Pasig City, Philippines — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Local Government Academy (LGA) formalized a partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that aims to strengthen local governments' capacity to access, manage, and mobilize financing for climate and disaster resilience investments. 

Signed at the LGA headquarters, the MOU sets a framework for collaboration under the Australian Government-supported Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities Against Disasters and Climate Change (SHIELD) Programme. Through this collaboration, UNDP and LGA will work closely with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and SHIELD consortium partners, including the National Resilience Council (NRC), Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), UN-Habitat, and the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), to develop and institutionalize capacity development program on resilience financing for local governments.

A key focus of this cooperation is the co-development of the Resilience Financing Module, a core component of the Resilience Investment Proposal Toolkit. This toolkit features modules on Project Proposal Development and the LGU Resource Finder, all designed to strengthen local governments’ capacity to craft bankable proposals, access public, private, and blended financing streams, and transform climate and disaster risk data into actionable, investable resilience solutions.

The partnership will also support pilot testing, training of trainers, and nationwide rollout of the module, alongside knowledge-sharing and cross-sectoral learning on risk-to-resilience investment approaches using existing LGA platforms and networks. 

LGA Executive Director Thelma T. Vecina highlighted the growing demands placed on local governments and the importance of partnership in meeting these challenges: “Capacity development is broad because the work that our local governments do is far broader. In the sector of DRRM-CCAM alone, DILG and, by extension, LGA, confront growing demands in building resilient local governments. Across various national-level goals and global commitments, LGA is clear that we cannot do this alone. This partnership signals a renewed commitment to addressing the challenges in capacity development with efficiency, scale, and urgency.”

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Edwine Carrie emphasized the partnership’s focus on long-term systems change: “Resilience is a moral commitment to protect people, preserve development gains, and ensure that communities can adapt and thrive. By working with the LGA, we are investing in institutions and systems that enable local governments to routinely plan, budget, and access financing for resilience as part of normal government practice. With support from the Australian Government, UNDP, together with the Consortium Partners will provide technical resources in these capacity development efforts.”

SHIELD Consortium Partner NRC Executive Director Silvestre Barrameda, Jr., expressed his support to scaling resilience efforts across communities:

“This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to strengthening resilience at the local and international level, where leadership, systems, and communities converge. We reaffirm our collective responsibility to turn resilience into concrete action for our local governments and the communities they serve.”

Also conveying a message of support on behalf of the DILG, Director Anna Liza Bonagua expressed the Department’s appreciation for the partnership and alignment with national priorities: “On behalf of the DILG, we express our appreciation to UNDP, through the SHIELD Programme, for supporting efforts to further strengthen the capacities of local government units. As frontliners in public service delivery, LGUs must be equipped to identify risks, effectively mobilize resources, and develop bankable proposals to access financing for climate and disaster resilience. This partnership with UNDP and the LGA reinforces our shared commitment to helping LGUs translate their priorities into viable, locally responsive investments.”

Through SHIELD, UNDP remains committed to strengthening systems that empower local governments to protect lives, livelihoods, and development gains, ensuring that resilience financing becomes an integral part of informed, inclusive, and sustainable local governance. [E]

About the SHIELD Programme

The Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities Against Disasters and Climate Change (SHIELD) Programme is a multi-year partnership covering ten provinces and two regions in the Philippines that are among the most vulnerable to disasters and climate change impacts. SHIELD is supported by the Australian Government and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines, consortium partners and government partners: Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), National Resilience Council (NRC), Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST).