20th October 2015
Two researchers from Orkestra, Miren Estensoro and Miren Larrea, presented a study in Barcelona yesterday (only available in Catalan) on new models of territorial development. The study, promoted by the Pacte Industrial de la Regió Metropolitana of Barcelona, is titled “Towards a new model of territorial development: the challenge of relearning ways to work” and reflects on the governance within the RIS3 policies, based on the experience of both researchers in projects carried out with the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa (such as Gipuzkoa Sarean) or the development agency Goieki, among others.
The study brings forward two main challenges when implementing smart specialisation strategies: on the one hand, the need to improve multilevel governance arrangements, and on the other, make the designed and planned strategies become a reality. In this context, it is worth emphasising the necessity for network governance, more in line with the territorial complexity, above the predominant hierarchical governance.
The authors also offer some reflections, such as the necessity for dealing with the ideological debates that come from these processes or the role of the universities as research facilitators for the implementation of territorial strategies.
Leading up to the presentation of the study, Miren Estensoro and Miren Larrea participated in two events in Barcelona. The first one took place yesterday afternoon, a round table held at the Escola Industrial facilities, together with Carles Ruiz, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Industrial Pact and the mayor of Viladecans, and Josep Mª Vilalta, executive secretary of l’Associació Catalana d’Universitats Públiques (ACUP). The other event, that took place this morning, was a visit to the Universitat Pompeu Fabra to attend the seminar “Territorial development: from the theory to the practice”. Both events were also backed by the Pacte Industrial de la Regió Metropolitana of Barcelona.
