OECD-Paper on culture-led regeneration

In June 2025, the OECD Local Economic and Employment Develpoment Programme (LEED) published “The role of culture-led regeneration in place transformation.” The paper is very fitting to our annual conference on regeneration and growth through culture in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 13-16 September 2026.

Over 100 countries work with and/or are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which was founded in 1961. Through its network of specialised committees and working groups, the OECD aims to enable the comparison of policy experiences to co-ordinate policies at international and country level. Additionally, problem-solving and sharing good practices are part of the organisation’s core mission.

As one of the active bodies to achieve these goals, it publishes the OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme Papers. They investigate and extract ideas and practical examples “on how to boost local development and job creation.” Each paper is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD but does not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.

The recently published paper highlights “culture as [a] catalyst for local development.” (p. 5) It finds key recommendations for a successful process drawing from five decades in culture-led regeneration.

For a start, four main approaches are identified:

1. investment in large physical infrastructure such as flagship projects or industrial re-use;
2. grassroots development by community groups or (small) public institutions
3. building and developing cultural districts and
4. major events such as the European Capitals of Culture or events like Biennales and Expos.

All of these are most successful through a holistic combination. It helps balance strengths and weaknesses of each of them. Additionally, to be successful and long-lasting, regeneration requires long-term and ongoing (iterated) processes, while stemming from realistic and achievable goals. Thus, the paper emphasizes: “embedding cultural programmes within wider employment and skills strategies can be most beneficial for long-term transformation.” (p. 5) “These efforts require careful planning and success often hinges on complementary investments in education, employment, and other sectors that amplify the impact of cultural initiatives.”

Several findings point to the following recommendations:

Align investment with community needs

When the investment for (large-scale) infrastructure projects is aligned with audience and community needs, it can be much more beneficial. It may lead to social and economic benefits ranging from lower investment costs to attracting diverse businesses and skills. Examples may be re-purposing former industrial sites or embedding the projects into existing local structures. In addition, the former is usually more sustainable than building new facilities.

Enable participation to benefit from grassroots development

The paper highlights that economic and social transformation are shaped by grassroots community infrastructure. Defining it as follows: “Grassroots community infrastructure includes both facility/space-based as well as group-based networks, and is characterised by open access, low-cost, spaces, with a sense of ownership by local people.” (p. 6) So, existing or newly developed infrastructure – such as libraries or re-purposed existing sites – enables cultural activities. This can be achieved by providing space or skill support as well as building communities. On the governing end, it is supported through participatory budgeting or “Percent for Art.” In the end, it leads to cultural development led by communities.

Develop participatory governance and supportive policies

With the afore mentioned approach, participatory governance is a potential key to successful culture-led regeneration. In general, it leads to an actively involved local population. This puts local benefits into focus instead of the external reception. There’s a large variety in the approach, “from cultural mapping activities to understand local assets and needs, to deliberative governance (e.g., citizens assemblies, referenda) to ascertain community views.” (p.6)

Think in the long-term, locally and use regenerative mechanisms

Cultural or creative districts are a common mechanism in regeneration. They can grow organically or be instigated at a political level. Either way, they benefit from policies enabling support measurements ranging from planning controls that protect creative spaces to subsidised rents or similar monetary incentives geared towards a large community instead of large-scale capital investments. Furthermore, cultural events „can be used to kick-start a regeneration programme or to punctuate a longer-term regeneration strategy.” (p. 6)

This is only a brief overview of the complete report. We are looking forward to sharing more resources like these with you in 2026!