Decentralised Development Cooperation Report #2: A European overview
Following the first Decentralised Development Cooperation Report (DDC Report #1), this second Report (DDC Report #2) draws on the same Europe-wide survey to continue offering a pan-European overview of how local and regional governments (LRGs), their associations, and civil society actors engage in international cooperation.
While DDC Report #1 presented a general overview of reported decentralised development cooperation (DDC), this second report digs deeper into the opportunities and challenges shaping decentralised cooperation and looks at the results that DDC partnerships aim to achieve. It also showcases a selection of DDC projects, offering illustrative examples of what effective partnerships and activities look like in practice.
Where does Europe stand when it comes to DDC?
The second DDC Report highlights:
- Funding drives engagement, but limited capacities hold it back. Available funding and linguistic, cultural or historical ties (both 56.75%) are the top drivers of involvement in DDC. Yet, limited capacities (78.37%) and limited or inconsistent funding opportunities (54. 05%) appear as the biggest challenge for scaling up.
- Similar goals in focus. Respondents most frequently selected the following three results that their DDC partnerships aim to achieve in both partner and home territories: empowering local leaders and stakeholders, improving local public services, and strengthening local governance. Which one takes priority, though, differs depending on the territory in focus.
- A lasting commitment. The majority of respondents (78.38%) plan to continue cooperating with their DDC partners, pointing out that decentralised cooperation is seen as a long-term investment rather than a one-off exercise.
This report is part of a wider series of Mindcraft publications on decentralised development cooperation, including Country Profiles on DDC frameworks. You can find the rest of Mindcraft’s publications here.
Read the full Mindcraft DDC Report #2, available in English, French, Spanish, and German.
Discover Mindcraft DDC Report #1 here.
CEMR encourages European and national authorities to strengthen the role of LRGs in development policy, not only as implementers, but also as strategic partners helping shape a more resilient, inclusive, and effective development agenda.
This report is produced within the Bridging and Mapping Knowledge Gaps in Decentralised Cooperation (Mindcraft), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
For more information, contact:
Research Analyst – Decentralised Cooperation
