5. Policy implications for city-to-city partnerships and ways forward
This chapter draws policy implications from the pilot testing of the self-assessment framework by 27 partnership promoters. In addition, the chapter suggests ways forward using the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework that go beyond the pilot testing. In particular, its application should help document and facilitate more robust evidence-based territorial policies to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while strengthening multi-level governance, building capacity and improving transparency and accountability, including for official development assistance (ODA) reporting.
This chapter presents policy insights from the policy dialogue conducted over 2 years with more than 100 stakeholders from the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), the co-ordination facility of the Partnerships for Sustainable Cities programme and representatives of those partnerships. The first section highlights the main policy implications derived from the results of the pilot testing with 27 partnerships, while the second takes a more macro-level perspective going beyond the pilot testing. It proposes ways forward for city-to-city partnerships using the M&E framework.
Territorial approach
Cities could further promote their city-to-city partnerships as a means to enhance the implementation of a territorial approach. City-to-city partnerships hold the potential to focus further on activities aiming to address concrete local challenges such as urban mobility, affordable housing and gender equality. The key thematic areas could be based on specific priority SDGs and areas of expertise that are a priority for both partners. In that context, guidelines for DDC activities, including city-to-city partnerships that incorporate the SDGs as a guiding principle, can promote policy coherence between the external development actions and the implementation and localisation of the SDGs in their territory, e.g. by setting joint priorities and engaging in external activities based on the local and regional core competencies. Another way to ensure that city-to-city partnerships have a long-term impact is the integration into local development strategies, which is an area where the surveyed partnerships have space for improvement. On top of that, principles such as territorial partnership, reciprocity, proximity and territorial governance should be better acknowledged in city-to-city partnerships to increase the exchange of knowledge, good practices and peer-to-peer learning.
Multi-level governance
Strengthening multi-level governance and co-ordination is key to greater effectiveness of city-to-city partnerships. A well-functioning multi-level governance framework for DDC allows for the promotion of coherent DDC strategies and horizontal and vertical co-ordination of DDC actors and stakeholders. It can for example be beneficial for cities if their region provides incentives to contribute to their DDC priorities and programmes in order to increase their impact. One way to do so is through regular networking meetings between municipalities and regions acting in the same partner country. These can help exploit synergies such as the common use of infrastructure and resources and improved co-ordination between actors involved in projects in the same geographic area. In addition, the SDGs could be used as a tool to define and align priorities for DDC across levels of government. The framework of the 2030 Agenda provides an opportunity to set common goals and targets for DDC between municipalities, states and the national level, e.g. through the prioritisation of specific SDGs.
Rural-urban connectivity
City-to-city partnerships should enhance rural-urban connectivity and co-operation, including between primary and intermediary cities. A functional approach to territories (based on where people work and live rather than administrative boundaries) allows for better analysis and provision of policy solutions to issues that span beyond a city’s administrative boundaries such as transport, water, solid waste, climate change and labour market dynamics. It is therefore important that city-to-city partnerships facilitate territorial linkages between urban and rural areas and carry out joint strategies to promote an integrated territorial development approach. While some partnerships assess possible economic, environmental and social gains at a functional scale, there is still room for improvement to co-ordinate strategies across administrative boundaries within a functional urban area.
Data and indicators
City-to-city partnerships should aim to expand the production and collection of disaggregated data on their activities. Poor quantity, quality and accessibility of data and information are one of the most common explanations for the lack of awareness of the relevance of city-to-city partnerships, duplication of efforts, fragmentation of actions and lack of co-ordination. To increase the availability of relevant data on city-to-city partnerships, further efforts are needed to encourage the exchange of approaches and practices in mainstreaming SDG indicators in planning and policy documents. Joint working groups with territorial stakeholders and key actors involved in the partnership could support the production and disclosure of data and information in a shared responsibility, which is an area where many partnerships see space for improvement. Such dialogues could also help to agree on key performance indicators across cities involved in the partnership. To expand information, city-to-city partnerships could implement DDC knowledge-sharing activities at public events, social media and online webpages showcasing the tangible outcomes and benefits of DDC projects.
Monitoring and evaluation
Putting in place M&E frameworks is key to assessing the implementation of city-to-city partnerships and their impact. M&E frameworks should be underpinned by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) principles of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability and linked to the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation indicators and SDGs. They should assess the level of alignment between the actions of the partnership and local and national policies in partner countries, the level of ownership over the process, the level of dialogue and participation by partner organisations in the definition, implementation and M&E of the project as well as the potential for reciprocity among partners. Formal M&E requirements support the development of such M&E frameworks. A harmonised or standardised approach to M&E of city-to-city partnerships can allow for comparability while leaving scope for individual partnership characteristics and needs. One of the main objectives of M&E should be to contribute to a learning process so that the information gathered informs political decision making and further develop and adjust the partnership in the future. To foster that process and improve transparency and accountability, M&E results should be made publicly available, which was often not the case among the surveyed partnerships.
Peer-to-peer learning
Strengthening the peer-to-peer learning function of city-to-city partnerships could help generate higher returns on investment and benefits for the partners involved. Cities involved in partnerships should set up regular in-person exchanges or joint workshops to foster the transfer of knowledge and share good practices. Furthermore, the provision of staff on loan to work in the administration of the partner city can help transfer expertise and provide learning opportunities. Engagement in international networks and information sharing via webinars are also valuable means to exchange best practices. It can also help to actively reach out to peer cities via email and social media to get inspiration and search for new practices and innovative approaches. Assessing the replicability and transferability of good practices and better acknowledging principles such as territorial partnership, reciprocity, proximity and territorial governance, in city-to-city partnerships can also increase the exchange of knowledge, good practices and peer-to-peer learning.
Capacity development
Municipalities should support capacity development and build local managerial capital and skills for effective, efficient and inclusive city-to-city partnerships implementation. Offering capacity-building training modules and workshops for actors involved in city-to-city partnerships can for example help address imbalances and create bridges among actors and territories with different levels of expertise and knowledge. National and global associations of local governments, non-governmental organisations and research centres can offer valuable contributions to consolidate and expand skills and competencies needed to deliver intended outcomes. Some local and regional government associations, for example the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG) in Flanders, are developing initiatives for training and peer learning for their members involved in DDC. Capacity-building activities should also be used to collect and analyse evidence about the impact of different policies implemented in the framework of the city-to-city partnerships, which is an area where many surveyed partnerships have space for improvement. Capacity building is often linked to the availability of funding. It is therefore essential that partnerships consider capacity building and skills development as one of their key priorities and, accordingly, allocate a dedicated budget to them.
Stakeholder engagement
Promoting stakeholder engagement helps increase the ownership and accountability of city-to-city partnership activities. Involving multiple actors in city-to-city partnerships spanning sectors and levels of government can help maximise the impact of DDC activities. It can also help empower communities and generate ownership and long-term sustainability, allowing for the generation of place-based knowledge, expertise and good practices. To that end, it is important to identify relevant actors, e.g. through a stakeholder mapping and assessment of their level of involvement, an activity that most surveyed partnerships have already implemented. To improve the impact, the partners engaged in the partnership should clearly define the objectives of stakeholder engagement and outline how they are expecting to use their inputs in the city-to-city partnership. In addition, there should be regular assessments of stakeholder engagement cost and obstacles at large, which is an area where many surveyed partnerships identified space for improvement. One way to promote partnerships with actors such as civil society and the private sector is through the framework of the 2030 Agenda, in particular by linking the SDGs to key territorial development challenges addressed by the city-to-city partnership, e.g. sustainable urban mobility, that are of interest for both public and private actors.
Financing
Effective financing and efficient resource mobilisation strategies should be developed and there are several means to secure funding for city-to-city partnerships. The SDGs, for example, can be a common language across different levels of government. They can furthermore facilitate engagement with the private sector and attract investors who seek to provide SDG-compatible finance and develop public-private partnerships, which half of the surveyed partnerships have not done yet. In addition, municipalities could explore the use of blended finance vehicles (e.g. pooled financing, guarantees and financing arrangements to catalyse long-term resources). In this context, implementing the OECD DAC Blended Finance Principles to support local development priorities and ensure blended finance can promote a sound local enabling environment for responsible borrowing. Furthermore, facilitating access to innovative financing tools such as green bonds, land value capture mechanisms and infrastructure funds that can help de-risking investments is another way to facilitate access to additional resources for the implementation of the partnerships. Lastly, integrating the SDGs in budgeting processes can help ensure that adequate resources are allocated for addressing the key territorial development issues targeted by the partnership and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda more broadly.
Digitalisation
Strategies should be developed to build human, technological, and infrastructural capacities of the local and regional governments to make use of and incorporate digitalisation best practices in city-to-city partnerships. To develop such capacities, local governments involved in city-to-city partnerships should expand their collaboration with technology-savvy stakeholders such as start-ups and innovative civil society organisations to develop smart and digital solutions for urban development problems. In addition, sharing information is important to guide and improve partnerships. Technology and innovation can be major drivers to encourage and facilitate information sharing, not only between data producers and users but also between DDC actors. It can lead to improved accountability, for example, if used to encourage stakeholders to exchange information with each other via interactive digital platforms. Setting specific targets related to digitalisation, an option implemented by a few of the surveyed partnerships, can be a means to incentivise the update of digital solutions in the partnerships and thus boost citizen well-being by delivering more efficient, sustainable and inclusive urban services and environment.
The proposed M&E framework for city-to-city partnerships (Chapter 3) allows cities to assess the sustainability of their partnerships and their contribution to the SDGs. Using a harmonised indicator set, the framework also allows comparing the progress of different partnerships towards the SDGs. In addition, the indicators and the application of the scoreboard in the self-assessment make it possible to measure developments over time. The list of proposed indicators also incentivises cities to invest in their statistical capacities, in particular to expand and improve data collection for evidence-based policy making. Beyond supporting the assessment of the ten G20 High-level Principles and measurement of progress of the SDGs, the proposed M&E framework holds the potential to help local governments involved in city-to-city partnerships carry out a number of functions summarised in Figure 5.1 and hereinafter detailed.
Develop evidence-based territorial policies to achieve the SDGs
The M&E framework should help cities to develop and implement evidence-based and sustainable policies to achieve the SDGs. In particular, the M&E framework should help cities assess their strengths and weaknesses and define their local needs and priorities to formulate evidence-based policies. The engagement and participatory approach underlying the self-assessment process should provide an opportunity to jointly develop concrete measures with stakeholders to tackle local development challenges and monitor their progress over time.
Monitor the progress towards achieving the SDGs to raise awareness of existing gaps and areas to prioritise
Local governments engaged in city-to-city partnerships should use the M&E framework to monitor their progress towards achieving the SDGs and thereby raise the awareness of their politicians, policy makers, decision makers and citizens on the remaining distance to travel to reach end values, and the main policy areas to prioritise based on identified gaps. To that effect, they should use the indicators of the simplified or long list depending on their data availability and data collection capacities to assess their strengths and weaknesses regarding the SDGs. Furthermore, local governments should use the indicators to inform policy makers about the impact of the partnership’s actions and potential policy areas that require additional efforts and focus. Building on that and as a next step, local governments and territorial stakeholders should adjust and redesign their city-to-city partnerships and activities based on the evidence collected through the M&E process.
Expand data collection and availability
The proposed M&E framework should help incentivise local governments engaged in city-to-city partnerships to expand their data collection efforts. Joint working groups with experts from the statistical offices and other key actors could facilitate strategies on how to produce data and disclose information from the simplified or long list of the proposed M&E framework. To that end, the cities engaged in the partnership should collaborate with their regional and national statistical offices to expand knowledge and measurement approaches across levels of government and partnerships. Their data collection efforts should also incorporate new sources such as geospatial and satellite data.
Assess the coherence of city-to-city partnerships with the G20 Principles
Local governments should use the self-assessment framework to assess the coherence of their city-to-city partnerships with the ten G20 Rome High-level Principles on city-to-city partnerships for localising the SDGs (G20 Principles), which provide a relevant tool to initiate, develop and monitor city-to-city partnerships for the SDGs. Applying the G20 Principles in their own partnerships allows local governments to understand on which area of their partnership they need to put an additional focus. The workshops organised as part of the self-assessment process can help collect the views of stakeholders, assess them and jointly develop follow-up actions to make partnerships more sustainable and aligned with the G20 Principles.
Strengthen multi-level governance
Local governments should use the M&E framework to strengthen their multi-level governance for the achievement of the SDGs. In particular, they should use the process of the self-assessment framework to foster dialogue and communication across city departments and with other levels of government. A harmonised M&E framework for city-to-city partnerships provides an opportunity for the local administration to align priorities across levels of government and to improve the coherence of data collection, targets and indicators. This could also help improve comparability across partnerships and thus better derive good practices and lessons learned that could potentially be replicated by other partnerships.
Engage stakeholders and create ownership
The process to conduct the self-assessment for city-to-city partnerships to localise the SDGs should help engage territorial stakeholders in the M&E of the partnership. By stimulating a transparent, neutral, open, inclusive and forward-looking dialogue across stakeholders on what works, what does not, what should be improved and who can do what in the context of city-to-city partnership, the M&E framework also aims to improve their ownership of the M&E process. The cities engaged in the partnership should conduct a mapping of stakeholders involved to ensure a high level of representation of stakeholders in the assessment, including representatives from the public administration, ideally from different levels of government, civil society organisations, academia, youth and the private sector, donor agencies and financial institutions. The integration of stakeholders in the M&E of the partnership should help them see how their contribution can lead to an improvement of the current institutional setting and policies implemented in the framework of the city-to-city partnership.
The multi-stakeholder dialogue foreseen as part of the self-assessment should help build capacities among territorial stakeholders involved in city-to-city partnerships. It should help them reflect on various elements of the partnership such as the local policies, multi-level governance and data collection and find solutions to improve them. The exchange with other actors involved in the partnership should also help them acquire the necessary knowledge and evidence of the impact of the activities of the partnership. One way is through capacity-building activities on the measurement of the impact of different policies implemented in the framework of the city-to-city partnership.
Facilitate peer-to-peer learning
Considering the universality of the M&E framework, local governments should also use it to facilitate peer-to-peer learning to learn how other partnerships have overcome identified obstacles and challenges. It should thus contribute to a learning process and generate new information that can inform decision-making and further improve city-to-city partnerships and DDC activities. It is therefore important that the M&E framework is not only considered a reporting tool but oriented towards the assessment of results building on the critical analysis of information. To foster that process, local governments could set up regular meetings with their peers that are also engaged in city-to-city partnerships to exchange their approaches to M&E and learn from good practices. Engagement in regional, national networks and international fora can help local governments facilitate such peer-to-peer learning on the M&E of city-to-city partnerships.
Improve transparency and accountability
The M&E framework should help local governments improve the transparency of their activities, reduce information asymmetries and enhance the accountability of their actions. Local governments should aim to generate future opportunities to continue to engage their stakeholders and track progress on the objectives of the partnership defined in the workshops. They should set up an accountability mechanism to facilitate this process and verify that stakeholder inputs were considered and addressed. Furthermore, it is important for M&E results to be made available to the general public to provide greater transparency, which can create opportunities for other DDC actors to learn from success stories and good practices. As an example, knowledge-sharing activities and the disclosure of quantitative and qualitative data in public events, social media and dedicated web pages can help disseminate information and improve transparency and accountability of the partnership.