The OECD Development Centre provides countries with policy advice that is independent, multi-disciplinary, rigorous and tailored to their needs. It brokers informal dialogue, building trust between governments and engaging with a variety of public, private and philanthropic actors. The Centre’s Governing Board is open to both OECD and non-OECD countries from all regions and income groups.
The OECD Development Centre
The Development Centre brings together policy makers from countries of all regions and income levels. They collaborate on equal footing to build mutual understanding and find paths to strong, shared and green development.
How we work
What we are working on
Inequality is rising in all its dimensions. People everywhere are vulnerable to economic shocks, climate change, rapid digitalisation and demographic change. The OECD Development Centre’s unique datasets help policy makers design and implement better and more inclusive policies. The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) helps them understand and tackle discrimination against women and girls. The Key Indicators of Informality shed unprecedented light on the living conditions of informal workers and their families around the world. Based on this data, the Centre advises governments on how to improve social protection, provide more and better jobs, and enhance the contribution of migrants to development.
To become more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient, developing economies need to transform their productive structures. The OECD Development Centre’s policy reviews focus on how countries and regions can leapfrog to new technologies, address gaps in the quality and coverage of their infrastructure, improve co-ordination across all levels of governments, and raise financial resources. The Centre’s dialogue activities help policy makers connect with international peers and leading experts on how countries can improve Research & Development, participate in global value chains or promote start-ups.
In pursuit of sustainable development, policy makers face complex trade-offs. For instance, they need to provide populations and businesses with affordable and reliable access to power, but also with financial incentives to shift to greener technologies. Through its work on the green transition, the OECD Development Centre helps governments navigate those trade-offs and define their own strategic priorities. Its analysis and dialogue activities focus on investments in quality infrastructure, the role of intermediary cities; the specific challenges faced by fossil-fuel producing economies; and the rise of critical raw materials.
Leadership
Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir
Director, OECD Development Centre
Recent publications
Programmes of work
Governing board
The Governing Board is the Development Centre’s supervisory body. Members interact on an equal footing to exchange on their development experiences, decide on the Centre’s priorities, and enrich its work, with a view to accelerating progress towards global sustainable development.
Chair
Ambassador Amélie de Montchalin
Ambassador of France to the OECD, Chair of the OECD Development Centre’s Governing Board
How the board works
The Board holds High Level Meetings (HLM) to discuss how to address major, global development challenges and review the Centre’s work. In between HLMs, the Board holds regular meetings of Paris-based Ambassadors.
Members participate actively in the Centre’s many specialised policy dialogue platforms, which frequently involve representatives from countries that are not members of the Centre and invite the participation of private actors, civil society organisations, UN bodies and other multilateral development organisations. These complement the Centre’s engagement with policy makers from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Member Countries of the Centre's Governing board
The Governing Board of the Development Centre is an OECD body, chaired by an Ambassador from an OECD country and reporting to the OECD Council. It comprises 54 countries from across continents and levels of development, beyond OECD members. The European Union also takes part in the work. The Board is currently chaired by Ambassador Amélie de Montchalin, Ambassador of France to the OECD.