SPARC (Society for the promotion of area Resource centers) is an NGO that works in partnership with two community-based social movements of the urban poor called the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan. It has been working since 1986 with city federations associated with these two movements to address a women-centered network that seeks to stop evictions and get cities and national governments to address the issues of urban informality. It engages urban development agencies to work WITH communities to document their presence and to develop norms and standards that work for them. The alliance and its work is recognized as the federation model, which is adopted by 33 countries affiliated with the Shack/Slum-dwellers International (SDI).
SPARC work has led to policies for delivering urban sanitation and water to informal settlements. It has also produced policies to design community-driven relocation and resettlement for large infrastructure projects.
