UNDA 12th tranche project on innovative financing for sustainable smart cities

The project supports the transition of beneficiary cities towards being smart and sustainable with a view to support countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) and other urban related SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Improved capacities of local and national government officials of five countries in the UNECE region to develop and implement sustainable urban policies will result from:

• Evaluation of performance of cities
• Capacity-building activities to promote evidence-based policies and the vertical and horizontal coordination between different government agencies with participation of the cities’ inhabitants.

The project uses the UNECE approach “Sustainable Smart Cities with Innovative Financing” to facilitate the work in the cities. The approach takes a city through the full cycle from city evaluation as Sustainable and Smart, to recommendations on how to move it forward in this area, to supporting the innovative financing and investments to concrete city projects.

The expected result would be evidenced by each of the participating cities having developed concrete measures, endorsed by the local as well as national governments, to implement recommendations stemming from the smart sustainable city profiles. The project will support achieving SDG 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” as well as other SDGs, including SDGs 3, 6, 9, 13 and the New Urban Agenda.

Beneficiary cities

• Grodno (Belarus)
• Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan)
• Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
• Tblisi (Georgia)
• Podgorica (Montenegro)

• UN-Habitat
• UNDP in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Montenegro
• Offices of UN Resident Coordinators in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Montenegro

Events:

1. 19 February 2020 - Roundtable on Evidence-Based Policies for Sustainable Development and Innovative Financing in Kyrgyzstan
2. 15 May 2020 - Webinar on Innovative Financing Toolbox for Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
3. 27 May 2020 - Webinar on Sustainable Smart Cities Profile for project beneficiary cities from Belarus (Grodno), Kazakhstan (Nur-Sultan), and Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek)
4. 05 June 2020 – Webinar on Innovative Financing Toolbox for Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
5. 02 July 2020 - Webinar on Benchmarking in the context of KPI4SSC evaluation
6. 21 January 2021 - Webinar to launch a project in Tbilisi
7. 10 March 2021 - Bishkek: Towards Smart Sustainable City and its post COVID-19 recovery
8. 8 April 2021 - Smart Sustainable Cities for the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda in the UNECE Region in Tbilisi (Georgia)
9. 12 April 2021 - Toolbox for formulating investment proposals for sustainable smart city projects in Tblisi (Georgia)
10. 15 April 2021 - Innovative financing and planning of cooperation in 2021 on smart and sustainable urban development
11. 23 June 2021 - Bishkek: Towards Sustainable Smart and Resilient City
12. 6 July 2021 - Launch of the “Smart Sustainable Cities for the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda in the UNECE region” Project for Podgorica
13. 13 August 2021 - Grodno: Towards a Sustainable, Smart and Resilient City
14. 26-30 September 2022 - Workshop on Smart Sustainable City Tirana
15. 28 February 2023 - Workshop "“Integrated Development of Five Residential Areas in Bishkek”