[20 February 2018] -- For the past 18 years, the Cities Alliance has operated in an environment in which very few organisations prioritised cities as a key developmental issue, and in a context where the international agenda lacked an urban focus.
Now, however, several global agreements – notably the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda, and the Paris Agreement on climate change – have a strong urban focus and rely on cities for their implementation.
In this context, the Cities Alliance has launched a new strategic plan that aims to position the organisation within the framework of these global agreements and support their implementation. The Cities Alliance Assembly formally approved the plan at its annual meeting in Jinja, Uganda in December 2017.
The plan acknowledges the Cities Alliance's shift from one that provides grants, to one that pools resources and makes sense of them programmatically for more coordinated, systemic change.
It outlines a Mission, Vision and Strategic Objective for the partnership and structures our activities within two windows: Country/City, and Global. It also focuses our work programme through 2021 on four main themes: Equitable economic growth; resilience, cities and climate change; gender equality and women’s empowerment; and cities and migration.
Mission
We improve the lives of urban populations by delivering integrated, citywide and innovative solutions to urban poverty in cities where it matters the most.
Vision
We provide technical support and grants to local and national actors to deliver policies and programmes that directly address urban poverty and gender inequality in cities.
We are a leading agent for urban change with a clear focus on secondary cities in rapidly urbanising economies, working in those countries where it matters most. We also leverage the collective expertise of our partnership to catalyse new urban thinking and solutions at a global level.
Strategic Objective
We seek to improve the lives of 20 million of the world’s urban poor and empower women in more than 60 cities across seven or more countries by 2021 as part of global efforts to implement the SDGs.
Operations
Cities Alliance works through two main funding windows:
-- A Country/City Window, which provides technical assistance at the city and national level across multiple countries. This window includes the new Innovation Fund, which will provide small grants to local authorities and communities to support innovative approaches to urban transformation, promoting both new ideas and organisations.
-- The Global Window, which promotes new analytical and collaborative approaches to tackle key policy issues. This window includes our regional and Joint Work Programmes.
Jinja,Uganda hosted the Cities Alliance Assembly 2017. Partnership is the DNA of the Cities Alliance. From left: Francis Byabagambi, Town Clerk of Jinja; Harouna Ouelogo, Mayor of Tenkodogo, Burkina Faso; Yombi Ouedraogo, Technical Counselor, Urban Programme Burkina Faso; Majid Batambuze, Mayor of Jinja. The new Cities Alliance strategic plan positions the organisation within the framework of recent global agreements and supports their implementation.
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