11 June 2018
Mª Pilar García de Salazar, Regional Deputy for Economic Development and Territorial Balance, has joined Orkestra’s board. The entry of the Alava Provincial Council is a milestone for the Basque Institute of Competitiveness that is already working jointly with the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, the Biscay Provincial Council and the Basque Government in guaranteeing the competitiveness of the Basque territory.
Guided by the mission of contributing to citizens’ welfare through business competitiveness, Orkestra has begun to devise and work on project development jointly with the Alava Provincial Council, aimed to address the territory’s current and future competitive challenges. As it has happened in the other historical territories, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, Orkestra’s entry is expected to continue to strengthen new ties with the socio-economic actors in Alava in order to work in a coordinated manner on those transformative research strategies and actions to be carried out.
According to Mari Jose Aranguren, general director of Orkestra, the entry of the Alava Regional Council "is a step forward to work together, jointly with the three Basque councils and the Basque Government, as well as with the rest of the institutional, academic and business entities on those challenges raised by Orkestra in its tenth anniversary manifesto and on which it is currently working". She also pointed out that "the incorporation of the Alava Provincial Council is key to coordinating policies and actions aimed at strengthening competitiveness in the Basque Country".
About Orkestra
Orkestra is an initiative of the University of Deusto, through the Deusto Foundation, for the study of competitiveness and regional development through different lines of research, with three goals: Contribute to the improvement of the Basque Country's competitiveness, promote the improvement of citizens' wellbeing and create knowledge of regional competitiveness.
Formed in 2006, the Orkestra team promotes transformative research. This type of research is defined by analysis, reflection, evaluation and the proposal of actions, in a permanent form, aimed at providing innovative answers for the resolution of the challenges considered, while research knowledge is acquired.
To this end Orkestra, who since its beginnings has been an example of success in public-private cooperation, works with a large number of networks, businesses, governments and institutions on numerous projects. In this way, aside from being an agent of change to drive competitiveness in the Basque Country, it has become today an international model in the analysis of regional competitiveness in a global environment.
