Connecting All Levels to Strengthen Decentralized Development Cooperation
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Description
On 22–23 September 2025, the Global Cities Hub (GCH) took part in an OECD–German workshop in Berlin on “The impact of decentralized development cooperation (DDC) on local governance and SDG outcomes.”
The meeting aimed to better understand how cities and regions engage in decentralized development cooperation (DDC, i.e. international development cooperation led by LRGs), what benefits it brings, the obstacles they face, and how to assess its impact. Participants included cities and regions (from Germany, Canada, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Belgium), city networks, national governments, and international organizations, who exchanged experiences on the basis of an in-depth background note prepared by the OECD unit on smart and sustainable cities.
The OECD background note emphasized the following important elements:
- In the past decade, official development assistance by LRGs has more than doubled (from USD 1.7 bn in 2013 to USD 3.6 bn in 2023), reflecting growing international engagement by subnational governments.
- The main motivation for LRGs’ engagement in DDC is international solidarity, complemented by knowledge exchange, capacity building and peer learning.
- Political leadership is essential for cities and regions to commit scarce resources to DDC and to position DDC as part of a wider vision of the city or region global’s role and responsibility.
- DDC connects global policy frameworks to local action and makes international cooperation much more tangible to citizens.
- In a time where national development cooperation policies and aid budgets are under immense pressure, DDC can fill critical gaps by mobilising resources and actors.
Further, the OECD background note underlines the multiple benefits of DDC to States (enhancing the effectiveness of national cooperation policy, advancing foreign policy objectives, providing resilient channels of cooperation, even in times of diplomatic tension, etc.) and why they should support it. It is important, however, to also highlight the benefits to LRGs who reach out to their respective national governments on DDC matters. While reaching out to the national level can be perceived as an additional burden for an LRG with limited resources, it enables States to share their decades of lessons learnt, good practices, and solutions. They can provide diplomatic support to LRG initiatives to increase their political legitimacy, advise on programming cycles, on which stakeholders to engage with, on the challenges, risks and opportunities of each specific context the DDC project is started in. States can also help align local initiatives with international commitments such as the SDGs.
The same holds true internationally. Connecting with international organizations may help LRGs to :
- replicate and scale up their successful DDC projects elsewhere
- provide more visibility to their DDC projects and gain global legitimacy on the global stage
- strengthen their credibility with national governments, partner LRGs and other donors
- Operate in sensitive geopolitical contexts, because international organizations provide neutral platforms to engage
- Partner with other LRGs worldwide, because international organizations provide networking and peer learning opportunities
- Get access to international funding and co-funding opportunities
- Get access to IOs technical expertise and resources
- position their DDC projects in a wider relevant framework (e.g. the Financing for Development conference in Sevilla in July 2025 which debated over how to boost investment in sustainable development and close the SDG financing gap) and therefore influence global policy dialogues on development cooperation. In that regard, the GCH collaborated with the Global Parliament of Mayors to develop a Mayor’s Declaration calling upon States to increase subnational borrowing and reform the international financial architecture to better consider the specific development needs of LRGs.
Although international organizations have been created and are led by States, they increasingly see LRGs as natural partners. Cities and regions are often more agile, solution-oriented, and better placed to connect with actors on the ground, qualities that make them valuable allies for international organizations. LRGs should therefore not hesitate to reach out to these organizations for advice or support on DDC projects. Where needed, the GCH can help facilitate these connections.
In conclusion, GCH’s message is clear: let’s not work in silos. DDC is powerful, but it reaches its full potential when embedded in broader national and international frameworks that shape development policy and financing. No single actor, not cities, not States, not international organizations, can deliver sustainable development alone. By working together across levels, we can scale up impact, make more effective use of scarce resources, and ensure that local innovation both informs and benefits from global commitments.
Photo: GIZ