COGITO

Mining standards: Turning opportunity into local-development reality

Reading Time: 3 minutesIt is the “paradox of proximity”: communities nearest a mine feel its impacts first, yet often lack the skills, finance or infrastructure to secure jobs and contracts. How can these opportunities be turned into outcomes?

La economía social y solidaria en Cataluña: claves del éxito

Reading Time: 4 minutesLa economía social y solidaria catalana no nació solo de la ley: desde 2016, catorce “Ateneus Cooperatius” y redes comunitarias han creado más de 1100 cooperativas. ¿Bastará ahora la política para sostener lo que crearon?

When the copper party ends… can mining regions make the gains last?

Reading Time: 3 minutesCopper booms do not last for ever. Prices rise, investment pours in and mining regions expand. Then the cycle turns. The obvious question for places that depend on mining is: what remains when it does?

How cities borrow ideas and make them work locally

Reading Time: 4 minutesCities often look to one another for solutions to challenges ranging from housing shortages and climate risks to infrastructure pressures and social inequalities. How can cities bridge the gap between inspiration and implementation?

The social and solidarity economy in Catalonia: Secrets to success

Reading Time: 4 minutesCatalonia’s social and solidarity economy wasn’t built by legislation alone: fourteen Cooperative Hubs and community networks came first, creating over 1,100 cooperatives since 2016. As legal recognition arrives, can policy alone sustain what communities already built?

Beyond buffaloes: Building a social enterprise in Laos

Reading Time: 4 minutesIn rural Laos, Laos Buffalo Dairy rents pregnant buffaloes from farmers, supporting rural families while producing milk commercially, sustaining livelihoods without disrupting traditional local farming practices. But can shared value be a lasting business model?

Putting people at the heart of Ukraine’s recovery

Reading Time: 5 minutesIn Ivano-Frankivsk, Promprylad Foundation retrains displaced people, veterans and women for in-demand local jobs, supporting 30,000+ people and 600+ new jobs since 2022. Can community-led models like this reshape how we think about post-war economic recovery?

Can MENA’s digital finance boom close the gender gap?

Reading Time: 4 minutesAsk whether digital finance is helping women entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) overcome old barriers and the honest answer is: both, at the same time. But is access enough to drive real growth?

From rainfall to response: how data guided recovery in Maipú

17 June 2026 Tomás Vodanovic Escudero - (Mayor)

Reading Time: 4 minutesOn Saturday, 31 January 2026, a single cloud changed Maipú in less than an hour – 17 millimetres of rainfall in forty-five minutes, flooding streets and destroying homes. Images spread across social media. Many claimed they were fake. They were not. The storm devastated more than a thousand families. So how did Maipú use real-time data to reach those in need?

De las lluvias a la respuesta: cómo los datos guiaron la recuperación en Maipú

17 June 2026 Tomás Vodanovic Escudero - (Mayor)

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?

Lost in the policy maze: Why UK SMEs are missing out on tech gains

12 June 2026 Juan Ramón Larraín Aylwin - (OECD, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities)

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?

The social economy is bigger business than you think

10 June 2026 Melis Aslan - (OECD, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities)

Reading Time: 4 minutesThe social economy is rarely part of conversations about competitiveness or economic resilience, yet it should be. Social economy organisations create jobs, deliver essential services and strengthen local economies across countries. But what does it take to build an environment that allows them to contribute fully?

Can cities work better for women?

09 June 2026 Elena Dallorso - (AD Italia)

Reading Time: 3 minutesWomen’s movements are often more fragmented due to unpaid caregiving, a pattern known as “trip chaining”, yet cities remain organised around linear home-to-work commutes. If care shapes the everyday reality of so many people, why are our cities still not designed around them?

SME decarbonisation at a crossroads: What should governments do next?

04 June 2026 Jan-Philipp Schmidt - (OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities)

Reading Time: 3 minutesGoing green is good for business and the planet. But as policymakers focus on geopolitical risks, energy security and the rise of AI, the low-carbon transition risks being sidelined, especially for smaller businesses. How can governments keep up the momentum?

Smart cities that leave no one behind

01 June 2026 Liz St Louis - (Director of Smart Cities and Enabling Services at Sunderland City Council)

Reading Time: 3 minutesSmart city has become shorthand for digital ambition, but it still tends to conjure images of large cities, costly infrastructure and tech-led programmes that feel remote from everyday life. Sunderland’s experience points to a different approach. But what makes it different?

Tourism Beyond Tokyo: how Sendai is building a more resilient visitor economy

29 May 2026 Kazuko Kohri - (Mayor)

Reading Time: 4 minutesJapan welcomed more than 40 million international visitors in 2025, setting a new record. While Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka dominate, other cities are working to raise their profile. How is Sendai seeking to grow internationally while ensuring tourism strengthens resilience and benefits local people?

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Industrial strategy has a geography puzzle: Where should countries invest?