators. The Foundation also lends active support in other cultural areas, with a focus on classical music, opera, the plastic arts and literary creation.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, whose nineteenth edition is now open, recognize and reward world-class research and artistic creation, prizing contributions of singular impact for their originality and significance. The name of the scheme is intended to denote not only research work that substantially enlarges the scope of our current knowledge – pushing forward the frontiers of the known world – but also the meeting and overlap of different disciplinary areas and the emergence of new fields.

The Frontiers of Knowledge Awards honor fundamental disciplinary or interdisciplinary advances across a broad expanse of the knowledge map of the 21st century. The areas addressed by this family of awards are:

Basic Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics)
Biology and Biomedicine
Information and Communication Technologies
Climate Change and Environmental Sciences
Economics, Finance and Management
Humanities
Social Sciences
Music and Opera

The Frontiers Awards are informed by the following principles. Firstly, the need to uphold the importance of basic knowledge. However valuable the diverse forms of applied research prized by science policy in these past decades, basic knowledge remains the core mechanism of scientific change and, indirectly, of humanity’s progress and wellbeing, besides being an essential part of culture.

Secondly, an acknowledgement of the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge in the closing decades of the last century and the present day. Hence an organization of award categories that reflects the interaction and overlap of disciplines (physics, chemistry and mathematics, biology and medicine, economics, finance and management), while retaining the option to distinguish advances in one discipline alone.

Thirdly, the awards recognize the fact that many decisive contributions to our current stock of knowledge derive from the collaborative efforts of large groups of researchers. This is why accolades may be shared by any number of any size teams, with the sole condition that the achievement being recognized is the result of collaborative or parallel working.

Fourthly, attention goes to two knowledge areas concerned with the natural world, the foundation of life in all its expressions: Climate Change and the Environment.

Fifthly, the disciplines underpinning today’s digital society are present in the awards through the category of Information and Communication Technologies.

In sixth place, the list is joined by two categories distinguishing contributions of major significance in the realms of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Finally, the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards reserve a dedicated category for Music and Opera.

Nomination for the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards is open and indirect. The right to submit candidates extends to a wide spectrum of organizations and departments, including university schools, institutes and departments, research centers, hospitals and artistic and cultural institutions. Third-party nominations are also accepted from researchers and cultural creators that have made outstanding contributions in their fields.

The evaluation and decision process in respect of award nominations will take place over the two steps specified in point 7 of these call conditions.

The BBVA Foundation is assisted at both these stages by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

CSIC is an autonomous Public Research Organization with a multisectoral, multidisciplinary scope. Endowed with its own legal personality and assets, it operates throughout Spain while maintaining a sizable international presence. The partnership between CSIC and the BBVA Foundation endorses the objectivity, independence and standards of excellence informing the selection process from end to end. It also rests no less on a shared conviction of the fundamental role played by advanced scientific research and artistic creation as forces for the ongoing advancement of society.

Awards content

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards consist of 400,000 euros, a diploma and a commemorative artwork in each of their eight categories.

In the event that an award is shared by more than one person, its monetary amount will be divided equally among all recipients.

All awards, in whatever category, will be subject to the withholding and other taxes prescribed by current legislation, which will be deducted from their total amount.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Outstanding scientific or scholarly excellence

The strongest applications typically demonstrate:

high-impact research,
internationally recognized contributions,
breakthrough discoveries,
influential publications,
significant intellectual originality.

Scientific excellence is the single strongest predictor of success.

2. Clear societal or global impact

BBVA reviewers strongly favor projects likely to:

address major societal challenges,
improve sustainability,
influence public policy,
advance healthcare,
improve economic understanding,
support technological transformation,
contribute to environmental protection.

Broader societal benefit is heavily weighted.

3. High innovation and transformative potential

Competitive applications usually involve:

disruptive ideas,
frontier science,
emerging technologies,
interdisciplinary breakthroughs,
novel conceptual frameworks.

Incremental or low-risk projects may be less competitive.

4. Strong interdisciplinary integration

BBVA programs frequently favor collaborations across:

natural sciences,
biomedical sciences,
AI and data science,
economics,
social sciences,
environmental studies,
humanities and technology.

Interdisciplinary breadth substantially strengthens competitiveness.

5. Strong publication and international reputation

Successful applicants commonly demonstrate:

highly cited publications,
international collaborations,
invited lectures,
leadership roles,
major prior awards,
strong institutional affiliations.

International visibility strongly influences reviewer confidence.

6. Strong methodological rigor and feasibility

Competitive proposals generally include:

rigorous research design,
realistic implementation plans,
strong analytical frameworks,
reproducibility,
achievable milestones,
access to advanced infrastructure.

Even highly innovative projects must demonstrate feasibility.

7. Alignment with BBVA strategic priorities

Applications aligned with BBVA-supported themes tend to perform better, especially:

climate change,
biodiversity,
sustainability,
biomedicine,
digital society,
AI and ethics,
economics and social transformation,
cultural innovation.

8. Leadership and institutional strength

Reviewers heavily assess:

leadership trajectory,
institutional environment,
collaborative capacity,
mentorship record,
ability to lead large-scale initiatives.

Strong leadership profiles significantly improve competitiveness.

9. International collaboration and scalability

High-scoring proposals often demonstrate:

multinational partnerships,
global applicability,
cross-border research integration,
scalability of findings,
broad dissemination plans.

10. Potential for long-term transformative impact

Reviewers favor projects likely to:

redefine scientific understanding,
influence policy or society,
create lasting innovation ecosystems,
generate major future funding,
establish new interdisciplinary fields.

Common Reasons for Rejection

Frequent reviewer concerns include:

insufficient originality,
unclear societal impact,
weak interdisciplinary rationale,
limited international significance,
poor feasibility planning,
incremental science,
inadequate leadership profile,
weak dissemination strategy.

Specialties

Technology Development

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates may be one or more natural persons of any nationality, without limitation of number, that have made independent or convergent contributions to a given advance, whether due to a formal collaboration (with the nominees belonging to one or more groups) or parallel working. The awards are also open to scientific or cultural organizations that can be collectively credited with exceptional contributions to scientific knowledge, cultural creation, the fight against climate change or the conservation of the natural environment.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: BBVA Foundation

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: San Nicolás, 4 48005 Bilbao +34 94 487 56 26

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