The third and final Steering Committee of the forthcoming report of the Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) on basic local services took place on 4-5 July 2013 at the UCLG World Secretariat, in Barcelona. This meeting brought together UCLG Secretary Generals, the team of experts and project partners, to discuss the advanced version of the regional chapters and the report’s global conclusions and recommendations.

Over the past three months, the chapters have gone through a deep and wide consultation process. More than 300 participants from 80 countries discussed the regional reports in workshops in Manila (Philippines), Johannesburg (South Africa), Ahmedabad (India), Saint-Petersburg (Russia), Brussels (Belgium), San Salvador (El Salvador), Gwangju (South-Korea), Montevideo (Uruguay), and Iguazu (Argentina).

One of the key conclusions of the event is that, wherever basic service provision has improved, local governments have played (either directly or in partnership with other stakeholders) an important, and even decisive, role.

Building on the success of GOLD I and II, the GOLD III report on local basic services is set to make an important contribution to local and regional government’s message in the debates on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and in the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda. The GOLD III report will be an advocacy tool for local governments in communicating the importance of expanding and improving basic service provision to their citizens.

The GOLD III Report will be launched at the IV UCLG Congress in Rabat in October, at the 1^st thematic round-table on Fostering Wellbeing.