Institutional collaboration framework

PREAMBLE

This Institutional Collaboration Framework is of an indicative and strategic nature and has been prepared with the aim of establishing a general framework of understanding between the Spanish Gastronomic Institute and Spain’s Tourism Offices and Embassies abroad.

This document does not, in itself, constitute a contract, administrative agreement, or legally binding commitment, nor does it generate automatic financial obligations for either party. Its purpose is to serve as a conceptual and operational basis for the analysis, design, and potential development of specific collaborations, which, where appropriate, shall be formalised through the corresponding legal and administrative instruments in accordance with applicable regulations.

The Spanish Gastronomic Institute acts at all times from a position of institutional support, respect for the competences of each body, and alignment with the general objectives of Spain’s external action, without prejudice to the organisational and functional autonomy of the Tourism Offices and Embassies.

Any collaboration arising from this framework shall adhere to the principles of legality, transparency, efficiency in the use of public resources, and adaptation to the specific characteristics of each market, and shall be subject to budgetary availability, the strategic priorities of each Tourism Office or Embassy, and the applicable administrative procedures in each case.

Introduction

The Spanish Gastronomic Institute was created with the vocation of contributing to Spain’s international projection through its gastronomy, understood not only as a product or an experience, but as a cultural expression, a living heritage, and a tool for institutional relations.

The Institute does not act as an agency, logistical provider, or commercial operator. Its role is to provide criteria, specialised knowledge, and strategic vision, complementing the work of public institutions and their usual partners, without generating overlaps or operational conflicts.

This framework defines the basis for collaboration between the Spanish Gastronomic Institute and Spain’s Tourism Offices and Embassies abroad, based on a logic of institutional support, knowledge transfer, and the creation of medium- and long-term value.

2. Principles of collaboration

Collaborations shall be governed by the following principles:

– Institutional complementarity: the Institute does not replace existing functions or partners, but rather reinforces and expands the strategic capacities of the Tourism Offices and Embassies.

– Cultural and educational approach: gastronomy is addressed as a cultural language, not as a one-off promotional action.

– Market adaptation: each collaboration is tailored to the specific realities, maturity, and needs of each country or region.

– Long-term vision and coherence: priority is given to actions that build narrative, criteria, and sustained positioning, avoiding isolated impacts without continuity.

– Neutrality and rigour: the Institute operates without direct commercial interests, ensuring independence of judgement.

– Operational subsidiarity: on an exceptional basis, and only when the Tourism Office lacks sufficient resources or expressly requests it, the Institute may assume executive and logistical support functions, always from an institutional, temporary, and non-structural perspective.

3. Areas of collaboration

The Spanish Gastronomic Institute may collaborate with the Tourism Offices, among others, in the following areas:

a) Training and knowledge transfer

– Specialised courses and workshops on Spanish gastronomy aimed at professional, institutional, or prescriber audiences.

– Training programmes adapted to each market on Spanish gastronomic culture, products, territories, and trends.

– Internal training for Tourism Office staff and partner entities, aimed at improving their capacity for gastronomic communication and prescription.

b) Gastronomy as a tool of cultural diplomacy

– Design of action frameworks in which gastronomy is used as an instrument for institutional, cultural, and economic relations.

– Advisory support for the coherent integration of gastronomy within broader cultural strategies.

– Development of pilot projects of a cultural nature, non-fair-based, replicable, and with low operational impact.

c) Institutional criteria and curatorship

– Expert support in the evaluation of external gastronomic proposals.

– Definition of cultural and gastronomic criteria to facilitate decision-making and avoid inappropriate or oversimplified approaches.

– Conceptual support in the selection of local partners, when deemed appropriate.

d) Quality systems and cultural recognition

– Development of reference frameworks and quality criteria for Spanish gastronomy of a cultural and institutional nature.

– Design of non-commercial recognition systems aimed at raising the level and coherence of gastronomic actions linked to Spain abroad.

– Progressive and educational approaches, non-exclusionary and non-punitive.

e) Gastronomic documentation and narrative

– Preparation of thematic dossiers, gastronomic narratives, and support materials adapted to different markets.

– Construction of a living archive of Spanish gastronomic knowledge useful for institutional action.

4. What the Spanish Gastronomic Institute is not

To avoid ambiguity, the Institute is not:

– An events or trade fair agency.

– A logistical or production provider.

– A commercial intermediary.

– A competitor of partners already established by the Tourism Offices and Embassies.

Its value lies precisely in operating on a different level: that of criteria, knowledge, and institutional vision.

5.Models of collaboration

Collaborations may take different forms, depending on the needs and capacities of each Tourism Office and Embassy:

– Specific training or cultural actions.

– Medium-term collaboration programmes.

– Specific pilot projects.

– Ongoing strategic advisory support in defined areas.

– Executive and logistical support for specific actions, only when the Tourism Office or Embassy lacks sufficient resources or deems it necessary, and always in a complementary manner, not replacing its usual partners.

Flexibility is a central element of the model, avoiding rigid schemes or standardised solutions.

6.Closing

The Spanish Gastronomic Institute places itself at the disposal of the Tourism Offices and Embassies as a specialised institutional partner, with the shared objective of strengthening Spain’s image through a gastronomy that is rigorous, coherent, and culturally solid.

This framework does not seek to close possibilities, but rather to open a space for collaboration based on trust, mutual respect, and a shared ambition to do things well.

The Spanish Gastronomic Institute