Publications & Documents

From steering decision-making in times of complexity to stewarding cross-cutting policies and guiding good practices across the public administration, centres of government (CoGs) play an important role in achieving government ambitions. CoGs have recently found themselves under pressure to help navigate increasingly complex policy challenges in an environment characterised by multiple crises, polarisation and declining trust in public institutions. This compendium gathers and shares practices and experiences of CoGs in undertaking their various roles and functions. It describes the mechanisms CoGs use in roles such as bridging the political-administrative interface, stewarding cross-cutting policies, guiding public administration reform, and engaging with citizens and other stakeholders. Finally, it discusses the lessons learnt and key enablers that emerge from the experiences. This compendium serves CoG leaders and government officials who seek to better understand the role of the centre in contributing to better outcomes for citizens and society.

This report provides an overview of the impacts of climate change on infrastructure , and key policy areas to be considered to render infrastructure more resilient. It discusses advances and persisting gaps in planning and developing infrastructure across its lifecycle to build in climate resilience and how this can be fostered by place-based approach. The report explores how climate risk awareness and understanding can be strengthened and become a norm for all financing and investment decisions, through standards and financial instruments that integrate climate adaptation and resilience. It includes a spotlight on nature-based solutions and offers insights on how nature can be harnessed as a cost-effective measure to build climate resilience. The report also recognises the specific needs of developing countries as requiring global attention for economic development and through strengthened international partnerships and support. Key policy insights are provided and advocate for national and subnational policy-makers to adopt a multi-level governance approach to resilience, working with infrastructure owners and operators to support decision-making.

Ireland has shown a strong commitment to addressing child poverty and improving outcomes for children and young people. Responding to the needs of children and young people, particularly those most vulnerable, requires integrated policies and services. This report is part of a joint project between the OECD and the European Commission to strengthen policy and governance arrangements for tackling child poverty and improving outcomes for children and young people based on a whole-of-government approach. The report assesses recent policy, institutional and legislative developments in Ireland and compares outcomes for children and young people with those in other EU and OECD countries. It finds that despite progress, Ireland still has room for improvement on child poverty reduction, and more can be done to address the trust gap between young people in Ireland and their government. The report recommends Ireland to adopt measures to enhance inter-departmental and inter-agency co-operation, strengthen evidence-informed approaches, reinforce policy monitoring tools, and improve accountability mechanisms. It also recommends measures to support the effective implementation of Young Ireland, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People (2023-28), and to ensure policy coherence.

To meet their international climate commitments and strengthen renewable energy production, many countries will require significant new investment in low emissions infrastructure. To deliver low emissions infrastructure at the necessary rate and scale, many countries recognise they need better ways of planning and regulating infrastructure and its value chains. This Working Paper describes the challenges and opportunities for using regulatory, stakeholder engagement and public procurement tools to help countries deliver more effective permitting. It provides international good practice case studies to help countries stimulate investment and reduce barriers for new, low emissions infrastructure so they can fulfil their international climate commitments while ensuring existing policy objectives.

This policy paper aims to help governments develop regulatory experimentation constructively and appropriately as part of their implementation of the 2021 OECD Recommendation for Agile Regulatory Governance to Harness Innovation. Regulatory experimentation can help promote adaptive learning and innovative and better-informed regulatory policies and practices. This policy paper examines key concepts, definitions and constitutive elements of regulatory experimentation. It outlines the rationale for using regulatory experimentation, discusses enabling factors and governance requirements, and presents a set of forward-looking conclusions.

This report provides an overview of green budgeting practices across OECD countries based on the 2022 OECD Green Budgeting Survey, as well as the index methodology for the Survey. It takes stock of OECD countries’ progress in bringing climate and environmental considerations into budgeting frameworks and processes. Green budgeting involves a systematic approach across all stages of the budget process, including financial reporting and budget oversight. The growth in green budgeting in OECD countries, as shown in the report, demonstrates the key role of budget offices in ensuring that policy priorities relating to climate change and the environment are taken into account when allocating resources through the budget process.