Shaping the Future of Technology Parks: Towards a New Benchmark For a Smarter and Greener Model of Park

The Basque Country Technology Parks, since their pioneering creation in Spain in 1985, have been at the fore of regional development. An understanding of the Basque Country’s industrial past is necessary to plan a future based on the smart specialisation strategy, and the Parks’ role as a key agent in the regional development through industrial regeneration and the promotion of R&D&i.

This paper analyses the evolution and continuous adaptation of the Basque Parks and their exponential transformation from a multi-sector one-campus model on the outskirts of the city, to a multi-campus model, aligned with the smart specialisation strategy of the region, and integrated into the city as part of its future challenges. All of this, with a strategy linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and ESG criteria. Evolution that evidences the adaptability and resilience of the ecosystem in co-evolution with the science, technology and innovation policy in the region.