| Overview : The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is a UN organization with a capital mandate (unique in the UN System) focused on reducing poverty and inequality first and foremost in the least developed countries (“LDC”s).??UNCDF develops and tests out financial models which mobilize and recycle domestic resources to meet local needs and which raise investor confidence in these local economies so that they can become centres of growth. UNCDF works with local governments, promoting financial and fiscal accountability to its citizens through local development funds, performance-based grant systems, structured project finance, and by strengthening local revenue streams. It also supports accountable planning, budgeting, and decision-making at the local level, recognizing the importance of having decisions about resources being made locally, and those resources being spent or invested locally. UNCDF in partnership with the Cities Alliance, the global partnership for poverty reduction and the promotion of cities in sustainable development with a representative global membership of over 30 full and associate members is implementing the Joint Work Proramme on Equitable Economic Growth in Cities in Uganda. The JWP on Equitable Economic Growth in Cities (2016-2020) focuses on supporting equitable access to public goods and services by all citizens and formal and informal businesses in cities. It works with development partners to produce global knowledge, facilitate policy dialogues and support city-level diagnostics and policy recommendations. The goal is to support growth trajectories increasingly characterised by equity, inclusion and environmental sustainability. UNCDF is specifically responsible for implementation of JWP Component 3: The Campaign Cities Initiative. The main objective is to assist two municipal governments in Uganda, the municipalities of Gulu and Mbale, to develop well-researched and evidence-based policy recommendations on how to improve the delivery of municipal public goods and service that contribute to equitable economic growth. Also, the project will facilitate UNCDF and other JWP members to support the promotion of equitable access to public goods and services in the selected Ugandan cities, based on local needs, capacities and priorities. During a 24-month local support initiative, the two Ugandan municipalities will be assisted in producing a number of outputs, such as an Institutional Enabling Environment Report, a Local Assessment Report, and city-level evidence-based policy briefs and recommendations. Two themes were identified through a participatory and consultative process for Local Assessment Reports in Gulu and Mbale – Public Space and Land Management, and Local Economic Development. Local Assessment Reports are intended to provide detailed information about a particular public service, its scope, delivery mechanisms and recommendations about service improvements required to promote equitable economic growth. A Local Assessment Report contains a situation analysis and mapping of the city economy in terms of factors, systems and structures related to the provision of and access to public goods, resulting in a clearly documented evidence base. It is the key input to inform city-level evidence-based policy briefs and recommendations to specify policy, legal and regulatory actions to be employed by municipal authorities to implement the LAR recommendations. Objectives of the Consultancy: Municipal governments are the primary agents for LED because they address a wide range of economic development needs and issues: business regulations and infrastructure, tax, sites and premises, waste collection, education and training. They can identify and provide leadership, and organize coalitions and partnerships within a city and region. They have the democratic mandate and responsibility, and represent the needs of the entire community. The New Urban Development Agenda (2016) stresses the need to take advantage of the opportunities of urbanization as an engine of sustained and inclusive economic growth, social and cultural development, and environmental protection, and of its potential contributions to the achievement of transformative and sustainable development. Specifically, it calls on businesses to apply their creativity and innovation toward solving sustainable development challenges in urban areas, acknowledging that private business activity, investment, and innovation are major drivers of productivity, inclusive growth and job creation and that private investment is an essential element of development efforts. Hence, UNCDF seeks to engage a Lead Consultant to prepare a Local Assessment Report on Local Economic Development in Gulu and Mbale and perform other relevant activities associated with this output. The objective of the LAR is to establish a reliable evidence base with respect to the public space and land management in the target municipalities from the perspective of public service delivery that fosters equitable economic growth. |
