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) requested a Capstone team to assist in improving the way it allocates basket funds for local economic develop­ment projects. The Capstone team trav­eled to Uganda to perform an institutional assessment of public service delivery in the agriculture sector. The main tasks involved conducting a stakeholder analy­sis for the agriculture sector and docu­menting service functions and the flow of resources to local governments from vari­ous actors, including central ministries, donor partners, and NGOs. The informa­tion generated through this research is intended to facilitate dialogue between central ministries, UNCDF, and the Local Government Finance Commission regard­ing the targeting of resources and techni­cal assistance to local governments.

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.

The Capstone team assisted the World Bank in the conceptualization and devel­opment of a model slum­resettlement site that promotes the principles of affordabili­ty, livability, and economic and environ­mental sustainability for the urban poor. The model adopts approaches that opti­mize urban space, considers socio­eco­nomic and cultural concerns of potential relocated residents, and incorporates dis­aster resilience. The team used field research in the Philippines, academic liter­ature from other Southeast Asian coun­tries, and global cases to develop a set of recommendations. The Capstone team provided the World Bank with a final report focused on the promotion of medi­um­rise, socialized housing developments and an analysis of the parameters of suc­cess associated with them.

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 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.

After an extended period of internal con­flict in Cambodia, decentralization was introduced as part of a larger wave of pub­lic sector reform to promote democratic development and increase participatory governance. Decentralized planning and financing mechanisms were initially pilot­ed and then institutionalized at a lower level (commune), and similar reforms are now being introduced at higher sub­national levels (district and province). The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and The Asia Foundation engaged the Capstone team to assess the recent decentralization efforts in Cambodia. The Capstone team conducted a document review of the decentralization process as well as field interviews with researchers, local and international development part­ners, and government officials at the national and sub­national levels. As a final deliverable, the Capstone team produced an assessment of the sub­national planning process and guidelines, documentation and assessment of the pilot planning process undertaken in the Takeo province, and recommendations for a future subnational planning system for Cambodia.