I had the opportunity to speak with Meghna Malhotra, one of the Directors of the Urban Management Centre. Here’s what she told me about UMC and its role in the CityLinks program.

  1.      Could you please tell me a little about UMC?

Urban Management Centre (UMC) is a non-profit company registered under the Indian Companies Act which works towards professionalizing urban management in India and South Asia. UMC provides technical assistance and support to the Indian state and local government associations and implements programs that improve cities by partnering with local governments. UMC is a legacy organization of ICMA, and continues to partner with ICMA in the South Asia region. In 1994, ICMA initially opened a field office in South Asia that evolved into the Urban Management Centre in 2005 in Ahmedabad, India.

UMC advances good governance by encouraging the creation, sharing, and replication of innovations, by facilitating peer exchanges, conducting hands-on, practical training, and by providing practitioner-based assistance that results in sustainable solutions to local government needs.  With a network of more than 1,800 cities in India, UMC is able to reach out to more than 65% of the urban population throughout the country.  UMC works extensively with cities, governments, and associations in the region in the following areas of expertise: financial management, service delivery, environmental management, association development, innovations documentation and transfer, establishment of city-to-city partnerships, capacity building, and performance measurement.

UMC has worked in India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, and has been involved in imparting training and collaborative learning workshops in Afghanistan, China, Pakistan,  Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, USA, Netherlands, UK, Norway, and Sweden.  

2.      What are UMC’s strengths?

UMC combines the experience of local government practitioners with that of seasoned national and international consultants to design, implement, and evaluate municipal development and urban management projects. Since 1997, UMC staff has focused on understanding challenges and bringing solutions to local governments, with a view to improve capacity of the local government staff in pushing the reform agenda.

  3.      Could you please tell me about some of UMC’s current programs?

UMC is currently working on Performance Assessment Systems (PAS) for urban water supply and sanitation in 166 urban local bodies of Gujarat in collaboration with Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) University. The objective of the PAS 5-year program, funded by the Gates Foundation, is to develop better information on water and sanitation performance at the local level which will be used by the state and local governments for extending services to the urban poor, and improving reliability and the quality of services. The program involves assessing the performance of cities in water supply, sanitation, storm water drainage, and solid waste management thus facilitating improvements over the program’s life cycle.

UMC is also preparing a City Sanitation Plan (CSP) for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). The CSP, a part of AMC's goal of Clean and Green Ahmedabad, is aimed at developing and maintaining a clean, safe, and pleasant physical environment to promote social, economic, and physical well-being of all sections of the population. UMC is creating a framework for the CSP along with finalizing technological, social, and financial aspects for the plan. UMC participates in data collection and analysis, and facilitates consultation meetings for involved organizations.  

4.      What are some programs UMC has collaborated on with ICMA?

• Formation of the City Managers’ Association across 13 states of India (1997-2005)
• Formation of the Mega Cities’ Association of India (2005-07)
• CityLinks (former Resource Cities Program) between
  • Indore Municipal Corporation, Madhya Pradesh and City of Garland, Texas (2002-04)
  • Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, Madhya Pradesh and Sacramento County, California (2002-04)
  • Bangalore Municipal Corporation, Karnataka and City of Reno, Nevada (2002-04)
• CityLinks Program- Post-Tsunami Recovery CityLinks Program between Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu and Palm Bay, Oldsmar, and Port Orange, Florida USA (2005-07)
• Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS Response in Urban Governance (2004-05)Monitoring and Evaluation of the City Links Program in Afghanistan (2003-05)
• Urban Planning Technical Assistance to cities of Afghanistan under the Afghanistan Municipal Strengthening Program (AMSP) (2008-2010)
• Preparation of a Municipal Management Manual for Afghan City Managers under the AMSP (2010-2011)

  5.      What would UMC like to contribute to CityLinks?

UMC will serve as a resource organization for ICMA, as the directors and staff of UMC are technically qualified professionals with wide exposure to urban issues.

UMC believes in the process of learning through city partnerships and have been a great advocate of this concept in Indian city partnerships as well. UMC, with its partner media cell, can document the program process through audio-video films, solicit participation of donors and other stakeholders through ‘showing and then believing’.