EURADA, in collaboration with the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development and the Committee of the Regions, is organising a special side event within the OECD Global Forum on Local Development 2026 in Maastricht on 27 May 2026, from 10:00 to 12:30 CEST, entitled “Strengthening regional strategic autonomy and preparedness through foresight: approaches, experiences and lessons learned”.
In a context marked by geopolitical fragmentation, trade turbulence and technological rivalry, preparedness has become a central pillar of regional development policy. The session will address approaches, experiences and lessons learned on how regions can reinforce their strategic autonomy by better anticipating risks, managing critical dependencies, adapting to shocks and shaping long-term development pathways. It will also explore how strategic foresight and anticipatory governance can help embed preparedness at the core of regional policy and decision-making.
The event will bring together practical cases and experiences from OECD countries and regional development agencies, including contributions from LIOF (Netherlands), Andalucía TRADE (Spain) and the Podkarpackie Region (Poland). This peer exchange will provide policymakers and regional development actors with a valuable opportunity to share lessons learned, strengthen institutional readiness and engage in interactive reflection and networking in a rapidly evolving global landscape. In addition, Theo Föllings, President of EURADA, will participate in the roundtable discussion “Preparedness and regional strategic autonomy: from concept and policy to practical application”.
