ODI, formerly known as the Overseas Development Institute, is Britain’s leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. The ODI Development and Public Finance program covers research on public finance and financial management, with an increasing focus on how best to support delivery of public services. ODI commissioned a Capstone team to explore urban water provision and financing in Accra, Ghana. The team conducted field interviews with key stakeholders, including ministries, the Ghana Water Company, civil society organizations, informal actors, and private agencies. Building on its literature review and field findings, the team prepared a set of deliverables exploring the interplay of private and public sectors in closing the demand gap for water supply—including a blog post, presentation, and policy brief—and provided recommendations to improve the financing and management of water service delivery.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) acts as a hybrid development organization and finance institution that works to invest in and catalyze capital for projects in developing countries. As part of its efforts to incorporate municipal finance strategies that promote public and private funding to deliver sustainable public services, UNCDF enlisted a Capstone team to develop a municipal finance strategy to fund green city solutions for a waste management system in the Indonesian regency of Banyuwangi. The team conducted a literature review on global best practices for municipal financing, current Indonesian regulations, and fiscal systems related to project financing and waste management practices. The team also conducted interviews with private sector representatives and national and local government agencies to identify gaps and opportunities for locally financing waste management projects. Using this information, the team designed a financial strategy and created a presentation to be used at UNCDF donor meetings and conferences.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is an international financial institution serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. The government of the Dominican Republic approached the IDB to explore strategies to monetize existing public assets while attracting private investments and supporting local job creation. To support this work, the IDB tasked a Capstone team to develop a standardized analysis framework to evaluate potential opportunities for leveraging public real estate assets in order to deliver economic impact and financial returns for the public sector. Through a case study methodology, the team conducted a “highest and best use” real estate analysis for selected property and determined opportunities for asset repurposing that delivers both financial returns and economic impact through urban regeneration. The team's final deliverables comprise a business case with a financial model, procurement alternatives, and potential financing structures.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is supporting the construction of a coastal protection border in the District of Cartagena, Colombia. The project aims to increase coastal protection by building maritime hydraulic infrastructure that will adapt to rising sea levels by decreasing the risk of flooding. UNDP engaged a Capstone team to assist with executing the project’s social impact compensation model, one of the first developed as part of an environmental adaptation project, for beach vendors and fishermen who have been impacted by project construction. The team conducted interviews with beneficiaries of the program, UNDP staff, and Cartagena public officials to evaluate the project’s successes and opportunities for improvement. The team found that including a social scope in climate adaptation projects is beneficial for overall project success and can generate spillover effects in the community. As part of its final report, the team generated a methodological guide for implementing compensation models in future environmental adaptation projects.