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Programme Phase II Programme Phase I

Programme Phase 1 (1997 - 2001) (NEP/96/003)

Brief Description
Project Classification
Goals & objectives
Operational Strategies
Implementation Arrangements
Benefeciaries

Brief Description

The Rural-Urban Partnership Progamme (RUPP) has been developed utilizing the experiences of past UNDP support to Urban Development in Nepal through the Management Support to Town Panchayats Project (NEP/86/021), Management Support for Urban Development Project (NEP/88/046), The Management Support for Municipal Development (NEP/91/002) and Decentralization Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation. Experiences from initiatives implemented by the Municipalities and NGOs in Nepal have also been considered.

This Programme has taken into consideration some important lessons learnt from past initiatives. Some of these are the following.

• Rural and Urban development should not be seen in isolation of each other as they heave strong social, financial, demographic and economic linkages. These linkages need to be understood and harnessed for economically optimal and equitable development.
• Urban development is not physical development but encompasses social, economic, technical and psychological dimensions on which physical development depends.
• Participations of people, particularly poor and disadvantaged, in planning and monitoring of development interventions in essential for ensuring the sustainability of programme activities.
• Urban development, if not managed properly, can aggravate widening of the gap between the rich and poor. Urban development initiatives should, therefore, be pursued in such a way that they also benefit the rural poor and empower the women and the disadvantaged group.
• Rural or urban development can not be achieved only through efforts of the Government.

This Programme will assist selected municipalities and their hinterland rural market centers within the defined market zones to promote and expand rural-urban linkages to benefit the poor. It will also enhance the management capabilities, primarily, of municipalities. Programme support will be provided at the central level (Macro), Municipality and VDC level (meso), and community level (micro) in urban market centres (Municipalities) and rural Market centres (VDCs). Programme activities will be implemented in 3-market regions, creating a strongly linked network of urban centres and rural market centres. Investment under this programme will concentrate at the meso and micro levels.

Both the urban and rural communities, that demonstrate a firm commitment to participate in the programme, will be organised into self-managed organisations and community-based enterprises to engage in social and economic development activities. Efforts will be made to create/strengthen the necessary social and economic infrastructure bese for promotion of rural-urban linkages. The programme will also facilitate a co-ordination and consultative forum for the participating municipalities, VDCs and private sector organization. Experiences gained at the local level will form the basis for the formulation of development policies and guidelines at the macro level and also development of human resources to sustain and replicate the programme activities. The programme also envisions institutional arrangements required for sustainability for the programme activities through capacity building of the local authorities.

Goal

To improve the livelihoods of poor and disadvantaged people by creating enabling environment for them to take advantage of the social and economic development opportunities that can be obtained through strengthened rural-urban linkages.

Objectives

• Mobilize the poor and disvantaged local communities of urban centres, rural market centres and villages within the Market Region to undertake social and economic initiatives through the formation of self managed organizations and enterprises based on rural-urban functional and spatial linkages.
• To train and organize the traditional tribes, occupational groups and artisans into enterprises.
• To support the Local Authorities for adopting "Urban Based Local Development" programme approach that strengthens the local by economies by making optimum use of the development opportunities obtainable through strong rural-urban social and economic linkages.
• To support national planning commission (NPC) to help formulate poverty alleviation oriented regional and development polices.

1. Information System and Market Regions

RUUP has embarked upon the development of institutional mechanism through the creation of information systems at all three levels to support rural and urban economic development initiatives based upon rural-urban linkage. The system developed constitutes databases on locational attributes of partner municipalities and Rural Market Centres. A more sustainable institutional entity in the form of Urban Information Centres have also been established in partner municipalities. These centres were created in response to the fact that there is acute paucity of information on urban issues and problems that local government policy and decision makers could draw upon.

2. Market Centre Initiatives

Market centre initiatives include supporting Municipalities and Rural Market Centres to enhance their management and programming capabilities and capacities. Along these lines, RUPP has played a key role in the introduction of Participatory Municipality Development Planning (PMDP) and Participatory Village Development Planning (PVDP) in the partner municipalities and Rural Market Centres (RMC's) respectively. The Programme has also facilitated the initiation of community based activities that range from community development programmes to the creation of linkage enterprises for poverty alleviation in the participating urban and rural market centres. Basic operational modality of the Programme centres around community mobilization activities and follows a strictly demand driven model. It also entails facilitation and support in forging public private partnership (PPP) for providing urban goods and services and undertaking activities that seek to further strengthen rural-urban linkages.

3. Rural and Urban Economic Enterprises

Community based social economic enterprises are facilitated to strengthen the inter-linkages between the urban centres and rural hinterland areas. Private and community based enterprises are promoted in municipalities and Rural Market Centres which gear their activities in meeting the market demand of range products and services. Female entrepreneurs are especially encouraged to establish such enterprises.

4. Support Provision to Economic Enterprises

RUPP advocates a demand driven approach to the provision of support to the community based initiatives and the promotion of enterprises. The Programme extends an integrated support package to the entrepreneurs which includes; credit, seed grant, training, technology and market information support. Credit assistance is provided to the initiatives that have the characteristics of "privatisable benefits" while seed grants are provided to the initiatives that are more communal in nature and have proven potential of benefiting larger section of the society.

5. Other Components

• Public Private Partnership (PPP): PPP is another important component of the Programme which primarily seeks to mobilize the private and public sector to embark on collaborative efforts in the provision of urban goods and services and taking initiatives that enhance rural urban linkages.
• Rural Labour Linkage (RLL) : RLL is a key component of the Programme that further ensures that its resources are directed to the poor and disadvantaged community members. The RLL component basically includes (I) linking occupational rural labour to urban industrial and market systems and (II) organizing dispersed traditional skill labour into production units and linking up their primary and intermediary productions with urban industrial or commercial enterprises.

In order to enhance productivity and competitiveness, the Programme has a specific component that addresses the issues of the application of appropriate and sustainable technology options in enterprises supported by the Programme. The Technology Transfer component involves provision of support to the enterprises in the area of affordable and sustainable technology options.

Co-ordination

RUPP has accorded a high priority to a coordinated and consultative approach in its operation in order to garner support for Programme implementation and ensure more synergy between isolated efforts of line agencies and local level development organizations. The following forums have been constituted as part of coordinating and consultative approach:

• Central Consultative Forum (CCF): CCF is formed of representatives from the government agencies/institutions, the NGOs and PSOs and the professionals, academicians and practitioners in the field of local development through rural-urban linkages.

• Local Coordination: Local coordination efforts are carried out through RUNET and PDC. While RUNET is a forum of mayors of participating municipalities, PDC (Partnership Development Committee) is formed at the SO level with representation from the municipality, government line agencies, representatives of leading banks, financial institutions and NGO's. In addition to PDC, LIF(Local Initiative Forum of UNDP supported Programmes) is also formed at the SO level with the representation from field level UNDP supported Programmes and projects.

Scope of Operation

The scope of operation is generally concentrated in the following areas:

• Provide support for better local governance
• Strengthen the linkages and facilitate the optimum utilization of rural and urban economic opportunities for poverty alleviation through local development
• Develop the capabilities and capacities of government agencies, local authorities and other institutions for replication and implementation of the programmes
• Create conditions for women to enhance their roles in social and economic development by utilizing the existing rural urban linkage opportunities.
• Support development of local and national policies considering the importance of rural-urban linkages
• Enhance social and economic mobility and empowerment by developing interdependent production mechanism
• Carry out HRD initiatives and information dissemination collaboratively with the Municipality Association of Nepal (MuAN)
• Help establish Market Development Fund (MDF) into municipality structure for the sustenance of the Programme
  

Central Level

The programme operates through the Programme Management Unit located in Kathmandu. A high level Steering Committee has been formed at the central level to provide policy guidelines to the Programme. This committee includes representatives from NPC, MLD, MPPW, ADDC, MuAN and UNDP. A Programme Co-ordination Committee coordinates and monitors activities of the Programme with representation from NPC, MLD and MPPW.

Market Zone Level

The Programme deputes a Market Development Advisor on secondment basis to each specified market zone (municipality). An Implementation Management Committee (IMC) is formed in each partner municipality and VDC to support Programme implementation. A Partnership Development Committee (PDC) is constituted to provide policy guideline and coordinate the Programme activities. The Programme is implemented by 'Support Organization', which functions as a secretariat of PDC.

Community Level

The Programme mobilizes local people of rural market centres and urban centres for initiating socio-economic development activities and enterprises to undertake production, distribution and marketing of goods and services for both the rural and urban markets.

Funding

The Programme is funded by UNDP and implemented by UNCHS.

Programme Area

RUPP is implementing its activities in 12 Market Zone comprising of 12 Municipalities and 28 Rural Market Centres. The names of the municipalities where the Programme has been launched in as follows:
Mid West: Nepalgunj, Tulsipur, Tribhuvannagar, Birendranagar
West: Butwal, Byas, Pokhara, Tansen
Central: Bharatpur, Hetauda
Eastern: Biratnagar, Dhankuta

Apart from these municipalities, the Programme has been implemented in 28 Rural Market Centres (RMC's) within the market zones of municipalities.

- The primary beneficiaries of the Programme are the poor population of the urban centres, production centres and villages.

- The Programme supports the Municipalities, Rural Market Centres, Village Development Committees, Community Based Organisations and Private Sector Enterprises within the zone.

- The National Planning Commission, Ministry of Local Development and Ministry of Physical Planning and Works are the beneficiaries at the central level.

Phase II