Digital communication and NextGenerationEU european funds: analysis of the web portals of spanish administrations

María J. Vilaplana-Aparicio; Lluís  Codina; Marta  Martín-Llaguno; Mar  Iglesias-García

doi:10.26441/RC24.1-2025-3712

Authors

María J. Vilaplana-Aparicio Universidad de Alicante https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6373-8454
Lluís Codina Universidad Pompeu Fabra https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7020-1631
Marta Martín-Llaguno Universidad de Alicante https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2252-5505
Mar Iglesias-García Universidad de Alicante https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7926-5746

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26441/RC24.1-2025-3712

Keywords:

Spain, communication, dissemination, web, digital communication, social media, transparency, public aid, subsidies, European funds

Abstract

The communication-public aid binomial is becoming more decisive because the funds provided by the EU are linked to the obligation on the part of the managing administrations to carry out effective social communication. For the first time, Europe has agreed to issue public debt to deal with the consequences created by Covid-19. To this end, it has created the NextGenerationEU instrument, endowed with €809 billion, with the aim of achieving a more digitalized, sustainable and innovative EU. Among the countries that have benefited the most is Spain, which has given a leading role to its 19 regions (Autonomous Communities and Cities) in channelling and structuring the funds. Likewise, to ensure their proper dissemination, the EU enacted the need for Member States to create a website to act as a one-stop shop. Spain created its own and urged the different regions to do the same. Therefore, this paper explores whether regions have created a website that brings together Next Generation information and measures its quality. For this purpose, a protocol was created consisting of eight parameters and 65 indicators. The Valencian Community, Catalonia and Aragon are the regions with the best performance, while the Canary Islands, Navarre and Ceuta are the most deficient.

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Author Biographies

María J. Vilaplana-Aparicio, Universidad de Alicante

Holds a PhD from the Universidad de Alicante (with special mention), a degree in Advertising and Public Relations and a Master's degree in Business Management. She is currently a lecturer at the Department of Communication and Social Psychology in the Universidad de Alicante, and for nearly fifteen years she has worked in a consultancy firm specializing in the management of subsidies. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6373-8454, maria.vilaplana@ua.es

Lluís Codina, Universidad Pompeu Fabra

Is a professor at the Faculty of Communication, and coordinator of the Journalism and Digital Documentation Research Group in the Universidad Pompeu Fabra as well as a codirector of the Observatorio de Cibermedios. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7020-1631, lluis.codina@upf.edu

Marta Martín-Llaguno, Universidad de Alicante

Is a full Professor at the Universidad de Alicante, with an extensive research and teaching experience. She has been visiting professor at the Universidad de Piura, at the Universidad Católica de Buenos Aires and visiting researcher at the IESE Business School and at the City University of New York. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2252-5505, marta.martin@ua.es

Mar Iglesias-García, Universidad de Alicante

Is a cyberjournalist and lecturer at the Universidad de Alicante. She has been president of the Valencian Corporation of Media (CVMC-À Punt Mèdia). Currently, her research focuses on generative AI applied to online writing and teaching. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7926-5746, mar.iglesias@ua.es

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