• Overview
• Introduction
• Achievements
  in Conflict
  Prevention
  and Recovery
• Achievements
  in Early
  Recovery
• Achievements
  in Disaster
  Risk Reduction
  and Recovery
• Achievements
  in Gender
  Equality in
  Crisis Prevention
  and Recovery

• Institutional Partnerships
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• 2009 Initial
  Results
• Financial
  Summary
• Conclusion
• Annex

 

Partnership with the World Bank

Peacebuilding Architecture

Integrated Mission Planning

Institutional Partnerships

Effective partnerships are crucial to the success of any crisis prevention and response planning and programming – particularly those that encourage key actors to complement each other and avoid duplication. UNDP is committed to improving coordination among partnering institutions in 2009, and took a number of steps to strengthen key relationships at both the headquarters and country levels in the past year.

Partnership with the World Bank

Key achievements

UNDP and the World Bank strengthened their cooperation in countries affected by either conflict or disaster-related crises. As the leading international actors in postcrisis recovery, the two organizations normally coordinate the international response at the country level. Working closely with other partners in the UN Development Group, they have also developed and implemented joint recovery strategies and funding approaches in a number of crisis-affected countries, building on joint instruments such as the Post-Conflict Needs Assessments, Transitional Results Frameworks and Multi- Donor Trust Funds.

Given the different mandates of UNDP and the World Bank, the two organizations have different yet complementary strengths – a situation that provides both incentive and opportunity for further cooperation. Whereas the World Bank is a major source of financing for poverty reduction and technical expertise on public finance management, UNDP has an ongoing country presence, including at the sub-national level, with a particular focus on developing national and local capacities and on recovery issues, among them reintegration of ex-combatants, peaceful management of conflicts, mine action and rule of law.

New UN-World Bank Partnership Framework

The United Nations and the World Bank took an important step forward in October 2008 by agreeing to formalize their cooperation in crisis and post-crisis situations through a partnership framework – one that provides common guiding principles for working with national authorities and other partners. It also calls on the World Bank Group and UN system organizations to improve inter-agency communications, strengthen joint planning, increase collaboration on funding mechanisms, and foster a culture of greater collaboration. A fiduciary principles accord will facilitate the transfer of financial resources among agencies when a trust fund is administered by one of the participating agencies.

Cooperation on statebuilding

The UNDP and the World Bank also stepped up their collaboration in the area of conflict through joint activities, including research, assessment and country missions. In particular, the joint programme on statebuilding between BCPR and the Fragile and Conflict Affected Countries Unit of the World Bank has developed a statebuilding diagnostic for countrylevel activities to be tested in a selected number of countries in 2009.

Going forward

The partnership framework provides a platform for even greater cooperation between the UN and the World Bank locally and globally. At country level, the UN Country Teams will be able to work more closely and flexibly with the World Bank. At the global level, ongoing cooperation and dialogue will enable partners to better recognize how to build on comparative strengths and use joint planning and financing instruments effectively.

Peacebuilding Architecture

BCPR has contributed to a range of peacebuilding activities from its Thematic Trust Fund for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, including the reintegration of ex-combatants, preventing the reemergence of violence, mine action and rule of law. Because of its mandate and technical expertise, UNDP is a key partner and a main recipient of the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) in the 11 countries that have received funding to date.

Key achievements

UNDP successfully implemented a substantial number of PBF projects in 2008, which – independent evaluations concluded – contributed significantly to stabilization and peacebuilding. For instance, though the PBF, UNDP supported national dialogue meetings in Burundi and assisted the judiciary in clearing case backlogs and in preventing trial delays in Sierra Leone. The evaluation also highlighted the need for a strong UN-wide concept for peacebuilding and an even stronger focus on results at country level. At the same time, implementing these programmes in post-conflict countries is more difficult than in regular development settings, often because of the limited capacity of local partners. UNDP is committed to working with the Peacebuilding Support Office and other PBF partners to address these issues, including through the development of training, guidance and tools.

UNDP has been increasingly involved in the work of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) through activities such as technical briefings on recovery issues and discussions on the four PBC focus countries: Burundi, the Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. In the fall of 2008, UNDP provided extensive support for PBC discussions on the subject of post-conflict employment generation, economic recovery and private sector development.

Going forward

As a follow-up to the Secretary-General’s report “Peacebuilding in the Immediate Aftermath of Conflict,” the PBC and PBF will adapt to the needs at country level and strengthen programme implementation to allow more flexible and rapid engagement. As the main implementer of PBF projects, UNDP will work closely with the Peacebuilding Support Office to develop new and enhanced guidance for the PBF and to ensure that UNDP country offices are prepared for PBF project implementation.

Integrated Mission Planning

Since the 1990s, the Security Council has called on the UN system to plan and carry out a steadily increasing number of multidimensional peacekeeping operations and special political missions in complex conflict situations. Today, the UN has more uniformed and civilian personnel in the field on peace operations than ever before; there are currently well over 100,000 in 16 peacekeeping missions and 12 special political and peacebuilding missions around the world.

The UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and Political Affairs (DPA) lead the efforts of the UN system in this area. Both entities seek to work in close coordination with other relevant UN entities in these crisis countries to ensure that these complex missions reap the benefits of efficient planning and follow through. UNDP continues to proactively work with DPKO and DPA, making extensive use of the Integrated Mission Planning Process (IMPP).

Key achievements

In 2008, UNDP worked closely with IMPP partners to develop new guidance on integration methods and structures, to provide technical support at the country level, and to establish a senior-level inter-agency integration steering group to monitor progress. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan, for example, UNDP is playing a central role in the use of integrated strategies and programmes for better crisis response and recovery in collaboration with DPKO and DPA.

Going forward

Integrated country strategies must be developed as quickly and effectively as possible, and be based on agreed results on the ground, particularly between UNDP and DPKO/DPA missions. IMPP planning frameworks need to serve as the basis for effective development of such country strategies, bringing mission and UNDP resources together in a complementary manner within a wider UN integrated approach. To support this effort, IMPP training modules will be jointly developed in 2009, so that desk officers and programme advisers are better able to apply integrated approaches to their work. A key part of developing effective guidance will be drawing on best practices, particularly innovative in-country approaches.