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CAPACITY BUILDING AND KNOWLEDGE FORM THE
FOUNDATION OF THE NEW URBAN AGENDA:
a position paper
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CAPACITY BUILDING AND KNOWLEDGE FORM THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW URBAN
AGENDA
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:
a position paper
Contents
1. Capacity building in the international agendas ......................................................................................................3
2. The Meaning and Scope of Capacity Building for Sustainable Cities......................................................................6
3. Urban challenges in a nutshell: the piecemeal of building capacities and competencies .....................................8
4. Capacity Building Propositions for Habitat III and the New Urban Agenda ........................................................ 11
4.1. Capacity building is integrated into the implementation arrangements of the New Urban Agenda and
focuses on its core elements ........................................................................................................................... 11
4.2. Capacity building to support evidence-based policy making and implementation ................................ 11
4.3. Partnerships amongst knowledge-based institutions and capacity building organizations must be
strengthened through the implementation of the New Urban Agenda ......................................................... 11
4.4. New Curricula for the creation of a new generation of urban practitioners should be supported by the
New Urban Agenda ......................................................................................................................................... 12
4.5 . As means of implementation, the New Urban Agenda should adopt innovative and transformative
capacity building strategies to establish the institutional and human resources basis for its implementation.
......................................................................................................................................................................... 12
4.6. The New Urban Agenda should promote a global capacity building program targeting different urban
stakeholders and urban institutions ................................................................................................................ 13
4.7. Capacity building must be part and parcel of policy making and implementation in the New Urban
Agenda ............................................................................................................................................................. 14
4.8. Capacity building should be result-based and be assessed and monitored in order to anticipate the
changes of urbanization .................................................................................................................................. 14
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1. Capacity building in the international agendas
The capacity of institutions and individuals is central for the success of any transformative policy.
Strengthening the institutional capacity of national and local governments was considered essential for
the achievement of the commitments and actions towards sustainable cities that were outlined in the
Agenda 21, the Habitat Agenda
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and the Third United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, Rio+20 Conference, expressed in the document ‘The Future We Want’
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. According to
OECD, capacity development is a fundamental component of development and aid effectiveness and a
key element in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
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The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) and the Bogota Declaration on South-South
Cooperation and Capacity Development (2010) had already recognized that ‘the capacity to plan,
manage, implement, and account for results of policies and programmes, is critical for achieving
development objectives’
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. In fact capacity building is regarded as one of the five distinctive
features of south-south cooperation
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, strengthening south-south learning in all phases of
development through sharing of experiences, knowledge exchange and technology transfer.
The recognition of knowledge exchange and the interchange of best practices as a way to absorb
lessons learned in the advance of policies is a major breakthrough in the capacity development agenda.
Much of the innovations in cities and local governments can be accredited to the increasing accessibility
to knowledge and information, dissemination of best practices and multiple forms of exchange of
experiences and local capacity development. Innovations and urban solutions are also drawn from
different forms of endogenous capacity building processes led by external providers of training,
education and capacity building services.
The commitments on capacity building and institutional development spelled out in the Habitat Agenda
(1996), specifically its paragraphs 177 to 193, reassured that governments would adopt capacity
building strategies at national and local levels to create the basic conditions to foster broad-based civic
participation in human settlements development, improve land delivery for housing and sustainable
urban development and improve the liveability and sustainability of the built environment
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. Capacity
building was indeed one of the five pillars of the Habitat Agenda adopted at the Habitat II Conference in
1996.
Emphasis on capacity building is not new. The outcomes of both Habitat I and Habitat II
conferences, the United Nations Conferences on Human Settlements, stressed the importance of
capacity building. In particular, the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements of 1976 stated in
recommendation F.7 that “in most countries, the lack of adequate knowledge, skills and progressive
resources is a serious constraint on the implementation of human settlement policies and programmes”
. Furthermore, the Vancouver Declaration recommended that “the development of research
capabilities, and the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge and information on human
settlements should receive a high priority as an integral part of the settlement process”.
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The Habitat Agenda adopted by the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul (1996) further emphasized the
importance of capacity building. Section D of the Global Plan of Action of the Istanbul Declaration
focuses on capacity building and institutional development. As mentioned above, the Habitat Agenda
stressed that capacity-building and institutional development strategies must form an integral
part of human settlements development policies at all levels of government. Over and over
several United Nations conferences have emphasized the need and the fundamental role of capacity
building in improving the living conditions in the world.
The ‘Future We Want’ Declaration of Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in
2012 gave a strong mandate to capacity building, as did the Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development. The Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development identified
concrete strategies for achieving education for a sustainable future. The 2011 UNESCO
Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape dedicates a full section on ‘capacity-building,
research, information and communication’.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has capacity building, education and awareness
integrated into a number of the different Goals. In addition, the Goal 17 on strengthening the means of
implementation and revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, calls for
enhancing “international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in
developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development
Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation” . The Goal 4 on
ensuring “inclusive and equitable quality education” and promoting “lifelong learning opportunities for
all” is also very relevant to capacity building, in particular Goal 4.7 on ensuring that “all learners
acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development”.
The New Urban Agenda is currently being defined. The debates, issue and policy papers already
indicated that it will shape the course and form of urbanization in the world for decades to come if fully
adopted and implemented by cities and national governments. This is the unique opportunity to
reaffirm the need to adopt capacity building strategies and outline a way forward in concrete terms.
Urban stakeholders need to have the appropriate skills and knowledge to make the New Urban Agenda
a reality in their cities. Capacity building should become the foundation of the international
development agendas in the city, and these should be underpinned by state-of-the-art
knowledge and research and innovative methods of knowledge and practice sharing. By large
the debate has neglected the importance of knowledge and capacity building which justifies the
importance of this paper.
Twenty years down the line we come to realize that capacity building is still an unfinished business.
Despite the efforts and significant number of programs adopted nationally, regionally, locally and
internationally, it is noticeable that institutions, national and local governments stumbles and fall short
in achieving their development goals due to inadequate institutional and human resources capacity and
weak institutional frameworks. Even in situations where financial resources are made available.
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This is the fundamental reason behind this paper. It intends to bring to the attention of all involved in
the Habitat III process that knowledge, skills enhancement, and the development of know-how through
capacity building processes and problem-solving education should gain a central place in the New
Urban Agenda and the Quito Plan of Implementation that are expected to be adopted in October 2016.
Strengthening urban institutions must be part and parcel of the new paradigm of sustainable
urban development.
The point of departure of this paper is that without strong institutions that are capable to plan, manage
and implement development policies, and exercise and apply planning and management instruments to
guide urbanization, and can rely on well-trained and capacitated staff who are capable to respond
adequately to the challenges derived from urbanization and the demands of cities and its citizens, it is
nearly impossible to assure that cities will become a sustainable place to live and work in dignity and
peace.
By default, one of the imperatives is that more opportunities and different modalities to acquire
knowledge, develop skills and consolidate know-how should be made available to individuals,
practitioners, policy makers, urban managers and decision makers in order to enable them to formulate
evidence-based policies, programs and projects and take well-informed decisions. This should be
concomitant with institution building programs to strengthen institutions and turn them into leaders of
innovation, efficiency, transparency and urban transformation. Strengthening institutions goes hand-
in-hand with the consolidation of stable and well-functioning institutional and organizational
environment within which all takes place. The achievement of sustainable urban development and
ultimately the success of the New Urban Agenda and the SDG11 are intimately conditioned to the
quality of human resources, the strength of institutions and the institutional and regulatory
frameworks that they operate.
Thus, the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the SDG11 and the realization of their
transformative elements on the ground will depend on the ability of institutions and individuals
to move away from status-quo urbanization towards a new paradigm of sustainable urban
development. This is where knowledge development, capacity building, training and problem-solving
education, city to city cooperation, peer to peer learning and different forms of knowledge and practice
exchange will make a difference. This is where universities, training institutions, think tanks,
development NGO’s and communities of practice have an important role to play. But also donor
organizations, multilateral and bilateral development cooperation institutions.
During the period from Habitat II to Habitat III, some countries and cities in the developing world
adopted capacity building as mainstream in their development plans . Ethiopia, for example, adopted a
comprehensive capacity development strategy supported by external partners and strengthened an
existing national institution
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to plan and implement training and capacity development programs
addressed to technical cadre of local governments but also city managers, mayors and policy makers. A
master program on urban management was developed and provided training and education to a
remarkable number of public servants working at different levels of local government. It further
enlarged to a number of training and continuous education programs.
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Indonesia undertook an ambitious capacity building and training program to support the Integrated
Urban Infrastructure Development Programme totally embedded into the national strategy to
strengthen local level institutions to manage, plan and execute infrastructure development programs. It
is worth mentioning that Indonesia alike Ethiopia placed capacity building at the top of the policy
agenda of its national government, allocating resources, facilitating double degree education with
foreign universities, and sponsoring nationals to pursue post-graduation and specialized education to
strengthen the capacity of the government labor force.
In Brazil, in the aftermath of the enactment of the Cities Statute and the mandatory development of
participatory urban development plans in cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, the Ministry of
Cities embarked into an ambitious national capacity building program that included in-situ training and
massive online courses reaching more than 25,000 professionals within a short period of time. The
goal was to strengthen the ability of cities and municipalities to manage urban development with up to
date knowledge and tools. External partners helped the ministry to get access to expertise and wide
dissemination of programs, tools, information and online education.
These three cases counted on external partners assisting in the development of the knowledge and
training packages, curricula and training of trainers.
For many years the Government of the Netherlands adopted a development cooperation policy that
promoted the strengthening and/or development of capacity building institutions in developing
countries, combining a process of transfer of knowledge and expertise through its international
education institutes with endogenous in-country capacity strengthening strategy
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that helped to
establish national institutions and capacity building programs in various countries.
There are many of similar cases. These are flagship examples from which one can draw important
lessons for the New Urban Agenda. First, capacity building needs to be closely linked with
development objectives and ongoing transformation processes in order to remain effective and
demand-driven. Second, there were clearly defined needs and demands as well as gaps to be
addressed through different forms of capacity building. Third, funding is key to allow for continuation
and prolonged impact. And finally, the existence of a solid capacity building institution with proven
knowhow and acting as external partners propelled endogenous processes while enabling access to
cutting edge knowledge and high level on-the-job training assistance.
2. The Meaning and Scope of Capacity Building for Sustainable Cities
Capacity building is a transformative engine for creating and maintaining development change. It is
strongly associated with effectiveness of organizations and individuals
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. Thus it is intrinsically linked
to the ability to understand problems and design solutions to resolve them, to deliver and sustain
development programs over time. It has been widely recognized by international development
cooperation agencies and national and local governments that it is a fundamental condition for
achieving development
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. It is intimately associated with institution building and strengthening human
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resources as well as the institutional environment in which they operate. ‘Capacity building’ and
‘capacity development’ are terms used interchangeably in this paper and they mean exactly the same as
defined herein.
The Agenda 21 adopted by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED), defined Capacity Building as an activity that encompasses the country’s human, scientific,
technological, organizational, institutional and resource capabilities. A fundamental goal of capacity
building is to enhance the ability to evaluate and address the crucial questions related to policy
choices and modes of implementation among development options, based on an understanding of
environment potentials and limits and of needs perceived by the people of the country concerned"
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.
Capacity building for sustainable urbanization is a multi-facetted process
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by which the ability of
multiple stakeholders and institutions at all levels of governance are strengthened, developed and
consolidated, enabling individuals and institutions to formulate, plan, implement, manage and enforce
public policies towards sustainable urban development. It develops the ability to understand the
spatial dimension of sustainable development, the urban governance systems and the elements that
produce urban prosperity such as housing and infrastructure development, urban mobility, slums and
social exclusion, environmental sustainability, urban planning and municipal finance.
Reinforcing the institutional and organizational framework that governs urbanization and
strengthening the capacity of public and non-public stakeholders must be part and parcel of the New
Urban Agenda for the next 20 years. Capacity building for sustainable, inclusive and just cities is
the foundation for the shift in paradigm towards the path of planned urbanization managed by
the rule of law and led by urban plans that altogether generate prosperity and wealth for all.
This means in practice the strengthening of the capability of multiple stakeholders that include but not
limited to local, national and regional governments, local government associations, civil society
organizations, NGO’s, the academia and research institutions. Specific target groups should be given
attention such as urban planners, economists, housing practitioners, civil engineers and public
administrators whose disciplines reinforce the multidisciplinary character of urbanization. But also the
development of an enabling institutional environment for the New Urban Agenda to be adopted,
planned and executed. It integrates human resources development, institutional change and
improvement of institutional, legal and financial frameworks
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.
In other words, capacity building implies the implementation of a number of activities and programs to
support development change intrinsic to the New Urban Agenda ranging from long-term institution
building programs aiming at the development of sustainable institutions to on-the-job training and
various forms of knowledge and know-how development geared to strengthen human resources, the
social capital of urban institutions. But it also includes tailor-made training, peer-to-peer learning and
web-based education, action learning, problem-solving education and south-south cooperation.
The need of and the multi-faceted aspect of capacity building has been recognized by bilateral and
international development agencies. According to DFID, capacity development refers to the capacity of
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individuals, organizations and the broader institutional framework within which individuals and
organizations operate to deliver specific tasks and mandates. Capacity development goes well beyond
the public sector and includes capacity development in the private sector, civil society and research
organizations
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.
According to OEDC DAC, capacity is the ability of people, organizations and society as a whole to
manage their affairs successfully. Capacity Development is the process whereby people,
organizations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt and maintain capacity
over time. Capacity development refers to the things that outside partners can do to support, facilitate
or catalyze capacity development and related change processes
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. Capacity development is thus more
than enhancing knowledge and skills of individuals. It depends crucially on the quality of the
organizations in which they work. In turn, the operations of particular organizations are influenced by
the enabling environment – the structures of power and influence and the institutions – in which they
are embedded. Consequently, capacity is not only about skills and procedures; it is also about
incentives and governance
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.
A review of the last decades of development demonstrated an evolution from a technical view of
capacity building that looked at it as practices of transfer of knowledge towards the notion of capacity
building as an endogenous process with full ownership of development partners (recipients of capacity
building services) and geared to problem-solving and sustainability.
3. Urban challenges in a nutshell: the piecemeal of building capacities and
competencies
The Habitat III Conference is scheduled to take place in a crucial turning point of world development.
More than 50% of humanity already lives in urban agglomerations and data suggests that during the
next 30 years this will increase to nearly 70%. The earth is becoming an urban planet comprised of a
network of cities and urban agglomerations of different size, nature and functions that need to be well
managed and guided by plans and strong institutions operating within an enabling institutional and
organizational environment.
Urbanization is a transformative force that generates wealth and prosperity, particularly if it is
well managed and planned by active public policies that safeguards public interests, preserves
its environmental resources, provides opportunities for adequate housing and human
development and respects human rights and enhance gender equality. This is the responsibility
of urban institutions and the individuals that make them work. Never before has the capability of
individuals and organizations become so critical for the future of a sustainable urban planet.
Cities and urban agglomerations generate an economy of scale bringing together people and economic
activities that are the sources of innovation, technological development and social transformations. In
order words, the spatial dimension of development matters next to the economic, social and
environmental dimensions to produce sustainable urbanization. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development particularly the Sustainable Development Goal 11 reaffirms the role of cities and human
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settlements in the Sustainable Development equation. Thus, there will be no sustainable development
if cities and human settlements are not able to embark into a sustainable urbanization path, as outlined
in the New Urban Agenda under discussion. The knowledge, skills, know-how that are required to
planning, managing and guiding cities and human settlements into this path are the piecemeal of
capacity building.
Urbanization is not simply a demographic phenomenon. It is a human construct. A driver of economic
development and wealth creation that can potentially nurture solutions to global challenges
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provided
that it is well managed to harness its potential and mitigate the liabilities it produces such slum
formation, urban sprawl and rising inequalities and social-spatial exclusion that affect women in
particular. In some parts of the world, urbanization has become a synonym of slum formation
meaning that cities are expanding on the basis of informal land development processes and not
on the basis of enacted land use ordinances and adopted urban development plans. Investments
in infrastructure are lagging behind. City and local governments are falling short in their capacity to
plan and manage urban growth and absorb it within the rules of law governing urbanization and land
use. Associating the growth of slums only to poverty is misleading and not consistent to data from
different places showing that informality grows much faster than poverty. Economic growth has taken
many out of poverty and yet people resort to slums and informal settlement to resolve their housing
problems. The scarcity of affordable housing is one of the deep-rooted causes of slum formation.
Policy makers and housing practitioners have not fully understood the functioning of the housing
sector and its impact on cities and urban development. This is one of the critical areas that need
capacity building.
Furthermore, cities and local governments by large demonstrate weak capacity to levy and collect
revenues within their jurisdiction showing a remarkable inability to apply land-based finance
instruments and benefit from modern tools of urban land management. If not properly planned,
managed, self-financed and guided by transformative policies and innovative approaches, urbanization
may produce liability and generate negative externalities that will severely jeopardize human
development and the opportunities of future generations. Environmental impacts and climate change
are bringing other important elements into planning and management of urbanization, particularly on
themes related to greenhouse gas emissions related to building and construction industry and urban
mobility, and the containment and expansion of the ecological footprint of cities and urban
agglomerations. Well planned and well managed cities are a function of sustainable development
which underscores their existing capacity to do so.
Undeniably, the successful implementation of the New Urban Agenda will depend largely on the
skills and capacity of urban stakeholders to understand urbanization, transform propositions
into actions, develop and make use of tools and knowledge to guide cities towards a sustainable
future. But this is not sufficient if the institutional and organizational environment as well as the
urban governance systems with its rules, norms and incentives is not developed along with the
strengthening of the capacity of individuals and cadres.
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While national governments are ultimately responsible, local stakeholders will be at the centre of
implementing the New Urban Agenda and the Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Strengthening the capacities of local stakeholders, such as local government officials, local politicians,
technical cadres and civil society is sine-qua-non condition for the paradigm shift proposed by the new
international agendas. The role of capacity building is to enable all of the different groups of urban
stakeholders to actively contribute to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and to help make
the New Urban Agenda a reality.
The multidisciplinary character of urbanization calls for the integration of urban planning and design,
urban finance and legislation in order to produce planned urbanization that generates wealth and
prosperity. Research, new knowledge and approaches to achieve better and feasible urban solutions
are needed and therefore universities must join the capacity building efforts. A holistic view to
urbanization calls for an integrated approach requiring different disciplines to work together to
ensure that they are synchronized to enable urbanization to become a driver of urban
prosperity where no one is left behind. Urban stakeholders should have the right skills to work in
such environment.
Different stakeholder groups have also differentiated capacity needs that need to be identified and
responded adequately. For example, local governments require technical skills, ability to connect
different areas of urban development and manage conflict resolution between interests and demands
on location and land use. The ability to forge partnerships and mobilize all urban stakeholders is
critical for a safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable city. Civil society organizations, on the other hand,
need the technical skills, knowledge and the ability to meaningfully participate in decision making
while exercising their rights and press for safeguarding the public goods. The private sector should
have the capacity to participate in urban development and to contribute where they are best in terms of
innovations, technology, finance and management tools. Universities should play their role in the
development of knowledge, practical skills and competencies required to understand and manage
urbanization within a dynamic and volatile environment. But also have the ability to play an active role
as a stakeholder in sustainable urban development.
The need to harness evidence-based and well-informed policies and urban strategies to sustain the
implementation of the New Urban Agenda, in tandem with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development underscores the need to develop capacity to collect, retrieve and analyze data
disaggregated by sex and age. This is a key competence for the monitoring and reporting of the
implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is also important to consider capacity building at the national level. While cities and regions may
have considerable devolved powers, there is a need for national approaches to manage urbanization
spatially in the broader territory in order to enable villages, cities and metropolitan regions to play
their role as key forces of national and local development. National urban policy identifies development
priorities, gives guidance on territorial development and enables better coordination and locational
decisions on public and private investments. Capacity building is needed in order to develop and
strengthen the ability of national institutions to implement the New Urban Agenda through national
policies and strategies.
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4. Capacity Building Propositions for Habitat III and the New Urban Agenda
4.1. Capacity building is integrated into the implementation arrangements of the New Urban
Agenda and focuses on its core elements
Reversing the predatory path of urban development and guiding cities to move from unplanned and
informal urbanization modes towards a planned and sustainable urbanization model requires robust
capacity and institution building. This should develop capacities to develop and implement integrated
urban development approaches that link rules and regulations, urban planning and design and urban
finance, with housing development and the provision of serviced land placed at the center of the new
strategy. The adoption of the New Urban Agenda must incorporate capacity development actions
leading to establishing and/or strengthening local capacity to plan, execute and manage its
implementation which should ultimately bring urbanization to a planned city development pathway
and ultimately curb informal land development processes and slum proliferation.
4.2. Capacity building to support evidence-based policy making and implementation
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda require national and local
data collection, retrieval, maintenance, analysis and reporting. This will lead to monitoring and
development of indicators to assist in implementation and public policy assessment. This should create
the basis for evidence-based and well-informed decision-making on urban development policies if this
is accompanied by training, technical assistance and institution building programs. The type of skills,
knowledge and institutional set-up that exist today are inadequate in most places in the developing
world and needs to be strengthened and/or developed from scratch. Innovative approaches should be
adopted combining the use of e-learning and online platforms backed by ICT solutions to gain scale and
wide dissemination. Specific challenges needs to be considered. Gender equality, for example, will
require data collection disaggregated by sex and age which is sine-qua-non condition to mainstream
gender into the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
4.3. Partnerships amongst knowledge-based institutions and capacity building organizations must
be strengthened through the implementation of the New Urban Agenda
Capacity building for the New Urban Agenda should be part and parcel of its implementation at the
local level and strengthen the capacity of cities, local governments and local authorities to plan,
manage, and implement sustainable urban development policies, programs and projects. It should
draw on the expertise, know-how and institutional capacity of a wide range of institutions that have the
proven ability to assess training needs and competence gaps in the urban sector and that are capable to
design and deliver educational and training products for direct application. In order to bring capacity
building to the desired scale and results, it should foster partnership to achieve the strengthening of the
capacity of implementing agencies. Partnership amongst universities, national and international
training institutions, government schools and public administration institutions as well as NGO’s must
be constructed as part of the New Urban Agenda. Such partnership should make use of training of
trainers approaches as well as collaborative in-situ problem-solving training and education. This will
foster cross-fertilization and propel endogenous processes to sustain national and local
implementation. The funding of the New Urban Agenda should incorporate capacity building activities.
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4.4. New Curricula for the creation of a new generation of urban practitioners should be supported
by the New Urban Agenda
New competencies to face urban development challenges in an integrated manner must be developed
and supported by university curricula aiming at the creation of a new generation of urban professionals
who are capable to understand urbanization in development contexts and work in a multidisciplinary
context that includes but not limited to disciplines such as social sciences, cultural heritage, urban
economy and real estate market.
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This is in line with the deliberations of university and researchers
meetings at the seventh session of the World Urban Forum (2014). Evidences from this meeting
demonstrate that universities are undertaking innovative initiatives worldwide that connect them with
local communities and city governments. This hands-on-the-problem approach generate external
curricular activities and provide for direct engagement of students and academic staff in problem-
solving and implementation. This is certainly a very positive development that should lead to applied
urban research, integrated curricula and in-situ capacity building. The New Urban Agenda should
encourage, promote and facilitate the development of new curricula in the various fields that have
direct interface with urbanization. This is critical for the formation of a new generation of urban
managers. The UNESCO-led Decade for Education on Sustainable Development and the global action
program on Education for Sustainable Development adopted by a large community of universities
worldwide, the UN-Habitat Partner’s University Initiative (UNI), and the UNEP sponsored Global
Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES), and the Higher Education
Sustainability Initiative (HESI) are examples of this global effort that should be supported
institutionally and financially by the means of implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
4.5 . As means of implementation, the New Urban Agenda should adopt innovative and
transformative capacity building strategies to establish the institutional and human resources basis
for its implementation.
The rise and advance of ITC technologies during the last two decades since Habitat II enabled the
development of several platforms for online education and capacity building. Universities, training
institutions, governments, regional development banks such as IADB-Inter American Development
Bank and ADB-the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, UN-Habitat and bilateral development
cooperation institutions have embraced the technology and have made use of web-based applications
to disseminate methods, tools, best practices, online courses, discussion threads and publications on
various focus areas of urbanization.
Knowledge acquired from projects and lessons learned have also been made available in web portals to
improve the quality of development assistance of these institutions. The strengthening of capacity of
partner institutions to implement programs have also been done through these methods. Massive
Open Online Courses-MOOCs, webinars, global urban lectures series, podcasts and e-learning products
have made a revolution in the packaging and delivery of knowledge, training and information to a
wider public. This has been further transformed by mobile telephone and online applications which
brought information and knowledge to the finger tip of users worldwide. However, this is still
fragmented and without the depth and the focus which now can be given by a New Urban Agenda. The
results have also been mixed. However, there is absolutely little doubt that this will further evolve and
should become an important means to make knowledge and information available for all which is per
se one step in the capacity building process.
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The UNCC-Learn Platform, the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership, illustrates well this trend.
It is a good example about how knowledge, training modules, resources and a network of institutions
are assembled within a one-window shop concept and made accessible to the global community. The
advance and consolidation of smart cities strategies and the establishment of networks of smart cities
goes hand-in-hand with this technology development which should further strengthen the information
and knowledge-based economy in cities and urban agglomerations. The economy of agglomerations
provides a unique concentration of service providers, users and beneficiaries which triggers innovation
and diversity and cost-effective service provision. Local governments are increasingly making use of
these services and technological solutions in order to improve quality and efficiency of public services
as well as to increase dialogue with the citizenry and exercise transparency in local governance. The
New Urban Agenda must adopt a strategy that promotes and supports innovation in capacity building
and the use of the ICT technologies to bring it to scale.
In addition to this, other innovative initiatives such city labs and peer-to-peer learning workshops are
being designed to solve a particular problem in a given city, taking advantage of best practices and
knowledge and practice exchange between teams of experts and senior executives and decision-makers
from different cities; forms of south-south cooperation and triangular cooperation in the urban sector
have flourished as well; professional planning associations are promoting accreditation programs and
refresher courses to fine tune the capacity and ability of their members. On-the-job training and
modular education have also been widespread. The New Urban Agenda should support the
establishment of a global vehicle for developing and strengthening capacity for sustainable
urbanization where knowledge, skills, methodologies, state-of-the-art tools and best practices can be
accessed.
4.6. The New Urban Agenda should promote a global capacity building program targeting different
urban stakeholders and urban institutions
The successful implementation of the New Urban Agenda depends on the availability of institutions and
individuals with the cutting-edge knowledge and skills on various disciplines related to housing and
urban development. Different types of individuals such as practitioners, technical cadres, managers,
senior executives and policy and decision makers must be considered. But also different types of
institutions such as local governments, civil society organizations, NGO’s, community-based
organizations, higher education institutions, training institutions, association of municipalities,
government schools and public administration institutes, centers of excellence should all be considered
both as providers as well as recipients of capacity building services. All urban actors of society - public,
private, and non-governmental should be involved in a participatory manner
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in the efforts of making
cities work for sustainable development.
Urban stakeholders constitute a force that shapes the urban fabric, its socio-economic structure and its
changing heritage, determining the new dynamics of urbanization. These urban stakeholders are local
governments, civil society organizations, academia, private sector and habitants of the city, including
slum dwellers and new migrants to cities. Special attention should be given to involving the most
vulnerable populations such as the slum dwellers, elderly, women and children, and to ensure that
cities are inclusive and safe places. The recognition of a diverse citizenship base with a stake in the
14
process of urbanization, calls for more inclusive training programs, in line with the Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD) Declaration, which recognizes education as a vital means of
implementation for sustainable development and emphasize the potential of ESD to empower learners to
transform themselves and the society they live in by developing knowledge, skills, attitudes, competencies
and values required for addressing global citizenship
21
. Moreover, the Goal 4.7 of the Sustainable
Development Goals refers to all learners acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to promote
sustainable development.
4.7. Capacity building must be part and parcel of policy making and implementation in the New
Urban Agenda
At the early stage of the cycle of policy making not only problems but capacities and competencies in
the different sectors should be assessed in order to define needs and gaps. Knowledge gaps, pitfalls in
competences as well as institutional-related performance shortcomings and individual-related
performance deficiencies need all to be mapped
22
. This will help identify weaknesses that may
jeopardize the success of the policy under consideration. The New Urban Agenda should promote the
common practice of Training Needs Assessment at the forefront of policy development as a way to
ensure that people and organizations are adequately prepared to perform effectively in the design,
planning, implementation and management of programs and public policies.
23
It has been recognized that scarcity of qualified human resources at all levels - policy, managerial, and
technical has been for long one of the main obstacles to the improvement of cities and human
settlements
24
.
This challenge has become even more pressing since Habitat II as a result of several global
developments, namely: decentralization and devolution of responsibilities to local governments; the
unprecedented scale of population increase and urban growth leading to demographic and social
pressures at the local level resulting into unmet demand for housing, infrastructure and public services;
increasing informal urbanization and uncontrolled land occupation generating slums, vulnerabilities
and life threatening situations to be dealt with by local governments. The pressure is at the local level
where the capacity is weak both institutional and of human resources. Thus, strengthening the capacity
of local governments is about making cities work for a sustainable urban planet as advocated by the
New Urban Agenda which makes capacity building a must in the new generation of urban policies
4.8. Capacity building should be result-based and be assessed and monitored in order to anticipate
the changes of urbanization
The world is urbanizing and this trend will continue for the years to come. The process is dynamic and
consequently solutions and tools that are relevant in 2016 may need to be revisited in the future,
whether it remains relevant and responsive to the changes occurring in the social, economic,
environmental and spatial dimensions of urbanization. A capacity building action plan must be
reviewed regularly, at least every five years, to ensure that it continues to be relevant, demand-driven
and uses the state-of-the-art knowledge, tools and methodologies. Besides that, training impact
assessment and training-related development outcomes must be monitored, assessed and reported. It
takes time to change attitude, develop in-depth understanding of problems and learn from the
application of new methods and approaches. Follow-up on training outcomes and measuring its
impacts on public policies, organizational efficiency and effectiveness in decision making and
15
improvements in the quality of policy decisions take time but should be part of the implementation of
the New Urban Agenda.
1
This paper has been prepared with the contribution from a number of people and was discussed in meetings organized
within the preparatory process for the Habitat III Conference. It is an advance draft version submitted to participants,
member states representatives and delegates to the Habitat III process as a contribution to the New Urban Agenda
document. The following persons contributed in one way or another: Han Verschure, Professor Emeritus, Universit of
Leuven; Ana Falu, Gender Hub Coordinator, Master Program Coordinator, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba; Carol Archer,
University of Technology, Jamaica; Claudio Acioly Jr., Head Capacity Building Unit, UN-Habitat; Dr David Ness, Adjunct
Associate Professor, University of South Australia; Dr Michele Acuto, Director UCL City Leadership Initiative and Research
Director; Dr. Alexander R. Jachnow, Head of Department, Urban Strategies and Planning, IHS-Institute for Housing and
Urband Development Studies, EUR. Ing.arch. Jitka Molnárová, Architect and Uranist, Governing the Large Metropolis; Jean
Paul Addie, University College London; Juergen Forkel-Schubert, Focal Point PN5, Education for Sustainable Development,
NGE 350; Lara Kinneir, Course Leader, MA Spatial Planning and Urban Design, London Metropolitan University; Lilia Blades,
Capacity Development Unit, UN-Habitat; Mahesh Pradhan, Former of Head of UNEP's Environmental Education and
Training Unit, UNEP; Michael Turner, UNESCO Chair in Urban Design and Conservation Studies, Bezalel Academy of Arts and
Design; Michel Max Raynaud, Professor Agrege, University of Montreal; Miriam Liskova, SLLA Architects, University of
Bratislava; Patricia ACOSTA Restrepo, Professor Urban Studies and Planning, EKISTIKA, Universida de Rosario; Poonam
Prakash, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; Prof. Dr. Peter Gotsch, Associate
Professor for Design and Urbanism, TU Damstadt; "Prof. Semra Atabay, Yildiz Technical University;" Sahar Attia, Acting Chair
Habitat Partners University Initiative, UNI; Dean School of Architecture, Cairo University; Sandra Pinel, Fullbright NEXUS
Scholar, Antioch University New England; Tokunbo Olorundami; Vincent Rotge, Tours University; "Zeynep Kacmaz, PhD,
FHEA, IFS Unversity Colleage, London, UK;" Zinaida Fadeeva, HESI Member, United Nations University;
2
Report of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, 3-14 June 1996 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.97.IV.6), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.
3
GA Resolution 66/288, annex
4
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7
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8
The Civil Servant College
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OECD (2006). The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice
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Davidson, Forbes; Peltenburg, Monique; Teerlink, Hans and Patrick Wakely (1996). Building Capacities for Better Cities:
concepts and strategies. Paper drawn on the round table Human Resources Development for Better Cities, Rotterdam,
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16
General of Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the Overseas Development
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15
DFID (2014). How to Note Capacity Development.
16
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peace/governance/docs/46682429.pdf
17
OECD (2006). The Challenge of Capacity Development: Working Towards Good Practice
18
Urbanization for Prosperity, UN-Habitat 25
th
Session of the Governing Council. Nairobi, 2015
19
IISD Summary Report of the Seventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF7) - “Urban Equity in Development –
Cities for Life. Medellin, April 2014. , April 2014.
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st
April 2016
20
World Urban Campaign, “The City We Need”.
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accessed on 21
st
April 2016
21
Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development
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UN-Habitat (2012). Training for Better Cities. Nairobi: UN-Habitat. http://unhabitat.org/books/training-for-better-cities/
23
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24
Davidson, Forbes; Peltenburg, Monique; Teerlink, Hans and Patrick Wakely (1996). Building Capacities for Better Cities:
concepts and strategies.
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