The Urban Collective Action Network (U-CAN) aims to bring together people, communities, policymakers and state agencies in Tier II and Tier III Indian cities, in a safe space to discuss and solve problems, resulting in better urban governance and a richer livable experience.
Indian cities should be livable, equitable and inclusive where all citizens are empowered to partner with government agencies in improving last mile service delivery.
To bring together people, communities , policy makers and state agencies in Tier II and Tier III Indian cities, in a safe space to discuss and solve problems, this will result in better urban governance and a richer livable experience. We are a network of organisations committed to improving urban problem solving through collective working, a multisectoral systems approach and a commitment to citizen inclusion in the policy making process.
The workings of the Collective are governed by the following principles:
Member organisations of the Collective have immersive experience in working on both programmatic and systems interventions with partners across different governance levels.
The first U-CAN meeting aimed to discover common grounds for creating an urban collective, articulating the purpose and gaining clarity on the next steps.
The 2nd U-CAN possibility circle focused on aligning the working definitions of U-CAN, identifying preferred areas of engagement and agreeing on the next steps such as the frequency of subsequent meetings.
The 3rd U-CAN possibility circle discussed the principles, the ways of working and the goals of U- CAN.
The meeting discussed the emerging charter, goal action plan, and governance plan.
The charter outlines U-CAN’s purpose, principles, goals, themes, and approach. The U-CAN is exploring the possibility of creating a community of diverse but complementary institutional experts across industry, civil society, academia, and government; to build a harmonious and focused ecosystem that can drive collective thought and action at scale.
The Peer Learning began with an interactive session by Mr Pramod Rao, ED SEBI about the current status of the municipal bond market in India, regulatory interventions and initiatives by SEBI to expand the size of the market and related challenges and opportunities.
The policy webinar delved into the opportunities and challenges of digital citizen engagement to harness its full potential towards an inclusive, secure, and effective digital participatory environment.
The webinar attempted to unfold emerging models of citizen engagement, moving beyond traditional town hall meetings and exploring innovative approaches, including co-creation, artistic engagement and other engaging forms of public consultations in the context of urban local governance.
The U-CAN members convened for a steering committee meeting at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi to realign the purpose and goals of the collective, working modalities and collaborative approaches.
Through the course of the meeting, the group discussed the following considerations for the collective:
– Collective reflection on the origin story of U-CAN
– Presentation of the proposed purpose of U-CAN by the CEO and member inputs
– Presentation of the fellowship proposal for inputs
– Session detailing the goals envisioned for the collective including the dynamics of working groups, credibility building in the urban ecosystem and potential projects and programs the group can undertake and their intended impact
This U-CAN Conversation with External Stakeholders marked the attendance of 20+ esteemed guests from the ecosystem of donors, multi-laterals, think tanks and philanthropic foundations with urban expertise.
The session was structured with the following components, each with a unique purpose:
– Interactive introductory Q&A: Introduction of the Collective and its members through an interactive Q&A round with the audience and to invite their questions pertaining to the vision and working of the collective.
– Group activity: Members and external stakeholders were engaged in a group exercise. They were divided into four groups and each group was presented with a unique problem statement spanning from local to national level urban issues which they were expected to resolve and thereby showcase the collective value of problem-solving.
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