Fund structure

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The MDG-F will primarily finance activities at the country level. To this end, the Fund will be guided by the following seven key development challenges which are widely acknowledged as central to the achievement of MDGs and internationally-agreed development goals:

• Democratic governance; understood as the strengthening of public policies and of participation and social organization, with the aim of promoting equity and social cohesion;
• Gender equality and empowerment
• Human needs and basic social services; including the fight against hunger, education and basic health services, employment, basic water and sanitation, and policies targeting vulnerable groups with special attention to youth.
• Economic and private sector development
• Environment and climate change; with special attention to the organization and management of natural resources and the environment in the context of local rural development and food security
• Conflict prevention and peacebuilding
• Culture and development; incorporating the different dimensions that link culture and development (including the economy) as well as focusing on respect for cultural diversity and addressing social exclusion of minorities.

Where the Steering Committee decides to invest resources at the country level in a given area, a ‘thematic window’ will be opened for that purpose. Thematic windows will fall under one or other of the development challenges identified above. The Steering Committee may not necessarily open a thematic window for each, or conversely, may open multiple thematic windows associated with one of the challenges identified above, depending on needs and suitability within the overall Fund strategy.

For each thematic window, Terms of Reference will be developed which identify the policy and programmatic goals of the Fund in that area. These Terms of Reference, along with the operating principles described in this document, will guide applications to that window, as well as provide a framework for evaluating progress and impact. They are prepared by experts in the given field and approved by the Steering Committee.

The Terms of Reference for Thematic Windows will be available on the Fund’s web site. Applications to the Fund will be addressed to one thematic window only. While synergies between windows will be encouraged, single applications to multiple windows will not be eligible for consideration.

The Fund will also set aside a part of its resources to contribute to the Coherence Fund in a number of the “One UN” country pilots. A limited amount of ‘global’ investments in the UN system are also foreseen, to be determined by the Steering Committee. The policies relating to any such global investments will be elaborated in a separate document.

Download the complete MDG-F Framework Document (.pdf)