16, 24-25-26, 29-30 June & 11 July 2020 Remote participation | Fourth Edition

Organised by the OECD Trento Centre - at the initiative of NextPA

Context

In recent years, the Municipalities of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (NE Italy) have faced the challenge of cooperation, both in the organisation and provision of services for citizens that is their most consolidated role and in jointly designing and implementing socio-economic development policies at the wide area level, being the latter often quite a new function for them and the main focus of the Summer School.

The Summer School for local administrators was conceived as a response to this challenge and an opportunity to think specifically about the innovative function of promoting territorial development through cooperation among municipalities, also in view of designing their territorial development plans. 

Since this is a substantially new function for most local authorities, the Summer School – in 2020, its fourth edition takes place - offers local administrators / municipal councillors a capacity building and experience sharing platform, enabling them to acquire knowledge in strategic planning and programming, while considering the best use of EU funds.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic upends lives of people, families and communities. It drastically transforms work and economic activities, national and international contexts. The resultant changes in all spheres of life will be radical and difficult to predict.

Local governments are at the forefront of the current crisis. They are called to be an active and driving force in the governance of the processes of reconstruction of local economies and societies.

Goal

The goal of the Summer School is to provide a training opportunity for local administrators to acquire essential knowledge and tools to guide sustainable development of the territory during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. In this framework, it seeks to ensure that planning  (a practice to identify and structure coherent interventions that can be financed by European funds or other resources) is also undertaken at local level in the context of international, national and regional policies. 

Methodology

The fourth edition of the Summer School, held in the current exceptional situation, was based on several essential assumptions:

Confirming and acknowledging the centrality of governance in decision-making processes

Everyone - businesses, public administrators, representatives of civil society, research and knowledge community - will be called upon to play an active role. To be effective, it is essential that appropriate forms, methods and instruments of governance are identified. Building skills to govern these processes is crucial.

Leveraging the tools of communication and the digital society

Waiting till it is safe to meet in person for holding the next Summer School is not an acceptable option. We need to immediately start building a common understanding of the reconstruction and sustainable development of the different territorial contexts. This requires a space to share new knowledge, exploit the potential of the digital network and the information society.

The Smart Community: Value of the Community of Practice

At this stage, it would perhaps be impossible to start from scratch in the construction of a training path (in the strictest meaning of the term). But strengthening the already existing networks is possible and urgent. The Smart Community is a substantial opportunity for this purpose.

Attendance

The Summer School foresees participation of a maximum of 30 local administrators - 24 from the municipalities of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and up to 6 representing the Veneto Region and the Autonomous Province of Trento. Admission is subject to a selection process after a public call for interest.

Key Content

Materials & Information

Agenda (also in Italian)

OECD Contact

Paolo.Rosso@oecd.org   

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