WORLD BANK DRILLDOWN PILOTS
For the past decade, through its pioneering Neighborhood Market DrillDown tools, Social Compact has spearheaded information-led development in over 350 neighborhoods in 20 cities across the United States, uncovering more than US$ 33.4 billion of missed market opportunities, including $14.8 billion in informal income, in these underserved neighborhoods. In partnership with the World Bank, and local officials, Social Compact is embarking on a program that will assess the DrillDown’s applicability in other national urban contexts. The program will be piloted in two world-class cities with significant emerging markets: Bogota, Colombia and Johannesburg, South Africa.
Key to the program is a conviction, shared by Social Compact, the World Bank and the cities themselves, that sustainable urban economic development must be guided by four key principles, including:
1. Every Neighborhood is a Market - Development must be underpinned by an acknowledgement that every neighborhood or community, no matter how impoverished or marginalized, is a market and therefore represents a market opportunity to the right investor
2. Information Gaps Are Barriers to Good Policy and Investment Decisions - Information gaps that impede sound investments and policy must first be acknowledged and then bridged in order to organize and drive investment
3. Development must be Local in Design and Application - The interests of underserved neighborhoods are best served when development - investment, policy, partnership and advocacy - is designed and applied with an acute appreciation of its local context
4. Partnerships Drive the Agenda. Private investors, public officials and communities must make decisions in partnership, through the lens of shared information
Cities adept at identifying, quantifying and responding to micro-market conditions are invariably more successful. Through the work of Social Compact, cities across the United States and in the United Kingdom, have a new suite of intra-urban market indicators that frame communities in terms of market strengths and investment opportunities, providing cities with a richer understanding of the micro-economies at work within their boundaries. This enables public and private sector actors to develop targeted policies and investment strategies that align with specific micro-market circumstances resulting in sustainable local economic development.
THE PROGRAM
Social Compact, in partnership with the World Bank and local officials, proposes to develop DrillDown programs in two emerging markets: Bogota and Johannesburg. The pilot cities have been selected to demonstrate the feasibility of the DrillDown methodology given variable local and national level contexts, as well as provide lessons learned and alternative methods for adapting the DrillDown in developing and emerging international markets. The program is divided into four phases over 18-24 months depending on local market conditions and capacity:
1. DATA AUDITS - Social Compact and local officials will conduct data audits that will identify data and information needs, alternative data sources and the capacity/feasibility for implementing the DrillDown. This includes establishing preliminary policy and/or development outcomes and potential target areas, local private, public and non-profit partners (such as universities, think tanks, and community organizations). Appropriate data sets capable of informing these objectives will be identified and accessed, a timeframe for next steps established and resources secured. Timeframe: 3-5 months.
2. DRILLDOWNS - A market analysis approach designed to reflect the data and capacity availability will be developed. A report highlighting accurate and timely business-oriented data will be produced that will inform prioritized outcomes including investment opportunities and targeted marketing to internal and external investors and entrepreneurs. Timeframe: 6-8 months
3. CAPACITY BUILDING - Working with local partners, the program will develop the relationships, platforms and institutional capacity necessary to integrate the DrillDown methodology into the local infrastructure. Timeframe: Throughout the process; up to 18 months.
4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY TRANSFER - Synthesize lessons learned and good practice from the three pilot programs. Facilitate knowledge transfer from DrillDown lessons learned both from US and International cities, providing cross-pollination in order to advance the program locally and enable local partners to own and enhance the process as well as establish a framework for inter-city communication. Timeframe: 3-6 months.
OUTCOMES
The purpose of this program is to evaluate the DrillDown’s innovative market analysis methodology for reducing poverty in emerging market contexts through data-driven development and investment in underserved urban markets.
The goals of the program are:
