OECD Development Centre 2019-22

Sida intends to support, through co-financing from GLOBEC and GLOBEN, the OECD Development Centre with a total of SEK 40 million 2019-2022, divided into two projects focusing on developing aspects of informal economics (Tackling Vulnerability in the Informal Economy, TVIE) and with a focus on sustainable secondary cities (Cities Connect).This program will focus on the group that is mainly and permanently excluded from formal employment and which mainly involves people in high vulnerability and extreme poverty. Although much has been written about informality, the area is still underdeveloped and characterised by misinterpretation, which is probably due to the complexity of the informality. Informality is an area which has had a gaind importance within and on the activities of the OECD Development Centre and where Sida assesses the Development Centre can provide important contributions to increase the understanding of the root causes of informality and policy development in the field. Within the framework of the strategy for Sweden's global development cooperation in the sustainable environment, sustainable climate and the sea, as well as the sustainable use of natural resources in 2018 – 2022 and its goals "sustainable cities and Societies", Cities Connect will focus on creating Conditions enabling secondary cities to be more efficient catalysts for sustainable urban development, poverty reduction, climate change management and resilience at local level. Their links to both major/capital cities and rural areas make secondary cities the key players in the environmental, economic and transformation process. These cities are increasingly going to play a key role in both climate adaptation and resilience-building strategies. As the population and built areas grow, energy needs will increase, while these cities are shifting to more carbon-intensive energy sources. Due to their strong links with rural areas and their dependence on primary economic activities, secondary cities will have to tackle issues such as climate-induced migration, floods, droughts, etc., as well as help capital cities mitigate environmental and socioeconomic problems. However, secondary cities face a number of binding problems that hinder their contribution to local and national development. These challenges arise from a rapid and chaotic urban expansion, which is aggravated by the lack of coordination between different levels of government, fragmented political systems and limited data and evidence for decision-making. In addition, sub-national authorities/local governmets are the first to face external negative shocks, including violent conflicts, unforeseen inflows of immigrants or refugees and more frequent natural disasters associated with climate change. Local authorities often have very limited mandates as well as poor capacities to implement policies and plans, making them heavily dependent on central government policies and financing decisions. Experts realise that there is a large knowledge gap on the mechanism that allows secondary cities to create agglomeration economies and lead to sustainable development. There is also a lack of reliable social, economic, environmental and public financial data. These are important issues to be addressed by the program.