The challenges facing cities today are well known: climate change, a fast growing urban population, energy scarcity, economic constraints, and many other issues. Across the globe, local authorities' capacities are being outpaced by the increasing complexity of the challenges they face. Yet without strong local authorities, cities will not be able to adapt and play the key role that is required of them – to serve as engines for growth, spaces of creativity and innovation, and localities where the benefits of education, health and other basic services are accessible to all.  Key actors that can support the development of local authorities are national training institutions. 

Through such institutions cities can access the latest training and capacity development support, be linked to centers of knowledge across the globe, and continually learn, innovate, and adapt. "Building capacity to build capacity" is the cornerstone of the UN-HABITAT's capacity development approach, for it is through such an approach that sustainability is achieved and national ownership over development processes and results guaranteed.

Though crucial actors, national training institutions often face a range of constraints that hinder their ability to support local authorities; these include an unclear mandate provided through out of date policy and legislation, unsustainable business models that rely on heavy donor or multi-lateral partner contributions, an inability to keep at the cutting edge of pedagogical and capacity development practice, and a too-narrow focus on training rather than a broader range of support that is required by local authorities.

These challenges are not insurmountable.  For over 10 years UN-HABITAT has offered a wide range of support to strengthen training institutions, including assisting them to design and implement national capacity development programmes, providing curricula and learning programmes in a range of thematic areas, developing the capacity of training institution staff through exchange visits, training and other means, and hosting global and regional events to support knowledge exchange.  So far over 60 institutions in 40 countries have received such support.

In 2011, UN-HABITAT launched the next generation of initiatives targeting training institutions through the new global programme: Enhancing the Contribution of Local Authorities and their Partners towards achieving the MDGs through Capacity Building of Local Government Training Institutes. The programme is funded by the United Nations Development Account (7th Tranche) and aims to reach more institutions and develop their capacities so as to support local authorities in addressing the challenges of cities today. This will entail deeper levels of engagement with the training institutions and significant attention to strengthening their institutional arrangements, including business processes, knowledge management, business models, organizational structure, as well as to support a shift from a training-centric service provision to capacity development provider.

Strengthening training institutions is one of UN-HABITAT's core areas within capacity development. For more information about the overall capacity development work, please visit the Capacity Development webpage