The Canada-Philippines Partnership Project for Good Urban Governance is a four-phase initiative funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) under the International Partnership Program for Good Urban Governance that supports the Philippines' continued thrust towards decentralization of power to local authorities and empowerment of communities in local decision-making, as set forth in the 1991 Local Government Code.

The geographic focus of the project is the Western Visayas Region, one of the priority areas for intervention under CIDA's Country Development Framework. The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) works with several local and regional government units in the region, as well as with national level agencies with a local development mandate. The project is strengthening the capacity of local authorities to promote sustainable development, good governance and community involvement in decision-making. The project aims to assist the selected local government institutions in Western Visayas to achieve more efficient and equitable delivery of economic, environmental and social services through the promotion of inter-local governmental cooperation and good urban governance.

Major initiatives currently underway include:

• Metropolitan Iloilo Initiative (MII), which is assisting five local governments in this medium-sized urban region to pursue intermunicipal cooperation, regional planning, growth management and improvements to regional service delivery through the establishment of a metropolitan governance body known as the Metro Iloilo Development Council.
• Guimaras Economic Initiative (GEI), which is aimed at developing the capacities of the provincial and municipal governments to bring about economic development and poverty reduction, as well as to sustain earlier environmental protection undertakings.
• Malay Local Social Service Delivery Enhancement Initiative (MLSSDEI), which is assisting this municipality to improve the coordination and sustain the quality of the delivery of social services for the disadvantaged groups through broad-based inter-agency coordination and partnerships.

The project consists of three activity components:

• Participatory strategy development with involvement of civil society and the private sector to assist in the development, coordination and implementation of strategic program plans. This is accomplished through establishing multi-stakeholder project steering committees and implementing demonstration projects.
• Capacity development and strengthening of the management and financial capabilities of local and regional institutions in order for them to effectively plan, implement and evaluate collaborative strategies addressing common urban development issues. This is accomplished through conducting baseline assessments, formulating capacity development plans, facilitating participatory planning processes and strengthening capabilities in the areas of project and financial management.
• Communication and dissemination among local and regional partners and other stakeholders of project processes, lessons learned and best practices resulting from the project.