Webinars and Workshops of the OECD Local Development Forum

11 July 2024 | WEBINAR
Leveraging culture, sports and business events for local development: International lessons for the U.S.

Part of the Global Inspirations, Local Innovations series, organised in partnership with the US Delegation of the OECD

The U.S. is gearing up to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028, as well as co-hosting the Men’s FIFA World Cup in 2026. These events will bring thousands of spectators and have the opportunity to generate economic returns for the host cities. At the same time, the U.S. regularly hosts many large-scale cultural events, such as the Sundance Film Festival, Burning Man, Coachella and SXSW. But what can host cities do to capture the long-term benefits of these events? And how can cities not hosting such high-profile festivals and tournaments, still use culture, sports and business events as a leaver of economic and social development?

With an international panel of high-level speakers and reflections from different U.S. cities, this webinar will delve into how local policy makers in the U.S. can leverage the power of culture, sports and business events for local development. 

26 June 2024 | WEBINAR

Future-proofing workforces for the green transition: International lessons for local workforce development in the U.S.

Part of OECD Local Skills Week 2024 and the Global Inspirations, Local Innovations series, organised in partnership with the US Delegation to the OECD

In the face of pressing challenges such as climate change, extreme weather events and supply chain disruptions, the green transition has become imperative. Initiatives such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act demonstrate the United States’ commitment to achieving a green transition, and are expected to create approximately 17 million new jobs over the next decade. With a national share of green-task jobs standing at 12.9% (4.7 percentage points below the OECD average), skill gaps and workforce bottlenecks across local labour markets are emerging as major challenges in filling the growing number of green vacancies in the United States.

This webinar drew on subnational examples of workforce development for the green transition to provide actionable insights in three core areas: developing attractive career transition pathways, improving inclusivity, and promoting collaboration and policy coherence.

15 April 2024 | WEBINAR
Measure, manage and maximise your impact: A dialogue with the social economy

Social impact measurement and management is a particularly helpful practice for social economy entities to understand their contribution to society and achieve their mission. Impact areas that are especially important for the social economy, such as social inclusion, well-being and community development, are often difficult to quantify. “Measure, manage and maximise your impact: A guide for the social economy” has been developed by the OECD and the European Commission to offer a clear roadmap to accompany social economy entities along their impact journey.

On 15 April we launched the guide and discussed with social economy and representatives what they do to measure and manage their social impact.

12 March 2024 | WEBINAR
Worker co-operatives across continents: Policy and practical experiences from Japan and beyond

In 2020, the Japanese legislature unanimously approved a groundbreaking law focusing on worker co-operatives, providing for the first time a centralised legal framework for the country’s worker co-operative movement. Worker co-operatives are active in many countries, and across economic and social sectors (e.g., agriculture, education, industry, culture, services, infrastructure such as electricity and water etc.). They prioritise the provision of work/employment for their worker-members who also manage the co-operative. 

To explore the implications of this law and help chart the course for the future, the OECD partnered with the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT) for this international knowledge-sharing webinar. 

We heard from policy makers and practitioners in Japan, France, Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as other international experts such as the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) who discussed topics such as how to increase uptake of the law and maximise the potential contributions of worker co-operatives to addressing social and economic challenges.

13 February 2024 | WEBINAR

Inclusive Infrastructure: Scaling-Up Local Investment in the United States

Part of the Global Inspirations, Local Innovations series, organised in partnership with the US Delegation to the OECD

With more than USD 1.57 trillion of federal funding committed over ten years, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill provide an opportunity to close the infrastructure investment gap in the United States. Maximising the long-term benefits from this funding – from job creation to improving the quality of life to addressing geographic divides – will require scaling up the capacity for inclusive investment at all levels of government. Many OECD countries have faced similar challenges and have developed new approaches that the United States can learn from.

This webinar presented a new OECD policy brief and international case studies to highlight lessons that can help US state and local actors make the most of this historic opportunity.