Regional development

The term “regional development” covers a wide range of topics – from supporting the economic development of poorer sub-regions within a country to decentralisation programmes that establish stronger local and regional institutions to addressing the social issues that are affecting a given region. In some cases, the goal is to overcome disparities in wealth, resources or public service distribution; in others, the challenge is about enabling each region in a country to develop through reducing barriers to growth.

With many donors and multilateral institutions increasingly seeking to operate at a regional or local level – either to bypass central government or to focus development assistance where it is most needed – different models of regional development are being explored. OPM’s experience leading regional development programmes in Armenia, Moldova, Albania and Serbia gives us an insight into some of the challenges faced in regionalisation and decentralisation. We also work closely with partners to understand the issues that are shaping the speed of development of regions, and the barriers that can be encountered.