OECD SMEs, Regions and Cities 60d ago

The main focus of this session was on identifying what rural proofing information should look like to effectively drive action. This is not about documents or formats; it is about the type of information that can influence a policymaker who is not thinking in rural terms and the characteristics that make it something a decision-maker can genuinely respond to. This session drew on experiences from countries at different stages of rural proofing to explore what works and invite an honest conversation about one of the most persistent gaps in rural proofing practice. To this end, the session brought together three distinct perspectives at different stages in rural proofing: Poland, brought a fresh perspective on what this challenge looks like at the start of the journey; the European Commission, which has been rural proofing EU instruments for close to three years and can speak to their lessons learned; and finally the United Kingdom, whose Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has one of the longest histories with rural proofing in Europe and has gone through many iterations of debate about its quality and effectiveness. These contributions were framed by an OECD analytical presentation coupled with closing remarks and reflections from the Chair of the OECD Working Party on Rural Policy on where this work sits within the broader rural policy portfolio. Visit our website: www.oecd.org/cfe Follow us on Twitter: @OECD_local