The work carried out by NAIDER is structured around three major areas: economic analysis and territorial competitiveness, ecological and energy transition, and urban and territorial regeneration.
“NAIDER is a community of professionals united by a shared purpose: supporting the transformation processes of our society,” explains Carlos Cuerda, economist and General Coordinator of the firm. The organization currently consists of around twenty professionals who each year activate and lead dozens of initiatives at local, regional, and European levels.
The context in which NAIDER operates is defined by complexity. Contemporary transformation processes simultaneously affect the economy, the environment, industry, and territorial governance. “We do not work within isolated compartments,” notes Jokin Etxebarria, Coordinator of Economic Analysis and Innovation. “Business competitiveness, climate transition, innovation, and territorial cohesion are all part of the same interconnected system. That is where our differential value lies: in our capacity to integrate this complexity and translate it into operational decision-making.”
NAIDER’s work is therefore organized around three core pillars: economic analysis and territorial competitiveness, ecological and energy transition, and urban and territorial regeneration. Based on these areas, the firm develops solutions in fields such as climate action, circular economy strategies, innovation systems, governance models, and sustainable urban planning. “Real transformation processes are not sectoral; they are interdependent,” explains Juan Iglesias, Coordinator of Urban Ecology. “Our role is to understand these interconnections and convert them into clear operational criteria for action.”
This approach is reflected in an activity model strongly oriented toward the practical application of knowledge. “We work on planning processes, strategic analyses, and monitoring and diagnostic systems, but always with a clear objective: ensuring that these instruments contribute to better decision-making and more precise action,” summarizes Aitor Mingo, Coordinator of Environmental Planning.
In an environment where access to knowledge is increasingly widespread and where artificial intelligence is accelerating both its production and dissemination, value no longer lies solely in possessing information. “Knowledge is becoming increasingly accessible. The real differential factor lies in the ability to interpret it, connect it, and apply it critically within each specific context,” states Cuerda. This constitutes the foundation of what NAIDER defines as applied intelligence.
The organization’s operational model is grounded in collaboration. NAIDER structures multidisciplinary teams that integrate diverse capabilities while working alongside public administrations, universities, technological centers, and specialized professionals. “This logic allows us to address complex projects with flexibility, while maintaining high technical standards and a clear results-oriented approach,” explains Haizea Aguirre, Head of Urban and Industrial Regeneration Activities at NAIDER. This network-based vocation enables the firm to participate in large-scale transformation processes, multiplying its capacity for impact through an agile and specialized organizational structure. Collaboration with companies, institutions, and knowledge networks further expands its operational capabilities and allows it to generate impacts that transcend the organization’s own scale.
NAIDER’s activities are coordinated from its offices in Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastián, with a strong presence throughout the Basque Country and additional representation in Madrid, Valencia, and Amsterdam. This dual local-European scale enables the organization to combine deep territorial knowledge with a broader strategic vision. NAIDER works alongside actors responsible for transformation processes at the precise moment when strategy ceases to be conceptual and becomes operational action.
Relationships with clients are built upon rigor, trust, and continuity. NAIDER supports institutions and organizations in processes that require technical solvency and long-term implementation capacity. Many of these collaborations extend over years, evolving alongside the transformation processes themselves.
At the local level, this approach has materialized through numerous projects in the principal cities of the Basque Country, as well as through support for regional development strategies coordinated by local development agencies and supramunicipal institutions such as the Basque Provincial Councils. Smaller municipalities also find in NAIDER a strategic technical partner capable of addressing complex challenges in areas such as energy, economic promotion, sustainability, and territorial planning, providing capacities that local administrations are often unable to sustain independently.
Beyond its local presence, NAIDER collaborates with major public agencies leading processes related to business competitiveness, climate transition, energy policy, and urban development, as well as with industrial companies, business clusters, and intermediary organizations seeking to integrate energy transition, innovation, and competitiveness into their own strategic frameworks.
Its participation in European consortia has enabled the organization to collaborate on multilateral projects linked to institutions such as the European Commission and the OCDE, contributing analytical frameworks and policy tools for the design of public policies in key areas of economic and climate transition.
