Productive transformation policies have gained renewed prominence in recent years. In both developed and developing countries, governments and private sector actors have begun planning and implementing programmes and instruments for private sector development; cluster promotion and value chain; as well as supply chain approaches linked to infrastructure provision, innovation and equity.

Many triggers have led to this revival:

(a) the economic crisis of 2008 demonstrated to governments the importance of regulation and policies to addressing market failures;

(b) the significant rise of intermediate cities and the dynamism of large cities, who are pushing for locally promoted policies with more autonomy and leverage; and

(c) productive policies are increasingly seen as a tool to generate jobs, to support micro and small-sized business, and create wealth. For the purposes of this report, Productive Transformation Policies (PTP) are defined as public programs and instruments designed to create jobs and achieve sustainable growth through higher productivity and promotion of competitive sectors.

Governance is about the processes by which public policy decisions are made and implemented. ICT can become a catalyst to improve governance in towns and cities and help increase the levels of participation, efficiency and accountability in public urban policies, provided that the tools are appropriately used, accessible and affordable. This book examines how ICT enabled governance is applied to urban policy design and highlights case studies, tools, methodologies, all reflecting current challenges and potential for the use of ICT in governance processes in cities.

This joint publication by CYFI and UN-Habitat examines youth economic citizenship in Sub-Saharan Africa. This publication provides an overview of economic citizenship, explains how it is relevant to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and provides research findings on its application in the region. Detailed case studies are provided on financial literacy and financial education initiatives for children and youth in Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The World Urban Forum is the world’s premier conference on urban issues. It was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. The Forum is organized and convened by the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat) pursuant to paragraph 10 of resolution 18/5 of the Commission on Human Settlements, in which the Commission requested the Executive Director to promote a merger of the Urban Environment Forum and the International Forum on Urban Poverty into a new urban forum, with a view to strengthening the coordination of international support to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.