Empowering Municipal IAM Financing and Capacity in Developing Contexts

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO) supports countries in developing innovative financing solutions to close gaps in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. As global infrastructure needs grow, effective Infrastructure Asset Management (IAM) is critical to ensuring long-term service delivery, sustainability, and cost recovery. This capstone project focused on advancing UNDESA FSDO’s emerging IAM work by developing practical knowledge resources. The team was tasked with producing annotated chapter outlines on key IAM topics, including financing mechanisms and strategies to foster behavioral change to successfully adopt and implement IAM. To do so, the team conducted fieldwork and stakeholder engagement with local governments in Ghana, complemented by a literature review and the development of a country analysis toolkit. The project resulted in actionable frameworks and tools to support governments in integrating IAM into infrastructure planning and financing practices.