The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is the primary revenue collection agency for City government. DOF currently offers four programs designed to facilitate summons closure for owners of commer­cial fleets. The programs range from sim­ple notification programs to substantial discounts in return for the commercial entity waiving its rights to contest a sum­mons. The DOF engaged the Capstone team to conduct a comprehensive evalua­tion of its programs and determine whether they are still appropriate solutions to the present­day challenges and needs of com­mercial ticketing in NYC. The team con­ducted interviews with different stakeholders, researched best practices in other munici­palities, and conducted quantitative data analysis to produce a report for the DOF. The report contains feasible policy and procedural recommendations that will help DOF improve and re­envision these programs with respect to the agency's pol­icy objectives.

United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) supports development through microfinance, infrastructure investment, capacity building, and technical advisory skills. Recently, UNCDF and the Royal Government of Cambodia released a national “Local Development Outlook” report that evaluated local development trends (economic, social, demographic, and environmental) countrywide and offered recommendations for policy reform. The Capstone team was asked to build on this effort at the provincial level. The team first conducted a literature review and analysis on local economic development practices and then conduct­ed field research interviewing representa­tives of government, the private sector, and NGOs in Takeo province. The main task was to identify services and indus­tries with the greatest potential to pro­mote economic diversification in the province. As part of this work, the team developed a tool to evaluate services and industries by ranking various criteria according to the type of impact desired. The research will aid UNCDF and the local community in selecting value chains for further investigation and support produc­tion of a provincial development outlook.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is a special purpose fund for small­scale investment aimed at reduc­ing poverty in the least developed coun­tries affiliated with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In 2007, UNCDF collaborated with the Government of Nicaragua to initiate the Decentralization and Millennium Development Goals Localization Support Program (PADETOM). PADETOM's main component, the Investment Fund for Local Economic Development (FIDEL), aims to provide financial support to local governments for LED projects with an emphasis on food security, the capitalization of small farm­ers, and rural enterprises. UNCDF request­ed a Capstone team to assess FIDEL's impact on local and national institutions' planning policies, uncover cross­influ­ences between FIDEL and a pre­existing food security initiative, Hambre Cero, and provide a set of recommendations for the global strategy for Local Economic Development Promotion (LEDP). The Capstone team conducted a series of interviews in Nicaragua with a broad spec­trum of stakeholders including local UNCDF personnel, national and local gov­ernment officials, civil society representa­tives, and direct beneficiaries. The information collected was subsequently compiled and analyzed to produce a report on UNCDF's approach to building local partnerships and structuring responsibilities in projects.

Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) was charged by the State of Louisiana to coor­dinate the development of a new municipal water management system for the City of New Orleans and portions of its adjacent suburbs. In conjunction with this endeavor, the Capstone team prepared a reference document of case studies detailing best practices in worldwide water management systems, including physical components, financing mechanisms, and implementation strategies. In light of the area's postHurricane Katrina setting, the team emphasized storm water mitigation strategies in other lowlying and floodprone areas. Additionally, the team analyzed potential economic development opportunities and impacts that may present themselves with the implementation of the best management practices. GNO, Inc. will use these recommendations as it engages local political stakeholders, the general public, and consultants who will contribute to the creation of this new plan.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is currently creating pro­grams to support local governments in fostering and coordinating economic growth in least developed countries. UNCDF's Local Economic Development Program (LEDP) aims to build local govern­ment capacity to support and promote LED by investing in governance, business­enabling environments, and catalytic inter­ventions. In support of these efforts, the Capstone team created an LED Policy Manual that analyzes the type and scope of LED promotion in selected local authori­ties. The team conducted its analysis using case studies focused on the experi­ences of local governments in select municipalities of South Africa and Sweden. The lessons learned from the experiences promoting LED in advanced and middle­income contexts are intended to provide UNCDF with the tools to devel­op best practices for local governments in developing countries.