| A |
| Action Plan | An result-oriented, time bound, and actor-specific plan negotiated among stakeholders within an agreed strategy framework. ↑ |
| C |
| Change Agents | Strategically positioned individuals who have the commitment and capability to positively influence people and organizations to accept, understand, and eventually incorporate the new approaches into their routine operations. ↑ |
| City Profile | Basic information about the existing situation, carefully structured to facilitate shared and better understanding of issues and to support prioritization of these issues by the stakeholders. ↑ |
| City Consultation | The City Consultation is a crucial event within the participatory process. Taking place at the end of Phase One, it brings together and builds on the work done during that Phase, consolidates social and political participation and support, and launches the process into Phase Two. The City Consultation should give firm approval to the Working Group process and to the priority topics for which Working Groups will be established; it is thus a vital step in establishing the scope and mandate of phase two activities, especially by giving Working Groups credibility and authority. ↑ |
| City Declaration | A City Declaration is a document issued at the end of a city consultation event; it articulates the consensus of participants with regard to priority issues, basic approaches, next steps and activities, and a public commitment to continue supporting the process (see also Urban Pact). ↑ |
| Conflict Resolution | Refers to the management and accommodation through negotiation and consensus building, of various conflicts and disagreements that may arise during the participatory decision-making process. |
| Consultative working group | A core group of 'lead' stakeholders who spearhead the group consultative process around generally accepted priority issues, usually established prior to a city consultation, to support preparations for the event and to provide the foundation for Working Groups to be set up afterwards. ↑ |
| Community Based Organization (CBO) | These are organizations based in and working in one or more local communities (neighbourhoods or districts); they are normally private, charitable (non-profit) organizations which are run by and for the local community. Typically, they were created in response to some particular local need or situation—often related to the local
environment—and they usually support a variety of specific local improvement actions (for instance, environmental upgrading, youth education, employment promotion, etc.) which are generally undertaken by or with the local people. CBOs are usually important stakeholders and should be represented on Working Groups for issues of relevance to them as well as being active participants in other activities of the participatory decision-making process. ↑ |
| D |
| Demonstration Project | A Demonstration Project is a relatively self-contained, small-scale capital investment or technical assistance project which is implemented in order to "demonstrate" in practise how a particular type of problem can be addressed in a participatory way. It is an effective mechanism to forge partnerships between public, private, and (especially) community sectors, developing new ways of working together, and learning by doing while generating tangible results on the ground. ↑ |
| Disaster Management Programme | This programme assists national and local governments, as well as communities, to implement post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes particularly in the areas of housing, infrastructure and resettlements. The programme also addresses disaster preparedness. ↑ |
| E |
| Environmental Management Information System (EMIS) | An EMIS is an established process through which information relevant for environmental management is identified, generated, and utilised in a specifically organized, routine manner. EMIS in the context of environmental management is developed on the basis of a systematic spatial analysis of specific issues, geographic distribution of resources, and related environmental sensitivities. It portrays spatial development options and opportunities which allow the prioritisation of development areas, the guidance of investment, and the factoring-in of long-term environmental costs in development. EMIS consists of layers of maps, spatial attributes, parameters, and criteria for prioritisation; these may be combined with strategies and development conditions defined and negotiated by stakeholders. The approach and mapping in EMIS can be easily modified and applied to other thematic areas in urban management. ↑ |
| Environmental Profile | The Environmental Profile provides a systematic overview of the development and environment setting and institutional arrangements of a city, with this information organized and analysed in a very specific logical framework, which is designed to highlight the development-environment interactions, the critical environmental issues, and the sectors and stakeholders most directly concerned with them. ↑ |
| F |
| Facilitator | A person trained or experienced in facilitating and leading group discussions, consultations, and meetings. He / she has the skills to apply the various techniques and tools that make joint activities more efficient and more participatory. ↑ |
| G | |
| Gender Analysis | Refers to the systematic application of analytical tools to issues relating to gender, for instance, analysing the differing roles and activities of men and women in the participatory process, or the costs and benefits of a course of action being analysed separately for men and women. Such analysis is consistently applied at each stage of the process. ↑ |
| Gender Mainstreaming | This is the process of making gender a routine concern in development organizations and policies. The United Nations defines gender Mainstreaming as the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies and programmes, in any area and at all levels. Its ultimate goal is gender equality (access to resources, opportunities and rewards of labour) with the objective of ensuring a positive impact on women and bridging gender disparities. ↑ |
| Gender Sensitivity | Refers to being sensitive to the different situations and needs of women, and men, throughout the decision-making process, in order to promote the achievement of gender equality. It entails searching for, considering, and accommodating any aspects of social relations between women and men in their social and cultural context, during the course of any policy, planning, or implementation activity. ↑ |
| Geographic Information System (GIS) | GIS is an information system in which data is collected, stored and analysed in a spatial (geographical) framework. The GIS is normally a computer-based system; modern off-the-shelf software allow a basic GIS to be run on an ordinary PC. The data compiled and analysed in the GIS is focused specifically on information relevant for physical planning and environmental management. ↑ |
| I |
| Institutionalization | Institutionalization of the participatory urban decision making process is the absorption and integration of the process principles, capacities, and products into the institutions and organizations of the city. It mean that the activities of the process will have become normal and will be routinely applied in the day-to-day operations of organizations and stakeholder groups. ↑ |
| L |
| Localizing Agenda 21 Programme | The Localizing Agenda 21 programme (LA21) is a capacity building programme (of UNCHS) started as a response to chapter 28 of Agenda 21, calling on local authorities to develop and implement a local Agenda 21 for their communities. The programme currently offers support to selected towns in Kenya, Morocco, Vietnam, and Cuba for developing local Agenda 21. It promotes urban governance by supporting broad-based environmental action plans, and enhances the capability of local authorities to integrate these action plans into strategic urban development plans, stimulating inter-sectoral cooperation. The programme strategy emphasizes the need for a shared vision for the future development of the city, while in parallel, urgent problems are addressed through action planning and continuous broad-based consultation process. ↑ |
| Logical Framework | Sometimes called "LogFrame", this is an analytical framework used (often by international agencies) in formulating and designing projects and programmes. In this logical system objectives, the outputs, activities, and inputs are systematically described and analysed with a focus on their interrelations. ↑ |
| Local Safety Appraisal | The Local Safety Appraisal helps determine the extent of crime in a city, its manifestations, its causes, its impacts on society and the perceptions of the public regarding crime and insecurity; it also helps build awareness and mobilise the various stakeholders. The Appraisal involves a stakeholder analysis, a municipal service analysis and an initial safety analysis; it assesses problems and formulates possible solutions, and can be followed by more detailed studies (e.g. victimization surveys). ↑ |
| Local Safety Coalition | The Local Safety Coalition is a gathering of those involved in the safety issues of a city, including the municipality, the criminal justice system, the private sector, and civil society in general, as well as the local community in the areas affected. The purpose of the Local Safety Coalition is to generate consensus between the partners to support and validate the Local Safety Appraisal, to develop a strategy and to work out an action plan. The Local Safety Coalition thus brings together the key partners to reach consensus and commitment on an urban crime prevention strategy, working through dialogue and partnerships. The Local safety Coalition should be institutionalised within local authority structures to ensure sustainability. ↑ |
| M |
| Mini-Consultation | A reduced-scale version of the City Consultation, a Mini-Consultation is generally organized for clarification and elaboration of one specific issue, or perhaps to review options and to agree on issue-specific strategies. Mini-Consultations are a useful device for helping a Working Group take stock of progress and activities and to formalise strategies. It is also useful for bringing the participatory process down to the level of specific neighbourhoods or districts, and it can be helpfully applied in support of a demonstration project. ↑ |
| Municipal Checklist | This refers to the initial examination of local conditions and circumstances (situation analysis), in order to better inform the design of a participatory decision-making process in a specific local context. It takes into account a number of factors including, political will and local capacity, institutional conditions, presence of stakeholder groups, resources, etc. ↑ |
| N |
| Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) | The term NGO is applied to a wide range of organizations which are not established by or operated by government. NGOs are usually private, non-profit organizations which are run by their members. Typically, an NGO is concerned with one particular area of activity: women's rights, education, environmental protection, small-scale employment, etc. Most NGOs are local in scope, but some are regional or national, with active local branches, or even international in scope. NGOs often acquire considerable expertise and experience in their particular areas of activity, and some employ professionals or specialists to manage their work. It is normal practice to ensure NGO representation on the Working Groups, and NGOs have an important role to play in institutionalizing the participatory process. ↑ |
| P |
| Proposition Paper | A proposition paper is a summary paper which deals with an issue or topic in a specific way. Beginning with a overview of the existing situation and providing case examples, it reviews the options or approaches which can generally be applied in such situations (including "best practice"), while discussing how these principles and experiences could fit into the specific local circumstances and priorities. It does not prescribe solutions but provides a well-structured framework for informed choice of solutions. ↑ |
| Process Monitoring | Process monitoring is a systematic way of tracking the progress of the participatory urban decision-making process, in order to identify and act upon the various difficulties which are likely to occur during its implementation. Monitoring a participatory process is a complicated task requiring the use of various qualitative and subjective measures, which is why process monitoring must be very carefully designed and applied. ↑ |
| S |
| Safer Cities Programme | The Safer Cities Programme (of UNCHS) was launched in 1996 at the request of African mayors who wanted to address urban violence by developing a prevention strategy at city level. The Programme supports the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, which acknowledges the responsibility of local authorities in crime prevention. Its main objectives are to build capacities at city level to adequately address urban insecurity and thereby contribute to the establishment of a culture of crime prevention and improved security for all. ↑ |
| Sensitization | This refers generally to the process of giving regular briefings and training to stakeholders at different levels, to create a better understanding of the participatory process and to "sensitize" them to the kinds of changes in planning and management which are promoted through the process. ↑ |
| Stakeholder | In the context of the participatory urban decision-making process, this word is applied to groups, organizations and individuals who have an important 'stake' in the process of urban management and governance—regardless of what their particular 'stake' may be. Equally, the term stakeholders includes both formal and informal organizations and groups, and covers many different groups in the public sector but also in the private sector and in the community (or popular) sector. Stakeholders are also sometimes referred to as 'actors' in the process. Stakeholders are those organizations or groups or individuals who should be members of the Working Groups and who should participate, in one way or another, in the different activities—issue-specific strategy negotiation, action planning, implementation of demonstration projects, monitoring, etc. ↑ |
| Stakeholder Analysis | In order to identify the people, groups, and organizations who have legitimate interests which should be represented in respect to specific urban issues, a systematic Stakeholder Analysis should be undertaken, both at the outset and repeated and progressively refined during the process. ↑ |
| Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) | The Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) is a global programme of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS-Habitat) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is the leading technical cooperation programme in the field of urban environmental planning and management, and it is the principal activity of the United Nations system for operationalising sustainable urban development. Based on the demonstration-replication approach, the SCP supports cities in all parts of the world to develop local participatory approaches to improved urban environmental planning and management; building on this experience, a variety of tools and training materials have been developed in order to support wider replication of the SCP experience. ↑ |
| T |
| Tool | In the present context, a "tool" is a general technique or methodology which can be applied to a particular aspect of the participatory urban decision-making process. A tool is basically a problem-solving devise, normally based on experience, which show how particular tasks or parts of tasks may be addressed. ↑ |
| U |
| Urban Governance | Urban governance refers to the exercise of political, economic, social, and administrative authority in the management of a city's affairs. It comprises the mechanisms, traditions, processes, and institutions (whether formal or informal) through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their differences. It is thus a broader concept than "government," which refers only to the formal and legally established organs of the political structure. ↑ |
| Urban Governance Campaign | The Global Campaign for Urban Governance is a campaign to reduce urban poverty through good urban governance. Its objectives are the increased capacity of local governments and other stakeholders to practice good urban governance and raised awareness of and advocacy for good urban governance around the world. The campaign can be thought of as a series of coordinated actions designed to achieve the goal and objectives. The strategy for achieving this is to advocate and, most importantly, operationalize, agreed-upon norms of good urban governance through inclusive strategic planning and decision-making processes. ↑ |
| Urban Pact | The Urban Pact is a negotiated agreement among partners, designed to concretise commitments of partners in sustainable urban development initiatives. In the framework of participatory urban decision-making, it is a document normally drawn up at the end of a City Consultation to record the results of the consultation and the agreements reached. The Urban Pact articulates the vision, goals, strategic objectives, action areas, and next steps which stakeholders have agreed on during the city consultation. ↑ |
| Urban Management Programme | The Urban Management Programme (UMP) develops and applies urban management knowledge in the fields of participatory urban governance, alleviation of urban poverty, and urban environmental management, and it facilitates the dissemination of this knowledge at city, country, regional and global levels. The development objective of the UMP is to strengthen the contribution that cities and towns in developing countries make towards human development, including poverty reduction, improvement of environmental conditions and the management of economic growth. It is an initiative of UNCHS (Habitat), UNDP and the World bank. ↑ |
| V |
| Victimization Survey | This is a technical tool consisting of a set of questions that directly consult the public on occurrences of crime and their perception of insecurity. It seeks to identify those most at risk, measure the levels of fear, evaluate public perceptions of police effectiveness and service delivery, and seeks to establish the opinion of victims and others regarding appropriate interventions. Victimisation surveys function as a tool for mapping crime and, when repeated on a regular basis, allow the effect of crime prevention strategies on a given population to be measured. ↑ |
| W |
| Working Group | An issue-specific Working Group is a small body of stakeholder representatives who come together to address a cross-cutting issue of their common concern. The members possess mutually complementing information, expertise, policy and implementation instruments and resources, which they bring together and use in collaboration within the framework of the participatory process. ↑ |