If there was one word that defined the 2026 OECD Global Forum on Local Development for me, it was resilience. Not growth, resilience.
Across sessions on trade, workforce development, entrepreneurship, industrial policy, and regional cooperation, participants returned to the same challenge: how can communities prepare for economic change before it arrives. For economic development practitioners, several themes stood out.
Workforce Development Is No Longer Just About the Unemployed
Labor shortages, aging populations, and rapid technological change are forcing communities to rethink workforce strategy. The message from OECD leaders was clear: upskilling and reskilling cannot be limited to unemployed workers. Regions that stay competitive will be those that help incumbent workers continuously adapt to changing technologies, evolving occupations, and new industry demands.
SMEs Matter More Than Ever
While foreign direct investment remains important, many discussions focused on a different question: how can communities create more value with and for the businesses already located there? Participants highlighted the importance of helping small and medium-sized enterprises innovate, participate in key supply chains, and successfully navigate ownership transitions.
Industrial Policy Is Becoming More Place-Based
Several sessions challenged the idea that industrial policy is primarily about targeting specific sectors. Speakers emphasized horizontal strategies that strengthen local ecosystems rather than picking winners. Infrastructure, workforce development, regulatory stability, innovation networks, and local partnerships were recurring themes.
Cross-Border Collaboration Offers a Useful Model
One of the forum’s most compelling examples came from the Euregio Meuse-Rhine region, where leaders have spent years reducing barriers across national borders. Joint curricula, cross-border internships, multilingual collaboration, and shared innovation initiatives such as Chemelot and the Einstein Telescope demonstrate how regions can expand opportunity by cooperating rather than competing. Local leaders also emphasized investments in culture, sports, and community-building as foundations for trust and regional identity.
The Real Competitive Advantage Is Trust
Many discussions ultimately returned to a less tangible but increasingly valuable asset: trust. Whether the topic was attracting investment, supporting entrepreneurship, implementing industrial policy, or responding to geopolitical uncertainty, successful regions were those capable of bringing stakeholders together around shared goals.
Building trust, strengthening local institutions, supporting SMEs, and helping workers adapt to change may not generate headlines, but they are increasingly the foundations of regional competitiveness.
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