Scottish Cities Alliance

A leading member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) joined the Scottish Cities Alliance’s Leadership Group this week in Perth to formally extend an invitation to the seven Scottish cities to join the OECD’s Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative.

The OECD provides a forum in which governments work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems, and crucially for the Alliance, they work with governments and cities to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change.

The Alliance’s Leadership Group comprises of the seven city and city region leaders and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work.

Head of the OECD Regional Development Policy Division, Joaquim Oliveira Martins joined the meeting in Perth to share best practice on how cities internationally are implementing and measuring the impact of inclusive growth policies at the city region level and invite the Scottish Cities to join the Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative.

He supervises projects on regional and urban economics, governance, regional statistics and well-being. The OECD and invited the cities to join the Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Programme. New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris and Cape Town are among the cities to have already signed up to the initiative which aims to provide city mayors with a unique platform in the debate on inequality, giving them an international platform to national debates and to facilitate exchanges among city leaders, to find and share solutions to inequality.

Mr Oliveira Martins said: “In these challenging political times, local leaders face pressure from residents to deliver more, better and faster. OECD Champion Mayors focus on people-centred policies, and many of the Scottish cities here today have shown a willingness to put constituents’ needs at the heart of their policy agendas. By joining our global coalition of Champion Mayors to combat inequality, mayors can play a crucial role in the fight for more sustainable and inclusive growth in their communities.”

Chair of the Scottish Cities Alliance and Leader of Dundee City Council, Councillor John Alexander, said: “I was delighted to welcome Joaquim Oliveira Martins to our Leadership Group meeting.

“Inclusive growth is a key priority to Scotland’s cities and the opportunity to share best practice through the OECD will be vital in this learning journey.”