Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) Working Group

The Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) working group of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), is a technical platform for professionals from local government associations and individual local governments active in the field of capacity development and local government development cooperation. 

Objective

The work of the CIB working group is aimed at continued policy work & advocacy, leading to further acknowledgement of the need and relevance of local government development cooperation, within UCLG and towards the international community and national governments. In addition, we focus on strong information exchange, knowledge exchange, coordination & learning among CIB members, leading to increased development effectiveness and a stronger local government development cooperation sector. And we aim to support joint member actions, strengthening the CIB network and internal structure, leading to active engagement of a CIB membership that is evenly spread, geographically. 

Approach

At its annual meeting and other (online) events, the CIB working group members discuss developments in local government development cooperation, in order to enhance the quality of their work. They also coordinate activities and programs in order to avoid overlap and duplication of efforts. In 2023, we aim to develop a toolkit to equip local government associations with materials and tools to mainstream gender equality in local policies, programs and actions.  We also train to raise awareness on SDG reporting by national associations of local governments in the form of voluntary sub national reviews.  

Results

In 2023, we added the toolkit on gender mainstreaming for local government associations to our gender hub. Also, we explored options for re-establishing a light champions program with special attention for female leaders from local governments and their associations. We have continued active knowledge exchange between CIB members, that included efforts in development cooperation with local governments.