22 December 2025
- Orkestra’s general director shared the Basque Country’s model of economic democracy and collaborative governance alongside representatives from ArantzazuLab and Mondragon University
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During his trip to the United States, James Wilson has also participated in the MOC Network’s annual workshop at Stanford University
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These activities highlight Orkestra’s growing international visibility and recognition as a reference in transformative research on regional competitiveness
During a recent visit to the United States, James Wilson, Orkestra’s general director, participated in two high-level events at Yale and Stanford Universities, sharing the Basque Country’s experience in competitiveness, democratic governance and public policy.
The International Workshop on Reimagining Democracy (IWORD 2025), took place in New Haven on 9–10 December and was hosted by Yale University. This year's IWORD event focused on the challenges and opportunities of democracy and a fair economy in the age of artificial intelligence, bringing together scholars and practitioners from a variety of disciplines.
Discussions at the workshop explored cutting-edge developments in AI and their implications for democratic systems. In this context, alongside Naiara Goia, managing director at Arantzazulab, and Nagore Ipiña, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education at Mondragon University, James Wilson contributed a European and Basque perspective. Drawing on Orkestra’s research and experience, he highlighted the crucial role that territorially-rooted social sciences research can play in strengthening democracy by enhancing participation and deliberation in policymaking processes.
In his presentation he argued that such research can contribute to democratic engagement in three key ways: by providing legitimacy to policy processes, by generating strategic intelligence to help frame complex policy challenges, and by facilitating the development of practical, process-based know-how for policymaking in complex territorial settings. He presented the Basque Country as a reference case for developing innovative institutions and practices that incorporate participation and deliberation into decision-making, offering valuable lessons for an international audience.
Wilson's visit to the United States concluded with his participation in the annual Faculty and Research Workshop of the Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) Network at Stanford University from 12–14 December. At this meeting he co-chaired with Federica Belfanti of LIUC University in Italy two sessions that showcased the latest research within the network, reinforcing Orkestra’s long-standing engagement with the MOC network and its contribution to the global debate on competitiveness and territorial development. As part of one of the sessions he also presented a paper on ‘creating collective shared value between clusters for sustainability’, co-authored with Jaime Mendendez, Jorge Fernandez and Andres Araujo-de-la-Mata.
These activities highlight Orkestra’s growing international visibility and recognition as a reference for transformative research in regional competitiveness, through which we translate Basque experience and knowledge to global discussions on democracy, competitiveness and the governance challenges emerging in an increasingly complex world.
