Partnerships are critical for international organizations to bring in much needed external knowledge and resources.
The World Bank’s Global Practice for Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land (GPURL) has partnered with several institutions to help governments in developing countries build inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities and regions. Its portfolio has been structured around four umbrella programs which consist of one or more trustee-level trust funds. They support the following priority areas:
- Sustainable Urban & Regional Development (SURGE) - enables cities and regions in developing countries to function as drivers of sustainable and inclusive economic development.
- Land 2030 Global Partnership - addresses land and geospatial related development challenges and assists client countries in achieving land tenure security for all.
- Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery Program (GFDRR) - supports developing countries to mainstream disaster and climate resilience measures and contributes to country efforts in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
- Global Partnership for Results-Based Approaches (GPRBA) - drives improved social and environmental outcomes for poor and vulnerable populations through results-based approaches.
The umbrella programs enable a more strategic approach for donors and the World Bank to partner and finance their priorities. They allow high-level policy dialogue between donors and World Bank units.
Besides the umbrella programs, there are two global standalone trust funds supporting GPURL operations:
- Tokyo Development Learning Center – aims to operationalize Japanese and global urban development knowledge, insights, and technical expertise to maximize the impact of World Bank projects.
- City Climate Finance Gap Fund – aims to help bridge the urban financing gap to achieve low carbon, climate resilient urbanization pathways.
All these global programs and partnerships provide a coordinated structure and voice in developing sustainable communities.
GPURL also hosts several key partnerships with funding agencies (bilateral donors, multilateral agencies), as well as non-funding partners (academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and civil society).
The practice will continue to support its staff to operationalize effective partnerships, mobilize financial and technical resources, and build trust funds and global partnership programs.