Better understanding multi-level governance frameworks and the scale of subnational government fiscal space can help countries cope with the different crisis and shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's aggression against Ukraine, but also address megatrends and persistent and long-standing spatial disparities. Increasing the knowledge on multi-level governance and subnational finance is also key to implement and monitor the Sustainable Development Goals.

After two previous editions in 2016 and 2019, the OECD-UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI) has become the largest international knowledge repository on subnational government structure and finance ever produced. It provides reliable and comparable information on multi-level governance frameworks, decentralisation and territorial reforms, subnational government responsibilities, fiscal decentralisation, and covers dozens of indicators on subnational expenditure, investment, revenue and debt.

The 2022 synthesis report presents internationally comparable data and analysis for 135 countries and provides insights into ways to strengthen the resilience of subnational public finance. It also offers a specific focus on the impact of the pandemic on subnational governments, the territorial dimension of recovery plans, property taxation systems, innovative subnational budgeting practices, subnational public-private partnerships, and a special chapter dedicated to 31 Least Developed Countries.