International workshop Venice - March 11-12 1999 Concepts and Paradigms of Urban Management in the Context of Developing Countries
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Françoise Lieberherr (SDC, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Berne, Switzerland)

"Some Information on Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation/SDC. Urban Development Sector"

Question 1. Specificity of SDC / Swiss Development Cooperation

THE GUIDELINES OF THE SDC FOR THE 1990s :

The orientations of SDC in urban development are in line with the political framework of 1990s Guidelines (new Guidelines are in preparation for early 1999) :

• Five SDC priorities
  • reinforcement of autonomy of developing countries, regions and local entities
  • support to the poor (1976 federal law)
  • improvement in the management of environmental problems
  • improvement of productivity and working conditions
  • increasing of the value of human resources (health, education, training)

• Mandate
  SDC is part of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. It coordinates development cooperation focused on long-term objectives to improve the living conditions of people, and humanitarian aid aiming at immediate action.

• Countries and sectors
  SDC has defined a certain number of priority countries (among the less advanced ones) in Africa, Asia and Latin America (19) and more recently in Eastern Europe. In each country some priority sectors (3-4) are defined in a strategy document.

• Activities
  More than 30 years of activities in developing countries. Financial assistance as non-tied grants linked with technical assistance.

• Perspectives of solidarity, dialogue and mutual cooperation, respect for human dignity and human rights, respect for other cultures and values.

SDC URBAN DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND ACTIVITIES

First SDC Urban Guidelines have been defined in 1980, proposing that aid in the cities should be directed towards micro-enterprises and informal sector as well as towards regional integration, local development and the provision of services.

Lessons of 20 years SDC urban activities:

Weaknesses: ruralist vision with a negative perception of cities, lack of integration between technical, economic and social strategies, marginalisation of urban activities in SDC.
Opportunities: experience with some long term urban projects in intermediate cities, experience with urban-rural complementarity, many sectoral projects in urban areas, integrated participatory approaches, improvement for living conditions for the poor (services, infrastructures), integration of SDC in most important international networks.
Evolution of SDC urban approach (1980-1998) : increasing the number of projects, widening the strategic orientations from 2 to 4, moving from hardware (infrastructures) to software approach (capacity-building), moving from a technical sectoral approach to an integrated urban perspective.

SDC Urban Development Policy has been approved in 1995, based on the following principles, objectives and strategic orientations.

• 2 basic strategies Implementation of urban projects in intermediate (or secondary) cities so as to reinforce urban-rural connections, regional integration and decentralisation. Transsectoral approach so as to take into account the complexity and multisectoral nature of urban development problems.
• Principles of SDC engagement in urban areas
  • promotion of balanced spatial development
  • contribution to poverty alleviation and empowerment
  • fostering communication and collaboration
  • encouragement of commitment to good governance
  • implementation of pilot approaches with demonstration effects
• 4 strategic orientations
  • urban management, in order to strengthen local capacities in institutional, technical and financial skills
  • urban economy, to develop remunerative activities in order to help the informal economy, to improve the quality and quantity of production and services, and to develop a structured relationship with the formal economy
  • urban environment, water supply, sanitation, waste management, primary health care, capacity building
  • urban poverty, social development and empowerment with strategic principles of partnership, municipal action, decentralisation, democratisation, citizenship, gender perspective
• Methodological approach In SDC we consider 2 concepts in our urban approach (1998):
  • urban projects, support to urban management and partnership with local government and civil society. 1993-1998 : 10 urban projects (urban management linked with infrastructures, capacity building, decentralisation) in Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Tanzania. Long-term approach for implementation (15-20 years).
  • sectoral projects or actions in urban space, actions undertaken in urban areas managed by different sections or services (water, sanitation, waste, health, education, micro-credit…). Between 1993 and 1998, 210 actions and projects have been carried out within cities with a budget of CHF 129 million per year, representing 29 % of the bilateral budget.

As sectoral service, the urban development unit has 3 main tasks :

1. Preparation of Urban Policy and differents instruments for implementation (sectoral guidelines, frameworks, sectoral documentation…). Capitalisation or lessons learnt of urban projects.
2. Operational support and services for geographical sections (urban projects, training and workshops in urban issues).
3. International and national networks (UMP, UNCHS, DAC/OECD, EC/EU etc.) An Urban transsectoral team has been created in 1998 to promote synergies and more direct collaboration with the Industry, Water-Infrastructure and Environment Services in SDC.

   Question 2. Swiss development approach / multilateral and European approaches

   It is a very large question I can answer only partly.
   Regarding the World Bank, it is obvious that the Bank has created a dominant thinking on urban issues : infrastructures, microcredit, urban management, governance, urban environment among otherss, which have oriented SDC actions as well as other agencies' actions. SDC approach however remains specific for at least 4 characteristics:

   • Firstly Switzerland has no colonial history, and because of its position as a small and secondary country, it has only very modest political ambition through development cooperation for the South, supporting efforts to the establisment of more equitable conditions within the international community as a long-term goal (federal legislation of 1976).
   • Secondly, the actions of SDC in the South are guided by certain criteria: some selected priority countries among the less advanced in the world, and priority sectors in every country.
   • Thirdly, a certain spirit inspired by the federalist swiss system of direct democracy tends to promote and encourage participatory approaches in the sense of empowerment.
   • In the early 90s, there has been a marked trend towards « software » urban projects, coordinated with other actions. Pilot projects have been launched in order to build experience and enable programmes to be elaborated. These programmes took into account sector policy frameworks, and focused on coordination and participation, rather than hardware and infrastructure.

   For example, for two urban projects the Bank has been interested to benefit from a complementqary approach by SDC. In Cameroon (Douala, neighbourhood of Nylon) SDC has co-financed the Nylon project. While the World Bank focused its intervention on infrastructures (roads, drainage…), the SDC in close coordination with a local institution (ARAN) concentrated on collective services (market), small social infrastructure (schools, health centers), promotion of micro-enterprises, support to informal sector, promotion of community participation. In Pakistan, SDC has worked with the World Bank on a Community Infrastructure Programme in NWFP, launching pilot projects to introduce community participation and new strategies of intervention. This project enables communities to play an active role in planning, implementing, operating and maintaining infrastructure facilities. It is also strengthening the capacitiy of governmental institutions to implement participatory and demand-oriented approaches.

   Regarding the European development agencies, I cannot make a comparative analysis. But considering our partnerships (through UMP...), SDC approach is more similar to the approaches of Sida (Sweden) and DGIS (Netherlands).

   Question 3. What about a « european approach » for development cooperation?

   As a very personal appraisal, I get the impression that there is now a positive trend to establish a European platform which could promote cooperation, coordination and exchange of experiences, and avoid ancient competitions, with the emergence of a certain political will.
   It seems to me that two recent initiatives illustrate this new european trend : the creation of the EU/EC urban experts group with the active commitment and facilitation by Michael Parker, and the work of the Interest Group for the elaboration of DAC/OECD Guidelines on Urban Environment with the active promotion by Michael Mutter from DFID.
   This new european trend should be also an opportunity to capitalize lessons learnt in European agencies on one or two decades of urban development.

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   International workshop - Venice - March 11-12 1999
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