[2 February 2016] – Cities Alliance is proud to partner with the Financial Times/International Finance Corporation (FT/IFC) Transformational Business Awards for the second year in a row.
The Transformational Business Awards are a unique global programme that highlight groundbreaking, long-term private sector solutions to key development issues. They are open to all financial and non-financial private sector organisations, with an emphasis on private sector-led public-private partnerships.
For 2016, the Awards focus on the challenges around climate change, particularly in rapidly growing urban areas, with an emphasis on the capital, technology and innovation required for substantive progress. This year’s edition also includes a revamped technology category and a new category designed to highlight issues contained in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each year, this Achievement in Sustainable Development category will centre on different SDGs or targets, beginning with food security and health in 2016. Cities Alliance is supporting a special Excellence in City-led Transformation Category that will underline achievements by municipal governments around the world. We will be involved in shortlisting of the special award, and Cities Alliance Director William Cobbett will serve on the judging panel. “We are excited to be a knowledge partner for the second year running for the FT/IFC awards,” said Susanna Henderson, Partnership Officer at Cities Alliance. “The Excellence in City Transformation award is a wonderful way to bring to the forefront and reward innovative, transformational solutions coming directly from the cities.” In 2015 the Excellence in City-led Transformation award was won by Da Nang, Vietnam for its comprehensive, citywide reform programme, which also included firm targets backed by administrative reforms to make the process effective. India’s Agra Municipal Council was highly commended for its citywide slum upgrading plan, which was also supported by the Cities Alliance. Award categories For 2016, the programme will recognise, showcase and reward innovation, impact, replicability, financial viability and sustainability on a transactional basis across the following categories:
-- Achievement in Low-Carbon Urban Transformation
-- Achievement in Transformational Technology
-- Achievement in Transformational Finance
-- Achievement in Sustainable Development, with a focus on Sustainable Agriculture
-- Maternal and Infant Health
-- Special Category: Excellence in City-led Transformation
The winners in each category will be announced at a special dinner in London on 9 June 2016. The dinner will be preceded by the FT/IFC Transformational Business Conference, a major gathering of thought leaders who will explore and debate the issues generated by the Awards. The deadline for entries is 15 March 2016. For more information about the awards or to apply, please visit https://live.ft.com/Events/2016/FT-IFC-Transformational-Business-Awards
Representatives of Da Nang, Vietnam, winner of the 2015 Excellence in City-led Transformation Award, with Cities Alliance Director William Cobbett (second from right). Photo: Financial Times
For more information about the awards or to apply, please visit the FT/IFC website:
