Urban Management Centre is an independent organization focused on strengthening the governance of cities, primarily in India and also other South Asian countries. UMC’s mission is to professionalize urban governance by engaging with local government officials to build their capacities for managing cities and support the implementation of systems and process improvements. UMC works in the areas of urban planning, water, sanitation, health, transportation, and budget analysis

1. MODEL - NON PROFIT
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
Urban Management Centre is an independent organization focused on strengthening the governance of cities, primarily in
India and also other South Asian countries. UMC’s mission is to professionalize urban governance by engaging with local
government officials to build their capacities for managing cities and support the implementation of systems and process
improvements. UMC works in the areas of urban planning, water, sanitation, health, transportation, and budget analysis.
THE PROBLEM
UMC believes that city managers (officials in urban
local bodies) are committed to development, but they
fail due to poor implementation of policies and weak
systems. Cities are unable to leverage available
funding for development work due to lack of local
capacity, systems and technical expertise.
UMC’s RESPONSE
UMC works to empower city managers with data,
knowledge and skills, to enable them to take effective
action to make their cities more livable and equitable. Its
approach is to support city managers in improving
processes for implementation and monitoring and to
create networks for facilitating peer-to-peer learning.
Urban Management Centre (UMC)
Founded: 1997 | Head Office: : Ahmedabad | Coverage: Pan-India & South Asia | Full-Time Staff: 21
Budget (2013-14): Organization – INR 1.8 crore; Governance – INR 1.8 crore
HOW DID IT EVOLVE?
Urban Management Centre (UMC)
WHAT DOES IT DO?
Municipal Performance Measurement: This program has been the
mainstay of UMC’s work since 2008. In partnership with CEPT
University, UMC is attempting to mainstream performance
measurement at the city and state levels. It collects and analyzes
information from cities for use in decision making, for providing
incentives, and for influencing demand. It also works closely with
urban local bodies to improve their information systems as well as
improve the delivery of services.
City Manager’s Associations (CMA): UMC with ICMA pioneered
CMAs in India, which are registered, membership-based
organizations of cities from each state. CMAs act as platforms for
knowledge sharing, and for conducting training needs assessments,
workshops and study tours among cities.
City-to-City Partnerships: UMC believes that local governments
worldwide face similar governance issues, so it plays the role of a
facilitator and catalyst for the exchange of best practices and
successful innovations between international cities.
UMC links good governance to sustained civic services provided by
urban local bodies and works in various sectors (water, health, etc.) to
enable this. UMC provides technical assistance and support to city
governments and facilitates change through peer-to-peer learning.
UMC builds individual and systemic capacities of cities and
emphasizes the use of networks for transferring best practices and
innovative solutions to urban issues.
Started as a project office of the
International City/County
Management Association
(ICMA); formed the City
Managers Association of Gujarat
(first in India), followed by 11
more in other states
Facilitated city-to-city
partnerships between Indian
and US cities for sharing best
practices and innovative
solutions for managing civic
services; registered as an
independent organization
in 2005
Partnered with CEPT to receive
7-year funding from Gates
Foundation for implementing a
performance assessment system
for water and sanitation across
all 167 cities of Gujarat; created
model health plans for the Indian
government
Focused work in several
cities on performance and
system improvements;
launched the 3-year
Ahmedabad Sanitation
Action Lab with USAID
1997 2002-2007 2008-2012 2013 - Ongoing
www.umcasia.org
KEY INTERVENTIONS
1. Building awareness and mobilizing citizens
2. Training citizens for public engagement
3. Creating knowledge and evidence
4. Advocacy for policy design and
implementation
5. Technology platforms and solutions
6. Facilitating independent and inclusive
journalism
7. Capacity building of government officials
8. Capacity building of local partners
9. Facilitating platforms for multi-stakeholder
engagement

2. WHAT’S NEXT?
UMC wants to increase its focus on framing policies for empowering cities, building the capabilities of city managers, and
strengthening systems and processes for managing civic services, to make cities more livable and equitable.
Create capacity of local government officials to monitor progress and establish systems, by using simplified information
systems and integration of spatial data.
Strengthen existing CMAs and revive them as platforms for networking, learning and capacity building.
Use its previous work and data to create actionable frameworks for professionalizing municipalities.
Initiate research on best practices in urban legislation and advocate for policy reforms, which can increase the autonomy
of local governments to plan for and develop their cities.
“Cities are often viewed as the engines of growth. However with weak institutional capacities and systems and lack of
professional management, city governments are struggling to provide quality services to their citizens. UMC is a friend of
cities and works closely with local governments to catalyze systemic change for more efficient, inclusive and sustainable
cities. We are uniquely positioned to deliver successful results on the ground through our collaborative approach.”
– Manvita Baradi, Director
citizenvoice policy law servicedelivery thinktank transparency RTI
elections budgets urbangovernance panchayatiraj accesstojustice
technology humanrights independentmedia
The Resource Cities Partnership program has
been a great help. It provided us an opportu-
nity to interact with other city managers - not
as visitors, but as professionals - have a
dialogue with them, see their work, study
their methods of operating, understand their
problems and learn how they face the
challenges of managing a city. We have
benefited immensely and are grateful for
this opportunity.
- Srinivas Murthy,
IAS (retd), former municipal commissioner,
Bangalore Municipal Corporation
Created a performance measurement and assessment system, and a database of 167 cities across Gujarat (consistently
for five years), to be used for guiding decisions at city and state levels.
Built a network of 13 state-level CMAs and the Mega Cities Association, which together have a membership of more
than 1,800 cities across the country.
Demonstrated successful city-to-city partnerships between six Indian cities, with cities in the the US and South Asia.
UMC facilitated partnerships for post-tsunami reconstruction work, receiving a best practices award in 2008.
Formalized heritage management as a mainstream activity of urban local bodies.
WHAT HAS IT ACHIEVED?
VOICES FROM THE GROUND
Manvita Baradi founded and leads UMC. She has
long-standing relations with ULBs in Gujarat, India.
She has worked on institutional development as an
urban management expert for donors such as USAID.
She serves as Dean, Faculty of Management at Centre for
Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) and is
also state convener for the INTACH-Gujarat chapter.
Key funders: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID,
Climate Works Foundation.
Key affiliations: International City/ County Management
Association (ICMA).
Key partners: CEPT University, Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation, state governments and municipalities.
Awarded by INTACH for ‘Exemplary work done for the
Preservation and Promotion of Historic Towns’ in 2011,
for its work in Surat.
QUALITY INDICATORS
Urban Management Centre (UMC)
FCRA12 A 80 G FCRA
Leadership
Partnerships
Endorsements