LAUNCH OF THE APPLIED URBAN RESEARCH AGENDA IN ECUADOR FOR THE SUSTAINABLE INTERMEDIATE CITIES PROJECT
Since 2018, GFA, in a Consortium with IHS (Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies) Rotterdam, has been implementing on behalf of GIZ Component 3 of the project Sustainable Intermediate Cities in Ecuador. The programs overall objectives are to improve the enabling conditions in order to improve the implementation of sustainable urban development policies according to the Agenda 2030, the New Urban Agenda, and the Paris Climate Agreement. The Consortium contributes to the program objective by providing technical advice to academic and research institutions. The direct objective is for academic and research institutions to provide practice-oriented contributions that are in accordance with the scope of the international agenda for sustainable urban development.
The definition of the major objective was to involve academic and research institutions in the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of the National Agenda for Sustainable Urban Development. On the 23rd of September 2020, this objective was successfully achieved through the presentation of the Applied Urban Research Agenda (AIUA). The AIUA aims to involve higher education institutions, research centers, specialists and researchers in order to promote the generation of knowledge and solutions for the problems the Ecuadorian cities are presently facing. During a Facebook Live Event the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, (Senescyt), and GIZ, partnered with the GFA team, presented the AIUA that included introductory speeches by the Minister of Urban Development and Housing, the Minister of Environment and Water, the Minister of Health and the German Ambassador.
The Applied Urban Research Agenda is a document built from a dynamic participation of 300 teachers and researchers who are all linked with higher education institutions, technical and technological colleges and other institutions in different cities across the country. It prioritizes four areas of research: environmental sustainability, equity, accessibility and inclusion, prosperity and productivity, and governance. You can download the document here (pfd, Spanish).
