Mission: Transforming Knowledge to Action in order to contribute to safe, secure and inclusive cities
RESAUD NETWORK (Réseau d?Échanges Stratégiques pour une Afrique Urbaine Durable) is a joint initiative led by the University of Montreal (Canada) and UN-Habitat and supported by Canada and Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. It has been established in 2014 at School of Urban Planning of University of Montreal (Canada) by urban researchers and expert/practitioners from North and South in the aim to help African cities in their willingness to improve urban governance for safe, secure and inclusive cities. UNIVERSITÉ de MONTREAL and UN HABITAT signed in 2014 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was approved by Minister of International Relation and Francophonie of Québec (Canada). RESAUD works in four French-speaking African countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
The world is faced to an unprecedented urban growth with major implications: extreme urban poverty, poor living conditions, constraints on productivity due to lack of basic infrastructure, and risks due to natural disasters and climate change. Clearly « cities are the place where will be won or lost the battle for sustainable development » (High Level Panel 2013). This is particularly relevant for Africa where at the moment fifty-five per cent of urban dwellers live in slums and where current urbanisation trends indicate that african cities will home to two-third the Africa?s four billion people by 2050. Urbanisation presents risks but is also an opportunity for Africa. All stakeholders - professionals, decision-makers, elected officials and citizens - must be accompanied in their willingness to develop their cities, and development should not leave anybody behind. African cities possess the keys and resources to help them build innovate in terms of sustainable solutions: their universities. Universities can become sources for local solutions and support institutions in improving the efficiency of their urban policies.
By transforming knowledge into action, RESAUD helps African cities to address three primary challenges: tenure security as the basis for managing equitable cities; public safety as the basis for managing bearable cities; access to essential urban services, and environmental risk management as the basis for managing viable cities.
RESAUD is based on an operational alliance between the universities and cities of French speaking Africa, supported by Université de Montréal & Campus Montréal (Canada) and UN Habitat.
For its first phase RESAUD developed partnership arrangement between four local governments and four universities: Université de Ouagadougou & Ouagadougou, Université de Yaoundé & Yaoundé, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny & Abidjan, Université Cheikh Anta Diop & Dakar. The Université de Montreal (Faculté de l?Aménagement and École de Criminologie) and Campus Montreal (École Polytechnique) apply the knowledge, tools, experiences and practices developed in Canadian and international context to serve their African partner universities / cities.
RESAUD acts through Observatories in Urban Governance and Studies and Action for Sustainable City Labs as hubs of excellence for knowledge exchange, learning, innovations and facilitating solutions comprising of key government, research and civil society actors. Each Sustainable City Lab and Observatory work on one of the three challenges: 1) urban land tenure security (Dakar ? Senegal); 2) urban public safety (Abidjan ? Cote d?Ivoire); 3) urban services access (Ouagadougou ? Burkina Faso) and environmental risks (Yaoundé ? Cameroun). Local governments with their universities and Canadian support team enhance their on-going safer, more secure and inclusive cities project activities leveraging on local resources as well as partnerships.
RESAUD NETWORK focuses on evidence based data analysis, accountability of elected and decision makers, empowerment of civil society and improvement of urban policies. It is built around Observatories in Urban Governance and Studies and Action Sustainable City Laboratories that undertake the following types of activities at local level to answer critical policies questions in the fight for managing equitable, bearable and viable cities:
Establishment of Observatories in Urban Governance. One Observatory by city working on one of the three challenges with support of canadian expertise: 1/ Observatory in Urban Governance, Center for Urban Planning and Land tenure security (Sénégal): City of Dakar/Université Cheikh Anta Diop supported by Faculté de l?aménagement of Université de Montréal. 2/ Observatory in Urban Governance, Center for Access to Essential Services Management (Burkina Faso): City of Ougadougou/Université de Ougadougou supported by Faculté de l?aménagement of Université de Montréal et Ecole Polytechnique (Campus Montréal). 3/Observatory of Urban Governance, Center for public safety and crime (Côte d?Ivoire): City of Abidjan/Université Felix Houphouët Boigny supported by École de criminologie and Centre International de Criminologie Comparée of Université de Montréal. 4/ Observatory in Urban Governance, Center for Risk, Resilience and socio-technic systems (Cameroun): City of Yaoundé/Université de Yaoundé supported by École Polytechnique ( Campus Montréal).
RESAUD developed partnership arrangements in form of signed official contracts between the local government and local university. Local policy group of each Observatory comprising of key government, research and academic actors links knowledge to practice: organizing the local urban data, training courses, developing and disseminating joint research projects, building tools, facilitating solutions for local needs and advocating for politics driven by rigorous evidence.
Implementation of Studies and Action Sustainable City Labs in each of the four cities to answer specific urban needs. On each observatory recommendations, based on the requests expressed by local government, specific pilot interventions within policy plans are implemented in partnership with city. On specific urban grounds and context each laboratory conceptualizes and operationalizes solutions. University, as partner and expert helps city to implement them with all civil society actors. Evaluation of results will create a solid evidence base to improve urban policies.
Reinforcement of academic formation in theoretical knowledge and good practice. RESAUD develops Massive Open On line Courses with help of Numeric Campus implemented by AUF (Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie) and the expertise of the Université de Montreal and Campus Montreal in Project Management for the Built Environment (Faculté de l?aménagement), in Environmental Risks Management (École polytechnque) and in Public safety (École de criminologie). The courses are suitable for professors and students in urban fields, municipal managers, practitioners and civil society actors.
Exchanging local knowledge: Each local working group is informed of each others progress in order to maximise the exchange of relevant knowledge and to learn more about how the problem is being treated there. The site RESAUD.NET is the technical support for continuous exchanges.
Systematisation of local policy: The Local university develops indicators and advancing recommendations that can then be used as an advocacy tool with relevant government decision makers and civil society groups.
International advocacy plans: An international advocacy plan for French speaking Africa will be designed by UN Habitat and RESAUD in order to highlight the benefits of operational alliance cities/universities to serve sustainable cities.
RESAUD NETWORK National and International Activities
Réseau d?Échanges Stratégiques pour une Afrique Urbaine Durable - RESAUD NETWORK is born in October 2012 following a workshop, directed by Pr Michel Max Raynaud, Faculté de l?aménagement ? Université de Montréal, to examine urban land tenure security in West Africa with international specialists coming from Senegal, Benin, France and Canada, and from UN Habitat ? Program Division - and GTLN ? Global Land Tool Network.
Alioune Badiane, Director Program Division UN Habitat (Kenya) and Michel Max Raynaud, Université de Montréal (Canada) decided to initiate RESAUD in the perspective of New Urban Agenda (Habitat III) and beyond.
Université de Montréal and UN Habitat signed in 2014 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was approved by Minister of International Relation and Francophonie of Québec (Canada). RESAUD was established in 2014 - at School of Urban Planning of Université de Montréal (Canada) to systematize local level prevention and urban policies (in land tenures, service access and environmental securities, and in public safety) for cities of French speaking Africa.
Four countries: Burkina Faso ? Cameroun ? Cote d?Ivoire and Senegal.
Four cities: Ouagadougou ? Yaounde ? Abidjan and Dakar.
Four universities: Université de Ouagadougou ? Université Yaounde ? Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny and Université Cheikh Anta Diop.
Major challenges for sustainable urban governance. One challenge for each university with and for its city:
- Urban Land tenure Security (project management) for Université Cheikh Anta Diop with and for Dakar (Sénégal).
- Urban Safety (crime and violence) for Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny with and for Abidjan (Cote d?Ivoire),
- Essential Urban Services (energy, water and sanitation) for Université de Ouagadougou with and for Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) ;
- Urban Environmental Riks for Université de Yaounde with and for Yaoundé (Cameroun) ;
RESAUD was officially launched on October 2014 by Université de Montréal and UN Habitat, in the presence of French speaking Africa?s academic partners, Representative of AUF the Americas Bureau, Co-director of IFDD (OIF) and under the Chairmanship of the President of ?Conseil des Collectivités Territoriales? de l?UEMOA. All partners developed the road map in the perspective of New Urban Agenda (Habitat III) and beyond.
This first stage was funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; AUF the Americas Bureau; Direction des Relations Internationales of Université de Montréal; Observatoire Ivanhoé Cambridge of Université de Montréal.
RESAUD was presented in Africa during a side event of ?XVe Sommet de la Francophonie? Dakar Senegal (November 2014) in presence of UN Habitat (Kenya), President of UCAD (Senegal), Director of ESEA (Senegal), Co director of IFDD (Canada), Representative of Université de Montréal (Canada).
RESAUD was invited to present a Side Event for Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Prep Com2) (16 April 2015) in Nairobi (Kenya).
RESAUD was required to make a recommendation during plenary Session of Prep Com2 (16 April 2015).
RESAUD was accredited to the Twenty-fifth session of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat (from 17 to 23 April 2015) in Nairobi (Kenya)
Current stage: Each university established partnerships with the Majors and city municipal committee of its city. The working groups are building observatories ? one for each challenge ? and the pilot implementation sites began to be chosen. This current stage RESAUD project is in grant application with Foreign Affairs, Trade and development Canada.





NO - RESAUD NETWORK National and International Activities
Réseau d?Échanges Stratégiques pour une Afrique Urbaine Durable - RESAUD NETWORK is born in October 2012 following a workshop, directed by Pr Michel Max Raynaud, Faculté de l?aménagement ? Université de Montréal, to examine urban land tenure security in West Africa with international specialists coming from Senegal, Benin, France and Canada, and from UN Habitat ? Program Division - and GTLN ? Global Land Tool Network.
Alioune Badiane, Director Program Division UN Habitat (Kenya) and Michel Max Raynaud, Université de Montréal (Canada) decided to initiate RESAUD in the perspective of New Urban Agenda (Habitat III) and beyond.
Université de Montréal and UN Habitat signed in 2014 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was approved by Minister of International Relation and Francophonie of Québec (Canada). RESAUD was established in 2014 - at School of Urban Planning of Université de Montréal (Canada) to systematize local level prevention and urban policies (in land tenures, service access and environmental securities, and in public safety) for cities of French speaking Africa.
Four countries: Burkina Faso ? Cameroun ? Cote d?Ivoire and Senegal.
Four cities: Ouagadougou ? Yaounde ? Abidjan and Dakar.
Four universities: Université de Ouagadougou ? Université Yaounde ? Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny and Université Cheikh Anta Diop.
Major challenges for sustainable urban governance. One challenge for each university with and for its city:
- Urban Land tenure Security (project management) for Université Cheikh Anta Diop with and for Dakar (Sénégal).
- Urban Safety (crime and violence) for Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny with and for Abidjan (Cote d?Ivoire),
- Essential Urban Services (energy, water and sanitation) for Université de Ouagadougou with and for Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) ;
- Urban Environmental Riks for Université de Yaounde with and for Yaoundé (Cameroun) ;
RESAUD was officially launched on October 2014 by Université de Montréal and UN Habitat, in the presence of French speaking Africa?s academic partners, Representative of AUF the Americas Bureau, Co-director of IFDD (OIF) and under the Chairmanship of the President of ?Conseil des Collectivités Territoriales? de l?UEMOA. All partners developed the road map in the perspective of New Urban Agenda (Habitat III) and beyond.
This first stage was funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; AUF the Americas Bureau; Direction des Relations Internationales of Université de Montréal; Observatoire Ivanhoé Cambridge of Université de Montréal.
RESAUD was presented in Africa during a side event of ?XVe Sommet de la Francophonie? Dakar Senegal (November 2014) in presence of UN Habitat (Kenya), President of UCAD (Senegal), Director of ESEA (Senegal), Co director of IFDD (Canada), Representative of Université de Montréal (Canada).
RESAUD was invited to present a Side Event for Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Prep Com2) (16 April 2015) in Nairobi (Kenya).
RESAUD was required to make a recommendation during plenary Session of Prep Com2 (16 April 2015).
RESAUD was accredited to the Twenty-fifth session of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat (from 17 to 23 April 2015) in Nairobi (Kenya)
Current stage: Each university established partnerships with the Majors and city municipal committee of its city. The working groups are building observatories ? one for each challenge ? and the pilot implementation sites began to be chosen. This current stage RESAUD project is in grant application with Foreign Affairs, Trade and development Canada.
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