The Institución Futuro was founded in 2001, after a decade of analysis and maturing of the project. These years have been an intense time, focused especially on defining the identity basis of the institution, guaranteeing its viability, looking for the necessary social support, establishing a solid research program, consolidating the diverse publications, fixing a regular and attractive activity plan, training a team capable of complying with the think tank’s requirements and, finally, communicating to the public authorities and to the citizens our proposals for an improved society. However, although we consider that we are achieving most of our goals, our Board of Trustees is conscious of the long way the institution still has to go through to consolidate the compromises acquired with Navarra.

The organization plays a pioneering role in Navarra as well as in Spain. The function think tanks have is mostly unknown by the civil society, not only among citizens, but even among political, economic and social leaders. There are currently no more than a dozen organizations in Spain that, as well as the Institución Futuro, try to generate an open and more participative debate in the public sphere on general issues with independence and scientific approach. The number of regional think tanks is even lower. Therefore, the institution has played during this time a pedagogic function by promoting not only our own ideas and activities, but also communicating the main characteristics of this type of organization. This effort, which will still be need in the future, is necessary for the citizens to understand and accept our proposals. Together with the transmission of our ideas, the Institución Futuro has talked about:

• Our status of socioeconomic investigation centre, which makes proposals with full rigor and scientific methods.
• Our goal of becoming a strategic forum for Navarra, in order to provide useful knowledge to those who make medium and long term decisions.
• Our independent nature, without any linkage to political institutions, that proposes ideas without being under any political or ideological interest. The Institución Futuro is neither a lobby group nor a peer group.
• Our independence, being a non profit organization that was declared of social interest by the Government of Navarra.
• Our purpose of contributing to the design and the start-up of the best possible future for Navarra through innovative, comprehensive and coherent ideas.

The viability and the social support to the project will be consolidated in the long term, when civil society totally accepts the role of the think tank. During this first phase, the institution has gained new members, added to those who were already supporters of the project since the very beginning. The creation of new categories of members will increase the number of people and companies implicated in the institution and, moreover, it will help granting the economic and social viability the organizations requires.

The diverse researches conducted during this time have followed the recommendations of the Board of Trustees, which could be briefly summarized in the idea of promoting the competitiveness and sustainability of Navarra, in both the economic and the social areas. The investigation projects this organization is currently developing are explained in detail on the next pages. It is nevertheless worth mentioning that we have tried to obtain public aid with two main objectives: to find external financial support for the projects and to establish formal cooperation linkages with the Civil Service.

The diverse publications have transmitted the main ideas and the political, economical and social trends which can be detected worldwide, based on mass media and think tanks’ information. We want to create concerns in our audience about the future and the will to get ready for changes. Another key function of our publications, Opinion Review and Tendencias de Futuro, is that of presenting our think tank to company managers and public bodies. Concerning debates and formative activities, we have revitalized the members’ participation in various projects of the institution and, at the same time, we have reached a broader audience. The seminars and conferences with our expertise have brought new areas of research and have strengthened ties with civil society.

It is still too early to measure the influence of the Institución Futuro on Navarra’s public policies. The impact a think tank has is measured in the medium and long term, as time perspective allows observing the development of any public initiative with rigor. Only now we are realizing that some think tanks play a very active role in the extension of market economies and in the globalization in processes that started twenty years ago. Nevertheless, the public reaction to our initiative and the coverage mass media have given to our investigations and other activities indicate that our messages are taking root in the society.