Urban Observatory System in Vietnam

Background and Objectives

Background

Over the past five years, the assessment of MDG targets was mainly conducted without a systemic mechanism to monitor and evaluate local situations, particularly in the middle and small cities. General assessment on the five-year progress of the MDGs/VDGs implementation only showed the results of five big cities that are directly under the management of the central government. It is therefore necessary to develop a set of gender-based urban indicators and a broader urban observatory system to monitor and evaluate the urban development goals for cities/towns in Vietnam. It is also important to strengthen the capacity of national and local officials to implement and sustain these monitoring and assessment tasks.

Objectives

- To support central government to develop a set of key urban indicators for measuring performance of the city as a whole and for the development of city policy;
- To develop pilot urban observatory system in selected cities/towns for identification of priority needs and interventions that will impact on urban poverty reduction;
- To improve the capacity of central and local governments in developing, maintaining and sustaining the urban observatory systems for monitoring and evaluating urban indicators at the local level;
- To support central government to prepare a guideline on setting up and sustaining urban observatory system at local level.

Activities

- National traning workshop for the development of the sent of urban indicators;
- Conduct urban indicators data collection and develop pilot urban observatory system in selected cities;
- City consultations and follow-up missions by UN-HABITAT staff from the regional office and headquarters;
- Finalisation and documentation of the set of urban indicators;
- Documentation and publication of guideline for developing and sustaining urban observatory system.

Results

Expected results are:
- A set of gender-based urban indicators for Vietnamese cities developed and maintained; - Local urban observatories are established in selected cities/towns; - Improved capacity of central and local government officials on urban monitoring and assessment; and - Guidelines on setting up and sustaining urban observatory system at local level is prepared and disseminated.