This initiative will tie together several ongoing and new initiatives through a comprehensive knowledge management system. It will link and harmonise databases, case studies, casebooks, training tools and materials, technical cooperation tools and instruments, and policy and partnership endeavours of global programmes and technical advisory services.
The initiative is also designed to work closely with other Level 2 partners' commitments for WSSD in, inter alia, Water for African and Asian cities, City-to-City Cooperation, and Training local authorities for sustainable urban development.
The initiative aims to mainstream lessons learned from successful practices, policies and legislation in pro-poor, gender-sensitive urban development and in decentralisation and the empowerment of local authorities.

The initiative aims to learn from Best Practices, good policies and enabling legislation: aimed at feeding the lessons from best practices into the capacity development of local authorities, supported by UN-HABITAT, research & training institutions and individual cities.

Expected results include -
(a) More socially-inclusive and environmentally-sound urban development, particularly in developing countries, through the adoption of pro-poor, gender-sensitive urban policies;
(b) More sustainable urbanisation processes and urban governance frameworks through decentralisation and the empowerment of local authorities.

Governments:
Government of Brazil - Brazilian Inst. of Municipal Administration (IBAM)
Government of Brazil - Caixa Economica Federal
Government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Development Planning Unit

Major Groups:
Prague Institute (Czech Republic)
World Assoc. of Cities & Lcl Auth. Coord. (WACLAC) (Kenya)
Habitat International Coalition (HIC) (Netherlands)
ENDA Tiers Monde (Senegal)
Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
Huairou Commission (United States of America)
Metropolis (United States of America)
Up to 50 cities/communities in Africa, Arab States ()
Up to 50 cities/communities in Europe, Asia, S.Ame ()

UN System::
U.N. Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) (Kenya)
U.N. High Comm. for Refugees, Office of (UNHCR) (Switzerland)
U.N. Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) (Switzerland)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (United States of America)

Other intergovernmental organizations:
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) (Kenya)
International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) (Denmark)