1. Criteria and Considerations for a Best Practice

The major criteria for a Best Practice to be considered for the Award include:

1.1 Impact: A best practice should demonstrate a positive and tangible impact on improving the living environment of people particularly the poor and disadvantaged.

a. Sustainable Shelter and Community Development:

i. Extension of safe water supply and sanitation;
ii. Affordable housing, services and community facilities;
iii. Access to land, secure tenure and finance;
iv. Community-based planning and participation in decision making and resource allocation;
v. Inner-city core, neighbourhood and settlement revival and rehabilitation;
vi. Safe and healthy building materials and technologies.

b. Sustainable Urban and Regional Development:

i. Job creation and eradication of poverty;
ii. Reduction of pollution and improvement of environmental health;
iii. Improved access to public transport and communication;
iv. Improved waste collection, recycling and reuse;
v. Greening of the city and effective use of public space;
vi. Improved production and consumption cycles, including replacement/reduction of non-renewable resources;
vii. Protection and conservation of natural resources and of the environment;
viii.More efficient energy use and production;
ix. Preservation of historically/culturally important sites;
x. Formulation and implementation of integrated and comprehensive urban development strategies.

c. Sustainable, Efficient, Accountable and Transparent Settlements Management:

i. More effective and efficient administrative, management and information systems;
ii. Gender equality and equity in decision-making, resource-allocation and programme design and implementation;
iii. Crime reduction and prevention;
iv. Improved disaster preparedness, mitigation and reconstruction;
v. Social integration and reduction of exclusion;
vi. Leadership in inspiring action and change, including change in public policy;
vii. Promotion of accountability and transparency;
viii. Promotion of social equality and equity;
ix. Improvement of inter-agency co-ordination.

1.2 Partnership: Best Practices should be based on a partnership between at least two of the actors mentioned in item 4.

1.3 Sustainability: Best practices should result in lasting changes in at least one of the areas listed below:

(i) Legislation, regulatory frameworks, by-laws or standards formally recognising the issues and problems that have been addressed;
(ii) Social policies and/or sectoral strategies at the (sub) national level that have a potential for replication elsewhere;
(iii) Institutional frameworks and decision-making processes that assign clear roles and responsibilities to various levels and groups of actors, such as central and local governmental organisations and community-based organisations;
(iv) Efficient, transparent and accountable management systems that make more effective use of human, technical, financial and natural resources.

Additional Criteria and Considerations:

The following criteria will be used by the Technical Advisory Committee and Jury for differentiating between good, best and award winning practices.

1.4 Leadership & Community Empowerment:

(i) Leadership in inspiring action and change, including change in public policy;
(ii) Empowerment of people, neighbourhoods and communities and incorporation of their contributions;
(iii) Acceptance of and responsiveness to social and cultural diversity;
(iv) Potential for transferability, adaptability and replicability;
(v) Appropriateness to local conditions and levels of developments.

1.5 Gender Equality and social inclusion:

Initiatives which: accept and respond to social and cultural diversity; promote social equality and equity, for example on the basis of income, gender, age and physical/ mental condition; and recognise and value different abilities.

1.6 Innovation within local context and transferability:

(i) How others have learnt or benefited from the initiative.
(ii) Means used for sharing or transferring knowledge, expertise and lessons learnt.

1.7 Transfers:

(i) Tangible impact resulting from the transfer of one or more of the following: ideas, skills, processes, knowledge or expertise, and technology;
(ii) Changes in policies or practices.
(iii) Sustainability of the transfer as part of a continuous process of learning and change.