Productivity is central to understanding economic success as it defines what outcomes can be achieved from a given set of resources. As such we are very used to discussing the productivity of firms and to analysing productivity at national and supranational levels. Indeed, the imperative for the new EU Competitiveness Compass stems from acknowledgement of the productivity gap with the US highlighted in the Draghi Report.
Both academic analysis and policy discourse increasingly acknowledge the importance of place for generating productivity growth. People and firms relate closely day-to-day with their local context and much public policy is designed and implemented at local and regional levels. It is therefore critical to understand place-based productivity processes so that the most effective policies can be put in place.
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James is General Director at Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness and a member of the teaching faculty at Deusto Business School. He has over 20 years of research experience in competitiveness and territorial development, with a particular focus on governance, clusters, innovation, and the role of universities in regional policy. Between 2018 and 2024, he served as Orkestra’s Research Director, leading major European projects on clusters and smart specialisation strategies. James is a regular advisor to the European Commission and regional governments, and currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the TCI Network. He holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, an MA in Economics from the University of Cape Town, and a BA in Economics from the University of Warwick. He also directs the annual Basque Country Competitiveness Report.
Juan is a researcher at Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness, where he has worked since 2019. He holds a PhD in Work and Organizational Psychology from the University of Valencia, with earlier studies in Psychology and a specialisation in Consumer Psychology. His research focuses on education as a driver of individual and regional competitiveness, particularly through vocational education and training (VET) systems and talent ecosystems. Juan has extensive experience analysing employability and job quality among university graduates, and currently co-directs the VET Observatory in Spain. His work has been published in academic journals, research reports, and book chapters, and he regularly contributes to international conferences, training initiatives, and public policy forums. He has also held teaching and consulting roles across academia and the private sector.
Cristina Múgica Vargas is Director-General of Territorial Competitiveness and Foreign Promotion at the Department of Economic Promotion of the Bizkaia Provincial Council. She holds a degree in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Deusto, a diploma in Applied Techniques for Territorial Planning, a master’s in business Competitiveness and Regional Development and Senior Management in Policy and Strategy for Tourist Destinations. She has held other senior roles in the Basque Public Administration and worked as a strategy consultant at LKS Next, a professional services firm within the Mondragón Corporation. In both the public and private sectors, she has led regional and local development policies and strategies, sectoral competitiveness and innovation plans, as well as revitalisation programmes for disadvantaged areas, both rural and urban, based on principles of sustainability.
Garbiñe has a degree in Environmental Sciences (Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2002), a PhD in Applied Physics (University of Navarre, 2009) and a Master’s in Science and Innovation Management (Polytechnic University of Valencia, 2021). During her professional career she has worked in various research positions, both in academia and in industrial companies. Her main expertise is in environmental technologies, in particular in advanced wastewater treatment and resource recovery.
She is currently the BRTA's Knowledge Transfer Manager and her activity focuses on strengthening the conditions for the transmission of knowledge generated in the alliance's centres to companies in order to contribute towards their competitiveness. She was a member of the European Sustainable Finance Platform from 2020 to 2022.