Exploring emergent tools and approaches for financing urban

SESSION DESCRIPTION
FINANCE FORUM
E5
Exploring emergent tools and approaches
for financing urban resilience
Roundtable workshops and discussions
Date: Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Time: 16:45-18:15
Rooms: S25-26
Language:
English
ICLEI contact: Laura Kavanaugh
Organized by: ICLEI
OBJECTIVE
This interactive session offered participants the opportunity to critically examine and test innovative
tools, ideas, and approaches for addressing core financing challenges. Participants were able to
choose and join on of the three tables, each of which hosted a separate workshop or round table
discussion. Hosts at each table led an interactive exercise or exchange and rapporteurs recorded the
results.
The table topics were as follows:

Table 1: Climate change adaptation funding writeshop: Positioning and writing to win

Table 2: SuRe Sustainability and Resilience Rating and Standard (Tool)

Table 3: How “smart” entrepreneurship can help cities to be resilient

A brief description of each including the methodology and outcomes is provided below.
OUTCOMES
Participants left the workshop session with:

An improved understanding of how to position their municipalities to identify and attract
adaptation funding, and in particular, how to write a competitive funding proposal that responds
to city needs and donor criteria;

How to attract financing by integrating sustainability and resilience issues early on in the
planning of a project; and

Cities will have a broad vision about how to develop local opportunities and business thanks to
city resilience and smart city solutions.
SESSION METHODOLOGY
Participants were able to choose from one of the tables, each hosting a workshop or discussion.
Chair: Steve Gawler, Director International Programs, ICLEI Oceania, Melbourne, Australia
TABLE 1: Climate Change Adaptation Funding Writeshop: Positioning and Writing to Win
Facilitators:
Molly Hellmuth, Head of Nacala-Porto CRIS Pilot, ICF International, New York, USA;
Christopher Evans, Deputy Project Manager CRIS Program, ICF International, Ottawa,
Canada
Commentator: Yoji Ishii, Office for Climate Change, Global Environment Department, Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tokyo, Japan
OBJECTIVE
The writeshop small group activity focused on identifying and implementing strategies for developing
successful adaptation funding proposals. It targeted towards city officials from developing countries
who are seeking opportunities to attract funding from international funds to support climate resilience
initiatives. This interactive session introduced a “writeshop” approach developed under the Climate
Resilient Infrastructure Services (CRIS) program, an initiative of USAID’s Climate Change Resilient
Development (CCRD) project. In a role-playing exercise, participants walked through the writeshop
approach. They applied their city’s key vulnerabilities and priority development needs to analyse a call
for proposals and developed a proposal concepts that responds to their city’s needs and the funder’s
criteria. Participants presented their proposal’s key elements to the group, including to a donor
representative who provided insights on what funders look for in financing proposals.
METHODOLOGY (Table 1)

The facilitator briefly introduced the USAID CRIS program and the writeshop methodology,
before outlining the focus, objectives, and approach for the workshop. (15 minutes)

Participants broke into two small groups. Each group was provided with a city “scenario”
drawing on real-world experiences from pilot cities that have participated in the CRIS program.
They also received a sample of a call for proposals. Each group analyzed the call for
proposals, and developed a project that responds to both their city needs and the funding
criteria. Each small group developed a project concept, including a written problem statement,
and a description of project beneficiaries, expected outputs, and project partners. (30 minutes)

Participants presented their project concepts to the group. Through a facilitated discussion,
participants explored different concepts for successful funding proposals. A donor
representative shared insights from the funders’ perspective (45 minutes)

The facilitator concluded the discussion, collected feedback and results, supported by the
rapporteur. (10 minutes)
TABLE 2: SuRe Sustainability and Resilience Rating and Standard (Tool)
Facilitator:
Raphael Guldimann, Director, Investor Relations, Global Infrastructure Basel, Basel,
OBJECTIVE
Participants gained better understanding of what the positive and, if lacking, negative effects of
sustainability can be and how sustainability can be measured.
METHODOLOGY (Table 2)
 The facilitator briefly introduced the exercise and sustainability tool. (5 mins)
 Q&A and discussion on the tool. (5 mins)
 Discussion on the major sustainability criteria for infrastructure projects and the question of sector
approaches. (10 mins)
 The facilitator concluded the discussion and collected feedback and results, supported by the
rapporteur. (10-15 mins)
TABLE 3: How "smart" entrepreneurship can help cities to be resilient
Facilitator:
Ignasi Fontanals, CEO, OptiCits OptiCits Ingeniería Urbana, Barcelona, Spain
OBJECTIVE
To discuss and present experiences about new sustainable business model based on City Resilience.
Resilience is becoming an innovative sector for cities and private sector to create innovative business
models and public/private partnerships. At the same time, social entrepreneurs can find a field to
develop new services and products to build new business models that permits them to have a
sustainable business activity while serving the municipality. Resilience and entrepreneurship in
advanced and developing cities can be a great issue to focus all this efforts.
METHODOLOGY (Table 3)

First part: Introduction by the facilitator of the current situation and proposal of questions: How
can “Resilience” become a guidance to develop local startups and new sustainable and
disruptive business models? How city ecosystems can be prepared to stimulate the creation of
local activities, then local jobs, local empowerment to allow independence from multilateral
organizations? How public private partnership can encourage local smart innovation with
resilience as main field to develop new solutions?

Second part: An open discussion after 10 minutes of pitch from every speaker with the
proactive direction of the facilitator who then introduced different aspects to discuss. Open
questions were answered by the speakers. The questions were collected by twitter with a
hashtag e.g. #smartresilience

Description of the last part: Brief summary of the brainstorming ideas and analysis and
development of the final idea.

Conclusions: Were collected by a rapporteur. (10-15 mins)
Further recommended reading
USAID’s Climate-Resilient Development Framework
http://www.usaid.gov/climate/climate-resilient-development-framework
Climate Resilient Infrastructure Services (CRIS):
https://docs.google.com/a/ccrdproject.com/file/d/0BwnttiInBdksVjM5bkRnT2xTOFU/edit
Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure (GIB)