Events and activities by the OECD LEED Trento Centre 2004/2007

Events and activities in 2007

"Action Space"- recommendations from OECD LEED active reviews
The Action Space was created in order to disseminate recommendations and lessons learned during OECD LEED active reviews.

OECD LEED Seminar on “Development of Skills, Local Development and Partnerships”, Lisbon, Portugal, 10 December 2007
Within the framework of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, the Portuguese Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity organised, in partnership with the OECD LEED Programme and the European Commission, a seminar on “Development of Skills, Local Development and Partnerships”.

OECD LEED Conference on “Perspectives on Strengthening Entrepreneurship in East Germany”, Berlin, Germany, 27 November 2007
The conference was part of the project "Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in East Germany" that the OECD LEED Programme has undertaken since 2005 in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Housing, Land, Construction, Transport and Urban Affairs, with the participation of the 6 eastern Länder.

Report on “Enhancing the capacity of partnerships to influence policy”, Trento, Italy, August 2007
The OECD LEED Programme has just released a report on "Enhancing the Capacity of Partnerships to Influence Policy” which gathers the experience of the two capacity building seminars organised by the Trento Centre for Local Development in close co-operation with the Forum office unit at the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) in Vienna Austria.

Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED Programme)
The review has been launched by the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development in co-operation with the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its country mission in Bulgaria. It was an opportunity for policy makers at national and sub-national levels in Bulgaria to debate with international experts in refining the SME and tourism policy design and delivery.

2nd Festival of Economics in Trento, Italy, 30 May-3 June 2007
The city of Trento hosted for the second time the Festival of Economics which focused this year on issues related to human and social capital. The event was organised in cooperation with the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development.

Review on "Strengthening entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development at local level", Croatia, 21-25 May 2007
The review was a joint project between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Capacity building for effective partnerships – An active review in Croatia, January-July 2007
The review was a joint project between the OECD and the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It was implemented by the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development, the USAID Mission to Croatia and USAID’s partner institution World Learning.

Capacity building seminar on “Enhancing the capacity of partnerships to influence policy”, Dublin, Ireland, 18-20 April 2007
This 2.5-day seminar was the second stage of a capacity building programme designed for experienced partnerships from OECD member countries. After a lively first seminar in Vienna, this second meeting allowed a more in-depth discussion on how partnerships can enhance their capacity to influence policy at the local, national and international levels.

Workshop on Local Development Policy and Performance Information Tools,Trento, Italy, 18 April 2007
The expert workshop on Local Development Policy and Performance Information Tools aimed at discussing the options for developing a framework for information collection, analysis and comparison for use by local development actors in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Third Forum Meeting,"Improving cross-sector and multi-level collaboration", Vienna, Austria, 1 - 2 March 2007
The Third Forum Meeting focused on cross-sectoral and multi-level collaboration, supporting the exchange of experience and practice between partnerships and exploring ways to overcome common obstacles. The Forum meeting provided a unique occasion for such an exchange, offering opportunities for in-depth discussion within a series of interactive working sessions.

Events and activities in 2006

Capacity building seminar on “Enhancing the capacity of partnerships to influence policy”, Vienna, Austria, 5-7 December 2006
The 2.5-day capacity building seminar was designed as a series of highly interactive sessions around good practice examples presented by seminar participants and OECD experts. Debates about the role and capacity of partnerships in influencing policy at local, national and international levels addressed questions relating to trust and legitimacy, applied communication strategies and accountability frameworks.

Seminar on "Reviewing OECD Experience in the Social Entreprise Sector", Trento, Italy, 15-18 November 2006
The seminar was organised by the OECD LEED Centre for Local Development in Trento in co-operation with the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Trentino Federation of Cooperatives and the Institute for the Development of Non-Profit Organisations (ISSAN) of the University of Trento, Italy.
The event was organised in conjunction with the Third Donor Roundtable Meeting on civil society development in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe, the CIS, Western Balkans and Turkey, co-convened by the Government of Italy, the World Bank and the European Commission EuropeAid Cooperation Office.

Seminar on "Regional diversity and local development in Central and Eastern Europe", Warsaw, Poland,10 November 2006

The seminar was organised by Unidea UniCredit Foundation in collaboration with the OECD LEED Programme, CoDe Joint European Master in Comparative Local Development (University of Trento), EUROREG – Centre for European Regional and Local Studies (Warsaw University). The event discussed regional diversity and local development in Central and Eastern Europe, the opportunities for both public and private actors to actively contribute to the improvement of local realities, and the regional and European context of such local strategies.

Seminar on "Building partnerships for social, economic and employment development", Bucharest, Romania, 8 November 2006
The seminar, jointly organised with the Romanian Ministry of Labour, Social Solidarity and Family, was based on highly interactive sessions and working groups around best practices, and brought together policy makers, partnership managers, local development practitioners, and OECD experts. The event offered participants a unique opportunity to learn about developments in building partnership throughout OECD countries.

Seminar on "Trade unions and welfare", Trento, Italy, 26-27 OCtober 2006
This seminar was organised in cooperation with INAS CISL and Fondazione Giulio Pastore. The event presented and discussed the results of research addressing these issues undertaken in eight European countries: Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Sweden and Poland.

Capacity building seminar on “Building development strategies for cities and regions”, Trento, Italy, 23 - 27 October 2006

This 5-day capacity building seminar focused on the local development strategy design and implementation and more specifically it emphasized the role of strategy in integrating different drivers, factors and enablers of local economic development. This event brought together 60 experienced policy makers and practitioners from Central, East and South East Europe working in the area of regional and local development strategy building.

Seminar on "Emerging Models of Social Entrepreneurship: possible paths for social enterprise development in Central East and South East Europe", Zagreb, Croatia, 28-29 September 2006
The objective of this 2-day seminar was to disseminate and discuss recent regulatory policies that define new forms of social entrepreneurship and assess their relevance and applicability potential in OECD member and non-member countries of Central East and South East Europe.

Capacity building seminar on “Evaluation as a Tool for Local Development Strategy Building” Trento, Italy, 10-12 July 2006
The seminar brought together the policy makers and practitioners from the CEE and SEE countries allowing for discussion i) how to best introduce and implement prior assessment so that it serves as a tool for local strategy design and delivery ii) how to best support the local level so that evaluation becomes an opportunity for learning and stops being perceived as a threat.

VI International Seminar on "Corporate citizenship - Citizens as CSR partners: obstacles, good practices, winning strategies", Rome, Italy 30 June-1 July 2006

The seminar was organised by the Italian LEED Partner – Cittadinanzattiva in cooperation with the Active Citizenship Foundation (FONDACA) and the Frascati Group for corporate social responsibility.

The event focused on the relationship between Citizens and enterprises in the framework of CSR strategies and more specifically on partnerships between Citizens’ organizations and Businesses in Europe. For more information, please visit the seminar’s official website

Roundtable on "Enterprise development and investment climate in Ukraine", Kiev, Ukraine, 13 June 2006
The objective of the roundtable was to present main findings of the joint EC-OECD project carried out in 2004-2006 and discuss related policy recommendations with Ukrainian representatives. The meeting was co-hosted by the UNDP.

Festival of Economics on "Wealth and poverty", Trento, Italy, 1- 4 June 2006
This event was organised by the Autonomous Province of Trento in cooperation with its partners.
The festival brought together internationally renowned experts who sought to promote a better understanding of the global key issues such as poverty and inequality.
For more information, please visit the official website of the Festival.

Experts meeting on "Migration and local development", Tirana, Albania, 1 June 2006
The expert meeting was a follow-up to the OECD study visit to the regions of Gjirokaster, Tirana and Vlore in 2005 as part of the OECD cross-country activity on local integration of migrants into the labour market. The experts meeting debated the draft policy recommendations resulting from the study visit.This event was jointly organised by the OECD LEED Centre for Local Development and the International Labour Office (ILO) with its Subregional Office for Central and Eastern Europe.

Stakeholders Meeting “Developing Skills for Endogenous Development”, Tirana and Shkoder, Albania, 29-31 May 2006
This conference looked at local development assets and capacities in Northern Albania with a focus on the traditional handicraft sector, including skills development and the role of partnerships in the design, implementation and evaluation of local development strategies. This event was jointly organised by the OECD LEED Centre for Local Development and the International Labour Office (ILO) with its Subregional Office for Central and Eastern Europe.

Seminar on “Influencing attitudes and skills for entrepreneurship and SME growth: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and south east Europe”, Skopje, Macedonia, 27 February 2006
The seminar in Macedonia continued the work on the case studies identified during the Trento Centre capacity building seminar on entrepreneurship held on 13-14 December 2004 in Trento and further explored the theme of Entrepreneurship Spirit and Skills. This eventwas organised in collaboration with the Agency for Entrepreneurship Support of the Republic of Macedonia.

International Partnership Fair, Austria, Vienna, 13-15 February 2006
This unique conference was organised for partnership practitioners, such as co-ordinators and partners of alliances, as well as policy makers aiming to exchange partnership experiences. The International Partnership Fair provided opportunities to meet, learn from each other and build new co-operation relationships.

Events and activities in 2005

International Conference on “Linking creativity and culture for an innovative local development", Trento, Italy, 28 November 2005
This conference was jointly organised by the LEED Programme and the Autonomous Province of Trento in cooperation with Federculture. It aimed to increase awareness of policy makers and the private sector on the importance of culture in development policies.

CEI Summit Economic Forum, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, 23-24 November 2005
This year, the CEI SEFaddressed the theme of Reforms key to Competitiveness. This was a platform to make business contacts and establish co-operation on investment projects and development programmes. The SEF also provided a unique chance to discuss structural reforms for improving business environment, development strategies for raising competitiveness, with a special focus on energy, infrastructure, and human resources.

Seminar on "Promoting SME Innovation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other South-East European Countries", Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 19 October 2005
This event was a follow-up of the Trento Centre capacity building seminar on entrepreneurship and further explored the theme of Promoting SME Innovation.

Seminar on "Evaluating Local Development Strategies" Eger, Hungary, 11 October 2005
This seminar was organised by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development. It focused on disseminating information and tools for best practice evaluation approaches. The event was a part of the activities of the Evaluation Unit at the OECD LEED Trento Centre which aims to promote and develop culture of evaluation of local development strategies that promote entrepreneurship, local cohesion and good governance.

Conference on "The Social Economy in Central, East and South-East Europe", Trento, Italy, 22-23 September 2005
This international conference further explored the trends, opportunities and challenges that social economy actors face in the countries of the Baltic States, Central, East and South-East Europe.

Seminar on “Evaluating Local Development Strategies” Bratislava, Slovak Republic, 19 July 2005
This seminar was the first in a series of evaluation seminars organised by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development in 2005. These seminars are a part of the activities of the Evaluation Unit at the OECD LEED Trento Centre which aim at creating and fostering a culture of evaluation of local development strategies that promote entrepreneurship, local cohesion and good governance.

Conference on "Fostering Entrepreneurship: The Role of Higher Education", Trento, Italy, 23-24 June 2005
This international conference was organised by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development and the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development. It addressed the role that higher education institutions play in fostering entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on Central, East and South-East European countries.

Conference on "Local Development and Governance in Central, East and South-East Europe", Trento, Italy, 6-8 June 2005
This international conference was organised by the OECD LEED Programme and the LEED Trento Centre for Local Development (Italy). It addressed the progress made in Central, East and South-East Europe in the field of governance and implementation of local development strategies.

Forum Meeting on "Enhancing the effectiveness of partnerships", Vienna, 26-27 April 2005
The First Forum Meeting was a unique opportunity to re-assess today’s need for partnerships, debate on best ways for government, business and civil society to work in partnership in practice, exchange know-how and experiences of existing partnerships and discuss the main innovations in funding partnerships.

Seminar on "SME Internationalisation in Montenegro and Other South-East European Countries", Podgorica, Montenegro, 13 April 2005
This seminar was held back-to-back with the event in Serbia. It was organised by the OECD LEED Programme and the LEED Trento Centre. The event continued the work on the case studies identified during the Trento seminar and will further explore the theme of SME internationalisation. It was part of the activities of the joint OECD-CEI Local Development Network (LDN).

Seminar on "Strengthening Local Clusters in Serbia and Montenegro and Other South-East European Countries", Belgrade, Serbia, 11 April 2005
This event was organised by the OECD LEED Programme and the LEED Trento Centre for Local Development (Italy). It explored further the theme of local clusters and is developed as part of the activities of the joint OECD-CEI Local Development Network (LDN).

Conference on "Entrepreneurship at Regional and Local Level in Bulgaria and South-East European Countries", Sofia, Bulgaria, 17 March 2005
This seminar was an opportunity to debate the results of recent entrepreneurship developments in Bulgaria. It focus on the theme of financing entrepreneurship at local and regional level in light of experiences from OECD and South-East European countries. It analysed the main obstacles to improving SME finance at local level and the instruments that help.

Seminar on "Employment, Economic Development and Local Governance in Lithuania", Vilnius, 3 March 2005
This seminar was a platform to debate the results of recent local governance developments in Lithuania in the light of experience from other countries, analyse the main obstacles met and identify ways to progress further.

Conference on Employment, Economic Development and Local Governance in Latvia, Riga, 18 January 2005
This event was a unique opportunity to debate the results of recent local governance developments in Latvia in the light of experience from other countries, analyse the main obstacles met and identify ways to progress further.

Events and activities in 2004

Seminar on "Entrepreneurship and SME Development", Trento, Italy, 13-18 December 2004
This one-week seminar has been especially designed for local policy-makers and practitioners from South, Central, and Eastern Europe responsible for job creation and SME promotion. This training was organised by the LEED Programme through the LEED Trento Centre for Local Development.

Seminar on "Implementing Local Development Strategies", Trento, Italy, 21-27 November 2004
This one-week seminar has been especially designed for policy-makers and practitioners from South, Central, and Eastern Europe responsible for local development issues. This training was organised by the LEED Programme through the LEED Trento Centre for Local Development.

Seventh CEI Summit Economic Forum, Portoroz, Slovenia 24-26 November 2004
The Central European Initiative (CEI) opened its doors to the business and financial community, focusing on the needs of entrepreneurs investing in central and eastern Europe. The event was co-organised with the Slovenian CEI Presidency and was sponsored by the Italian Government. The OECD LEED Trento Centre was an active partner of this important event.

Seminar on "Social Economy and Social Innovations", Trento, Italy, 14-19 November 2004
This one-week seminar has been especially designed for policy-makers and practitioners from South, Central, and Eastern Europe responsible for social economic issues. This training was organised by the LEED Programme through the LEED Trento Centre for Local Development.

Conference on “Clusters of Enterprises and the Internationalisation of SMEs”, Timisoara, Romania, 24 May 2004
The delocalisation of Italian businesses from the Veneto region to the Romanian County of Timisoara has given a new impetus to entrepreneurship development and job creation in the county. What are the factors that contributed to this success? Which development strategy should the Timisoara region follow in the near future? Is the successful example of Timisoara replicable? This conference analysed these issues. It was co-organised with the Central European Initiative, the City of Timisoara and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Timisoara.

Conference on “Entrepreneurship and Employment in South-East Europe” Bucharest, Romania, 26-27 May 2004
This conference was co-organised with the Stability Pact, Romanian SME Agency, the Central European Initiative and the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It addressed SME policy developments and institutional building at both central and local level in Romania including the main outcomes of the Timisoara conference and drew lessons for other transition countries.

Seminar on "Building Local Partnerships in the Balkans", Tirana, Albania, 22-23 April 2004
This event was organised in co-operation with the European Training Foundation and presented the results of the first phase of a project launched in 2003 to build partnerships for local development in Albania and Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro).

Conference on "Partnerships, clusters of enterprises and cross-border co-operation, Hrvatska Kostajnica region", Croatia, 6 April 2004
This seminar was organised within the LEED Trento Centre programme of work, in co-operation with UMIS-SMEA (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Association), Croatia, and the Investment Compact.