Recognizing that local governments have a comparative advantage in delivering the basic social services which MDG attainment depends on, UNCDF has always been very active in advocating towards Public Finance for Local Development.

At the country level, these efforts are the result of the constant dialogue with the LDC governments UNCDF serves and the development partner it works with; and brought in major changes at the institutional level, such as for example in Mozambique, where in 2006 districts have been established as "budget entities" and have been attributed a budgetary allocation for infrastructure projects.

UNCDF stepped up its global advocacy activities in 2010, when it convened the first Global Forum on Local Development, in Kampala, to look at the steps necessary to unleash the potential of local governments to promote the achievement of the MDGs. More than 600 delegates from 81 countries participated, and delivered a clear message: a new policy approach must place greater emphasis on the local arena, and the potential of local authorities to tailor public policies to meet MDG targets by 2015.

In order to contribute to the achievement of goals set in the Paris Declaration and reaffirmed in the Accra Agenda for Action in the sector of Local Governance and Decentralization, UNCDF is also part of the Working Group of Development Partners on Decentralization and Local Governance, a knowledge management platform to exchange ideas, strategies and filed experiences on local development.