On the 4th of February 2021 DeLoG hosted its first "DeLoG in Dialogue" event with the OECD and UCLG as lead partners of the World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI). The event was dedicated towards determining how DeLoG Members and Partners can be involved and help prepare for the next edition of the World Observatory’s Report, to be released in 2022.
Last week, DeLoG invited Members and Partners to participate in its first "DeLoG in Dialogue" event. This brand new online exchange initiative, "DeLoG in Dialogue" aims to provide Members and Partners with the opportunity to call on the expertise and help of the network on short notice. It offers Members and Partners the space to pitch innovative ideas, discuss relevant topics, identify synergies and pave the way for new long-term cooperations. Through the format Members and Partners can gain quick access to the high-level expertise, diversity and openness of the network.
Focused on the World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), DeLoG’s first "DeLoG in Dialogue" session, organised in cooperation with the lead partners of the SNG-WOFI, the OECD and UCLG, brought together a diverse group of 26 participants working in the field of local finance to discuss how participants could support the process of updating and creating new country profiles for the third edition of the World Observatory’s Report. Dedicated to collecting standardised data and information on subnational finance and territorial organisations from over 120 countries, the SNG-WOFI is the world’s leading source of internationally comparable data and analysis on subnational government structure and finance.
In order to keep the information presented in the SNG-WOFI up to date and to enlarge its coverage, the Observatory is currently seeking input from different stakeholders working in the fields of decentralisation and local finance to commence preparations for its 3rd edition. In April the Observatory will set up teams to start with the update of country profiles. These contain qualitative information on the multi-level governance and territorial organisations in place as well as quantitative data on local and regional government revenue, expenditure and debt. For its third edition the SNG-WOFI will also evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on subnational government finance.
To support the process of updating existing country profiles while compiling information for new countries, participants of "DeLoG in Dialogue" were asked to indicate the countries in which they are currently working in and where they can provide contacts to local experts or teams. At the end of the session, six DeLoG Members and Partners committed to establishing contact with their respective country teams in 15 countries to achieve the best possible coverage of expertise and data for the third edition of the World Observatory’s Report.
The new report will be published in June 2022.
Source: DeLoG