The first meeting of the Steering Council of the Territorial Innovation Center of Navarra focuses on strategic priorities and the Operational Plan
This morning, the Steering Council of the Territorial Innovation Center of Navarra (CIT) met for the first time, chaired by the Director General of Local Administration and Depopulation, Jesús María Rodríguez, and composed of other representatives of the regional administration, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, public companies and the Navarra Business Confederation (CEN).
Jesús María Rodríguez highlighted the importance of the CIT Steering Council and the coordinated work between the public sector and the socioeconomic ecosystem that the Government of Navarra is promoting. “The aim is that social and technological innovation, and the resources available across Navarra, become genuine opportunities and catalysts for the development of municipalities at high risk of depopulation,” he noted.
The Steering Council is composed, in addition to the Director General of Local Administration and Depopulation, of the Director General of Energy, Business R&D&I and Entrepreneurship, Garbiñe Basterra; the Director General of Science, Technology and Innovation, Agurtzane Martínez; the Managing Director of the public company CEIN, Uxue Itoiz; the Managing Director of the public company NASERTIC, Luis Campos; the Director of LURSAREA, Laura Lorenzo; the consultant of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and coordinator of the national CIT Network, María Martós; the project manager of CEN, Marta García Drake; the Innovation Project Management specialist from NASERTIC, Beatriz Andión; and Leire Martínez, Public Administration technician from the Directorate General.
During the meeting, the governance model of CIT Navarra was presented. It includes this Steering Council, which will meet every six months and will be responsible for providing strategic guidance on the center’s development, as well as agreeing on, promoting and monitoring the CIT’s work lines, among other functions. Likewise, for the center’s governance, two territorial councils have been established: one for the Sangüesa region and another for Tierra Estella. These will be composed of representatives of the regional and local administrations, as well as representatives of local action groups, technology centers, and business and social sectors in each area. Both territorial councils are expected to be constituted and meet during this month of June, ensuring participatory governance of the CIT in its two headquarters.
At today’s Steering Council meeting, the Strategic Plan of CIT Navarra was reviewed. It establishes as its vision pillars: the exchange of knowledge about the territory; the promotion of innovative initiatives and their replicability; the boost of economic activity through entrepreneurship and talent attraction; public‑private collaboration for the creation of safe, agile and efficient environments; and participation in a shared communication space that reinforces the sense of belonging and local roots. All of this takes place within the strategy to combat depopulation promoted by the Government of Navarra.
Additionally, the meeting discussed the Operational Plan for CIT 2025 and 2026, which will revolve around four pillars: services, infrastructures and equipment for the center’s operation; the activation and development of the ecosystem of actors; the promotion of projects and the transfer of R&D&I; and awareness‑raising and communication. In the Sangüesa area, the CIT Navarra headquarters will be located in the former municipal slaughterhouse, which will be refurbished for this purpose, while possible locations are being assessed in Estella.
The CIT Navarra has a technical office, led by the Directorate General of Local Administration and Depopulation and managed by the public companies NASERTIC and NASUVINSA‑Lursarea. It is responsible for developing the center’s operational aspects, maintaining continuous contact and dialogue with territorial stakeholders, collecting, evaluating and assessing proposals, and defining and implementing projects.
Furthermore, for the development of the CIT’s organizational structure, two local ecosystems have been identified, one in each headquarters, made up of associations and collectives, entrepreneurs, local businesses, young people and educational and research institutions. Their functions will include proposing initiatives and projects and taking part in the activities and projects offered by CIT Navarra.
The services that the CIT will provide and the first projects already underway as part of this center were also presented. These include specialized training in care services in the Sierra de Codés area and digitalization mentoring for businesses in the Sangüesa region.
About the CIT
The CIT of Navarra, under the ownership and coordination of the Government of Navarra, aims to promote territorial equity in the Comunidad Foral and combat depopulation. The CIT is conceived as a collaborative workspace bringing together key actors from the business sector, innovation and technological development organizations, local entities and the regional government to propose and develop innovative collaborative projects that improve the competitiveness of the socioeconomic fabric in municipalities at high risk of depopulation. It will also serve as an access point to innovative technologies and processes, as well as training and advisory services in social and technological innovation.
The CIT of Navarra is part of the Network of Territorial Innovation Centers (Red CIT), promoted by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, which already includes eleven other centers throughout Spain. These are strategic spaces at provincial or multi‑provincial level, conceived as collaboration ecosystems where experiences can be developed and shared to help reactivate rural territories, especially those with a high level of depopulation.
Source: navarra.es
