Usue Lorenz

ORKESTRA, the Institute of Kompetitiveness and Development is a knowledge center born in the context of a thorough revision of what the Basque Country's economy has achieved so far and of the challenges it faces in the quest for more sophisticated levels of competitiveness. After almost two decades of sustained economic growth, socio-economic agents in the Basque Country agreed on the need to create a research institute that capitalizes on the experience of the previous years and, most importantly, that orchestrates the path toward sustained competitiveness by fostering the Basque Country's transition to a fully fledged knowledge economy. The Institute also contributes to disseminate knowledge on the Basque experience, which can be useful for other regions and countries. ORKESTRA is an initiative of the Instituto Vasco de Competitividad, which belongs to Deusto Fundation, an institution devoted to making scientific knowledge available to society. The Institute's MISSION is to orchestrate socioeconomic agents in the process of transforming the Basque Country into an idea-driven economy that consistently raises the standards of living of its population. Essential elements in this stage are cooperation and a philosophy that seeks to minimize losses for all players, building up on the economy's main strengths and working to overcome its weaknesses.