PROGRAMMING SUSTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ANNEX 4 Assessment toolS

A HANDBOOK FOR EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

UNDP RBEC November 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. Disaster Risk Reduction Assessment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Civil Society Capacity Assessment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Local Economic Development Assessment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Environmental Assessment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Municipal sustainability and Capacity Assessment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Good Governance Assessment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Strategic Planning Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PROGRAMMING SUsTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOpMENT: A HANdBOOK FOR EAsTERN EUROpE ANd CENTRAL AsIA - ANNEX 4 - AssEssMENT TOOLs

I. Disaster Risk Reduction Assessment tools

1. The Local Government Self-Assessment Tool was created by the United Nations Oce for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) to help local governments to answer questions and measure themselves against the 10 Essentials for Making Cities Resilient. It builds upon the priorities and national indicators of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. The tool aims to facilitate the understanding of gaps and opportunities in disaster risk reduction at local level, to contribute to the development of a baseline and a status report for cities and municipalities, and to complement the national monitoring and multi-stakeholder engagement process by providing information and an assessment of the situation from the local level on a voluntary basis. Available online at: http://www.unisdr.org/campaign/resilientcities/toolkit

II. Civil Society Capacity Assessment tools

1. A Users Guide to Civil Society Assessments This is a source guide by the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre that provides an inventory of the currently available methods for conducting civil society assessments, including snapshots of their methodologies, some details of their content, and the implications for the use of the assessment methods. The source guide also covers information on assessments that have already been implemented and published. Available online at: http://www.gaportal.org/resources/detail/users-guide-to-civil-society-assessments

2. Handbook on Non-State Social Service Delivery Models: A Guide for Policy Makers and Practitioners in the CIS Region A resource that is more specic to the goals of sustainable local development is UNDPs new Handbook on Non-State Social Service Delivery Models: A guide for policy makers and practitioners in the CIS region, prepared under joint eorts of European Centre for Not-for-Prot Law (ECNL) and the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre. The handbook focuses on social contracting nancing support to nonstate actors, in particular civil society organizations (CSOs), for the delivery of social services to the most vulnerable groups of the population which should be provided at the community level. Based on current practices and detailed case studies in three CIS countries Armenia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine it provides for a set of key recommendations for decision makers and all the stakeholders to help address challenges, enhance the eectiveness of social contracting, and improve access to social services in the region. A checklist of practical steps for local authorities in introducing social contracting mechanisms is also included. Available online at: http://issuu.com/undp_in_europe_cis/docs/undp-ecnl_handbook_on_social_contracting_2012 3. Capacity Assessment Methodology Users Guide This guide can be used for analyzing the capacity of civil society stakeholders for sustainable local development programming. It explains UNDPs approach to capacity development and provides a stepby-step guide to conducting a capacity assessment which is adaptable to the local context and can be expanded, contracted and/or used in conjunction with other institutional analysis, capacity assessment and capacity development tools. The methodology is structured around three key elements of the assessment with each step (Mobilize and Design; Conduct the Capacity Assessment; Summarize and Interpret Results) described in great detail. Available online at: http://europeandcis.undp.org/uploads/public/File/Capacity_Development_Regional_Training/UNDP_Capacity_Assessment_Users_Guide_MAY_2007.pdf
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4. The ARVIN Framework: A Way to Assess the Enabling Environment for Civic Engagement This is a tool developed by the World Bank to assess the enabling environment for civil society organizations to engage in public debate and in systems of social accountability. It is based on ve critical dimensions that are enabling elements of civic engagement, namely Association (the freedom of people to associate), Resources (their ability to mobilize resources to fulll the objectives of their organizations), Voice (their ability to formulate and express opinion), Information (their access to information, necessary for their ability to make their voices heard, engage in negotiation and gain access to resources) and Negotiation (the existence of spaces and rules of engagement for negotiation, participation and public debate). Available online at: http://go.worldbank.org/378AB9OH00 5. CIVICUS Civil Society Assessment The CIVICUS Civil Society Index Project (CSI) was developed in Cyprus to assess the current state of local civil society. The assessment evaluates the structure, the environment, values and the impact of civil society. Available online at: http://www.undp-act.org/data/articles/civicus_civil_society_index_report_cyprus. pdf

III. Local Economic Development assessment tool

1. Economic Development Self-Assessment Toolkit The Economic Development Self-Assessment Toolkit was developed by the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Dukakis Centre for Urban and Regional Policy at Northwestern University. The toolkit helps a municipality to evaluate and interpret local characteristics and processes that inuence its ability to attract investors and support local businesses. With 200 questions, it gives a comprehensive overview of the local situation, both strengths and weaknesses. Available online at: http://www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter/resources/economic-developmentself-assessment-tool/ 2. How to carry out a local economic assessment This is guidance designed by local authorities in the UK that provides comprehensive information on where and when to start a local economic assessment, its vision, purpose and scope, on how to collect initial data and how to analyze it and nally on how to test, disseminate and integrate the assessment and its review. A supplementary handbook focuses on economic assessments for district councils. Available online at: http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=13992067

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IV. Environmental Assessment tools

1. Several international organizations produce country-level environmental assessments that can be a resource for environmental data and analysis: UNECE Environmental Performance Reviews (http://www.unece.org/env/epr/publications.html) World Bank Country Environmental Analysis (http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/ TOPICS/ENVIRONMENT/0,,contentMDK:20441326~menuPK:1284900~pagePK:148956~piPK:21661 8~theSitePK:244381,00.html) EC Country Environmental Proles http://www.birdlife.org/europe/pdfs/Environmentaltools.pdf Asian Development Bank Country Environmental Analysis (http://www.adb.org/documents/ series/country-environmental-analysis) 2. Local Government Capacity Assessment for Community Energy and Emissions Planning In British Columbia (Canada), the regional government conducted a Local Government Capacity Assessment for Community Energy and Emissions Planning to identify what local governments needed to learn in order to achieve the goals of the regional Climate Action Plan. For the assessment, two groups were interviewed: energy and emission planning professionals that have been actively supporting local governments. sta from engaged local governments with experience in advancing energy and emission planning. Available online at: http://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/les/web_les/LG_CEEP_Capacity_Assessment-Final_Draft.pdf 3. Self-assessment on Clean Energy for a Green Economy This assessment, also from British Columbia, is designed to help municipalities reect upon and gauge their readiness to implement an energy project and lay the foundations to launch a green economy. Questions have been grouped into ve main categories (Community Energy and Emissions Planning, Local Leadership and Capacity, Collaboration and Partnerships, Funding Strategies and Governance Choices) and a Get ready, Get set and Go! framework, that will guide municipalities in creating an implementation plan for clean energy and energy eciency. Available online at: http://www.communityenergy.bc.ca/sites/default/les/Clean%20Energy%20for%20 a%20Green%20Economy.pdf 4. Georgias Capacity Needs Self Assessment for Global Environment Management In order to eectively implement the UN conventions on climate change, biodiversity and combating desertication, this assessment programme aims at evaluating already existing nancial, technical, institutional and human resources and capacities. This reveals challenges to compliance and supports the development of a strategy and action plan for future compliance and for capacity development. The assessment includes questions on the legislative and normative base, the economic framework, resources, infrastructure, training, accountability, material incentives and relationships, and collective activities. Available online at: http://www.thegef.org/gef/sites/thegef.org/les/documents/document/Georgia%20nal%20report%20and%20ap.pdf

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5. Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE): Helping Cities Use Energy Efficiently TRACE is a decision-support tool designed to help municipalities quickly identify under-performing sectors, evaluate improvement and cost-saving potential and prioritize sectors and actions for energy eciency interventions. The sectors covered are passenger transport, municipal buildings, water and waste water, public lighting, solid waste, power and heat. The tool also consists of three modules: an energy benchmarking module which compares key performance indicators (KPIs) among peer cities, a sector prioritization module which identies sectors that oer the greatest potential for energy-cost savings, and an intervention selection module which functions like a playbook of tried-and-tested energy eciency measures and helps select locally appropriate energy eciency interventions. Available online at: http://esmap.org/TRACE 6. CO2 Assessment Tool for Municipalities The CO2 Assessment tool is dedicated to small municipalities below 50,000 inhabitants to assess their CO2 status and to dene the relevant measures (development and adaptation of municipal and regional climate protection programmes). The tool also provides a scenario tool for assessing and comparing impacts of dierent policies and measures. The questionnaire includes means of heating, transportation, agriculture and waste management and oers to include measures and activities already taken. English description available online at: http://www.climactregions.eu/c/document_library/get_ le?uuid=65ea562e-f097-4a64-af74-fa5305e729f7&groupId=10136 Assessment Tool (in German) available online at: http://co2rechner.klimabuendnis.at/Intro.aspx 7. Natural Resource Assessments Delaware NEMO is an educational programme for local decision makers that addresses the relationship between land use and natural resource protection with a focus on watersheds. NEMO has developed a toolkit for conducting natural resource assessments, including mapping of the natural resource inventory to collect and identify the location and character of natural resources and a natural resource assessment. This assessment supports decision makers and management eorts. Available online at: http://nemo.udel.edu/assessments.aspx

PROGRAMMING SUsTAINABLE LOCAL DEVELOpMENT: A HANdBOOK FOR EAsTERN EUROpE ANd CENTRAL AsIA - ANNEX 4 - AssEssMENT TOOLs

V. Municipal sustainability and Capacity assessment tools

1. Online Self-Assessment Tool Tyrol The Austrian region of Tyrol actively supports sustainable development and the goals of the Local Agenda 21, which is why the regional government developed an online self-assessment tool for municipalities. This tool enables municipal governments to evaluate their progress in sustainable development and to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Structured into the three dimensions: social, environment and economy, each dimensions has the sub-categories management, processes and results to date. Available online at: (only available in German) http://www.verwaltungsmanagement.at/onlinecheck/einleitung.php 2. Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit Labrador and Newfoundland Members of the Community Cooperation Resource Centre have developed a process through which municipalities can evaluate the status of their nancial and operational positions and determine for themselves their ability to eectively and eciently deliver municipal services. The self-assessment tool covers the major roles and responsibilities in seven categories: governance; administration; nance and nancial management; service delivery; infrastructure; community well-being; regional cooperation. Available online at: http://www.municipalitiesnl.com/userles/les/SATK%20low%20res.pdf 3. Local Evaluation 21 by ICLEI Developed by ICLEI, Local Evaluation 21 is an online self-assessment tool for local sustainable development processes for local authorities and stakeholders. After completing the two questionnaires, a feedback report provides a standardized external assessment of the local authoritys work. Available online at: http://www.localevaluation21.org/ 4. Sustainable Tourism Originally developed for managers of small or medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector in Canada, this self-assessment tool on sustainable tourism can be used by local governments in the same way. The tool helps to determine where the business/municipality currently stands in the spectrum of sustainability practices. Areas covered are: motivations to adopt sustainable tourism practices; knowledge of sustainability; current sustainability practices (environmental, social, economic); extent of sustainability practices currently used. Available online at: http://web.viu.ca/sustainabletourism/Self%20Assessment%20Tool%20June%204. pdf
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5. Self-Assessment Framework on Livable Cities1 This self-assessment framework assists authorities developing an understanding of livable cities and to set appropriate goals to reach livability for all citizens. The second objective is to be able to measure or to assess how livable a city is, based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative indicators. The framework includes three sections (resilience, inclusiveness and authenticity) and 60 core indicators as well as 20 optional or supporting indicators. These include information on city location, governance systems, biodiversity, energy, socio-economic diversities, partnerships, safety or social cohesion. Available online at: http://www.philips-thecenter.org/Global/Livable%20Cities/Self-Assessment/Self%20 assessment%20framework%20revised%20June2011.pdf 6. Colorado Community Sustainability Guide The Colorado Community Sustainability Guide examines 15 dierent assessment areas to help communities to work towards the goal of improving community sustainability and quality of life: nancial condition, land-use planning; transportation and mobility; aordable housing; natural resource conservation economic development and downtown revitalization; job creation educational opportunities and job training historic and cultural preservation; environmental quality; energy eciency and renewables; natural hazards planning and mitigation; public health and human services; sound scal planning food systems and policy community identity and sense of place. After the questions in the assessment have been answered, the relevant areas will be ranked according to their importance, which will assist in building an individual action plan. Available online at: http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/DOLA-Main/CBON/1251594843722 7. Methodology for the assessment of municipal capacities in Turkey and the Western Balkans to deliver services2 This tool intends to identify and address strategic issues within each country that will have the most impact overall on the delivery of basic services, taking into account the limited resources available for capacity development responses. The ve services covered are drinking water supply, liquid waste management, solid waste management, basic health care and primary education.

1 The Philips Think Tank on Livable Cities (2011). Self-Assessment Framework on Livable Cities. 2 UNDP (2010). Methodology for the assessment of municipal capacities in Turkey and the Western Balkans to deliver services. Produced by the Capacity Development Practice, UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, RBEC.

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The assessment tool solely covers areas for which the municipalities are responsible, but also provides insight into the capacity to deliver other services and can be readily adapted to help assess capacity in other specic areas. Available online at: http://www.gaportal.org/sites/default/les/Local_Service_Delivery_Capacity_Assessment_methodology.pdf

VI. Good Governance Assessment tools

1. Governance Assessment of Climate Action at the Local Level The rst phase of the Climate Change Governance Assessment (CC GA) in FYR Macedonia resulted, among other things, in the development of an innovative Methodology for CC GA including a list of CC GA indicators that allow for a more comprehensive governance assessment of local action for climate change. This methodology together with the complimentary Methodology for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment developed through the 3rd National Communication to the UNFCCC has been applied in the Vardar and SouthEast planning regions. It is expected that the next phase of the project will establish a monitoring system of climate change-related information on local governance issues which can be measured over time and more concrete recommendations on how local action for climate change can be enhanced and aligned to the EU accession process through adjusting the governance architecture at all levels within the country. Available online at: https://undp.unteamworks.org/le/416976/download/453491 2. Municipal Good Governance The Municipal Checklist aims to minimize loopholes and opportunities for corruption and other forms of abuse in local government systems. Areas covered in the questionnaire are public complaints, leadership, budgeting, procurement and audit procedures. Available online at: http://ww2.unhabitat.org/cdrom/TRANSPARENCY/html/2_1.html 3. Gender Assessment Tool Originally designed for the assessment of gender aspects in organizations, this Australian tool highlights areas in need of work on gender equalization, builds on existing strengths in a step-by-step way and can easily be used for local governments as well. The questionnaire is a quick way to audit gender capacity and readiness and can also be used as a monitoring tool to see how things have progressed. Areas covered include technical capacity, organizational culture, accountability and political will. Available online at: http://www.redcross.org.au/les/Organisational_Gender_Assessment.pdf

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VII. Strategic Planning Tools

1. Institutional Analysis Institutional analysis responds to the question: which organizations carry out policy reforms, and what are their characteristics? It can be conceived as the stakeholder analysis of the government agencies, non-governmental organizations and rms that implement or support the public action choices that underlie policy reform. Institutional analysis is informed by three central premises: government is not a unitary actor; dierent actors within government compete for power and resources; decisions made in central hierarchies are modied at the local level. Institutional analysis is used to assess the capacity and behaviour of organizations that carry out reforms. It helps to identify constraints within an organization that may undermine policy implementation. Such constraints may exist at the level of internal processes, relationships among organizations, or system-wide. Institutional analysis evaluates formal institutions, such as rules, resource allocation, and authorization procedures. It also evaluates soft institutions, such as informal rules of the game, power relations and incentive structures that underlie current practices. In the latter sense, it identies organizational stakeholders that are likely to support or obstruct a given reform. Broad institutional analysis may include and utilize a combination of strategic planning tools described below. Overview by IFAD: http://www.ifad.org/english/institutions/guidance/0.pdf Detailed overview by the World Bank and DFID: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTOPPSISOU/Resources/Volume201Tools-Sourcebook.pdf 2. Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) is an approach for assessing the distributional eects of policy reform by analyzing impacts on the well-being of dierent social and livelihoods groups. PSIA is one of many forms of impact analysis in existence that consider the likely impact of policy or regulatory change. PSIA uses a range of skills common to regular impact analysis but focuses on the comparative well-being of dierent groups, particularly those most at risk from policy impacts. For example, the following policy issues may be appropriate for PSIA: public nance reform: expenditure policy; revenue policy; agricultural reform: eliminating administered prices; changing domestic subsidies and taxes; eliminating marketing boards; land reform: distribution to the landless or passing of laws governing the right to own, exchange, or inherit land; labour market reform: minimum wage legislation; job security regulation; active labour market programmes The World Banks Users Guide to Poverty and Social Impact Analysis is available online: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPSIA/Resources/490023-1121114603600/12685_PSIAUsersGuide_Complete. pdf DFIDs A Sourcebook Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA): http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTOPPSISOU/Resources/Volume201Tools-Sourcebook.pdf

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3. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is an approach used by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other international development agencies that aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural people in the planning and management of development interventions. PRA entails groups of local people analyzing their own conditions and choosing their own means of improving them. PRA oers a set of participatory and largely visual techniques (maps, diagrams, intervention of a trained facilitator) for assessing group and community resources, identifying and prioritizing problems and appraising strategies for solving them. It is a research/planning methodology in which a local community (with or without the assistance of outsiders) studies an issue that concerns the population, prioritizes problems, evaluates options for solving the problems and comes up with a community action plan to address the concerns that have been raised. Participatory rural appraisal techniques are typically used in the eld to gather qualitative data, often to complement quantitative data derived from trac counts and origin and destination data. The PRA approach is particularly useful as it enables vulnerable groups in a community to have a voice and impart their views on issues from which they are most often excluded. Hence, with the participation of dierent groups, such as women, the elderly, disabled and even school children, researchers and other professionals are able to paint a realistic picture of community life. Overview (World Bank): http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/EXTPCENG/0,,contentMDK:20507691~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:410306,00.html Overview, main methods and example from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is available online: http://www.fao.org/Participation/english_web_new/content_en/linked_Pages/PRA_overview. htm Participatory rural appraisal tools that may be useful in an institutional analysis (FAO) available at: http:// www.fao.org/docrep/w7483e/w7483e0a.htm The Group Promoters Resource Book (FAO) available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/T1965E/ T1965E00.HTM Detailed example on how participatory rural appraisal is used for community forest management: http://www.communityforestryinternational.org/publications/eld_methods_manual/pra_manual_ tools_and_techniques.pdf 4. Stakeholder Analysis (SA) Stakeholder analysis (SA) is the process of identifying the individuals or groups that are likely to aect or be aected by a proposed action, and sorting them according to their impact on the action and the impact the action will have on them. SA is used to facilitate institutional and policy reforms by incorporating the needs of those who have a stake or an interest in the reforms under consideration. It is frequently used during the preparatory phase of a project to assess the attitudes of stakeholders regarding the potential changes. With information on stakeholders, their interests, and their capacity to oppose reform, reform advocates can ensure that adopted policies are politically realistic and sustainable. Stakeholder analysis can be done once or on a regular basis to track changes in stakeholder attitudes over time. Overview by ODI: http://www.odi.org.uk/sites/odi.org.uk/les/odi-assets/publications-opinionles/6459.pdf Detailed methodology by ODA (DFID): http://www.sswm.info/sites/default/les/reference_attachments/ODA%201995%20Guidance%20Note%20on%20how%20to%20do%20a%20Stakeholder%20 Analysis.pdf World Bank: http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/anticorrupt/PoliticalEconomy/stakeholderanalysis.htm The basic stakeholder analysis matrix as well as an example from a municipality in Moldova is available

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here: http://descentralizare.gov.md/public/publications/941268_en_cme_guide___too.pdf (p.13). 5. Institutional and Context Analysis (ICA) Institutional and context analysis focuses on political and institutional factors and processes concerning the use of national and external resources in a given setting, and how these have an impact on the implementation of UNDP programmes and policy advice. ICA can help UNDP country oces to become more strategic in their engagement with dierent actors and sectors. It does this by providing a framework for understanding the incentives and constraints that frequently pit social actors against one another, and against UNDP development interventions. The UNDP guidance note is available online: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/OGC/UNDP_Institutional%20and%20Context%20Analysis.pdf

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UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre Grosslingova 35, Bratislava 81109 Slovakia Tel: +421 2 59337 111 Fax: +421 2 59337 450 http://europeandcis.undp.org