9th OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs

Decentralised development co-operation (DDC) and city-to-city partnerships can be powerful levers of progress for advancing the SDGs, by strengthening local governance and fostering peer-to-peer learning between cities and regions. Although DDC activity has expanded over the past decade, empirical evidence quantifying its impact on local governance and SDG outcomes has remained scarce. To bridge this gap, for the first time, a new OECD report that will be launched during the session provides robust quantitative evidence on the impact of DDC on local governance and SDG outcomes across both OECD and partner countries. This session will highlight key findings from the report and discuss how partnerships between places can help turn global ambitions into tangible local benefits.

With less than four years left to the endpoint of the 2030 Agenda, progress remains uneven. Globally, only 17% of SDG targets are on track. At local level, at least 40% of OECD regions and 11% of OECD cities have not achieved any of the SDG targets for 2030. As the countdown continues, it is critical to better understand what has driven success and what has held it back.  To support this effort, this session will introduce emerging insights from the OECD/UN-Habitat Stocktake on SDG Localisation, a joint landmark initiative designed to propose a new harmonised global measurement framework for regions and cities, draw from more than 20 deep dives into the experience of pioneering cities and regions, and help shape the post-2030 Agenda.

Room 1: The transformative role of higher education institutions in driving local SDG action

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are uniquely positioned to help cities and regions advance the SDGs through their core missions of education, research, innovation and community engagement. Yet their potential as catalysts for sustainable territorial development remains largely untapped. Collaboration between HEIs and local governments is often fragmented, project‑based and dependent on individual champions rather than institutional strategies. This breakout session will explore how structured incentives, governance frameworks and financing mechanisms can unlock the full contribution of HEIs to sustainable territorial development.

Room 2: Debrief on the High-Level Political Forum from a local perspective

Under the theme "Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs for a sustainable future for all", the 2026 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) conducted in-depth reviews of a cluster of SDGs that sit at the core of the local and regional agenda: SDG 6 on water and sanitation, SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG 9 on resilient infrastructure and innovation, SDG 11 on inclusive and sustainable cities, and SDG 17 on the means of implementation. This breakout session will bring together representatives from cities and regions and other key actors returning from New York to unpack collectively the Forum’s main outcomes on where progress was achieved, where gaps remain, and how local, regional and national governments can build on HLPF outcomes to accelerate action moving forward.

As the world looks beyond 2030, what role could cities and regions play in defining the next generation of sustainable development priorities? The upcoming OECD/UN-Habitat Global Stocktake on SDG Localisation will harness artificial intelligence and foresight analysis tools to elaborate and showcase possible scenarios for the post-2030 Agenda, considering the implications of factors such as demographic shifts, technological advancements, and environmental challenges on cities and regions. This session will aim to provide actionable insights to help policymakers design more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable territorial development strategies towards the SDG Summit and beyond.