UNDP’s engagement on capacity development and strengthening ownership

UNDP’s involvement in the Paris Declaration process is two-pronged: 1) to engage on development cooperation issues, specifically the quality of aid, within the context of the achievement of the MDGs and other internationally agreed goals important for and related to the overall positions and activities of UNDP and the United Nations; and 2) to support developing countries’ implementation of the aid effectiveness commitments and to facilitate their participation in global fora, such as the OECD DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness and the OECD DAC International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding.

The UN Development Group (UNDG) has prepared one joint United Nations Paris Declaration Survey response, which allows continuity with previous years and is consistent with the spirit of the United Nations reform agenda and system-wide coherence. In 2011, in addition to a complementary UNDG report on implementing the Paris Declaration, UNDP and several other UNDG members have also been preparing individual agency reports, which globally consolidate the 2010 results reported by agencies at country level. Given that no disaggregated data is available on UNDP performance in 2005 or 2007, there is no baseline on the basis of which UNDP could establish relative targets. While it is therefore not possible to measure progress between 2005 and 2010, the existing disaggregated figures on UNDP’s performance nevertheless provide a useful indication of how UNDP is faring in 2010.

With the exception of using country systems where further progress is needed, UNDP is faring well overall in reaching the 2010 Paris Declaration targets on effective aid. Slow progress on UNDP’s use of country systems mirrors the slow progress of most donors in increasing the use of country systems. Equally, UNDP’s implementation of a number of Paris Declaration principles, like use of country systems and direct budget support, hinges on the decisions of its Executive Board, particularly those relating to internal rules and procedures, transparency and disclosure policy. On the other hand, UNDP has made great strides toward aligning aid flows with national priorities and improving the predictability of its assistance. While further efforts on harmonizing its support are needed, ongoing improvements to United Nations and UNDP programming and system-wide coherence are apparently already facilitating improvements in this area.