The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), www.csic.es,  is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its mission is to foster, coordinate, develop and promote scientific and technological multidisciplinary research. CSIC plays an important role in scientific and technological policy, since it encompasses an area extending from basic research to knowledge transfer to the productive sector.
CSIC also manages a range of important facilities, the most complete and extensive network of specialist libraries and also has joint research units with Universities. CSIC is playing an active role in building the European Research Area (ERA) by coordinating its strategies with other equivalent European research bodies and receives more funding from European programmes than any other Spanish body within the R&D&I system. It is also involved in European consultancy to design ERA scientific policy by defining objectives, tools, and European cooperation actions, through organisms such as the European Science Foundation (ESF). CSIC has also established a number of fruitful collaborations with national and European heritage institutions and conservation companies and has undertaken actions addressed to training restorers and conservators in the use of lasers for CH.