Over the last decades, and in line with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, cities and regions have played an important part in helping to implement global agendas at local level through their Decentralised Development Cooperation (DDC) activities.

Abstract: The Addis Ababa Action Agenda raises the urgency to address growing financing and capacity needs at all levels of government in developing countries (para. 34) while the 2030 Agenda calls to "localise" the SDGs. In its High Level Communiqué of 31 October 2017, the DAC stressed that "complex challenges increasingly require coherent approaches at all levels and co-ordinated, inclusive actions", remaining "committed to improving quality and impact of our development co-operation policies". Decentralised development co-operation, or international development co-operation carried out by subnational governments, is one tool OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members can deploy to ensure that development co-operation is fit-for-purpose and responds to the local realities of the 2030 Agenda. The paper provides an assessment of the potential strengthens of decentralised development co-operation approaches as well as new opportunities to overcome longstanding challenges, including through the promotion of new forms of multi-level and multi-stakeholder partnerships

Decentralised development cooperation (DDC), or partnerships for sustainable development between cities and regions in developed and developing countries, can help drive major global agendas forward. Achieving a sustainable, equitable and resilient future requires action from subnational governments in many key SDGs and emerging areas, such as the response to the global health crisis, support for refugees and implementing net-zero pathways. The Global policy toolkit: Guidance for practitioners shows how DDC can promote mutual benefits and peer-to-peer learning, bring development co-operation closer to people and their daily lives, and deliver technical services and expertise. By providing a repository of good practices and guidance on implementation modalities, the toolkit seeks to promote policy dialogue and mutual learning across DDC actors and to enhance DDC effectiveness, efficiency and impact worldwide.

. This report presents key data on the DDC landscape in Germany and offers guidance on how to strengthen its role in enabling peer-to-peer learning and improve collaboration between German states and municipalities.

Examines the concepts of decentralized cooperation and joint action and presents seven case studies which illustrate partnerships between local governments and civil society in the planning and implementation of development programmes and projects. Analyses lessons learned from these studies in terms of understanding joint action, translating the concept into practice, evaluating achievements and identifying challenges and success factors. Makes policy and operational recommendations.

Digital transformation is revolutionising economies and societies with rapid technological advances in AI, robotics and the Internet of Things. Low and middle-income countries are struggling to gain a foothold in the global digital economy in the face of limited digital capacity, skills, and fragmented global and regional rules.