17 January 2017
Bilbao continues to work on the Action Plan for the economic transformation of the city via its specialisation strategy. To this end, during the kick-off meeting that was held in July 2016, the three areas of specialisation for the city were defined: creative industries, advanced services and digital economy.
In the recent January 12 session, the Local Group of the InFocus project analysed the advanced services sector and two tractor projects which will support specialisation in this area in line thus with the Basque Country’s RIS3 strategy.
Advanced services intervene directly in improving the productivity and competitiveness of those companies to which they offer their services, as they can act as a lever in servitization processes, contribute to economic development and to innovation in the territories in which they operate and employ highly-qualified personnel and make intensive use of new technologies. These services generate 25.9% of Bilbao’s GDP, employ over 28,000 people and are represented by over 8,000 companies located in Bilbao and engaged in advanced services.
At the beginning of the session, Henar Alcalde, researcher at Orkestra, delivered a presentation on the current situation of advanced services in Bilbao and highlighted those activities in which the city exhibits specialisation in comparison with Spain and the EU: information and communication services, market research, legal and accounting activities, auditing and tax consultancy, IT and advertising.
There was then a presentation of two tractor projects that satisfy the necessary criteria to become projects promoting the development of advanced services in the city of Bilbao: “As Fabrik, the advanced services factory”, and the proposed merger between Avic and Gaia. Nora Sarasola, director of Bilbao Ekintza, presented As Fabrik, which will be based upon the refurbishment of a public building in Zorrotzaurre with the aim of creating a collaborative ecosystem for the development of capacities that will be able to provide services in the industry 4.0 area. Tomás Iriondo, director of Gaia, presented a scenario of opportunity for the promotion of a Digital Transformation Industry Cluster, in collaboration with the Association of Engineering and Consultancy Firms (AVIC)”.
Apart from the presentation and subsequent reflection with regard to these two tractor projects, the meeting included the participation of representatives of the companies Decidata and Zylk. Both companies are involved in data analysis activities and their participation encouraged deeper reflection with regard to the challenges facing advanced services companies (evolution of the sector, training requirements, working teams, etc.) and the role that a city like Bilbao can play in support of their competitiveness.
The next meeting of the local Group will be on March 17 and will focus on the field of Digital Economy
