The CLGF-EU project Localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Caribbean has picked up the pace in Trinidad and Tobago, where a second in a series of workshops for municipal corporations on project management was held on 12-13 September.

Focusing on the importance of integrating monitoring and evaluation into the planning process and use of tools, the workshop demonstrated how effective monitoring and corrective actions during a project can make a significant contribution to achieving the predicted output and outcomes.

Participants were encouraged to use proposed projects from their own councils as case studies during the work shop, including:

• developing and implementing a multi-platform, eco-tourism application for Sangre Grande municipality;
• walkability in the Central Business District for Port of Spain City Corporation; and 
• regulation of development, building codes and standards for expansive soils in the Penal-Debe region. 

In this part of the project which is managed by the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Local Government Authorities (TTALGA), participants looked at crafting vision and mission statements and developing Gantt charts, which show the amount of work/production completed in certain time periods in relation to the amount planned for those periods.

Participants will be able to put the project management and monitoring and evaluation tools to practical use before the next training component planned for October. As well as increasing project management capacity, the workshops aim to increase participants’ confidence to advocate for change in their respective municipal corporations.

Sandra Singh from the CLGF Caribbean Office is overseeing similar pilot projects in Dominica and Jamaica, working towards localising the SDGs in the region. She praised the input of Dr Lennise Baptiste, Chair of Caribbean Evaluators International as facilitator; Dr Perry Polar, Project Coordinator at the Caribbean Network for Urban and Land Management; and Harrison Phillips of the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Local Government Authorities.