Conclusions

As discussed in this chapter, the UNDP ART Global Initiative challenges traditional aid mechanisms, fostering territorial processes of SHD. Indeed, within the ART national Framework Programs, international cooperation actors do not act as independent agents, but rather as embedded stakehold­ers in the local socio-economic and political contexts.

The ART Initiative in itself is not primarily a donor contribution: it is a catalyst, a case-manager, which sets in motion dynamic and interactive learning processes to foster endogenous SHD trajectories as prioritized by territorial communities, working simultaneously at the local, the national and the global level.

Here, two key elements of novelty are worthy of emphasis within an SHD perspective at the local level, which are related to the operationalization of the Paris and Accra principles (UCLG, 2009; DeLog, 2011). First, the development of capacities for a demand-driven cooperation model based on transparency and mutual responsibility (Negrotto, 2011), which accord­ing to Ianni (2011, p. 14) contributes to ‘overcome project-based approaches by linking cooperation actions to medium and long-term development pro­cesses, but also becomes an instrument to promote the active participation of actors and adaptability to changes in the intervention's context.' The second element is the flexible and coherent tailoring of ART actions in relation to territorial features and endogenous development processes, by building on the values, knowledge, expertise and commitment of local stakeholders, in combination with the exposure to external experiences and ideas.

Overall, the innovativeness of the ART Initiative lies in its role as a facilitator of human development processes, rather than as just a provider of resources, with substantial implications in terms of aid (cost-) effective­ness. Indeed, working horizontally and vertically at the same time through dynamic and interactive dialogue processes between actors within and across territories, the ART Initiatives induces multiplier effects in chan­nelling resources, improving capacities, facilitating access to knowledge and harmonizing external support. At the same time, the initiative works to mainstream tested practices and approaches within national policy frame­works and within the global debate on international cooperation policies and practices. Therefore, ART's operational approach to Development Effec­tiveness at the local level has the potential to be mainstreamed by UNDP and other multilateral agencies within their strategy on governance and local development.

Notwithstanding relevant operational difficulties and risks, the ART Initia­tive advances and operationalizes an innovative approach to international cooperation, enabling processes to empower territorial communities within a multilevel governance framework in order to expand the opportunities of local development systems to pursue SHD and human flourishing.