Residential Winter School on Smart Specialisation for competitiveness, sustainability and resilient local development, Italy, 28 Feb- 2 Mar 2023

Winter School on Smart Specialisation for competitiveness, sustainability and resilient local development

https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/oecd-eurada-winter-school.htm

28 February – 2 March 2023 Trento, Italy

Organised by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development in collaboration with the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) and Trentino Sviluppo, Italy

The project

The Winter School provides capacity building for managers and officers working for Development Agencies in the OECD member countries and regions. At the end of the course participants will acquire a deeper understanding of the trends and their possible effects on local development and get better understanding of research methods for evidence-based policy-making at local level. They will also develop expertise in putting in place effective regional and local development strategies and policy frameworks for competitiveness and sustainability and become familiar with innovation ecosystem and practices in one of the most innovative regions in Europe – the Autonomous Province of Trento.

Objectives

The Winter School seeks to:

Raise awareness of global megatrends, competitiveness challenges, sustainability and resilience of local eco-systems linked to implementation of Smart Specialisation.
Shed a light on economic research methods for local development and innovation.
Define common analytical and policy tools for analysis of resilience, sustainability and economic development that can be instrumental in designing and implementing Smart Specialisation strategies.
Stimulate sharing of knowledge and experience among participants, experts and professionals.
Foster networking and debate around relevant case studies and good practices from Trentino region (Italy) and across OECD.

2023 Focus: Smart Specialisation for competitiveness, sustainability and resilient local development

Smart Specialisation strategies if well designed, implemented and monitored, can help build resilience at local level, address societal challenges and contribute to the achievement of sustainability goals.

The three main themes of the Winter School are the following:

DAY 1. Innovation ecosystem in Trentino: entrepreneurship, start-ups and SME scaling ups.
DAY 2. Smart Specialisation in practice: sharing experience on implementation of S3 strategies and discussion on challenge-led innovation, green transition, resilience and skills.
DAY 3. Instruments and policies to boost local competitiveness: examples of teleworking in Trentino and skills for green and sustainable local economy.

The Winter School combines presentations with hands-on and practice oriented approach, which help participants to comprehend better the challenges and opportunities for local development. Substantial time during each day is reserved for field visits, case pitches and peer-learning to promote exchange of practices.

The Winter School will include interactive presentation sessions, discussions, group exercises and field visits in Trentino, Italy (onsite). The Academy will allow participants to get a better understanding of local development challenges, meet and learn from their peers, as well as network and establish new working relationships.

Participants profile

The programme of the Winter School targets officers working for national and regional Development Agencies.
Participants should be strongly committed to local development, innovation and/or development and implementation of EU R&I and/or Cohesion policy. Ideally, they are employed by national or regional development agencies or technological agencies.