Urban issues have recently resurfaced at the top of the international development agenda, although this change has been slow. Following decades of failed multi-sectoral development programs, urban development as an overarching issue was side-stepped, with efforts becoming segregated to focus on specific issues – such as infrastructure, telecommunications, finance, sanitation, transportation, etc. – rather than an integrated approach to address the larger issue of urban poverty.
Donors and practitioners are now re-examining how they can best affect urban poverty and devise replicable, sustainable models for improving the lives of the urban poor. To this end, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation enlisted the efforts of the Development Innovations Group (DIG) to implement Urbis: The Urban Learning Laboratory, with the aim of exploring the urban paradigm and determining how to invest most effectively in strategies to combat urban poverty. Urbis is pursuing a dual agenda. First, it seeks to develop best practices in capacitating pro-poor urban innovators; second, it is determining how a facility such as Urbis could potentially expand and lead to successful replication of effective pro-poor urban capacity initiatives beyond the core cities Urbis currently targets.
DIG has been actively exploring how to (1) support capacity and strategic growth of on-the-ground pro-poor organizations and (2) help organizations representing poor urban populations “find their voice”—that is, decisively improve their ability to influence policies and decisions affecting planning and development in urban settings.
Through this learning, Urbis is will ultimately help practitioners in the field of urban poverty alleviation understand why some initiatives are more successful than others. We will do this by developing and applying methodologies that both support the capacity and strategic growth of NGOs serving the urban poor, as well as integrate the needs of the urban poor into planning and development processes.
Urbis appreciates the urgency of urban development, for with around than 50 percent of the world’s population living in cities, development programs can no longer ignore urban issues. The challenges in urban development, however, are largely due to the complex nature and the precarious connection between urban poverty’s various components, including land tenure, housing, legal frameworks, advocacy and empowerment of the poor. Often, volatile political situations or centralized government systems that allow little room for civic-led change complicate this already tenuous landscape. With the growing pressure of rural poverty, however, the world has witnessed unprecedented levels of rural-urban migration in recent years, bringing the urban development problem back into the spotlight.
Urbis’ long-term vision for success includes answering the questions above and strengthening the institutional capacity of NGOs and community-based organizations, as well as their ability to network with government officials and with one another to better advocate for the urban poor.
Overview of the Development Innovations Group (DIG)
DIG is a private, women-owned management and consulting firm dedicated to excellence in the fields of development finance, urban and community services. DIG’s geographical focus includes Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The organization is committed to expanding the frontiers of finance and development by working with partners to design and implement innovative, high-impact programs, and by helping poor families and entrepreneurs around the world increase their income and build their asset base. DIG is also home to some of the world’s leading microfinance and housing finance experts.
