Sub-national capacities for effective public investment

Investing together across levels of government requires equipping sub-national authorities with the necessary capacity to engage with other levels of government and to carry out public investment programmes and projects effectively. This chapter identifies the key governance capacities across the investment cycle that sub-national governments need to have if they are to design and implement sound public investment strategies for regional development. It also explores some of the ways in which capacity needs at the sub-national level differ, not only across OECD countries, but especially also within them. It then provides practical guidance for assessing and strengthening these capacities. A diagnostic assessment framework is presented at the end of the chapter to serve as a first step in helping sub-national governments assess their capacity needs and develop a tailored set of actions to strengthen them.