Isandla Institute has taken a particular interest in ensuring that the urban governance NGO sector is more coherent and coordinated in its efforts to address urban poverty and exclusion, and in particular becomes a more meaningful actor in informal settlement upgrading initiatives by fulfilling requisite intermediary functions between the state and poor communities. The initial 2-year project concluded in October 2013, with the subsequent focus (2014 – current) shifting more explicitly to supporting communities of practice in this regard.