The 9th OECD Rural Development Policy Conference launched the publication "Rural-Urban partnerships: an integrated approach to economic development". The conference was organised in co-operation with the European Commission and was co-hosted by the Italian Department of Development and Economic Cohesion and Regione Emilia Romagna.

Workshop 1.1 Managing space in peri-urban areas: rural-urban partnerships in action. Organised by PURPLE, CEMR and METREX

Chair: Vincent O'Connell, Surrey County Council, United Kingdom

• Phillip Atkins, Leader, Staffordshire County Council, United Kingdom 
• Reinhard Henke, Senior Policy Advisor, Regional Authority FrankfurtRheinMain, Germany
• Griet Celen, Head of Department Land Development, Flemish Land Agency, Belgium 
• Michèle Vitrac-Pouzoulet, Regional Councillor, Ile de France 
• Carola Gunnarsson, Chair of Thematic Platform of Sustainable Local and Regional Development, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR); Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Sala, Sweden 
• Julian Jansen, Senior Urban Planner and Demographer, Physical Planning Department, City of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Workshop 1.2 Promoting growth in remote and internal areas

Chair: Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Head, Regional Development Policy Division, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD

• Enrique Garcilazo, Head, Rural and Regional Unit, Regional Development Policy Division, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD 
• Sabrina Lucatelli, Member of the Public Investment Evaluation Unit (UVAL) of the Department for Development and Cohesion Policy of the Italian Ministry for Economic Development, Italy 
• Gerard Peltre, President, Rurality-Environment-Development Association (R.E.D.), France 
• Camilo Vial, Chief, Policy and Research, Under Secretary of Regional Development, Chile 
• Peter Dupej, State Adviser General, Regional Development Subjects Coordination, The Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development, Slovak Republic

Parallel Session 2.1 Critical factors for rural-urban partnerships in metropolitan areas: preliminary findings from the Metropolitian Areas in Action (MAIA) study. Organised by EUROCITIES and METREX

Chair: William Tompson, Head, Urban Programme, Regional Development Policy Division, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD

• Peter Austin, Co-chair EUROCITIES Metropolitan Areas Working Group; Planning Advisor, City of Oslo, Norway 
• Juliane Kürschner, Vice President of METREX; Senior Urban Planner, City of Amsterdam, Netherlands 
• Andreas Obersteg, University of HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany 
• Kari-Marie Swensen, Joint Board Manager of seven council cooperation, Oslo Region, Norway 
• Franz Thun, Senior Specialist, International Projects Unit, Mayors Office, City of Warsaw, Poland 
• Ivan Tosics, Managing Director, Metropolitan Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary

Parallel Session 2.2 The role of rural development in rapidly urbanising OECD countries: perspectives from Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Turkey

Chair: Richard Wakeford, Professor of Environment, Land Use and Rural Strategy, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom

• Bruce Weber, Professor, Applied Economics, Director Rural Studies Programme, Oregon State University, United States 
• Ibrahim Kuzu, Director, Department of Local and Rural Development, DG Regional Development and Structural Adjustment, Ministry of Development, Turkey 
• David Freshwater, Professor, Agricultural Economics and Martin School of Public Administration, University of Kentucky, United States 
• Mark Cropper, International Relations Officer, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission\

Opening Ceremony

CHAIR Doug O’Brien, Chair of the OECD Rural Working Party; Acting Under Secretary, Rural Development United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Vasco Errani, President of Emilia-Romagna Region
Carlo Maria Oliva, Ambassador, Italy Permanent Representative of the OECD
Normunds Popens, Deputy Director-General for Implementation, Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
Matt Erskine, Vice-Chair of the OECD Territorial Development Policy Committee; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, United States Economic Development Administration (EDA)

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Yves Leterme, Deputy Secretary General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Session 1 Fostering and supporting rural-urban partnerships: key aspects for consideration

Chair:  Wladyslaw Piskorz, Head of Unit, DG Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission 

Keynote address: Paolo Veneri, Economist, Regional Development Policy Division, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD 

Panelists: 
Elaine Carbines, Chief Executive Officer, The Geelong Region Alliance, Australia 
Gina H. Greathouse, Senior Vice President, Economic Development, Commerce Lexington Inc., United States 
Mara Valdinosi, Senior Programme Officer, Province Forli-Cesena, Italy 
Hilkka Laine, Programme Manager, Regional Council of Central Finland

Presentations for Session I

Session II How the size of the city changes the dynamics of the partnership

Chair: Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Head, Regional Development Policy Division, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD

Keynote address: David Freshwater, Professor, Agricultural Economics and Martin School of Public Administration, University of Kentucky, United States (RURBAN Expert)

Panelists:
Jaromír Hainc, Architect, Bureau of Metropolitan Planning, Prague, Czech Republic
Franco Mantino, Research Director, The National Institute of Agricultural Economics (INEA), Italy
Francisco Javier Jaraiz-Cabanillas, Professor, Regional Geography, University of Extremadura, Spain
Valerie J Carter, President, European Council for the Village and Small Town (ECOVAST)

Presentations for Session II

Session III Governing rural-urban partnerships: Lessons from the field

Chair: Richard Wakeford, Professor of Environment, Land Use and Rural Strategy, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom

Keynote address: Betty-Ann Bryce, Administrator, Rural and Regional Programme, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD

Panelists:
Christa Standecker, Managing Director, Nuremberg Metropolitan Region Nuremberg, Germany 
Linda Peltzer, Advisor European Affairs BrabantStad, Netherlands 
Ana Firmino, Professor, Geography & Regional Planning, Nova University of Lisbon; Co-Chair of the Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems, International Geographical Union, Portugal
Peter Austin, Co-chair EUROCITIES Metropolitan Areas Working Group; Planning Advisor, City of Oslo, Norway 

Presentations for Session III

Session IV  Rural and urban planning to promote greater co-operation

Chair: Monica Brezzi, Head, Territorial Analysis and Statistics Unit, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD

Keynote address: Richard Baker, Economic Advisor to Newcastle City Council, United Kingdom (RURBAN Expert)

Panelists:
Stéphanie Poppe, European Affairs Manager, Rennes Metropole Forecasting and Sustainable Development, General Direction International Relations and European Partnerships Service, Rennes, France
Ada Lucia De Cesaris, Vice Mayor, City of Milan, Italy
Stanislaw Dendewicz, Director, Regional Office for Spatial Planning, Westpomerania Region, Poland
Christian Svanfeldt, Senior Policy Analyst, DG Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
Rea Orfanou, Executive of the Special Service for Strategy, Planning and Evaluation of Development Programmes, Ministry of Development and Competitiveness, Greece

Presentations for Session IV

Session V  Recap and way forward: a framework for action

Chair: Michael Ralph, Adviser to the Deputy Director-General, DG Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission. 

Panelists
Charlina Vitcheva, Director, DG Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
Mark Cropper, International Relations Officer, DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Doug O’Brien, Chair of the OECD Rural Working Party; Acting Under Secretary, Rural Development United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Duarte Rodrigues, Chair of the OECD Working Party for Territorial Indicators; Deputy Co-ordinator of Portuguese NSRF Observatory, Portugal
Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Head, Regional Development Policy Division, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, OECD
Sabina De Luca, Head, Department for Development and Cohesion Policy Ministry of Economic Development, Italy

Closing remarks by:

Carlo Trigilia, Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Italy
Yves Leterme, Deputy Secretary General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 

Presentations for Session V

 In sparsely populated Central Finland, communities enter voluntary agreements to provide key services. The European Commission is encouraging co-operative initiatives in this area, including the development  of widespread broadband, to achieve 'smart and inclusive growth'.

In the Metropolitan Region of Nuremberg, in Germany, rural-urban partnerships, with support from the European Commission, are offering new opportunities in the fields of food production, tourism and energy supply.

"Innovation and Modernising the Rural Economy"

3-5 October 2012, Krasnoyarsk, Russia