| ANCI | Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani, National Association of Italian Municipalities |
| BLP | Bund-Länder Programm, German Federal Government and Federal States Programme |
| CIB | Capacity and Institution Building |
| CNCD | Commission nationale de la coopération décentralisée, French National Commission for Decentralised Co‑operation |
| CRS | Creditor Reporting System |
| CSO | Civil society organisation |
| DAC | OECD Development Assistance Committee |
| DDC | Decentralised development co-operation |
| DG DEVCO | EC Directorate-General for International Co-operation and Development |
| DG INTPA | EC Directorate-General for International Partnerships |
| EC | European Commission |
| EU | European Union |
| EvalNet | Network on Development Evaluation |
| GDP | Gross domestic product |
| GIZ | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH |
| GPEDC | Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation |
| ISIC | International Standard Industrial Classification |
| JRC | EC Joint Research Centre |
| LRG | Local and regional government |
| M&E | Monitoring and evaluation |
| NGO | Non-governmental organisation |
| NSDS | National strategies for the development of statistics |
| ODA | Official development assistance |
| OOF | Other official flows |
| PCT | Patent Cooperation Treaty |
| PM | Particulate matter |
| PPP | Purchasing power parity |
| RDPC | Regional Development Policy Committee |
| RFSC | Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities |
| SDG | UN Sustainable Development Goal |
| SKEW | Servicestelle Kommunen in der einen Welt, Service Agency Communities in One World |
| SME | Small- and medium-sized enterprise |
| SPFV | Subnational pooled financing vehicle |
| TADAT | Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool |
| TIWB | Tax Inspectors Without Borders |
| UCLG | United Cities and Local Governments |
| UMF | Urban Monitoring Framework |
| UN | United Nations |
| UN DESA | United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| UNICEF | United Nations Children’s Fund |
| USD | United States Dollar |
| VLR | Voluntary local review |
| VNR | Voluntary national review |
| VVSG | Vereniging van Vlaamse Steden en Gemeenten, Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities |