A growing number of cities and regions are leveraging their cultural assets as part of their broader local development strategies. They are also called to implement national strategies to support cultural and creative industries (often as part of national economic development, innovation or industrial development policies), and manage considerable public investment (as part of territorial cohesion or regional development policies in addition to cultural policies). Working across policy silos, combining national objectives with local priorities and initiatives is not an easy task and there is often a lack of: 

• Knowledge and evidence on how culture and creative sectors can help generate jobs and growth at the local level;
• Evidence on the effectiveness of policies and instruments in this domain;
• Capacities at national and sub-national levels to design and implement effective culture-led strategies.

The OECD Venice Office on Culture and Local Development addresses these needs by supporting city-to-city learning and experimentation. It informs and provides a platform for reflection and exchange among cities-front runners in culture-led development.

The OECD Venice Office was created in 2015 and is an integral part of the OECD Centre for Entreprenuership, SMEs, Regions and Cities.