This report was produced by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director, as part of the programme of work of the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC). The project was funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the OECD, in co-operation with the European Commission.
The report was led and co-ordinated by Alexis Durand, under the supervision of Maria Varinia Michalun, Head of the Governance and Strategic Planning Unit in the Regional Development and Multi-level Governance Division of the CFE, led by Dorothée Allain-Dupré. The report was drafted by Alexis Durand, Maria Varinia Michalun and Yingyin Wu. The report also benefits from the inputs and review of Betty‑Ann Bryce, David Burgalassi, Claire Charbit, Michael Flood, Janis Jurgeleit, Antti Moiso, Eduardo Montemayor, Atte Oksanen and Josh Wood (CFE). Albertína Friðbjörg Elíasdóttir (Association of Municipalities in Northeast Iceland), Hanna Dóra Hólm Másdóttir and Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir (Icelandic Ministry of Infrastructure) shared their insight on Iceland’s regional plans of action. Eric Reese facilitated one of the project workshops.
The OECD would like to thank the Estonian Government for its co-operation and support throughout this project. Special thanks are due to the Local Governments Policy Department of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture and the ministry staff (past and present) that worked closely with the OECD and European Commission to bring this project to fruition; special thanks go to Rainer Eidemiller, Sigrid Soomlais, Mart Uusjärv, Sulev Valner and Ave Viks. Thanks are extended to the various ministries across the Estonian Government that participated in the focus groups and workshops.
Sincere thanks are given to the pilot regional councils in Central and South Estonia for their warm welcome and enthusiastic participation in the workshops with the OECD. We would also like to thank the large number of stakeholders from the private and third sector, academia and other fields who shared their time and perspectives with the OECD team.
Jack Waters (CFE) led the process of preparing the manuscript for publication, and Eleonore Morena copy‑edited the report.