[{"bbox": [97, 153, 1134, 233], "category": "Text", "text": "Institutional support will contribute to align, with MLGDRD and NDPC, the various mandates and responsibilities, and will attempt to limit and mitigate potential institutional bottlenecks. It will also improve systems for monitoring and evaluation of urban policies."}, {"bbox": [97, 243, 1134, 378], "category": "Text", "text": "Technical assistance will target the main public entities involved in the action, both at national (MLGDRD and related agencies) and city level (targeted MMDA and department). It will be deployed as a long term expertise embedded in the different entities, providing technical advice, coaching and on-the-job training. In parallel, short term expertise will be made available to cover needs for studies: institutional assessment, research or technical studies in relation to urban governance and planning for the preparation of future investments."}, {"bbox": [97, 389, 1134, 706], "category": "Text", "text": "Capacity building programmes will be implemented, focusing (but not exclusively) on the planning and technical departments of local authorities. The following knowledge/skills will be strengthened: spatial and integrated urban planning, design of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, management of local finances, use of digital tools, etc. The capacity building programmes will be realistic, focused and practical; they will all include theoretical modules coupled with, at local level, practical reinforcement (on-the-job training and/or peer-to-peer exchanges) adapted to the development priorities of the beneficiary cities to concretely improve the delivery of upgraded services to the citizens. Part of the training modules will be based on existing material and will be further developed with the Local Government Service (LGS), responsible to ensure national coherence of all trainings for decentralised staff. Other more specific trainings will be tailored to the needs of the targeted cities and will be implemented through the long term technical assistance or through the deployment of specific expertise. Scaling-up of existing initiatives consisting of an exchange of expertise between Ghanaian cities could be supported, in coordination with the RCCs and the LGS."}, {"bbox": [97, 719, 1134, 775], "category": "Text", "text": "Finally, a limited number of cities, to be selected during the inception phase, will be supported in the implementation of integrated urban projects, at the scale of a community."}, {"bbox": [97, 800, 488, 826], "category": "Section-header", "text": "**Indicative activities relating to Output 1.1:**"}, {"bbox": [97, 827, 1134, 879], "category": "Text", "text": "Based on existing structures at national (MLGDRD, NDPC, line ministries), regional (RCC) and local level (EC, PCU), dialogue and multi-sectoral coordination will be facilitated through this action."}, {"bbox": [97, 880, 1134, 1090], "category": "Text", "text": "For that purpose, public entities will be supported with resources and technical assistance to build, from existing mechanisms, an institutional and technical platform, the Urban Observatory, to: (i) improve multi-level and sector dialogue and coordination, ensure the participation and consultation of all stakeholders (including women and youth) at all administrative levels, (ii) create optimal and sustainable conditions to apply national urban policies and operationalise urban planning tools at the municipal / decentralised level, through technical and institutional capacity building, and (iii) improve the generation, analysis and use of objective and verifiable data (disaggregated by sex and age whenever relevant) to support urban development (with public entities in charge of managing data i.e. NDPC, MLGDRD, GSS)."}, {"bbox": [97, 1103, 1134, 1370], "category": "Text", "text": "With a national dimension and anchored at the local level, the Observatory will be deployed firstly through pilot cities (three maximum) before potential replication. It will be developed as one of the tools to improve urban planning and services delivery, to serve as a permanent exchange and learning platform for the local authorities, civil society, citizens, and other urban stakeholders ensuring that planning and adaptation processes are participatory. It will mobilise and rely on the participation of MLGDRD, Regional Coordinating Councils, academic partners, the civil society and the private sector. With its central role at the national level, the MLGDRD will define the framework of the Urban Observatory to be deployed in pilot cities. The ministry will coordinate the pilot projects, supervise the deployment of decentralised units and ensure its coherence. Therefore, a prior action to start with is the capacity building of the MLGDRD towards the development of both a platform for better urban governance and a digital tool for data-informed planning and urban management."}, {"bbox": [97, 1381, 1134, 1542], "category": "Text", "text": "Beyond its role of institutional and technical platform for integrated and inclusive urban development, the Urban Observatory will implement and provide the digital tools to ensure the availability, updating and analysis of data to better understand urban dynamics and guide decision-makers in the development of Ghanaian cities. By collecting, mapping and monitoring urban data with a spatial and multisectoral approach, it will provide a new visibility to urban development issues, not only to decision-makers but also to local communities. These tools will equally contribute to facilitate access to and improve quality of urban services."}, {"bbox": [97, 1553, 1134, 1634], "category": "Text", "text": "In parallel, an inter-institutional working group under the auspices of MLGDRD will be reinvigorated to improve national coordination and better integration of urban governance, policies and actions. Technical assistance will also be provided to support the ministry, including to assess the functioning (and challenges) of the Urban"}, {"bbox": [1027, 1680, 1144, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 10 of 25"}]