24 October 2007
Through this agreement, Orkestra will test the validity of its methodologies to detect the potential of Azkoitia and Azpeitia to improve the extent to which the companies located within these areas have adopted innovation policies.Then, an action plan will be developed so that Ezagutza Guneacan createthe multiplier effect of such policies.Once the designed tools have been tried out, Orkestra will coordinate their dissemination process so that they maygenerate new dynamics in the promotion of innovation in other local contexts.
Ezagutza Gunea was set up in June 2002 by:The Town Councils of Azkoitia and Azpeitia, Iraurgi Lantz regional development agency,seven companies in the Urola Medio region, and all the educational establishments in these local regions.It collaborates in the development of the Urola Medio region in order to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants, its main aim being to increase the competitiveness of companies and training and research centres through effective knowledge management in the region.
In view of the challenges faced by the Basque Country to deal with the transition from a cost-based economic model to the economy of ideas, the Institute is committed to a vision that it has defined as ?global?.Orkestra interacts with a network of the best business schools worldwide such as Harvard, INSEAD, CEIBS (Shanghai), as well as with world-renowned strategy consulting firms such as BCG. It seeks to provide the Basque Country with the state of the art in innovation and competitiveness both at a corporate level and with regard to regional level strategy, as it is firmly convinced that the best local strategies are those that are primarily global in the first place.
In this context, one of the aspects into which the Institute seeks to explore in greater depth is the potential of regional organisation processes aimed at improving the effectiveness of innovation policies.The working hypothesis in this regard is that those actions carried out at a regional/local level may lead to the multiplier effect of the innovation policies that have been defined at other levels such as Regional Councils or the Basque Government.This vision has already been brought to fruition with the creation of the Innovanet Network, set up by the Basque Government, the Regional Councils of Alava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, Confebask, Eusko Ganberak, Spri and Garapen.Orkestra will develop new methods that will help to strengthen these initiatives.
