Page 14 - U4SSC Compendium of practices on innovative financing for smart sustainable cities projects

Developed under the global initiative of U4SSC, the compendium contains cases from around the
world.

The “U4SSC Guidelines on tools and mechanisms to finance sustainable smart cities projects”
were developed as part of the U4SSC initiative and provide practical recommendations for city
governments on how to develop investment-grade projects in support of sustainable smart urban
development. The Guidelines explain what a sustainable smart city project is and provide an
overview of traditional and innovative financing tools that are available and can be used to finance
city projects. They also provide an overview of existing investors, and how to make a sustainable
city development plan attractive to them. The Guidelines are based on the principles contained in
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third
International Conference on Financing for Development.

The compendium further develops on the Guidelines and presents the collection of cases selected
by the members of the U4SSC Initiative thematic group. These cases demonstrate financing
mechanisms that were used to implement sustainable and smart city projects to the extent it was
possible to disclose publicly. The compendium development process started in September 2020,
with the call for the submission of project case studies using innovative financing to the members
of the U4SSC thematic group on Innovative Financing Instruments for Smart Sustainable Cities.
Case studies were required to have a brief description of the essence of the project, its contribution
to the sustainability and/or smartness of a city, the financing mechanism used to implement the
project, and the impact that it had on people’s lives in the city.

Between October 2020 and January 2021, the thematic group secretariat received 40 submissions
from 23 countries around the world. The thematic group agreed on the criteria for case selection
to the compendium at its meeting in March 2021. In April 2021, the 15 cases presented in this
compendium were selected based on the following criteria:

• The submission is complete and contains sufficient information, particularly concerning the
innovative financial mechanism of the project

• The submission contains clear, people-first elements; that is, the project creates value for people
and for the planet, with a focus on the world’s most vulnerable

• The submission has sectoral and geographical diversity

The objective of the compendium is to provide a practical insight on the types of projects that can
improve sustainability and smartness of a city, combined with ideas on how they can be financed.
Given the focus on financing in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, innovative financing
of urban development projects is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
globally.

2 Compendium of practices on innovative financing for SSC projects | January 2023