1 Community of Practice on Partnership in ESF Exchange event, Malta, January 2008 Capacity building for partnerships Ekaterina Travkina, OECD LEED Programme

2 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development underpins the dialogue of governments of 30 countries, all advanced market economies; provides a setting where governments can compare policy experience, identify good practice and co- ordinate domestic and international policies.

3 OECD Local Economic and Employment Development – LEED – Programme Created in 1982 to focus on employment generation at local level LEED FOCUS ON LOCAL DRIVERS OF GROWTH Skills Entrepreneurship: Innovation Social cohesion Integrated approach: there are several drivers of growth for which no single public authority is responsible Local action: Drivers cannot solely be fuelled at nation level Participation: government cannot support drivers of growth on its own; roles must be played by business and civil society

4 Why look at partnerships? PARTNERSHIP IS Co-operation Trust improved governance adaptationCoordination Networks integration competitiveness Skills networks community development social inclusion Collaboration Joined upPolicy innovation Strategy development Cohesion

5 Why look at partnerships? Between 1999 and 2003, the OECD conducted an in-depth study of area-based partnerships in which it examined the experience of 14 countries Partnerships _ improve policy co-ordination and adaptation to local conditions; _ lead to better utilisation and targeting of programmes; _ integrate civil society’s concerns into strategic planning exercises through more widespread participatory democracy; _ stimulate corporate involvement in local projects; and _ promote greater satisfaction with public policy. (OECD Local Partnerships for better Governance, 2001)

6 LEED work on partnerships Barriers for partnership working: a) disconnection between national policy objectives and local goals. This can happen even when national ministries set the goals for partnerships and are represented in the partnerships; b) the limited administrative flexibility of many public programmes, including those which are relevant to local economic and employment development; c) weak accountability relationships, between the various partners, between the partnership and the public, and between the representatives and their constituency; and d) a tendency for partnership-based organisations to be process- driven as they seek to secure their continuity.

7 International study: Integrating employment, skills & economic development

8 Policy integration National cooperation Local cooperation & governance Local capacities Policy flexibility Labour market conditions

9 Policy areasDegree of cooperation (between 1- 5) Employment and vocational training3.6 Employment & economic development3.4 Vocational training and economic development3.1 Policy areasDegree of cooperation (between 1- 5) Employment3.5 Economic development3.8 Vocational training3.1 National cooperation between ministries Participation in local governance mechanisms

10 Perceived flexibility of different management functions

11 Ranking given by experts to the different factors effecting integration * Results for Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Romania and the United States

12 Policy directions CAPACITY LOCAL GOVERNANCE FLEXIBILITY e.g. Bulgaria

13 OECD Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance Established by the OECD in 2004 at the initiative of Austrian Ministry of Economy and Labour, supported by the EC DG Employment Run by the OECD and ZSI (Centre for Social Innovation) 1,900 members, 45 countries, reach out capacity to 2,600 partnerships world wide Forum member partnerships: _ MULTI-LEVEL: Partnerships decision-making involves stakeholders from supranational, national, regional and local levels. _ MULTI-SECTORAL: Multi-sectoral (or cross-sectoral) partnerships involve stakeholders representing various economic sectors/branches, governmental and non-governmental actors seeking to improve the co-ordination between labour market, education, economic and social policies at local and regional level. _MULTI-DIMENSIONAL: Partnerships apply integrated approaches to multi-dimensional problems. Forum partnerships are primarily focusing on employment and social issues and economic development

14 Forum Partnerships (A Selection) Austrian TEPs Canadian CFDCs Berlin Pacts Greek partnerships Hungarian TEPs Irish partnerships France: CBE, MIFE, EREF and PLIE LSIPs in SK SNP in Portugal Partnerships in Norway New Zealand RPP TEPs in Catalonia WIBs in USA Italian TEPs LSP in UK RESOC & SEER in Flanders Finnish partnerships Swedish RGC LAG in BiH Partnerships in CZ OPE in Luxembourg ACCs in Australia WIRED in USA

15 What does the Forum offer? A platform for experience exchange Policy analysis and advice Capacity building/training

16 What does the Form offer? Platform for experience exchange –Forum network: partnerships, national partnership coordination bodies, research organisations –Forum Annual Meetings in Vienna: 2008: Partnerships and skills (18-19 February) 2009: Integrating migrants, ethnic minorities and aboriginal communities 2010: partnerships and economic diversification –Documentary base: data on partnership initiatives in OECD member and non-member countries (over 300 English links, records published between 1999 and present) –Country fact sheets –Forum international conferences hosted by interested countries –Forum e-news letters and bulletins –Forum web-site

17 What does the Forum offer? Policy analysis, advice and capacity building –2007 Forum Vienna Action Statement on Partnerships –International and country reviews on partnerships –A series of thematic handbooks: Setting the organisational aspects right: Successful partnerships: A guide. Tackling youth unemployment Partnerships and rural and urban development Strategic planning in partnerships Evaluating partnerships work Facilitating cross-sector and multi-level collaboration Enhancing the capacity of partnerships to influence policy

18 What does the Forum offer? Study visits and capacity building/training for partnerships: –Enhancing the capacity of partnerships to influence policy, Dublin, April 2007 (Pobal Ireland) and Vienna, December 2006 (ZSI Austria) –Partnerships in rural and urban areas, Lisbon, December 2007 (Portugal Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity) –Supporting the establishment of partnerships, Croatia –Partnerships and skills (June 2008, Trento) –Strengthening new and nascent partnerships (November 2008, Trento)

19 OECD FORUM ON PARTNERSHIPS AND COP ON PARTNERSHIPS: COOPERATION OPPORTUNITIES?

20 For more information: OECD LEED Programme and OECD Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development