DIG offers management and advisory services to build the capacity and improve the lives of low-income populations in a variety of global contexts. Our staff has designed and managed initiatives to assist underserved communities in areas such as advocacy, slum improvement, the provision of basic services, land tenure regularization and financing. Our partners are organizations managed by slum dwellers, non-governmental organizations (NGO), microfinance institutions, government agencies and private firms such as utilities.Our work in urban and community services includes:
Infrastructure Development
DIG specializes in the provision of technical assistance and managing complex infrastructure programs. DIG notably specializes in post-conflict infrastructure rehabilitation (for example, in Lebanon in 2006) and in supporting efforts focusing on urban infrastructure, water infrastructure, and the provision of sanitation in poor, urban communities.
DIG focuses on linking poor communities to the larger municipal or national water infrastructure. Areas of expertise in this realm include pricing; innovative financing; organizing and linking communities to broader reforms in the utility sector; ensuring that subsidies, if required, are smart and do not detract from long-term sustainability; and community capacity building.
DIG designs and manages cutting-edge community improvement programs that combine innovative microfinance and municipal financing mechanisms to deliver basic services (electricity, sanitation, roads, etc.) to urban slum dwellers. Our staff works with national and local governments, financial institutions, the private sector, NGOs and CBOs to design integrated programs that address the infrastructure, health, education and financial service needs of informal settlements.
Organizational Development and Capacity Building for NGOs and CBOs
DIG designs and implements targeted and high-impact capacity building plans for local organizations that serve and represent the poor. While there is extensive demand for capacity building in the developing world, DIG has created a selection criteria based not only on assessing needs but also on leveraging concrete opportunities through targeted support to local innovative organizations. DIG’s support covers a variety of areas including organizational, financial, and administrative capacity building depending on an organization’s needs. Capacity building initiatives include training, technical assistance, on-site support, workshops and study tours to transfer knowledge and best practices.
Through our work, DIG has gained valuable insight into the types of institutions that enable the poor to increase their ability to influence decision-making and planning processes that affect them; the types of institutions that respond more effectively to targeted capacity building initiatives; the types of capacity building initiatives most effective in increasing an organization’s ability to serve their constituencies in a streamlined and cost-effective manner; the roles demographic and political contexts play in the success of capacity building efforts; and factors of scale and replicability that enable successful capacity building initiatives to be replicated elsewhere.
Securing long-term economic opportunities for vulnerable populations is integrally tied to poverty alleviation. For that reason, DIG carries out demand-driven vocational training for marginalized populations including youth and women.
DIG views labor-intensive programs as a key component of urban and community infrastructure development. Such programs provide ample opportunity to immediately address underemployment, while offering the long-term benefit of improved vocational and business skills for entrepreneurs and job seekers.
DIG specializes in designing successful community-based development programs which requires a holistic approach that builds on the input and commitment of local stakeholders. DIG experts design and implement community development programs that combine innovative participatory approaches with labor-intensive methodologies, thus building community assets while generating employment and building vocational skills.