In October 2014 I was fortunate to spend two weeks at Ingenio interacting with its researchers and doctoral students. I must thank Professor Alejando Boni for extending the invitation to me, and facilitating such a productive stay at Ingenio. It was a tremendously stimulating visit, and one I hope to be able to repeat next year. I was very impressed by the welcoming, collegial, collaborative and generous research culture, led by the Director, and found the range of research projects underway and in preparation (for example on research and science policy indicators, on youth and social innovation) innovative and world-leading in their potential reach and significance. The deep concerns among Ingenio researchers for the impact of their research on policy and society aligns with developments across Europe. I had the further pleasure of engaging with a number of doctoral students and was impressed by the significance and originality of the work they are doing.