The report was prepared by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui. It was produced as part of the Programme of Work of the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC). The report was prepared in the framework of a project on ‘Helping regions adapt to demographic change’ and implemented in the context of the OECD’s programme on Preparing Regions for Demographic Change and the European Commission’s Talent Booster Mechanism. It was made possible thanks to the financial contributions of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO).
The project was co-coordinated by Jaebeum Cho and Courtenay Wheeler, under the supervision of Rüdiger Ahrend, Head of Economic Analysis, Data and Statistics Division (EDS) and Dorothée Allain-Dupré, Head of the Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division (RDG), all in CFE. The report on The Azores, Portugal was co-ordinated by Jaebeum Cho, under the supervision of Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter, Head of the Environmental and Land Use Economics Unit in EDS, CFE.
Chapter 1 was prepared by Jaebeum Cho, with contributions from Alexandre Banquet, Charlotte Lafitte and Courtenay Wheeler. It was reviewed by Rüdiger Ahrend, Dorothée Allain-Dupré, Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter and Isabelle Chatry, Head of the Decentralisation, Subnational Finance and Infrastructure Unit in RDG. Chapter 2 was prepared by Alexandre Banquet and Charlotte Lafitte, with contributions from Agustin Basauri and Lukas Kleine-Rueschkamp in the Local Employment, Skills and Social Innovation Division of CFE. It was reviewed by Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter, Isabelle Chatry and Jaebeum Cho. Chapter 3 was prepared by Jaebeum Cho, with contributions from Ha-young Jeon, and reviewed by Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter. Chapter 4 was prepared by Charlotte Lafitte and Courtenay Wheeler, and reviewed by Isabelle Chatry and Jaebeum Cho. Chapter 5 was prepared by Alexandre Banquet and reviewed by Claudia Baranzelli, Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter and Jaebeum Cho. Brendan Irish provided contributions to Chapter 2 and Chapter 4.
The OECD would like to thank the Regional Government of the Azores for their co-operation and support during the study process. Special thanks are given to the local team composed of Vitória Soares, Renato Medeiros and Célia Azevedo, who provided support for implementation of the study and helpful comments on the report. The OECD also thanks Gergana Miladinova, François Gallaga, Diletta Zonta, Andreea Maier and Enrico Marescotti from DG REGIO for their support and input throughout the preparation of the report. Thanks are also extended to Kevin Lynch from the Southern Regional Assembly of Ireland for participating in the study mission as a peer reviewer and providing valuable inputs to the study.
The OECD also extends thanks to Duarte Rodrigues and Nuno Romão from the Portuguese Cohesion and Development Agency for their input and comments. Finally, the OECD gives thanks to the many regional stakeholders met during the study for their warm welcome to the region and valuable contributions, including representatives from the regional, municipal and parish governments, and the broader regional community. The draft also benefited from comments from Delegates of the RDPC.
Special thanks are given to Jack Waters (CFE) who provided guidance on preparing the publication, and Isabela Edgecombe (CFE) for preparing the policy highlights.