SPAIN - Economy
General Director, COTEC
Bio
Jorge Barrero is General Director of COTEC.
We were born more than 30 years ago to analyse and promote innovation in Spain. At that time innovation was understood from a science-technology-business paradigm. Now we have a broader vision of innovation (any change based on knowledge that adds value) and a conviction that it is not enough to generate knowledge, as we us to do in the past, it is necessary to accompany it so that it has an impact, to bring it to the political, media, educational and business agenda.
We use a proprietary methodology “The COTEC Key” that combines working with experts (those who know what to do), influencers (those who say what to do) and facilitators (those who know how to do it).
We believe that the Circular Economy is the greatest possible innovation because it does not affect one product, company or sector but the whole model and it requires not only technology but also changes in strategy, organisation and behaviour. We have been working since 2017 on different levels of analysis and political advocacy.
Innovation is a powerful tool for combating inequalities and, at the same time, a factor that generates inequality when it is not disseminated quickly, fairly, and inclusively. There are always differences between those who generate knowledge, those who have access to its applications and the rest. The objective is to try to ensure that these differences do not become chronic. We saw it with the covid vaccine, we are seeing it with AI, and we will see it more and more frequently. This dual approach, which involves light and shadow, prefigures the work of the COTEC Foundation for the coming years and already occupies an important part of our agenda, and this reflection has an annual meeting point at the Gijon Forum.
Southern Europe shares a culture, a way of life and also certain problems, so it is logical that we have a common voice on innovation, that is the aim of the alliance. This year we will hold a summit on technological sovereignty. It will be chaired by our three heads of state.
No one doubts the profound and transversal impact of AI on our civilisation, its undoubted ability to add value and solve problems. We also sense that there are people, companies, sectors, and territories that will take longer than others to discover and take advantage of this technology. But what is happening here and now with Generative AI? How, by whom and for what purpose is it being used in Spanish companies? To answer these questions, the COTEC Foundation for Innovation organised a working group, led by Repsol and Tecnatom, in which more than 40 organizations took part. The result is a guide that is being massively used, with more than 30,000 views in just one month.
Our main challenges for the next three years are to improve the impact of the institution—and our ability to measure it—and to personalise the return we offer to each of our 100-plus members.
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