THE POWER OF PEOPLE, PLACES & FIRMS
Reading Time: 4 minutesEl sábado 31 de enero de 2026, una sola nube transformó Maipú en menos de una hora – 17 milímetros de lluvia en cuarenta y cinco minutos, inundando calles y destruyendo viviendas. Las imágenes se difundieron por las redes sociales. Muchos afirmaron que eran falsas. No lo eran. La tormenta devastó a más de mil familias. ¿Cómo usó Maipú los datos en tiempo real para llegar a quienes lo necesitaban?
Reading Time: 3 minutesAI is spreading through the UK economy, but not quickly enough. Recent UK evidence shows that around one in three firms with fewer than 50 employees adopted AI, compared with almost two in three larger businesses, while regional adoption ranged from 32% in the North East to 67% in London. What can government do to close these adoption gaps?
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhen people talk about “the cloud”, it sounds weightless, something almost magical floating in the sky. Except that it isn’t. It lives on the ground, in data centres filled with servers that store, process and move staggering amounts of information every second. These data centres consume energy, occupy land, use metals and minerals from global supply chains – and they need vast amounts of water for cooling.
Reading Time: 6 minutesEn el imaginario colectivo, las regiones rurales suelen evocar imágenes de abandono y decadencia. Sin embargo, esto está lejos de reflejar la realidad. Las zonas rurales albergan al 30% de la población de la OCDE y, en algunos casos, están creciendo más rápido que las ciudades en términos de desarrollo, productividad e innovación. Entonces, ¿por qué las narrativas obsoletas sobre el declive rural siguen eclipsando sus contribuciones? Ha llegado el momento de desmontar los mitos que frenan a estas regiones.
Reading Time: 4 minutesHypervoisins illustre comment des initiatives locales peuvent renforcer la cohésion sociale et lutter contre la solitude en milieu urbain. En proposant des activités de quartier organisées, des espaces partagés et du soutien entre voisins, les habitants tissent des liens plus solides et améliorent le bien-être collectif. Ce modèle pourrait-il être reproduit dans d’autres villes pour réduire l’isolement social et renforcer les liens communautaires ?
Reading Time: 11 minutesImagine a world where rural and tropical regions aren’t struggling backwaters, but breeding ground for fresh ideas, new jobs and sustainable growth.
In this episode of our #FromtheGroundUp series, Betty-Ann Bryce (OECD) sits down with Ingo Plöger (CEAL), for a conversation to explore how tropical regions, with abundant natural resources, rich biodiversity and favourable climate, can become engines of sustainable growth, innovation and resilient rural development.
Reading Time: 12 minutesIndia’s rural areas are developing at an extraordinary rate, posing both challenges and opportunities to rethink development at a large scale. Recorded live from the OECD Rural Development Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Shayne MacLachlan speaks with Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary to the Government in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, about how India’s fascinating track-record of rural transformation can offer practical lessons to policymakers everywhere.
Reading Time: 4 minutesFrance is now sixth in the European rankings of countries with the most smart cities – and the Greater Paris area is leading the charge. Innovation is no longer optional for municipalities facing complex social and environmental challenges. It is now essential for cities build on the lessons from early pilots and to deliver transformative long-term digital strategies for the benefit of all.