• What’s the issue?

In the aftermath of COVID-19, OECD countries will undergo new transitions, such as the rise of teleworking and green jobs, adding to foregoing megatrends, such as digitalisation, automation and ageing, which will affect people, places and firms in different ways. In such a context, new solutions conducive to resilience and sustainable development are needed, including in the local labour market.

To be most effective, policies should account for different political, economic and social contexts existing at subnational level and tailor their own place-based policies since there is no “one-size-fits-all” policy framework.

Co-operation between different levels of government, adequate local institutional capacities, and a place- sensitive approach to policy design and implementation will be key to achieving a fast, inclusive, and steady recovery tailored to local assets and needs as well as driven by well-thought objectives and instruments.

Focussing on policy innovations and emerging trends, as well as on bottlenecks and skills shortage that first appear locally, the Trento Centre brings its expertise on local implementation to make policy analysis and advice more actionable and relevant. Tapping the OECD global network of subnational actors allows for a wider variety of practices and innovations to learn from.

• What can the OECD offer?

• Insights into emerging policy trends and challenges.

• Support to policy making through the analysis of local dynamics and comparison with international practices.
• Peer learning between practitioners and participation in high-level international policy fora.

Blog post: Making remote work...is your country takling spatial divides?

Blog post: The comeback kid: how smart policy turned Trentino around

Enhancing international partnership and co-operation in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto Regions in Italy

The project aims to support the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, Italy, and the Veneto Region, Italy, in enhancing their strategy on international partnership and co-operation (IPC). This should aim to maximise impacts on all local communities involved, moving from a one-way to a mutual approach. 

The future of teleworking: A place-based toolkit for local development

This project aims to support national, regional and local governments of the OECD in promoting a smooth transition to the likely large-scale and enduring use of teleworking conducive to sustainable social and economic local development.

‌Improving the disability assessment and social protection system in Italy

This project aims to support Italy in the design, development and implementation of reforms that will increase the adequacy of disability assessment and protection system in Italy, allowing for greater participation and inclusion of people with disabilities.

‌Italy: Trentino's turnaround 1980-2020
^{May 2023}

Trentino is a mountainous province situated in the northern part of Italy with approximately 500 000 inhabitants. In 40 years, Trentino transitioned from a region with large employment shares in agriculture and manufacturing to a knowledge-intensive economy and high value-added agriculture. 

Blog post: The comeback kid: how smart policy turned Trentino around

Potential spatial impacts of the war in Ukraine
A case study from Italy
^{July 2022}

The impacts of the war in Ukraine will be felt severely within OECD economies, especially in border regions on the front-line of the humanitarian refugee crisis. The economic impacts, in particular those driven by rising energy prices, will also be spatially differentiated, affecting some regions more than others. Italy is no exception.

Enhancing the impact of Italy’s start-up visa
What can be learnt from international practice?
^{December 2021}

‌The future of remote work. Opportunities and policy options for Trentino
^{November 2021}

In Italy, the Autonomous Province of Trento has plans to design a comprehensive plan for teleworking as a way to foster local economic and social development. This paper identifies six policy areas for recommendations, reflecting the conditions needed to achieve these objectives. Available also in Italian

Blog post: Making remote work...is your country takling spatial divides?

Internationalisation of the next Smart Specialisation Strategy
Opportunities and barriers in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region
^{November 2021}

The paper develops recommendations on how to make the most of the Research, Technology, Development and Innovation endowments in FVG through enhancing the innovation-internationalisation nexus in order to improve competitiveness of the region.

Exploring policy options on teleworking
Steering local economic and employment development in the time of remote work 
^{November 2020}

This paper explores and classifies some of the most common policy options adopted by national, regional and local policy makers in the context of or prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to enable, encourage and make the most of teleworking. Available also in Italian

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of innovative start-up firms in Trentino, a high-income mountainous area in the North East of Italy. Available also in Italian

An insight into the innovative start-up landscape of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
A tale of two sub-regions? 
^{November 2020}

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of innovative start-up firms in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, an autonomous region situated at the extreme North East of the Italian territory, bordering with Austria and Slovenia. 

An insight into the innovative start-up landscape of South Tyrol
A language barrier to effective policy transfer? 
^{November 2020}

The characteristics of innovative start-up firms in South Tyrol, the northernmost province of Italy, entirely mountainous, hosting a high-income population belonging to three main language groups.

COVID-19: SME policy responses by Italian Regions
^{Updated at 22 April 2020}

The note provides a preliminary inventory of the policy responses adopted by the Italian regions to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Available also in Italian