International Development Cooperation at the Local Level: The UNDP ART Global Initiative

International cooperation programs and initiatives can play a significant operational role in promoting strategies for SHD at the local level (UNDP, 2012). In order to deliver tangible results, the whole system of international aid — including at local and territorial levels — requires innovative practices and mechanisms of ownership, alignment, harmonization, management of results and accountability.1 As we have seen, the evolution of the development paradigm (see Chapter 1) implies the emergence of urgent issues (such as poverty, the environment, peace and security, health, employment and civil rights) linking territorial communities to the global level (Sassen, 2007). Consequently, traditional aid delivery processes (World Bank, 1998) based on project and supply-driven approaches are challenged (Mosley et al., 1991). In reality, the potential for international cooperation initiatives to expand opportunities to flourish depends on a range of institutions, goods and services that are localized in territorial societies.