Partnerships: influencing local economic and employment development Brussels, October 9th, 2007 Gabriela Miranda Policy Analyst OECD, LEED Programme

OECD Member Countries An organisation with global reach in which governments work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of interdependence and globalisation. What is the OECD?

The OECD LEED Programme LEED works on all the components of successful integrated strategies for sustainable economic, employment and social development: Employment and skills Entrepreneurship, innovation, and small business development Economic inclusion and social cohesion Governance (or how to connect the various components to maximise the impact) LEED Partners Club Network

Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance International network of exchange of information and experiences between partnerships. Focus on Capacity Building and Knowledge Exchange: –For experienced partnerships: Governance performance indicators Identifying skills gaps within the partnership Organisational innovation –For partnerships being currently established: Engaging partners and partnership building Strategic planning and developing tools and instruments

OECD work on local governance and partnerships

Drivers of growth Drivers of Growth: Innovation Skills Entrepreneurship Social Cohesion Characteristics of competitive city- regions: Innovation Skills Diversity Connectivity Strategic capacity Quality of life Regulatory framework Local governance Macroeconomic conditions Governments cannot adequately support drivers of growth on their own partnerships

Partnerships in the local governance agenda Governments assigned partnerships with a 4-axes Local Governance Agenda* to: 1.Pursue a policy goal 2.Contribute to co-ordination between policies and programmes 3.Involve local actors in definition of priorities and in project and programme development 4.Set up and pilot new projects and services (*OECD, 2001: Local Partnerships for Better Governance)

OECD Vienna Action Statement on Partnerships The Action Statement on Partnerships aims to enhance governance: –by improving dialogue and co-operation between policy makers and other stakeholders at local, regional and national levels –to foster economic development, social cohesion, environmental sustainability and quality of life.

Added value of partnerships in local development strategies (1/4) Partnerships bring together diverse local partners and policy areas Partnerships improve vertical communication between policy makers from different governance levels The Territorial Employment Pact Berlin-Neukölln (Germany) recognises that acting locally has to be supported by all levels of governance.

Added value of partnerships in local development strategies (2/4) Partnerships facilitate the development of cross-cutting perspectives and integrated approaches to multi- dimensional problems Partnerships support the better adaptation of policies to local circumstances, needs and opportunities The Ballyhoura Partnership (Ireland) operating in a rural area, needs to influence policy to ensure that national policies have rural issues on the agenda and that such policies are rural proofed at the development stage

Added value of partnerships in local development strategies (3/4) Partnerships provide leadership, build trust and consensus on priorities Partnerships identify the potential conflicts and synergies between different policies The Dublin Inner City Partnership (Ireland) takes the view that influencing the content of policy to better meet the needs of local residents is also likely to influence the process of policy making; and recognises that this may mean conflict with government over certain issues.

Added value of partnerships in local development strategies (4/4) Partnerships integrate the concerns of civil society and the private sector into strategic planning exercises Partnerships share good practice and offer know-how from practical experience on what works and what does not Vibrant Communities Calgary Partnership (Canada) is concerned with poverty alleviation and sees influencing policy as major objective because existing policies of government agencies are neither systematic or systemic

Recommendations for partnerships (1/2) In order to enhance their influence on public policy, partnerships must have a strong multi- level collaboration The Austrian Territorial Employment Pacts have joined together in a highly innovative way to develop a Green Paper proposing new policies for the elderly – with implications from national, provincial and regional tiers of government.

Recommendations for partnerships (2/2) In order to enhance their influence on public policy, partnerships must promote cross-sector collaboration The Central Uusimaa Partnership (Finland) aims at engaging and consolidating actions of local partners to support employment – including public agencies and businesses

Implications for governments If the input of partnerships in policy making is accepted, governments will need to engage in : providing flexibility and adaptability of policies opening channels of communication to receive inputs from the bottom-up accepting the local diversity valuing the evidence from practice

Implications for partnerships From the partnerships side, there is a need to: ensure transparency and accountability work on basis of local data and indicators demonstrate strategic approach prove capacity to enhance policy outcomes (evaluation and monitoring) network partnerships at national level

Challenges in local partnership approaches Partnership approach is costly Need to demonstrate soundness, effectiveness and efficiency of approach Building a partnership is a long process Variety of strategies and action plans Bottom-up oriented; but often top-down approach

Thank you Gabriela Miranda Policy Analyst Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Local Development (CFE) Local Economic and Employment Development Programme (LEED) Website: