According to the Outreach Program for Science in Andalusia, Andalusia contributes 14 percent of Spain’s scientific production behind only Madrid and Catalonia among the autonomous communities, even though regional investment in research and development (R&D) as a proportion of GDP is below the national average. The lack of research capacity in business and the low participation of the private sector in research has resulted in R&D taking place largely in the public sector.

The Council of Innovation, Science and Business is the organ of the autonomous government responsible for universities, research, technological development, industry, and energy. The council coordinates and initiates scientific and technical innovation through specialized centres an initiatives such as the Andalusian Centre for Marine Science and Technology (Centro Andaluz de Ciencia y Tecnología Marina) and Technological Corporation of Andalusia (Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía).

Within the private sphere, although also promoted by public administration, technology parks have been established throughout the Community, such as the Technological Park of Andalucia (Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía) in Campanillas on the outskirts of Málaga, and Cartuja 93 in Seville. Some of these parks specialize in specific sector, such as Aerópolis in aerospace or Geolit in food technology. The Andalusian government deployed 600,000 Ubuntu desktop computers in their schools.