Presentation by Debra Mountford, Senior Policy Analyst, OECD LEED. 9th Annual Meeting of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Governance (Dublin-Kilkenny, Ireland), 26/27 March 2013. http://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/9thfplgmeeting.htm

1. 9th Annual Meeting
IMPLEMENTING CHANGE:
A NEW LOCAL AGENDA FOR
JOBS AND GROWTH
In co-operation with the EU Presidency, Irish Government and Pobal
26-27 March 2013, Dublin-Kilkenny, Ireland
PLENARY SESSION I: A NEW LOCAL AGENDA FOR JOBS AND GROWTH
Debra Mountford
Senior Policy Analyst, OECD LEED

2. Why Delivering Smarter Local
Development Matters
Effective local development :
 Reduces disparities
 Creates jobs
 Stimulates enterprise
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3. Effective local development does not
happen by accident.
• Local development is an integrated process that
works over cycles.
• Integration means that economic, social,
environmental, spatial, and institutional are
interdependent and either mutually reinforcing or
contradicting.
• Local development requires ‘whole of
government’ and ‘multi-sector partnership’
approaches.
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4. The crisis has not changed the long
term drivers for local development
 Knowledge Economy & Technology
 Globalisation & Trade
 Human Mobility and Diversity
 Demographics
 Sustainability: governance and environmental
.........Still the drivers for long term success
It has added some more drivers....
It has stalled some progress......
It requires new approaches......
It provides a catalyst for wider change.......
.........Pro-active City and Regional leadership required.

5. What will be needed?
• Local development will need to re-calibrate its role
in supporting local economies & communities
• Adapt and re-align to external changes in markets,
technologies and conditions
• Retaining investment and jobs a very important
local response to increased mobility in economic
systems.
• Local leaders will need to restructure, revalidate, or
re-engineer local assets and platforms.
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6. How is Ireland responding?
• Putting People First: Active Plan for
Effective Local Government has the
potential to recalibrate local government
and local democracy in Ireland with that of
the rest of Europe.
• Action for Jobs - Local government has a
fundamental role to play in creating the
framework conditions necessary to
achieve growth and jobs.
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