A workshop to introduce the Urban Nexus approach and specific tools for analysing urban challenges was conducted in Mongolia from 8 to 11 May, 2018.

The Urban Nexus Training Workshop was attended by different stakeholders, with about 40 participants representing national ministries and agencies, city level agencies as well as international organisations and academia. Sixteen participants also attended the training of trainers’ workshop. Both activities saw a majority of female participants and mark the start of cooperation between the National Development Agency (NDA) and the GIZ Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: the Urban NEXUS project, hence strengthening and intensifying the existing ties for the mutual benefit of cooperation in achieving ecological, social and economic sustainability in Mongolia.

In the opening speeches Mr. B. Bayarsaikhan, Chairman of the NDA and Dr. Christian Glass, First Secretary at the German Embassy, expressed their delight at the new cooperation between NDA and GIZ. This builds upon successful collaboration in the past and contributes to a sustainable development of Mongolia. The relevance of the workshop towards fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Mongolia’s Sustainable Development Vision (SDV) through the Nexus approach was also highlighted.

On the first two days, the Urban Nexus Training featured an introduction to the Urban Nexus approach encompassing the integrated resource management of water, energy and food sectors within the framework of a circular economy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The linkages to the sustainable development agenda of Mongolia and its current status were presented by Ms. Doljinsuren, Head of Development and Planning Division of the NDA. The training addressed Ulaanbaatar’s six current major urban challenges, namely the deficient water supply, wastewater & sanitation, energy demand & supply, air pollution in ger areas, and urban development planning. The session was spent analysing these challenges. Analytic tools to scrutinize each participant’s respective urban challenge were provided with a focus on inter-institutional cooperation both vertically and horizontally.

Participants learned how to identify stakeholders and pursue synergies between sectors, jurisdictions and technical domains, how to increase institutional performance, optimise service quality and contribute to greater resource efficiency in the context of a circular economy. How integrated planning helps to avoid poorly coordinated investments and underutilised infrastructure, as well as the relevance of cities for global agendas were also included.

During the Training of Trainers workshop on the last two days, the participants were provided with techniques for organising training sessions and reflected upon what makes an ideal trainer. They practised moderating discussions involving appropriate gestures and active listening. Visualisation techniques and how trainers should deal with difficulties normally were incorporated. The trainees will replicate the training in the future.

The “Urban Nexus Training Workshop and Training of Trainers” were conducted in the framework of the GIZ “Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: The Urban Nexus” project financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and organised jointly with the National Development Agency (NDA) of Mongolia. The workshop was conducted by two trainers from the German consultancy Denkmodell GmbH.