The report of bibliometric indicators of Spanish scientific production published in the most internationally renowned periodicals, and presented in this publication, is the starting point for an annual series promoted by FECYT.

Bibliometric indicators are accepted by the international scientific community as useful elements for the analysis of the state of science and technology and they are an informative, quantitative and qualitative complement that it is necessary to have in a quick and effective decision-making process for scientific and technological policy.

The objective of this guide is to make it easier for foreign researchers who go to Spain for work, scholarships, exchanges, PhDs, temporary contracts, etc. to find information. This manual aims to answer the main questions that a researcher has when coming to our country, either alone or with their family. We have attempted to reflect the reality of work, everyday life and the particular characteristics of our country, as well as the procedures it is necessary to undergo in Spain. We will soon publish this guide with updated information.

In this executive summary of the 2011 Edition of the Guide for Foreign Researchers in Spain, some of the key content of this publication is released with which FECYT aims to support the attraction and mobility of scientific talent, making it easier for researchers from foreign countries who move to Spain to develop their research career to find information. We will soon publish the complete Guide.

This includes the debates resulting from the Seminar held in 2003: “Spain 2015: Societal Foresight and Scientific and Technological Research” in which the Observatory for Industrial Technological Foresight (OPTI) collaborated. This was a multidisciplinary meeting to analyse and debate cross-cutting and emerging issues related to social trends in very important aspects, such as education, the labour market, demography, health, the R&D system, non-paid work, the environment and the international order and its potential interactions with the worlds of technology.