URBAN SECTOR CONSULTANTSWorking with people for people in an urban setting

We are convinced that an effecti-ve public service is necessary for developing democracy and equita-ble and sustainable socio-economic growth. It is a crucial element of good governance. Local govern-ment, especially in urban settings, is at the forefront in the interface between the public service and society. It is here that ordinary citizens have most frequent and most direct contact with public in-stitutions. It is also here that public services can most easily consult civil society, and build trust through participatory approaches to impro-ving the quality of life.

SIPU International is a consultancy and training organisation specialising in public service development and reform. We collabo-rate with parliaments, national governments, provincial and local governments and other public service organisations covering a wide range of sectors. We operate in a global context in developing and transitional countries.

Our view on public administration

MethodsIn our work as consultants we see our client as the owner and partner in the development process. SIPU is the facilitator; offering development tools that strengthen our clients’ capacity to solve their own problems.

ApproachOur approach is simple: we work with people for people. Develop-ment is about people. SIPU offers a particular combination of experien-ce from public and private sectors, that enables us to identify with the world of the public sector while simultaneously being able to relate directly to actors in the private sector.

We also work at different levels of Government, from national policy development to local operational guidelines, from sector specific issues like physical planning and low cost housing, to cross-cutting themes like gender and HIV/AIDS issues in the work place. The following describes a few of those

areas in which SIPU International can provide qualified support.

The SettingUrban centres have been the stimu-lators and generators of innova-tion and development throughout human history. They have always been the focal points of trade and commerce, and centres of wealth creation, as well as the seats of advanced learning.

The concentration of people in towns and cities creates the pre-conditions for competition, debate, and change – whether through steady and deliberate, or sudden and revolutionary means. The process continues, and our world is more urban than it has ever been. But it is not nearly as ur-ban as it will be in another 20 years.

On the other hand, urban settle-ments are also the locations of the greatest concentrations of human poverty, and of the widest dispari-ties in wealth and living standards. Many of the largest urban concen-trations lie in coastal zones, where both sudden and long term hazards are frequent, and where the poor generally live in marginal areas. The result is that the urban poor in coastal cities are without doubt the most vulnerable of all social groups.

As trade barriers fall, technology advances, and finances flow more rapidly, city managers face not only local and national challenges, but increasing global competition for resources. Urban governments can seldom do this on their own, but are bound to work within the framework of higher levels of government.

DecentralisationOne response lies in decentra-lisation of responsibilities and

functions from higher levels of government to local authorities. SIPU International can support this process, as well as the further delegation of responsibilities from municipal central offices to urban district offices.

Millenium Development GoalsThe international community meanwhile is challenging all nations, and supporting them, to achieve the basic living standards expressed in the Millennium Deve-lopment Goals. Meeting these

goals while simultaneously facing a multipicity of other chanllenges, places demands on local authorities to improve productivity, service delivery and cost-effectiveness. These in turn mean organisational adjustments and human resource development programs. This is at the heart of SIPU Internatio-nal’score business. IT and CommunicationsInformation technology is ba-sic to the improvement of local government service productivity. Computerisation of municipal administration is a precondition for modern e-governance, inclu-ding the introduction of IT-based management and administration, and the integration of geographical information systems.

Communication technology is increasing awareness in all social

sectors, and awakening expectations of better living standards. Public participation in municipal matters, improved transparency in local go-vernment, and general democrati-sation, are answers to the pressures resulting from these expectations. SIPU International has worked in these spheres in several countries, including those traumatised by war, and others undergoing fundamental economic transition.

Public - Private PartnershipsIt is recognised that the challenges of sustainable urban development require the integration of inputs

from the private and the public sector. The public sector must faci-litate the mobilisation of resources that exist in the business communi-ty and private households. It must also set the conditions that generate trust in public institutions, such as social justice, a sense of participa-ting in those decisions that affect one’s life, and fair access to public services. SIPU International can provide advisory services in the fields of public procurement, public-private partnerships, the mobilisation of non-public resources in urban ma-nagement and development, as well as privatisastion or out-sourcing traditionally public services.

Sustainability and Climate Change Cities face special challenges in the face of increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events stemming from changing climates. Resource consumption and waste production are increasing with im-proved social well-being, but they cause their own hazards. Climate

change and sustainability have be-come focal issues for city managers. SIPU can assist local authorities with sustainability assessments and climate change adaptation pro-grammes for improved environ-mental and resource management in the face of these challenges.

Integrated ApproachSustainable urban development requires an approach that integrates the needs of all economic and ser-vice sectors. SIPU International’s own staff and it’s extensive network of associated sectoral consul-tants are well suited to undertake integrated planning – at strategic, comprehensive, and detailed levels – linking institutional, economic, environmental, infrastructural and spatial aspects in a holistic app-roach towards sustainable futures. The company’s consultants are particularly cognisant of the urban manager’s need to continue running the city on a daily basis while preparing long term strategic plans and short or medium term action programs.

SIPU International has special in-house competence in a number of cross-cutting themes, such as the management of HIV/AIDS and gender issues in local government, addressing all forms of discrimi-nation in local government institu-tions, and minimizing discriminato-ry impacts in service provision.

SIPU can support specific sectors, such as:• Local government capacity development• Housing development and urban upgrading;• Urban land management;• Informal settlement regularisation and improvement;• Financial management, budgeting, procurement;• Local environmental management

SIPU can also:• undertake feasibility studies, appraisals, evaluations, monitoring of

progress, performance audits and other administrative studies;

• organize regional and international study tours, conferences, facilitate seminars, workshops;

• run international training courses. SIPU International has staff certi-fied to carry out Logical Framework Approach training;

• produce guidelines, manuals and handbooks. These are tasks common to many of the company’s projects.

• Public Administration Reform• Human Resource Management and Development• Public Finance Management• Market Development• Local Government & Urban Development• Civil Society Development• Project Cycle Management & Evaluation• Gender• Natural Resource and Environmental Management• International Training Programmes• Training for Swedish Clients

SIPU International is committed to democracy, good governance, and gender equality. We are recognised for our participative app-roach and our orientation towards sustainable results.

SIPU offers consultancy and training in the following areas:

For further information please contact:Tim Greenhow: tim.greenhow@sipu.se

www.sipuinternational.se