Gipuzkoa: Systems innovation and social cohesion for the transition to sustainability

Gipuzkoa, the smallest Spanish province located in the Basque Country, has embarked on a strategic collaboration with Climate KIC to lay the foundations for a more sustainable economic, social and environmental transition. The process is driven by what we call a “Deep Demonstration,” which provides the conditions for social experimentation and systems innovation.

Gipuzkoa stands out as one of Spain’s leading provinces in terms of economic and technological advancement, largely due to its robust manufacturing sector. The province is now on its way to becoming a carbon-free economy and aims to incorporate climate change adaptation into its regional development strategy known as Etorkizuna Eraikiz (“Building the Future”).

The activities carried out as part of the Deep Demonstration programme concentrate on a Mission approach to mobility and food, two sectors chosen for their significant impact on the region’s economy and daily life challenges. Key transformation areas include investment, capacity building, knowledge creation, inclusive governance, sustainable business innovation and partnerships within and between regions and communities.

The cornerstones of the Gipuzkoa challenge are the development of economic competitiveness and social cohesion through systems transformation. The above-mentioned Etorkizuna Eraikiz Strategy aims to make Gipuzkoa the European territory with the highest level of social cohesion, which resonates fully with EIT Climate KIC’s conviction that the essence of responding to climate change challenges is about social change, and social cohesion. The initiative aims to transform systems through experimentation and learning – key components of the innovative Deep Demonstration methodology. The collaboration involves the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, and a wide range of local stakeholders including Agirre Lehendakaria Center, AZTI and IDOM.

In 2020, Climate KIC and Gipuzkoa stepped into a strategic collaboration to promote experimentation in the region’s endeavour to address the challenges of climate change and achieve transformational change leading to decarbonisation in the Basque territory. This led to the introduction of a strategically designed and iterative process of the Deep Demonstration to catalyse rapid decarbonisation. This approach brought a new depth of exploration of the relevance, purpose, impact and connections between the initiatives in the Etorkizuna Eraikiz programme and the relevance to European concerns and priorities around climate action.

In 2022, key stakeholders in Gipuzkoa continued to recognise the value of this approach and moved to apply the systems innovation methodology and practises toward specific EU Missions. We aim to enhance the sustainability focus and systemic outcomes of the Etorkizuna Eraikiz strategy and to create synergies between the work of the Gipuzkoa Province Council– the owner of the challenge and other stakeholders.

Programme goals

Harvesting learnings from the introduction of the Food and the Mobility Missions; working towards embedding them into a broader territorial sustainability portfolio. A coherent understanding of the assets, resources and capabilities available in the system are developed.

Ensure that the stakeholders are ready to apply a mission logic. Enabling a mindset shift and building capabilities in areas such as systems thinking, futures literacy, portfolio approach and participatory governance.

Promoting shared ownership and bringing together different perspectives. Diversity and the representation of cross-sectoral stakeholders are crucial for this goal.

Scaling-up by experimenting and developing new actions to be included in the territorial sustainability portfolio,

Establishing collaboration with local industry players by launching an accelerator for mobility start-ups or organising workshops on strategic risks with business leaders.

The Challenge Owner

The Gipuzkoa Provincial Council – the main role of the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council is to further develop and enhance the understanding of systemic thinking across Etorkizuna Eraikiz strategy and programmes, including a broader context of Basque region climate initiatives in the Gipuzkoa Deep Demonstration and to provide guidance and support the implementation of the Sustainability Portfolio in the form of specific Missions. The Council aims to act collectively to connect the Gipuzkoa territory to other opportunities by identifying and proposing new partnerships, initiatives and funding opportunities.