On February 01, 2016, HRH Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, Chairman of the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh has signed an agreement between United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Riyadh Urban Observatory.
Under this agreement, UNDP will provide consultancy services to Riyadh Urban Observatory including conducting studies, recruiting experts, building national human/technical cadres and database development.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Ashok Nigam, UNDP Resident Representative for Saudi Arabia Country Office.
The agreement boosts the ongoing cooperation between the two sides that has already given birth to the Urban Indicators of Riyadh City Report in 2013.
Riyadh Urban Observatory works under the umbrella of the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh in cooperation with about 36 bodies ─ all from government, private and civil society sectors. It aims to monitor the progress of urban development in the city in all aspects and provide a set of metropolitan urban indicators that outline the current state of different development sectors in the city and give a clear picture to the decision-makers allowing them to evaluate the current performance and predict the future trends.
Riyadh Urban Observatory uses scientific methodology to monitor and evaluate the performance of urban development, and to achieve objectives set by UN-HABITAT aiming to improve urban development through the best locally suitable practices.