At its 2004 Annual Meeting, the Cities Alliance Consultative Group approved the first phase of the work programme for the Slum Upgrading Facility (SUF), a new global facility located within the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). SUF is designed to provide technical assistance to help cities and countries develop bankable housing projects for low-income households, the upgrading of slums, and for the provision of urban infrastructure.

Jointly funded by DFID and SIDA, the central approach of SUF is to assist developing countries to mobilize domestic capital by facilitating links among local actors and by packaging the financial, technical and political elements into attractive investments.

Following the completion of the Design Phase during 2005, the SUF Pilot Project Implementation Phase will run for an initial three-year period. During this phase, a number of countries were identified to test the SUF criteria, which include:

  1. an established local government system with a mandate for slum upgrading, and recognized as such by central government,
  2. community groups engaged in slum upgrading activities, and
  3. an established local capital market.
It is expected that more detailed preparations will commence in a number of partner countries once the personnel arrangements and implementation teams have been appointed.