Presentation by James Wilson (Research Director, Orkestra, University of Deusto, Spain) at the OECD TPI Orkestra conference "From analysis to action: Harnessing local policies to boost productivity" held in Trento, Italy on 5-6 June 2025. More info: https://oe.cd/5ZD

1. Mea su rin g Com pet it iven ess for
Wellbein g t o Su pport Policym a kin g
Jam es Wilson
Measuring productivity and competitiveness for policymaking
Workshop, Trento, 6th June 2025

2. Annual budget
around €3m
Created in
2006
43 people 60% PhDs and
PhD students
Orkestra: Basque Institute of Com petitiveness
Explicit m ission to foster the com petitiveness of the Basque Country through action-
oriented research to im prove the well-being of its citizens

3. System ic engaged research
Ou r resea rch is orga n ised in 4 t ra n sform a t ive resea rch
la bs, where team s of researchers work together with
stakeholders around key com petitiveness challenges

4. Com petitiveness for Wellbeing Fram ework
3 core fu n ct ion s
• Diagnostic
• Reflection-action
• Research

5. Exam ple: Using the fram ework to analyse clusters and cluster policies
Clusters
Cluster initiatives
and cluster policies

6. 6
A living and evolving fram ework …
We con t in u a lly experim en t wit h t h e fra m ework in coopera t ion wit h st a keh olders a n d
expect it t o evolve a n d im prove a s a referen ce poin t for ou r resea rch …
✔ Fram ing analysis for Basque Country Competitiveness Reports
✔ Fram ing research on specific com petitiveness levers in collaborative projects
with m any stakeholders (e.g. skills, decarbonisation, finance, social capital …
)
✔ Supporting reflections on drivers of com petitiveness at sub-regional levels (e.g.
city-level analysis)
✔ Guiding dialogue with policy-m akers around the directionality of Basque
com petitiveness over the next 20 years (Euskadi 2040)
✔ Guiding the developm ent of training program m es to build policy capacities
around a com m on language of com petitiveness for wellbeing

7. www.orkestra.deusto.es/competitiveness-observatory/en
• Data constantly updated as it is published at
source
• Compares the situation and evolution of
competitiveness and wellbeing in 218 European
regions through 34 indicators
• Facilitates analysis of the position of the Basque
Country in in 66 indicators
Regional Com petitiveness Observatory

8. Basque Country
Com petitiveness
Dashboard
+ Other custom
observatories for specific
territories (e.g. Bizkaia) and
them es (e.g. VET) …

9. An n u a l Ba squ e Cou n t ry Com pet it iven ess Report
1. Holistic diagnostic of cu rren t com pet it iven ess a n d
wellbein g of t h e Ba squ e Cou n t ry to support public
policy decision-m aking
2. In-depth exploration of a specific issu e of
im port a n ce for fu t u re com pet it iven ess a n d
wellbein g

10. Ma in recom m en da t ion s from a n a lysis of Ba squ e
Cou n t ry Com pet it iven ess in 2024 report
Fost er in n ova t ion a n d produ ct ivit y
Weaknesses in SME innovation an obstacle to sustained productivity growth
Ta ckle t h rea t s t o wellbein g
High levels of wellbeing under threat, especially in environm ental dim ension
St ren gt h en digit a l-t ech n ologica l-green com pet it iven ess
Clear need to strengthen policy levers relating to natural capital and knowledge
#1
#2
#3

11. Focu s on in clu sion in com pet it iven ess a n d wellbein g in 2024
report : respon se, in pa rt , t o ch a n gin g dem ogra ph ics
Basque Country population pyram ids (2002, 2023)
Source: Elaboración propia a partir de la Estadística continua de población – INE.
Fem a les
Ma les
Spa in
Foreign

12. Analysis by a ge,
gen der and pla ce
of origin of
indicators relating
to:
• Labour m arket
participation
• Working
conditions
• Educational
attainm ent
• Social capital
• Life satisfaction
• Material life
• Em ploym ent
satisfaction
• Social life
• Health

13. Ma in recom m en da t ion s from a n a lysis of in clu sion

14. Ma in recom m en da t ion s from a n a lysis of in clu sion
Em bra ce diversit y
• Increase activity rates to address generational change and hum an capital shortages
• Manage and lead diversity to im prove organizational perform ance
Bu ild on t h e ca pa cit ies of a ll people
• Reduce barriers to participation such as uneven distribution of household tasks
• Find solutions to the adm inistrative situation of im m igrants
• Strengthen the personal networks of im m igrants and ensure access to training
In crea se in clu sion in wellbein g resu lt s
• Incom e gap by age, gender and birthplace
• Difficulties in access to housing
• Worse (and worsening) health indicators am ong wom en
#1
#2
#3

15. Measuring com petitiveness to support policym aking:
Three key ingredients
Holist ic fra m ework that
helps to fram e specific policy
questions in a didactic way
Up-to-date da sh boa rds of
in dica t ors facilitating
com parison with
benchm ark territories
Long-term and action-
oriented resea rch
en ga gem en t with
policym akers (and other
actors)

16. Th a n k You !
Ja m es Wilson
jwilson@orkestra.deusto.es
https://www.orkestra.deusto.es/en/publications-
search/basque-country-com petitiveness-report