The Cities Alliance is pleased to announce the grantees for our 2014 Call for Proposals for our Catalytic Fund. We received a record 239 applications, and after an extensive review process, approved 11 proposals in principle for funding, for a total of USD 2,004,768.
It is our most global Catalytic Fund to date, with projects in Haiti, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Namibia, India, Myanmar, and the West Bank /Gaza Strip. They are varied and innovative, ranging from urban databases to an app that helps improve urban safety and advocacy.
The range of recipients is also diverse – civil society organisations, a local government, the private sector, a multi-lateral organisation and two Cities Alliance members.
The strong response reflected the timely theme for this year’s Call, “Know Your City.” Proposals were requested in five focus areas: Know your city finances and assets; know your citizens – social accountability; know ALL of your city and its constituencies; know the future potential of your city – methodologies for planning; and know the emerging issues.
The 11 projected selected are:
- The development of an urban information system for the Canaan neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
- An activity to help make Guatemala City’s public transportation system more transparent and safer, especially for women in poor and underserved communities
- A collaboration between SDI and the African Association of Planning Schools (AAPS) to hold learning studios in four African secondary cities to promote inclusive cities and develop partnerships among communities, urban planners, and municipal governments
- Collecting data in two cities in Peru – metropolitan Lima and Callao –to enable better public safety strategies and greater citizen engagement in the process.
- Undertaking of Safety Audits in Delhi, Bogota and Nairobi to help improve safety, especially for women; and expand the use of SafetiPin, a mobile app that provides safety-related information collected by users.
- Development of an online platform to make it easier for residents of La Paz, Bolivia to provide feedback on city slum upgrading initiatives
- An activity to help urban residents in Bissau obtain access to basic services and develop linkages with local authorities
- Creation of an innovative data collection system that will provide the urban poor in Monrovia, Liberia with the tools and skills needed to collect data about their own communities, and inform a city planning and service delivery strategy
- Mapping informal communities in Yangon, Myanmar
- Development of an urban database for residents of four East Jerusalem neighbourhoods to help them negotiate with local authorities on improving housing conditions and emergency services.
- Collecting information on water flows in Bangalore, India to fill a key knowledge gap in water demand and supply.
The Catalytic Fund is a Cities Alliance global funding instrument which provides grant support for innovative projects that strengthen and promote the role of cities in poverty reduction and in sustainable urban development.
