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Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED Programme)

Events and activities by the OECD LEED Trento Centre 2012/2018

 

Events 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: 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: Local development strategies and European projects - Second 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 - Ninth 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 seventh 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: Cultural and creative industries and local development
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 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. 

Seminar: Fostering business attractiveness of Trentino (Italy) 
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.

Capacity building seminar: Summer school for local administrator in local development strategies and European programming
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 - Eighth 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 seventh 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 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 (Ravello, Italy)
20-22 October 2016
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 (Venice, Italy)
10-13 October 2016
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 - Seventh edition (Trento, Italy) 
18-29 July 2016
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 (Trento, Italy)
3 June 2016 - 11.00
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 (Venice, Italy)
18-19 April 2016
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 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 (Trento, Italy)
September 2015 - November 2015
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 (Trento, Italy)
30 October 2015
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 (Ravello, Italy)
22-24 October 2015
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 - Sixth edition (Trento, Italy)
20-31 July 2015
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.

Forum11th Annual Meeting of the Forum on Partnerships and Local Development (Manchester, United Kingdom)
24-26 June 2015
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 (Trento, Italy)
30 May 2015 - 16.00
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 and Activities in 2014

Capacity building seminar: Promoting entrepreneurial education in schools (Potsdam, Germany)
3-6 November 2014
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.

Colombia - policy review: Supporting the development of local innovation systems in Colombia - The case of Medellin, Antioquia
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 (Paris, France)
15 October 2014
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 (Trento, Italy)
13-17 October 2014
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 (Brussels, Belgium)
22-23 September 2014
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 - Fifth edition (Trento, Italy)
14-25 July 2014
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.

Forum: 10th Annual Meeting of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Development (Stockholm, Sweden)
23-25 April 2014
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 and Activities in 2013

Capacity building seminar: Supporting the competitiveness of Ukraine’s agribusiness SMEs (Trento, Italy)
15-18 October 2013
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 - Fourth edition (Trento, Italy)
15-26 July 2013
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 (Brussels, Belgium)

27-28 June 2013
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.


Report: Tackling the long-term unemployment amongst vulnerable groups

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 (Trento, Italy)
1 June 2013
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 (Jerusalem, Israel)
25 April 2013
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.

Forum: 9th Annual Meeting of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance (Dublin-Kilkenny, Ireland)
26-27 March 2013 
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 and Activities in 2012

Report: Boosting local entrepreneurship and enterprise creation in Lombardy region (Italy)
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 (Trento, Italy) - 3rd Edition
26-29 November 2012
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 (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 (Riga, Latvia)

11 October 2012
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 (Province of Carinthia, Austria)
10-12 October 2012
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 - Third edition (Trento, Italy)
16-26 July 2012
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 (Trento, Italy)
3-4 July 2012
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 (Trento, Italy)
27-29 June 2012
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 (Trento, Italy)
21-22 June 2012
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 (Trento, Italy)
31 May-3 June 2012
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 (UpperAustria, Austria) 24-26 April 2012
24-26 April 2012
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 (Trento, Italy)
30 March 2012
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 (Trento, Italy)
28-29 March 2012
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 (Berlin, Germany)
20-21 March 2012
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.

Review: Boosting local entrepreneurship and enterprise creation in Lombardy region (Italy)
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.