The NSPA network consists of regions in north Norway, north and east Finland and representatives from the four northernmost counties of Sweden. The purpose of the network is working together to raise awareness of the NSPA in the EU institutions, to influence EU policy and to provide a platform for best practice. This time the cooperation will result in a study carried out by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), with the aim of providing up to date facts and new analysis which will form new arguments to give the EU continued incentives to invest in the NSPA regions. The OECD has a very high reputation and their reports often constitute a base for political strategies both on the European and the nation level. An OECD study of this kind – a so called territorial review – has the potential to provide useful data which can be used to form concrete propositions and prove that development and growth in the northern parts also bring added value for European growth.

The work on the report formally began on the 10th to 11th of March, when representatives from each of the 14 NSPA regions gathered in Brussels. During two busy days both internal meetings and external meetings with the OECD as well as the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG regio) were held. 

The meeting with OECD included a brief presentation from Enrique Garcilazo (Head of Unit, Regional Development Policy Division of the OECD) regarding the usual working process for the OECD’s territorial reviews and a discussion on aspects that are new for this particular report. Garcilazo also mentioned the uniqueness of the NSPA report – which will cover many regions in three different countries that nevertheless are experiencing similar challenges – already are generating attention and curiosity throughout Europe, but also globally, for instance in countries like Canada and Australia.