The Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) is the largest multidisciplinary research organisation in Spain (116 centres, more than 10000 employees, 3202 scientists, 3802 graduate and postgraduate researchers). It has considerable experience in both participating and managing projects and training grants, being the 5th organisation in Europe in project execution and funding within 6th Framework Programme. The CSIC experts in air quality belong to a Geosciences Department within the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Studies (IDAEA) and focus on the study of particulate (PM) and gaseous air pollutants. Particular attention is given to the monitoring of atmospheric aerosols and the subsequent analysis of PM components in order to quantify the major PM source contributions. The practical applications of the research refer to the interaction of aerosols and climate, the impact of air pollutants on health, the need to devise pollution abatement strategies, and more recently on air quality in indoor environments. The team is the most research-active in Spain in the field of atmospheric particles and also provides technical and scientific advice on legislation for the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, and to several Regional Governments. The group acts as Spanish scientific representative in the workgroup on PM for the program Clean Air For Europe (CAFE, EU) aimed at the evaluation of EU directives on air quality, as well as in the PM expert group from the Geneva Convention (UNECE).
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona is the management unit of the companies Ferrocarril Metropolità de Barcelona, S.A. and Transports de Barcelona, S.A. These bodies provide a collective passenger transport service for the cityof Barcelona, as well as to various municipalities within its orbit of influence, through two transport networks – surface and underground -which complement each other and, at the same time, share this area of activity with the other companies in the sector. As the owner of both companies’ shares, Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) is the governing body that establishes the business guidelines for TMB to follow. Ferrocarril Metropolità de Barcelona, S.A. operates the metro network which is formed by eight lines and the funicular railway, and now has 141 stations distributed along its 102.6 kilometres.