We developed and helped implement a model for Armenia's regional government to support its poverty reduction strategy
OPM is part of an EC-funded consortium that is strengthening the capacity of Serbia's Regional Development Agencies
We are supporting the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkwha with a DFID provincial reform programme which includes a regional development strategy, output-based budgets & an M&E system
We carried out a UNICEF-funded study on the impact of migration on children in Tajikistan
OPM helped the Moldovan government roll out its regional development policy, funded by DFID and Sida
We advised DFID on the design of a large multi-lateral project to support labour migration in central Asia
Ecorys & OPM are implementing the UNDP-funded Integrated Support to Decentralisation (ISD) project in the Republic of Albania
Our services
Our services range from designing regional and local economic development strategies through to monitoring decentralised PRSPs.
Our team
Martin Rimmer
Leader, Regional Development & Local Government
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 growth.

Some of the most important regional development programmes focus on infrastructure – from road building to energy networks to water and sewage systems – which help generate economic and social benefits for a region.  To maximise those benefits, however, it is essential that infrastructure assets are designed to take into account the needs of the whole population.  That’s why the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development now seeks to understand gender issues around infrastructure projects, and has appointed OPM to conduct gender analysis studies of some of the infrastructure programmes it invests in.

Recent years have seen a surge in interest in international migration within the development community, not least due to the potential impact that large volumes of remittances can have on poverty in the sending country or region. On closer inspection, however, there are significant social consequences when a large proportion of the working-age population leaves a country. Understanding these consequences is essential to developing a coherent approach to managing migration and maximising its impact on poverty reduction.