Events, Report and Activities in 2023

Workshop: Disrupting tradition - How digital technology is changing the cultural and creative processes
29 September 2023 | Trento, Italy
This workshop is organised back-to-back with the Summer Academy on Cultural and Creative Industries and Local Development study visit (27-29 September), the onsite part of a broader online capacity building activity for policy makers and representatives of CCS. The aim of the workshop is to foster a mutual exchange between debate on policies and international practices in support of the cultural and creative sector and local realities.

Summer Academy on Cultural and Creative Industries and Local Development - 6th edition
18-20 September 2023 DIGITAL & 27-29 September 2023 | Trento, Italy
The Summer Academy provides training for policy makers and representatives of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The 2023 edition will not only provide participants with the latest thinking and examples on how Artificial Intelligence is evolving to improve and enhance creative processes, but will also deepen the debate about the ethics involved in the relationship between AI and humans.

Spatial Productivity Lab special sessions at RSA 2023, ERSA 202, A.I.S.Re. 2023
June-September 2023 | Slovenia, Italy, Spain
The Spatial Productivity Lab at the OECD Trento Centre is an active participant in the academic and policy debates on the spatial dimension of productivity, innovation and territorial development more broadly. These are our Special Sessions at the 2023 regional science conferences.

Workshop: Translating findings from a disability assessment pilot into policy reform: Considerations and experiences in selected countries 
4 July 2023, Rome, Italy
Knowledge exchange event as part of the joint project by the OECD, the European Union and the Italian Government on "Improving the disability assessment and social protection system in Italy".

Spatial Productivity Lab: Skills across jobs - Addressing local labour shortages | 20th meeting
20 June 2023 | DIGITAL
Employers across all types of places are experiencing severe difficulties in hiring workers and workers with the necessary skills. This webinar will look at the latest evidence of the situation experienced across OECD regions and discusses how labour and skills shortages can affect the productivity of firms.

Summer school on community and local development in Latin America and the Caribbean - 13th edition
13 Jun-7 Jul & 23-29 Jul 2023| DIGITAL & Trento, Italy (Spanish only)
The central theme of the 2023 edition is integrated local development, understood as a long-term, on-going partnership process involving local actors and local capital. It implies the management of local assets in order to improve the wellbeing of communities through processes of change and transformation.

Webinar: Enhancing International Partnership and Co-operation in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
18 May 2023 | DIGITAL
This webinar is part of an OECD project aimed at supporting the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, Italy, in enhancing its strategy on international partnership and co-operation. Representatives from the Basque Country and Catalonia, Spain, will share their expertise in addressing critical issues in international development co-operation policies, such as governance, financing, private sector participation, impact assessment, public communication, and more. 

Webinars: Dialogues with the OECD (in Italian only)
17 May & 7 June & 20 September & 11 October 2023 | DIGITAL
The OECD Trento Centre for Local Development and Tsm-Trentino School of Management, in cooperation with the National School of Administration, are launching a new series of seminars for selected public administrators. The target group are managers responsible for local development policy in the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, the Autonomous Region of Trentino-Alto Adige-Südtirol and selected national administrations.

Workshop: The green transition - What role for regional public employment services?
12 May 2023 | Trento, Italy
The workshop will showcase the new OECD publication "Job Creation and Local Economic Development: Bridging the Great Green Divide", and bring together representatives from national and regional employment service providers as well as other practitioners in the field of labour policies from across the OECD.

Winter school on Smart Specialisation for competitiveness, sustainability and resilient local development
28 February - 2 March 2023 | Trento, Italy
The Winter School provided capacity building for managers and officers working for Development Agencies in the OECD member countries and regions. At the end of the course participants acquired a deeper understanding of the trends and their possible effects on local development and get better understanding of research methods for evidence-based policy-making at local level.

Report: How do mass lay-offs affect regional economies? 
20 January 2023
This paper estimates the impact of mass lay-offs between 2008-18 across small regions (TL3) in Europe on regional employment and productivity. Mass lay-offs from firms and plant restructuring occur regularly and can have potentially large consequences on places and communities. Policy makers may consider supporting firms, in order to prevent mass lay-offs but at the risk of interfering with economic dynamism, or targeting affected workers, to help them transition to new employment.

Italy: Trentino Spatial Productity Review
2023-2025
This three-year project, led by the Spatial Productivity Lab at the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, aims to carry out analysis on the productivity of the Autonomous Province of Trento in Italy, propose policy measures, offer discussion opportunities among stakeholders and produce an annual report on productivity and competitiveness of the Trentino economy. 

Italy: Enhancing international partnership and co-operation in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and in Veneto regions
2022-2023
The project aims to support the Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) Autonomous Region, Italy, in enhancing its strategy on international partnership and co-operation (IPC). New global trends call for a rethinking of IPC. This should aim to maximise impacts on all local communities involved, moving from a one-way to a mutual approach.

The future of teleworking: A place-based toolkit for local development
2021-ongoing
This project aims to support national, regional and local governments of the OECD in promoting a smooth transition to the likely large-scale and enduring use of teleworking conducive to sustainable social and economic local development. This project takes a neutral stance and aims to inform policy solutions for countries and regions seeking to capitalise on teleworking potential.

Italy: Improving the disability assessment and social protection system
2021-2023
This project aims to support Italy in the design, development and implementation of reforms that will increase the adequacy of disability assessment and protection system in Italy, allowing for greater participation and inclusion of people with disabilities.

 

Events, Report and Activities in 2022

Spatial Productivity Lab: Socioeconomic trends in the host region Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol (Italy) - 19th meeting
14 December 2022 | Trento, Italy
The last SPL meeting of the year is traditionally devoted to the host region of the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, the Autonomous Region Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol. The meeting brought together local SPL partners and other local stakeholders to present and discuss recent economic and social trends, as well as empirical research focused on the territory.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Productivity and resilience in regions and cities - 18th meeting
6 December 2022 | DIGITAL
Regional economic resilience is the ability of places to withstand, recover and to reorganise in response to a negative shock. Resilience can be thought of as a short-term characteristic, for example employment performance during a specific crisis, or as a long-term phenomenon, when a lagging place emerges over time as a centre of high productivity and economic prosperity. What factors are linked to greater economic resilience both short-term and long-term? How can places strengthen their resilience? The webinar offered some answers drawing on academic research and practical examples of places that “turned-around”.

Workshop: How culture can transform places
28 September 2022, Trento, Italy
This workshop drew on selected international examples to distil the ingredients of successful culture-led regional development approaches and focused on achievements and prospects for CCS development as part of regional and local development strategies in the Autonomous Province of Trento. This workshop was organised back-to-back with the Summer Academy on Cultural and Creative Industries and Local Development study visit (26-28 September). 

Summer academy on cultural and creative industries and local development - 5th edition
18-21 September 2022 DIGITAL & 26-28 September 2022 | Trento, Italy
The Summer Academy provides training for policy makers and representatives of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The fifth edition will include webinars, interactive digital sessions with key actors (online) and a complementary (optional) study visit in Trentino, Italy (onsite), that is also open to 2020-21 Summer Academy alumni who only participated online.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Business dynamism and regional productivity - 17th meeting
14 September 2022 | DIGITAL
Business dynamism, turnover or churn – the rate of firm entry and exit in the economy – is robustly linked to increased industrial productivity. In more dynamic industries, greater competition pushes companies to innovate and improve efficiency while less productive firms are more likely to exit. As a result, resources are reallocated quicker to more productive uses. Do these mechanisms work spatially? Does regional business dynamism increase productivity and, if so, how can regions better tap the potential of this process to stimulate growth? 

Report: Policies for resilient local economies
7 September 2022
There is a strong need for effective policies in times of recessions, natural disasters and long-term structural change. Policies that strengthen economic resilience strongly overlap with policies for local productivity growth and vice-versa. Moreover, some policies aiming to increase resilience through adding redundancy in production or infrastructure can serve productivity in the long-term.

Summer school on local development strategies and European projects - 6th edition
28 August - 2 September 2022 | Paluzza (UD), Italy
The Summer School for local administrators - of which this is the sixth edition - is intended as a platform for capacity building and exchange of experiences among local administrators aimed at acquiring knowledge and familiarity with strategic planning and programming. The School helps local authorities to better shape the (long-term) development of their territories including through a more efficient use of public resources, such as regional, national and the EU funds.

Report: Potential spatial impacts of the war in Ukraine.A case study from Italy
6 July 2022
The impacts of the war in Ukraine will be felt severely within OECD economies, especially in border regions on the front-line of the humanitarian refugee crisis. The economic impacts, in particular those driven by rising energy prices, will also be spatially differentiated, affecting some regions more than others. Italy is no exception.

Summer school on community and local development in Latin America and the Caribbean - 12th edition
13 Jun-13 Jul & 25-29 Jul 2022 | DIGITAL & Trento, Italy (Spanish only)
The institutions that have been promoting the Summer School for a decade have decided to maintain their commitment for the year 2022 and prepare the Summer School in a blended format (online + field visit), convinced that the recovery from this great crisis will continue only relying on the reconstruction and relaunching of the local communities, counting on the best capacities ready to do so.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Special sessions at GEOINNO 2022, ERSA 2022, AISRE 2022 & KLEMS 2022
July-October 2022 | Italy, Hungary, United Kingdom 
The Spatial Productivity Lab at the OECD Trento Centre is an active participant in the current academic and policy debates on the spatial dimension of productivity, innovation and territorial development more broadly. Find out more about its participation at GEOINNO 222, ERSA 2022, AISRE 2022 and KLEMS 2022.

Workshop: Remote working and local development - A possible connection? 
4 June 2022 | Trento, Italy | Italian only
The pandemic is reshaping the world of work. The rise of agile work is one of the most striking innovations. The rapid growth in the number of its users is matched by an extension of its objectives - from a mere work-life balance tool to a real model that promises to make work more productive, reduce polluting emissions and revive peripheral areas. What actions are needed for these promises to be fulfilled? Representatives from the public sector, the corporate world and civil society created a rich discussion on the topic.

Conference: Rethinking local development strategies in light of COVID-19
17 May 2022 | Trento Italy
The half-day conference reflected on how local and regional development can be fit for the future in light of the changes in the way we live, work, produce and consume. The programme included a keynote speech from Elisa Ferreira, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, followed by reflections from world-renowned academic experts on the recent policy-relevant developments in the areas of local labour markets, FDI and value chains.

Conference: SMEs and the Urban Fabric - 2nd edition
28-29 April 2022 | Trento, Italy
The conference provided an opportunity for policy makers, academics and practitioners to gather and discuss how cities can be a vibrant place that supports their SMEs and entrepreneurs, what lessons can we take away from the COVID-19 pandemic for SME support, and what will the future hold for SMEs in cities.

Workshop: Managing local development - Governance, leadership and networks
28 April - 1 May 2022 | Paluzza (UD), Italy
In 2022 the Community members of the Summer school on local development strategies and European projects expressed interest in organising a residential in-depth seminar, to be reserved only for those who were members of the Community, to address some particularly relevant and topical issues that, although already addressed in the Summer School, were worthy of more specific treatment. 

Spatial Productivity Lab: Regional institutions and productivity - Implications for policy - 16th meeting
10 March 2022 | DIGITAL
Institutions matter. Decades ago, Douglass North called institutions the underlying determinant of economic performance and growth prospects (North D. (1991). Institutions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), pp. 97-112). Since then, the appreciation for the role of institutions, and of governance arrangements in particular, in economic performance of nations and regions only grew. This meeting brought together resent research and offers policy perspectives on the link between regional quality of government and productivity.

Italy: Enhancing international partnership and co-operation in Friuli-Venezia Giulia
2022-2023
The project aims to support the Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) Autonomous Region, Italy, in enhancing its strategy on international partnership and co-operation (IPC). New global trends call for a rethinking of IPC. This should aim to maximise impacts on all local communities involved, moving from a one-way to a mutual approach.

The future of teleworking: A place-based toolkit for local development
2021-ongoing
This project aims to support national, regional and local governments of the OECD in promoting a smooth transition to the likely large-scale and enduring use of teleworking conducive to sustainable social and economic local development. This project takes a neutral stance and aims to inform policy solutions for countries and regions seeking to capitalise on teleworking potential.

Italy: Improving the disability assessment and social protection system
2021-2023
This project aims to support Italy in the design, development and implementation of reforms that will increase the adequacy of disability assessment and protection system in Italy, allowing for greater participation and inclusion of people with disabilities.

 

Events, Report and Activities in 2021

Report: Enhancing the impact of Italy’s start-up visa. What can be learnt from international practice?
14 December 2021
Italy’s start-up visa aims to make the national start-up ecosystem more easily accessible to foreign talent, rich with knowledge and skills, and more integrated into global markets. This report identifies five gateways for attracting more foreign entrepreneurs.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Recent trends in Trentino and Alto-Adige/South Tyrol (Italy) - 15th meeting
14 December 2021 | Trento, Italy
The last SPL meeting of the year is traditionally devoted to the host region of the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, the Autonomous Region Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol. The meeting brought together local SPL partners and other local stakeholders to present and discuss recent economic and social trends, as well as empirical research focused on the territory.  

Webinar: Building capacities for enhanced productivity in the co-operative sector in Italy
1 December 2021 | DIGITAL
This project aimed to address the capacity building need for enhanced productivity in Italian co-operatives through specialised webinars organised by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development. The target group included managers from the national co-operative representative organisations, which are key actors in Italy’s industrial relations system.

Report: The future of remote work. Opportunities and policy options for Trentino
November 2021
In Italy, the Autonomous Province of Trento has plans to design a comprehensive plan for teleworking as a way to foster local economic and social development. This paper identifies six policy areas for recommendations, reflecting the conditions needed to achieve these objectives.

Report: Internationalisation of the next Smart Specialisation Strategy. Opportunities and barriers in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region
30 November 2021
The paper develops recommendations on how to make the most of the Research, Technology, Development and Innovation endowments in FVG through enhancing the innovation-internationalisation nexus in order to improve competitiveness of the region.

Webinar: The impact of remote working on Trentino households. Current trends and future scenarios
30 November 2021 | DIGITAL | Italian only
For many households in Trentino, the pandemic has led to profound changes in working arrangements and related areas such as commuting, managing home space and work-life balance. To what extent will the current situation persist once the health emergency is over? How can public policies improve the material conditions and enhance the attractiveness of the region for remote workers? The OECD Trento Centre discussed these and similar issues at the 10^th Trentino Family Festival with local experts from the public, private and social economy sectors who are managing innovative initiatives for remote working.

Webinar: Heritage, responsible cultural tourism, and sustainable development 
26 November 2021 | DIGITAL
Drawing on examples of good practice from Italy and other OECD countries, this webinar distilled the key ingredients of local action to foster cultural and creative tourism in the context of the recovery.

Webinar: Heritage as a driver for new local creative entrepreneurship
29 October 2021 | DIGITAL
Drawing on examples of good practice from Italy and other OECD countries, this webinar distilled the key ingredients of local action to foster heritage-led entrepreneurship and innovation in the context of the recovery.

Summer Academy on cultural and creative industries and local development - 4th edition
27-30 September 2021 | DIGITAL
The Summer Academy provides training for policy makers and representatives of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The fourth edition took place on 27-30 September 2021 in digital format. As well as offering a reflection on the policies, methods and approaches that could help us to build back better, SACCI 2021 investigated good practices, and highlighted evidence showing how CCIs, when properly valued and supported, could be the key to unlock a sustainable recovery and to achieve the objectives set by the Agenda 2030.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Innovation diffusion: How can regions benefit? 14th meeting
8 September 2021 | DIGITAL
Innovation is the most important contributor to long-term economic growth. It is not just about “pushing the frontier”, but also about the spread of ideas and technologies throughout the economy. Innovation diffusion can help regions to catch up by integrating and building on existing ideas and technologies. Yet, the spread of innovation seems to be slow. What are the mechanisms of innovation diffusion, what are the barriers and how can regions more actively and successfully learn in order to increase their productivity, competitiveness and wellbeing?

OECD sessions at ERSA 2021: Relaunch of productivity for regional growth and cohesion
25-26 August 2021 | DIGITAL
OECD Spatial Productivity Lab and Politecnico di Milano special session at the 60th ERSA Congress on "Territorial Futures - Visions and scenarios for a resilient Europe", 24-28 August 2021. The special session offered a forum for research that advances our knowledge on the spatial drivers of productivity and the ways for regions to facilitate productivity growth and catching up.

Webinar: The Internationalisation of Smart Specialisation Strategies
28 June 2021 | DIGITAL 
This international webinar focused on the opportunities and challenges posed by S3 internationalisation. Building on the Friuli Venezia Giulia case study, the webinar offered an opportunity to compare national, regional and international methodologies, practices and experiences.  

Summer school: Local development strategies and European projects - 5th Edition
23 June-11 September 2021 | DIGITAL
The fifth edition of the Summer School, held in the COVID-19 exceptional situation, was based on several essential assumptions: conferring and recognising the centrality of governance in decision-making processes; exploiting the tools of communication and the digital society; and the value of the Community of Practice.

Webinar: Culture & creativity for a more inclusive recovery: the State as an enabler?
6 June 2021 | STREAMING
The contribution of culture can also be important in other areas of local development, from rebuilding public trust to contributing to post-pandemic urban design adapted to social distancing rules. How can the State enable such transformations and facilitate multi-stakeholder approaches and cross-sectoral strategies?

Report: The spatial dimension of productivity in Italian co-operatives
30 March 2021
This report explores the spatial dimension of productivity in the co-operatives of Italy, a country where they make up a relatively large share of total national employment. Co-operatives play a countercyclical role in job creation during crises. In a post-pandemic world, they could make a major contribution to steering the economy towards inclusiveness and sustainability. Productivity growth ensures that co-operatives can achieve both economic and social goals in the future. This report applies a place-based approach to investigate the issue of productivity in co-operatives, given their many interdependencies with local communities. Available also in Italian

Webinar: Cultural heritage and social cohesion: how to make the local community more cohesive and inclusive
26 May 2021 | DIGITAL
Drawing on examples of good practice from Italy and other OECD countries, this webinar aimed to distill the key ingredients of local action aimed at maximizing the social cohesion role of cultural heritage in the context of the recovery. 

Spatial Productivity Lab: Adoption of advanced technologies - Productivity and labour market implications - 13th meeting
11 May 2021 | DIGITAL
Firms make continuous capital investments. Some of these investments have the potential to completely change the production process, in terms of productivity and in the role for existing employees. This SPL meeting collected insights on the implications of the adoption of advanced technologies for firms and workers, with a specific focus on the use of micro data and through local lens. The meeting combined empirical evidence from Canada and the US, as well as an OECD-wide perspective. The presentations served as a foundation for a panel discussion with the speakers.

Workshop series: Productivity policies for places - OECD/EC project
March-June 2021 | DIGITAL
The workshops were a part of the OECD-EC project “Productivity Policy for Places”. They considered the topic from five angles: the innovation-productivity paradox; productivity in the private sector; productivity in the public sector; productivity and inclusiveness; and productivity and resilience. 

Webinar: Firms and workers at the crossroad - Automation and market power
7 May 2021 | DIGITAL
This webinar brought together the partners of the project "'Firms and Workers at the Crossroad: Automation and Market Power" along with authoritative representatives of national and international institutions for the presentation and discussion of the main research results. The event was hosted by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development and was held in Italian language.

Italy: A capacity building initiative on start-up visas worldwide
February 2021 - May 2021
The project, elaborated by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development in co-operation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), aims to foster an exchange of practices and mutual learning between selected policy-makers involved in the management of start-up visa programs worldwide, to support inclusive entrepreneurship for migrants.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Spatial productivity in the post-COVID-19 world - 12th meeting
4 February 2021 | DIGITAL
As the world is changed by the pandemic, the mechanisms defining productivity of firms and regions are likely to be reshaped. What will stay the same and what will be different? How the crisis can be used as an opportunity to leap forward to a more productive, but also more inclusive, world with no places left behind? The webinar offered an opportunity to explore these and other pressing questions through the lens of labour markets, regional innovation systems and resilience.

Report: A comprehensive approach to understanding urban productivity effects of local governments. Local autonomy, government quality and fragmentation
8 January 2021
This paper advances our understanding of the spatial dimension of productivity by investigating the link between subnational governance arrangements and urban labour productivity. It presents a detailed study of the direct and indirect effects of decentralisation (local autonomy), government quality and fragmentation and empirically demonstrates the need for a comprehensive approach when considering the effects of governance-related characteristics on regional economic outcomes.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2020

Spatial Productivity Lab: Recent socioeconomic trends in Trentino and Alto-Adige/South Tyrol (Italy) - 11th meeting 
10 December 2020 | DIGITAL
This meeting brought together the SPL and its partners to discuss the social and economic situation during the COVID-19 pandemic in our host region, Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol. Representatives of the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, the Bank of Italy Trento Branch, the European Research Institute on Cooperatives and Social Enterprises (EURICSE) and the University of Trento presented recent analyses of the trends in contagion, mobility, industrial output, credit, labour markets and labour demand, as well as social economy.

The spread of teleworking on a large scale and its impact at local level. Challenges and opportunities for businesses, workers and families
1 December 2020 | STREAMING - Italian language
A recent OECD Trento Centre's report points out that the spread of teleworking on a permanent and large scale would bring multiple challenges and opportunities for businesses, workers and families. The report was presented during the 2020 Family Festival organised by the Province of Trento, Italy.

Design of strategies and projects for sustainable development at the local level in the State of Tamaulipas, Mexico
3 November - 9 December 2020 | DIGITAL
This capacity building project aimed at generating capacities in the academic representatives of the University of Tamaulipas, Mexico, active at the state and local levels in promoting and addressing the design and management of strategies for local productive development as well as for the development and execution of projects. 

Spatial Productivity Lab: Business incentives and firm entry. The past, the present and the future - 10th meeting
29 October 2020 | DIGITAL
The effectiveness of business incentives is a subject of debate among researchers but is a popular tool of supporting regional and local economic development. This seminar offered different perspectives on the link (established in the past) between policy-mandated business support and new firm entry. The differing points of view served as a background for a roundtable discussion among academics and practitioners on the ways to make incentives more effective, to bridge academic research and policy practice and to boost firm formation during and after the pandemic.

Community Lab: The future of tourism in natural areas. Impact, governance, financing
15 October-26 November 2020 | DIGITAL
The project intended to build an agile living laboratory of practical seminars, individual research, working groups, creative sessions, interactive discussions, and online tutoring on tourism management in natural and protected areas.

Report: Exploring policy options on teleworking. Steering local economic and employment development in the time of remote work 
17 November 2020
This paper explores and classifies some of the most common policy options adopted by national, regional and local policy makers in the context of or prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to enable, encourage and make the most of teleworking. Available also in Italian

Report: An insight into the innovative start-up landscape of Trentino.Is it time for the “Start-up Valley” to scale up?
17 November 2020
This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of innovative start-up firms in Trentino, a high-income mountainous area in the North East of Italy. This work is part of a series of thematic papers on sub-national start-up landscapes in Italy, produced by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development. Available also in Italian

Report: An insight into the innovative start-up landscape of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. A tale of two sub-regions? 
17 November 2020
This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of innovative start-up firms in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, an autonomous region situated at the extreme North East of the Italian territory, bordering with Austria and Slovenia. This work is part of a series of thematic papers on sub-national start-up landscapes in Italy, produced by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development.

Report: An insight into the innovative start-up landscape of South Tyrol. A language barrier to effective policy transfer? 
17 November 2020
The characteristics of innovative start-up firms in South Tyrol, the northernmost province of Italy, entirely mountainous, hosting a high-income population belonging to three main language groups. This work is part of a series of thematic papers on sub-national start-up landscapes in Italy, produced by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development.

Green economy and sustainability in the Alpine region
7 October 2020 | DIGITAL - Italian language
This webinar discussed the outstanding issues, challenges and opportunities the sustainable development and the green economy pose for local alpine communities, taking the angle of the local authorities and municipalities – medium and small ones in particular – and calling them to act in order to seize the SDGs opportunities for their communities across the Alps.

International Summer School for community and local development - 11th edition
8 June - 10 October 2020 | DIGITAL
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The eleventh edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place in virtual format from 8 June to 10 October 2020. Working language: Spanish.

Report: The geography of Swedish SMEs’ investments. Financial constraints across the urban-rural hierarchy in a wealthy country with low regional disparities
19 October 2020
This paper advances our knowledge of the spatial determinants of productivity by empirically demonstrating one such mechanism – clear differences along the urban-rural continuum in the sensitivity of SMEs’ investments to own cash flow.

Report: Labour demand weakening during the COVID-19 pandemic in US cities. Stylised facts and factors related to regional resilience
9 October 2020
This paper explores patterns of short-term labour demand weakening in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) of the United States and the associated regional factors. The paper considers online job vacancy postings in February-June 2020.

Summer school on local development strategies and European projects - 4th Edition
16 June-11 July 2020 | DIGITAL
The fourth edition of the Summer School, held in the COVID-19 exceptional situation, was based on several essential assumptions: confirming and acknowledging the centrality of governance in decision-making processes; leveraging the tools of communication and the digital society; and the value of the Community of Practice.

The future of tourism in natural areas. Impact, governance, financing
3 July 2020 | DIGITAL
The Covid-19 pandemic has heavily affected tourism worldwide and it is expected to continue doing so over the coming months. In such a changing context, there is a widespread acknowledgement that tourism will never be the same in the Covid-19 aftermath. This webinar was open to everyone and prodromic to the Community Lab held on 15 October-26 November 2020.

Report: Local ability to rewire and socioeconomic performance. Evidence from US counties before and after the Great Recession
26 May 2020
The paper examines the effects of three groups of factors (county economic structure, social/demographic attributes and geography) on employment growth and poverty change in US counties before and after the Great Recession.

Culture as a developmental driver for Italy in the post-Covid scenario
15 May 2020 | DIGITAL
This webinar gathered representatives of the cultural and creative sectors and policy makers to review the place of culture in Italy’s future competitiveness model; culture and local development: the territorial dimension in the Italian context; and which recovery and development policies is foressen for which sectors.

Spatial Productivity Lab: The world changed by COVID-19. Policy, economy, society - 8th meeting
7 May 2020 | DIGITAL
The impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic are highly localised. What are the regional dimensions of the crisis – from economy to policy to society – and how will regions emerge from the current crisis? This SPL webinar presented analyses of the pandemic’s labour impacts and regional policy responses together with a discussion of the ways to shape people’s expectations.

Summer Academy on cultural and creative industries and local development - 3rd edition
27-30 April 2020 | DIGITAL
The Summer Academy provides training for policy makers and representatives of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The third edition took place on 27-30 April 2020 in digital format to disseminateinformation about initiatives and urgent policy responses which countries in Europe and beyond were putting in place to respond to the emergency created by the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

COVID-19: SME policy responses by Italian Regions
Updated at 22 April 2020
The note provides a preliminary inventory of the policy responses adopted by the Italian regions to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Available also in Italian 

COVID-19 and cultural and creative sectors: impact, policy responses and opportunities to rebound after the crisis
17 April 2020 | DIGITAL
This webinar gathered representatives of the cultural and creative sectors, local and national governments to review the short and long-term impacts of the current crisis on CCS; the innovative solutions put in place by CCS across countries; and the policy supports put in place by national and local governments to alleviate the short and long-term effects of the crisis on CCS. 

COVID-19 and museums: impact, innovations and planning for post-crisis
10 April 2020 | DIGITAL
This webinar gathered representatives of the museum community, local and national governments to review the short and long-term impacts of the current crisis on museums; the innovative solutions put in place by museums across countries; and the policy supports put in place by national and local governments to alleviate the short and long-term effects of the crisis on museums and their broader ecosystems. 

Spatial Productivity Lab: Spatial productivity for regional and local development - 7th meeting
20 February 2020 | Trento, Italy
The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to improve our understanding of the spatial dimension of productivity growth, the relevance of links between different types of areas and how regional policy can facilitate productivity growth, creation of better jobs and increased well-being. Focus of this meeting: regional connectivity and firm growth. 

5th GeoInno Conference: OECD Spatial Productivity Lab Policy Sessions
30 January 2020 | Stavenger, Norway 
The Geography of Innovation Conference (GeoInno) provides a forum for discussion to scholars interested in scientific, policy and strategic issues concerning the spatial dimension of innovation activities. The Spatial productivity Lab organsied two sessions on "Innovation diffusion, industrial landscape and spatial productivity" and "Towards a broad-based innovation policy for all cities and regions".

Report: The spatial dimension of productivity. Connecting the dots across industries, firms and places
13 January 2020
This paper offers a synthesis of the current knowledge on the determinants of productivity. It carefully reviews both “spatial” (e.g. agglomerations, infrastructure, geography) and “aspatial” (e.g. human capital, labour regulations, industry-level innovation and dynamism) productivity drivers and demonstrates how the underlying spatial dynamics behind the latter group makes all productivity determinants “spatial” in nature.  

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2019

Spatial Productivity Lab: Spatial productivity for regional and local development - 6th meeting
11 December 2019 | Trento, Italy
The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to improve our understanding of the spatial dimension of productivity growth, the relevance of links between different types of areas and how regional policy can facilitate productivity growth, creation of better jobs and increased well-being. Focus of this meeting: Macroeconomic trends in Italy and in Trentino.

Winter Academy: Tourism management for UNESCO designated sites in natural areas
24-30 November 2019 | Trento & Dolomites, Italy
The Winter Academy on Tourism management for UNESCO designated sites in Natural Areas (T.UN.NA) offered training for policy makers, managers and professionals actively engaged in managing tourism in natural sites listed under one of UNESCO programmes (World Heritage, MAB Man and the Biosphere, Global Geoparks).The participation was open also to those who work in natural areas outside of these programmes.

Academy for local administrators on policies and projects for sustainable local development
4-8 November 2019 | Terzolas, Italy
The Academy was a training opportunity for young municipal administrators to acquire an open mind-set towards innovation on issues of integrated local development and programming. It also provided a method for the definition of policies in the field of planning and governance of local development through the design of integrated interventions, coherent with the local history and culture of the Trentino Province and funded by resources from European, national, and regional policy frameworks. 

Spatial Productivity Lab: Spatial productivity for regional and local development - 5th meeting
10 October 2019 | Venice, Italy
The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to improve our understanding of the spatial dimension of productivity growth, the relevance of links between different types of areas and how regional policy can facilitate productivity growth, creation of better jobs and increased well-being. Focus of this meeting: Economic impact of ageing through productivity growth. 

Workshop: Social protection for older people with long-term care needs
9 October 2019 | Trento, Italy
The challenge to be faced by policy makers is to meet the increasing complexity of the needs of the frail elderly with adequate interventions, taking into account the public finances restricted by economic crisis, recession and cuts. In particular, the Workshop focused on the Flemish and English support to old-age dependency and long-term care systems, through short presentations made by national experts on key issues and questions proposed by local administrators, followed by a critical discussion.

Presentation: OECD-ICOM Guide for Local Governments, Communities and Museums
26 September 2019 | Rome, Italy
Presentation of the OECD-ICOM Guide for Local Governments, Communities and Museums at the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Tourism (MIBACT). 

Summer school on local development strategies and European Projects -3rd Edition
1-6 September 2019 | Zovello di Ravascletto, Italy
The Summer School was conceived as a training opportunity for young municipal administrators to acquire an open mind-set towards innovation on issues of integrated local development and programming. It also acted as a method for designing coherent interventions funded by European funds or other resources in international, national, and regional policies frameworks.

59th ERSA Congress: OECD Spatial Productivity Lab special sessions
27-30 August 2019 | Lyon, France
OECD sessions on the spatial dimension of productivity at the 59th ERSA congress.

International Summer School for community and local development - 10th edition
15-26 July 2019 | Trento, Italy
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The tenth edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 15 to 26 July 2019 in Trento. Working language: Spanish.

Summer Academy on cultural and creative industries and local development - 2nd edition
16-20 June 2019 | Trento, Italy
The Summer Academy provides training for policy makers and representatives of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The Summer Academy is a three-year project. The second edition took place on 16-20 June 2019 in Trento and Bolzano, Italy.

14th Festival of Economics: OECD sessions on Globalisation, Nationalism and Representation
31 May - 2 June 2019 | Trento, Italy
OECD sessions on globalisation, nationalism and representation at the 14th Trento Festival of Economics.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Spatial productivity for regional and local development - 4th meeting
17 April 2019 | Trento, Italy
The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to improve our understanding of the spatial dimension of productivity growth, the relevance of links between different types of areas and how regional policy can facilitate productivity growth, creation of better jobs and increased well-being. Focus of this meeting: Economic impact of ageing through productivity growth. 

Conference: SMEs and the urban fabric
15-16 April 2019 | Trento, Italy
The two-day OECD conference on SMEs and the Urban Fabric helped assess how far we can go in answering two questions: “What can SMEs do for their cities?” and “What can cities do for their SMEs?”. This conference brought together speakers that tackled the questions at different scales, such as cities, clusters, or neighbourhoods, and from different backgrounds, that took an economic, planning or social lens when considering the complex interplay between SMEs and the city.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Workshop on spatial dimensions of productivity
28-29 March 2019 | Bolzano, Italy
The OECD Global Forum on Productivity (GFP) and the Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) at the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, in collaboration with the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, organised a workshop on Spatial Dimensions of Productivity on 28-29 March 2019 in Bolzano, Italy. The aim of this workshop was to gather policy makers, academics, practitioners from national and sub-national administration, and OECD experts to discuss the challenges opportunities and implications of spatial factors for aggregate productivity developments.

Spatial Productivity Lab: Spatial productivity for regional and local development - 3rd meeting
7 February 2019 | Trento, Italy
The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to improve our understanding of the spatial dimension of productivity growth, the relevance of links between different types of areas and how regional policy can facilitate productivity growth, creation of better jobs and increased well-being. Focus of this meeting: Natural disasters and firm resilience in Italian industrial districts.

OECD ERSA Winter School - Spatial productivity for regional and local development
21-25 January 2019 | Trento, Italy
The European Regional Science Association and the OECD Trento Centre organsied of the 2nd ERSA Winter School on "Spatial Productivity for Regional and Local Development". The Winter School was co-organised with the support of the Italian Section of ERSA, AISRE. 

Italy: Developing local development strategies for remote, peripheral areas - Trentino
February 2016 - December 2019
The OECD Trento Centre worked with the Autonomous Province of Trento and the Italian government’s Committee in charge of the National Strategy for Inner Areas. Purpose of the project was to strengthen capacities to conceive and implement integrated local development strategies aimed at improving the quality of life and well-being of people and reversing demographic trends in ‘inner areas’. 

Adriatic-Ionian Region: Improving the impact of territorial wide area co-operation in the Adriatic-Ionian region
September 2017 - March 2019
The OECD Trento Centre fco-operated with the Emilia Romagna Region (North-East Italy appointed as Managing Authority of the ADRION Programme) and ERVET (Emilia Romagna in-house agency in charge of the technical assistance for the ADRION Programme). The purpose of the project was to identify the needs and priorities for policy improvement and to foster the exchange of experiences, the capitalisation of acquired know-how and the generation of new and fresh thinking in the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2018

Workshop: Old age dependency and supplementary social protection for long-term care provision in regions and cities
14 December 2018 | Trento, Italy
A working group - involving representatives of the Autonomous Region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen and the OECD Trento Centre carried out influential research on old age dependency and the related economic and financial measures in order to propose and implement sustainable financial solutions in regions and cities. The Workshop discussion and results were particularly useful for local experts and policy makers to find effective, efficient, homogeneous and sustainable solutions to be carried out in the Trentino Alto-Adige Region - including the Provinces of Trento and Bolzano.

Conference: Unleashing the transformative power of culture and creativity for local development
6-7 December 2018 | Venice, Italy
This Conference was the first major OECD event examining links between culture and local growth. It developed recommendations for economic and social policies that leverage culture and cultural heritage to enhance economic growth, job creation and social inclusion. It highlighted “what works” in policy governance arrangements and funding models.

Spatial Productivity lab LAB: Spatial productivity for regional and local development - 2nd meeting
4 December 2018 | Trento, Italy
The OECD Spatial Productivity Lab (SPL) is a dedicated research laboratory that works with local and global partners to improve our understanding of the spatial dimension of productivity growth, the relevance of links between different types of areas and how regional policy can facilitate productivity growth, creation of better jobs and increased well-being. Focus of this meeting: Urban development, agglomerations, and aggregate growth in Italy.

Talks cycle: Understanding global trends to innovate local governments 
27 September, 18 & 31 October 2018 | Udine, Italy
The talks cycle aimed to undertake a common reflection process and a forsight excersise on the future role of local authorities and on their innovation capacity for the next decade.

OECD Forum for Local Development Practitioners, Entrepreneurs and Social Innovators
18-19 September 2018 | Porto, Portugal
By 2019, it is estimated that 1.4 million new industrial robots will be installed in factories around the world. The pace of technological change requires that we rethink local and regional development policies. The 2018 edition of the Forum convened the voices of local practitioners, entrepreneurs, and social innovators to identify actions needed to re-shape workplaces of the future.

Summer school on local development strategies and European Projects - 2nd Edition
3-7 September 2018 | Zovello di Ravascletto, Italy
The Summer School was conceived as a training opportunity for young municipal administrators to acquire an open mind-set towards innovation on issues of integrated local development and programming. It also acted as a method for designing coherent interventions funded by European funds or other resources in international, national, and regional policies frameworks.

International Summer School for community and local development - 9th edition 
23 July - 3 August  2018 | Trento, Italy 
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The ninth edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 23 July to 3 August 2018 in Trento. Working language: Spanish.

Conference: CCIs support ecosystems as part of Smart Specialisation Strategy
15 June 2018 | Trento, Italy
The conference represented the closure of the 1st Summer Academy on Cultural and Creative Industries and Local Development organised by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development, tsm - Trentino School of Management, the European Creative Business Network (ECBN), and Centro Servizi Cultura e Volontariato (CSCV) with the support of the Autonomous Province of Trento and the Department of Italian culture (Youth Policies Unit) – Autonomous Province of Bolzano.

Summer Academy on cultural and creative industries and local development - 1st edition
11-15 June 2018 | Trento, Italy
The Summer Academy provides training for policy makers and representatives of cultural and creative industries (CCIs). The Summer Academy is a three-year project. The first edition took place on 11-15 June 2018 in Trento and Bolzano, Italy.

13th Festival of Economics: OECD sessions on local development and spatial productivity
1-3 June 2018 | Trento, Italy
OECD sessions on local development and spatial productivity at the 13th Trento Festival of Economics on technology and jobs.

Spatial Productivity Lab: The contribution of regions to the productivity of nations - 1st meeting
21 February 2018 - 14.00 | Trento, Italy
As part of the broader OECD work on productivity, the Spatial Productivity Lab at the OECD Trento Centre in coordination with the OECD Global Forum on Productivity is developing OECD analysis on the concept of spatial productivity.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2017

Euregio Museum Day 2017: Museums & local development - Maximising the impact
20 December 2017 | Trento, Italy
The Euregio Museum Day 2017 reviewed the pilot version of the OECD Culture and Local Development - Maximising the Impact - Towards an OECD Guide for Local Governments, Communities and Museums and worked on thematic action principles and policy options to advance the reflection on these issues. Comments, recommendations and good practice stories contributed to the next edition of the guide to be issued by the end of 2018. 

 
5 December 2017 | Trento, Italy
This seminar focused on the main challenges concerning the necessary actions to overcome existing burdens – administrative firstly but also financial and concerning business service available at local level - and to ease the start-up of new and innovative business as well as attract FDI and international business.

Capacity building seminar: A workforce for the future - Designing strong local strategies for better jobs and skills
28-29 November 2017 | Venice, Italy
The seminar was targeted at policy makers and practitioners responsible for design and implementation of sub-national employment and skills strategies in OECD countries, including people responsible for designing city-level strategies and advisors to mayors, heads of employment and education departments in city or regional administrations, heads of regional or local employment offices, and city and regional labour observatories.

Conference: Integrated governance and local development - The new role of local actors in local development strategic planning and programming
8 September 2017 | Tolmezzo, Italy
The conference intended to offer an appropriate discussion on the challenges of local and regional development also in the light of UN indications for 2030, going beyond the objectives of the 2014-2020 European Community Programming. The conference aimed to analyse the pros and cons of different development promotion approaches of large areas through partnerships and inter-municipal co-operation experiences, which strengthen the political vision underlying these processes.

Summer school on local development strategies and European Projects - 1st Edition
4-8 September 2017 | Zovello di Ravascletto, Italy
The Summer School was developed as a training opportunity for young municipal administrators of Friuli Venezia Giulia region to acquire an open mind-set towards innovation on issues of integrated local development and programming. It also acted as a method for designing coherent interventions funded by European funds or by other resources in international, national, and regional policies frameworks.

International Summer School for community and local development - 8th edition 
17-28 July 2017 | Trento, Italy
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The eighth edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 17 to 28 July 2017 in Trento. Working language: Spanish.

Round-table: Fulfilling the potential of Cultural and Creative Industries -Reinforcing linkages and spill overs
23 June 2017 | Milan, Italy
The round table discussed the challenges faced by policy makers in, on the one hand, identifying and supporting existing agglomerations, such as through skills and infrastructure development, and, on the other hand, facilitating the creation of new linkages enabling CCIs to thrive and interact with “traditional” companies. 

Workshop: Cultural heritage as catalyst of local development
22 June 2017 | Milan, Italy
The working group, made of selected museums and local governments, discussed and further developed a pilot self-assessment tool to be used by museums and local authorities to help measure and strengthen the contribution of museums to local development.

Round-table: Culture, health and well-being - 12th Festival of Economics
3 June 2017 | Trento, Italy
The round-table, in collaboration with Trentino School of Management (TSM) and the Cultural Activities Service of the autonomous Province of Trento, explored several analysis that have highlighted the positive relationships between health, psycho-physical well-being and cultural practice. Time spent in contact with art and beauty, or music and theatre, contributes to raising the quality of life, improving the diseases management, and the same therapeutic process can be enriched with new creative and narrative approaches.

Forum: 13th Annual Meeting of the LEED Forum: Increasing productivity, job creation and inclusion from the bottom-up 
10-11 April 2017 | Prague, Czech Republic
The 13th LEED Forum focused on how OECD economies have been experiencing a slow-down in labour productivity growth for two decades, a trend which has now spread to emerging economies. This calls for policy makers to adopt a broader, more inclusive, approach to productivity growth that considers how to expand the productive assets of an economy by investing in skills, entrepreneurship, employment opportunities, and innovation diffusion to lagging firms and regions.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2016

OECD Observer article: Trento Centre continues forward - Interview to Ugo Rossi, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento
OECD Observer No 307 Q3 2016 2016

Italy - Review: ACTORS Italy - Cultural Attractors for Tourism and Employment in Southern Italian Regions
May 2014 - October 2016
The OECD LEED Trento Centre in agreement with the Italian Government, assisted the Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Tourism (MIBACT) in the promotion and support of social and economic development  activities in Southern Italian Regions (Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Apulia and Sicily) through the valorisation of their cultural, natural and landscape attractions. 

Forum: Ravello LAB 2016 - Culture and Development -  Projects and tools for local growth
20-22 October 2016 | Ravello, Italy
Experts, policymakers and practitioners from Italy and Europe brainstormed on ‘What tools for culture and local development’, in Ravello on 19-21 October. For the second time LEED joined Federculture and the Centro Universitario Europeo per i Beni Culturali (CUEBC) on this unique forum bridging the worlds of culture and local development. LEED shared some of the results from the ACTORS project.

Policy seminar: Supporting SME competitiveness reforms in the Eastern Partner Countries - OECD Eurasia
10-13 October 2016 | Venice, Italy
The OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme, Global Relations Secretariat (GRS), and the OECD LEED Trento Centre co-organised a policy seminar to support SME competitiveness reforms in the Eastern Partner (EaP) region. The aim of the seminar was to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of good practices in the area of SME policy making, with a focus on tools to promote SME internationalisation.

International Summer School for cooperation and local development - 7th edition
18-29 July 2016 | Trento, Italy
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The seventh edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 18 to 29 July 2016 in Trento. Working language: Spanish.

Round-table: The Cities of Culture experience: paths of change between past and future - 11th Festival od Economics
3 June 2016 - 11.00 | Trento, Italy
The intangible factors are relevant to define the competitiveness of  places, their attractiveness, the development of resources and talents much more than we were to believe. The European Capital Cities of Culture and the Italian Capital Cities of Culture represent a real and true movement capable of producing change, evolution and regeneration of the area. 

Forum: 12th Annual Meeting of the Forum on Partnerships and Local Development
18-19 April 2016 | Venice, Italy
This year the Forum focused on creativity, jobs and local development. We examined how localities can support culture and creative industries as a source of knowledge and job creation and how the creative industry can act as a powerful driving force areas such as tourism, urban regeneration, and social inclusion.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2015

OECD and Italian government step up cooperation on boosting jobs and local development - Renewal of the OECD LEED Trento Centre's mandate
30 November 2015

Seminars: Promoting and supporting new enterprises to foster local economy in Trentino
September 2015 - November 2015 | Trento, Italy
A cycle of seminar was organised by the OECD LEED Trento Centre on how to promote and support new enterprises to foster local economy in Trentino, specifically targeted at the Officers of the Autonomous Province of Trento, long standing partner of the OECD LEED Trento Centre.

Seminar: The intangible resources for the future of Trentino - The case of language skills
30 October 2015 | Trento, Italy
The seminar was organised by IPRASE, provincial institute for research and educational experimentation, instrumental body of the Autonomous Province of Trento, and the OECD LEED Trento Centre. The seminar represented a first public reflection on the Trentino Multilingualism Plan within a national and international comparison framework, in view of future prospects.

Forum: Ravello LAB 2015 - Culture and creative industries for developing districts
22-24 October 2015 | Ravello, Italy
In the 2015 edition, the Ravello Symposium invited a select and interdisciplinary number of panelists to discuss two strongly interconnected issues: public-private partnership for culture-based development and territories and creative industries as tools for development.

International Summer School for cooperation and local development - 6th edition
20-31 July 2015 | Trento, Italy
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The sixth edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 20 to 31July 2014 in Trento. Working language: Spanish.

Forum: 11th Annual Meeting of the Forum on Partnerships and Local Development
24-26 June 2015 | Manchester, United Kingdom
Local policymakers have a critical role to play in developing more resilient and inclusive economies, particularly because they are well-positioned to take a more integrated approach to tackling complex challenges and seizing new opportunities. This requires local partners to collaborate and work closely in innovative ways, whilst also re-examining the relationship between local and national policymakers. This event explored topics ranging from empowering communities through local leadership to new approaches to local economic growth and catalysing growth through people by better harnessing skills and increasing productivity.

Round-Table: New and old social elevators: what floor to get off at and which to take? 10th Festival of Economics
30 May 2015 - 16.00 | Trento, Italy
This round-table discussed which areas of expertise and what types of models can drive the paths of educational and professional development in the future.

Review: Regional FDI-SME linkage strategies in Kazakhstan
December 2011 - May 2015
This project examined how policies can support the integration of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into global value chains through creating and exploiting linkages between SMEs and Foreign Direct Investors (FDI). It involved assessments of current conditions and opportunities in three regions of Kazakhstan and made recommendations for policy actions at national and local levels.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2014

Capacity building seminar: Promoting entrepreneurial education in schools
3-6 November 2014 | Potsdam, Germany
The seminar contributed to the development of a tool  that should allow schools to (1) map the perceptions of learners, teachers, parents, and partner organisations as they relate to the entrepreneurial education opportunities (courses, extra-curricular work), resources and support available to teachers (e.g. time for preparation, training, teaching material), and the "outward looking school" (e.g., partnerships for challenge-based learning, new learning environments); and (2) employ this information for organisational development efforts.

Italy - review: The co-operative model in Trentino (Italy) - A case study
May 2014 - November 2014
The Trentino co-operative model has gained wide acclaim for its positive economic and social impact upon the territory. Developing a strong understanding of why the model has been so effective is important in identifying those factors which other localities could utilise as potential criticalities. This case study has therefore focused on developing an in-depth understanding of the Trentino model of the co-operative movement and its Federation.

October 2013 - November 2014
The review intends to provide recommendations to the governments of the city of Medellin and the region of Antioquia to define effective policies to support the development of the local economy and include a focus on how the innovative environment can be strengthened to support inclusion, entrepreneurship, SME, and local development.

Expert seminar: What works, and what doesn’t? Evidence-based approaches to tackling disadvantage
15 October 2014 | paris, France
This expert seminar focused on how countries can establish a policy framework to enable effective local action using an evidence-based approach, choosing between different measures at a time of limited resources. The latest evidence from OECD countries on ‘what works’ and ‘what doesn’t’ were considered, with participants sharing their own experiences of what has been successful on the ground.

Capacity building seminar: Strengthening agricultural co-operatives in Kazakhstan
13-17 October 2014 | Trento, Italy
The aim of this seminar was to build institutional capacities and transfer methodologies to Kazakh policy makers in areas that will help improve the country’s agricultural competitiveness and support the development of small-scale production. It drew upon on OECD know-how and the Trento experience in agricultural cooperatives.

High-level capacity building seminar: Supporting youth in entrepreneurship
22-23 September 2014 | Brussels, Belgium
The aim of this High-Level Capacity Building Seminar was to have an international exchange of information on inclusive entrepreneurship actions across the European Union and on how the European Union Structural Funds can be used to support actions that combine entrepreneurship promotion and social inclusion. It examined how strategies for youth entrepreneurship can be designed and implemented including consideration of the connections with wider strategies for entrepreneurship and youth employment.

International Summer School for cooperation and local development - 5th edition
14-25 July 2014 | Trento, Italy
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The fifth edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 14 to 25 July 2014 in Trento. Working language: Spanish.

23-25 April 2014 | Stockholm, Sweden
The 10th Annual Meeting of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Development brought together some 350 representatives from local partnerships, government officials, public employment services, local leaders, youth organisations, social entrepreneurs, business representatives, and academics to discuss about job creation, partnerships to support school to work transition and managing transitions during the life-cycle. 14 interactive workshops also reviewed experiences in the local implementation of the Youth Guarantee, measuring social impact, evidence based policies for tackling disadvantage, entrepreneurial education and youth entrepreneurship.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2013

Capacity building seminar: Supporting the competitiveness of Ukraine’s agribusiness SMEs
15-18 October 2013 | Trento, Italy
The aim of this seminar was to build institutional capacities and transfer methodologies to the Ukrainian policy makers on areas which could improve the country’s agricultural competitiveness and sustain Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), building on the OECD know-how and reflecting on the Trento experience.

International Summer School for cooperation and local development - 4th edition
15-26 July 2013 | Trento, Italy
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The fourth edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 15 to 25 July 2013 in Trento. Working language: Spanish.

Capacity building seminar: Developing inclusive entrepreneurship strategies - Entrepreneurial activities in Europe
27-28 June 2013 | Brussels, Belgium
The aim of this seminar was to have an international exchange of information on inclusive entrepreneurship actions across the European Union and on how the European Union Structural Funds can be used to support actions that combine entrepreneurship promotion and social inclusion. It examined the types of policy actions are effective, the conditions for their success, how actions can be brought together into integrated and self-reinforcing programmes, and what funding options exist, particularly from the European Social Fund.

June 2013
This working paper reports on the work undertaken as part of the OECD LEED Tackling Long-term Unemployment Amongst Vulnerable Groups project. It includes the findings of a survey undertaken jointly by the OECD LEED Programme and the World Association of Public Employment Services in 2012, and also case studies and learning models from around the world on innovative practices to support the long-term unemployed into work.

Intervention by OECD SG Angel Gurrìa: 8th Festival of Economics
1 June 2013 | Trento, Italy
Strong growth in emerging-market economies and developing countries has lifted millions out of poverty, reducing the gap between rich and poor for the world as a whole. However, in many OECD countries, income inequality has actually increased over time. This poses a challenge for policymakers worldwide: how to achieve strong growth and ensure that its dividends are shared equitably. Investing in education and skills, guaranteeing access to quality public services and making the most of tax-benefit systems will be part of the answer.

Seminar: Evaluation of programmes for the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises
25 April 2013 | Jerusalem, Israel
This seminar was prepared by the LEED Programme for officials of the Israeli Small and Medium Business Agency (SMBA) and for managers and co-ordinators of public programmes supported by the SMBA. It presented the major issues and principles involved in designing, commissioning, undertaking and using evaluations of SME programmes illustrated with examples of good practice.

26-27 March 2013 | Dublin-Kilkenny, Ireland
Today many local communities are confronted with the challenge of reducing high and persistent unemployment and defining new sources of economic growth, all in the context of shrinking public resources. The 9th Annual Meeting offered an opportunity to reflect on innovative ways to support local job creation, youth employment and effective policy delivery.

Report: Job creation through the social economy and social entrepreneurship
24 February 2013
This report examines the role of Social Economy Organisation's in the provision of employment, and how they have fared during the recent period of economic turbulence. Attention was also paid to SEOs working with vulnerable individuals, either as direct providers of jobs, or providers of training and services designed to help vulnerable individuals into the mainstream labour market. In particular, the research sought to gain greater understanding of working conditions within these SEOs, and the challenges they faced in providing high quality employment while having to keep costs low in order to operate in competitive markets.

Review: Supporting survival and growth of graduate entrepreneurship: skills, competences and start-up support in Germany
January 2011-December 2013
This project continues OECD LEED work on university entrepreneurship support started in 2006 in the framework of the ongoing collaboration between the Commissioner for the New Federal States, the eastern German Länder and the OECD LEED Programme. The aim of this project is to provide advice for policy makers at Federal and Land levels, and practical assistance to university management and practitioners in charge of business start-up and early growth support, on how to improve the current strategy, infrastructure and practices in supporting new and young firms emerging from universities in order to increase the birth and growth rates.

Review: Regional FDI-SME linkage strategies in Kazakhstan
December 2011-May 2015
This project examines how policies can support the integration of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into global value chains through creating and exploiting linkages between SMEs and Foreign Direct Investors (FDI). It involves assessments of current conditions and opportunities in three regions of Kazakhstan and makes recommendations for policy actions at national and local levels.

 

Events, Reports and Activities in 2012

20 December 2012
The OECD LEED review series on Boosting local entrepreneurship and enterprise creation, of which this study is a part, examines the capacity of local economies to support successful new enterprise creation and the growth of small enterprises and make recommendations on how this capacity can be enhanced through local policies. In the case of Lombardy, the economically most powerful region of Italy, the review includes a specific assessment of local entrepreneurship policies against the framework of the European Union’s Small Business Act (SBA).

Capacity building seminar: Developing tourism outside of established localities - 3rd Edition
26-29 November 2012 | Trento, Italy
The capacity building seminar was based on an active exchange of experiences between the participants duly provided in advance. The strength of such a roundtable event laid in the discussion of these experiences in an interactive setting.

Report:  Local job creation - The Labour Agency of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy
27 November 2012 
This working paper reports on the review carried out for the Labour Agency (Agenzia del Lavoro) of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy, and highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of policy approaches and actions taken by the Labour Agency. The working paper concludes with an outline of the key issues for consideration for the Labour Agency that could inform the development of an action plan in order to ensure the right conditions exist for sustainable job creation at the local level.

Workshop: Government approaches to supporting local economic and employment development
11 October 2012 | Riga, Latvia
Today many local communities are confronted with the challenge of reducing high and persistent unemployment and defining new sources of economic growth, all in the context of shrinking public resources. Governments are re-thinking their approaches in supporting local development, seeking ways to achieve maximum local impact and ensure that implementation mechanisms are operating efficiently at a local level. The event gathered representatives of ministries responsible for regional development and employment from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and selected OECD countries to exchange on approaches that work in addressing these challenges.

Study visit: Partnership strategies for demographic change and ageing
10-12 October 2012 | Province of Carinthia, Austria
The OECD LEED Forum on partnerships and local governance within the framework of the OECD LEED project on local scenarios of demographic change conducted a study visit to the Province of Carinthia, Austria. Although the overall situation of elderly people in the labour market is better than in most OECD countries, population forecasts indicate that the share of older people will increase dramatically, with Carinthia being more affected than the rest of the country.

International Summer School for cooperation and local development - 3rd edition
16-26 July 2012 | Trento, Italy
The scope of the School is to organise specialised courses on socio-economic development and to create an international platform to exchange experiences and knowledge between public officers and practitioners from OECD member and non member countries that deals with cooperation and local development issues. The third edition of the Summer School on “Community and local development: building strategies for local development" took place from 16 to 26 July 2012 in Trento.

Capacity building seminar: Strategic approaches to demographic change in Russia, Eastern Europe and OECD countries
3-4 July 2012 | Trento, Italy
The seminar was targeted at national, regional and local practitioners who dealt with anticipating and managing demographic changes in Russia and Eastern European countries and wanted to interchange experiences and approaches with other experts from OECD countries.

Capacity building seminar: Financing business start-up by under-represented groups
27-29 June 2012 | Trento, Italy
This seminar was part of a three-year programme of cooperation between the European Commission and the OECD LEED Programme to monitor and report on entrepreneurial activity in Europe and related public policies and actions.

Capacity building seminar: Getting the long-term unemployed back into work - New finance and delivery mechanisms
21-22 June 2012 | Trento, Italy
To find effective financing and delivery mechanisms to address long-term unemployment is a challenge which practitioners and policy-makers confront. The seminar reviewed innovations in these areas and reflected on how they can be used to support the long-term unemployed into employment.

7th Festival of Economics
31 May-3 June 2012 | Trento, Italy
The OECD LEED Trento Centre organised a round-table session on "Divided we stand: Why inequality keep rising", on Friday 1 June at 11.00 a.m., Trento (Italy). The round-table addressed questions arising from the consideration that rising income inequality creates economic, social and political challenges.

Study visit for local development practitioners: Partnership strategies for youth employment
24-26 April 2012 | UpperAustria
Issues covered during the study visit included exploring features unique to the Austrian system, such as the dual apprenticeship system and qualification guarantees. The structure and targets of the Territorial Employment Pact were discussed and project visits to relevant initiatives allowed participants to meet with project promoters and participants, and discuss programme implementation and outcomes.

Study visit from a Delegation of the Chinese Enterprises Research Institute and the Chinese Development Bank
30 March 2012 | Trento, Italy
A high level delegation from the Chinese Development Research Center (DRC) and the China Development Bank (CDB) visited the OECD LEED Trento Centre on Friday 30th of March 2012. CDB is a leader in the implementation of the Chinese state’s macroeconomic policies and has assumed an active role in raising and channelling funds to alleviate the bottlenecks of financing restraints and strengthen weak links in the State's economy. The Development Research Center is a leading policy research and consulting institution specialising in research on enterprise development and reform policy, which is directly under the State Council.

Capacity building seminar: Designing and implementing E-government policies - The case of the Palestinian Autorithy
28-29 March 2012| Trento, Italy
This capacity building seminar was co-organised by the MENA-OECD Governance Programme, within the context of the MENA-OECD Initiative to Support the Palestinian Authority, and the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development. Thirteen delegates from different ministries of the Palestinian Authority lead by Mr. Suleiman Mustafa Zuhairi, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Telecommunications and IT, visited Trento to work on designing and implementing e-government policies in the Palestinian Authority.

8th Annual Meeting of the Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance: Partnerships for youth - Getting the young into jobs and business for successful working life
20-21 March 2012 | Berlin, Germany
The transition from education to work is not easy for many young people, particularly when it comes to finding sustainable employment with progression opportunities. While many OECD countries have recently put in place new national policies to support youth, they will be more effective if they are implemented in a coordinated way at local level. Providing jobs for youth requires place specific cross sectoral responses involving different local players as part of wider local development strategies.

Report: Knowledge networks and their impact on new and small firms in local economies (Italy-Germany)
31 Januray 2012
New and small firms can be important engines of job creation and local development when they identify and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. The OECD LEED Programme in cooperation with the University of Trento has prepared this paper to analyse in deep the behaviour of knowledge networks in two specific local contexts: the Autonomous Province of Trento in Italy and the Magdeburg Province in Germany.

December 2011-December 2012
The project, jointly implemented by the OECD LEED Programme and Unioncamere Lombardia, will examine the capacity in Lombardy region to support new enterprise creation and the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and how it can be enhanced through local economic and employment development policies.

Review: Local job creation in the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy)
January-November 2012
This project will seek to enhance the contribution of labour market policy to the creation of more and better quality jobs. It will assess the effectiveness of employment policy and services to enhance competitiveness and employment outcomes by better matching skills supply to demand, improving training provision and addressing skills gaps but also improving skills utilisation by firms in the Autonomous Province of Trento.

Review: Local development capacity assessment in EU candidate countries and potential candidates in the Western Balkans - a LEED Project
January 2011-October 2012
This joint initiative by the European Commission Enlargement Directorate-General and the OECD LEED Programme is focused on providing an assessment of the current local development capacity in view of EU accession in the EU Candidate countries and potential candidates in the Western Balkans, notably: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244), Montenegro and Serbia.