received international funding from institutions such as UNDP, Union for the Mediterranean, EU-LAC Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Stiftung Mercator, OCP Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, and Bertelsmann Stiftung, as well as private funders such as Fundación Bancaria La Caixa. Properties For years, CIDOB's offices were divided between two historic buildings—nearby but not adjoining—on calle Elisabets in Barcelona's Raval district, very close to La Rambla and Plaça de Catalunya: Casa de la Misericòrdia (Elisabets, 12) and Casa dels Infants Orfes (Elisabets, 24). The Casa de la Misericòrdia houses the centre's main offices, including the official head office, archives, and library, as well as Sala Maragall, the hall used for events. Originally, the building, which includes the old church, formed part of the School of St William of Aquitaine, founded by the Augustine Order in 1587, and later on it was used as a municipal primary school. During the Napoleonic invasion, the house was used as a secret headquarters by the local resistance against French occupation. In 1910, it became the seat of the Institute of Culture and People's Library for Women; later still, in 1940, the building hosted the Institute for Theatre, as well as being home to the Adrià Gual Chair. It began being used by CIDOB in 1988. The Casa dels Infants Orfes also dates back to the 16th century. It was built as the seat of the institution founded by Guillem dez Pou in 1370 to provide a foster home for orphans in the Diocese of Barcelona. It has an adjacent chapel, commissioned by Claudi Cosal in 1680 and redesigned in 1785. Among the building's later uses, it was a school run by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (1848) and a convent for the Carmelites of Charity (1875). The chapel lost all its religious furnishings and fittings during the Spanish Civil War. Currently, the Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE, European chapter of the Open Society Foundations) is headquartered at this house. Activities Research areas In its Revised Master Plan of 2019–2021, where it introduces itself as a "global thought centre", CIDOB sets out eight strategic lines of research, both thematic and geographic: Every research area is run by a team of researchers, who work with other analysts, assistants, associates, or visiting experts, as well as external collaborators. Events Every year since 2002, CIDOB and the City Council of Barcelona jointly hold the international seminar