Supporting the UN agenda for reform

On 19 January 2005, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo inaugurated the UN House in Abuja. UNDP is leading efforts to create joint UN Offices in order to bring greater coherence to the work of UN Country Teams.

Many of the challenges the world faces cannot be effectively addressed at the level of individual nations. From environmental degradation to global health crises, from nuclear proliferation to financial volatility, concerted action at a global level is clearly needed. That is why the UN, as a truly global organization, has such a crucial role to play. But if it is to address today's urgent challenges effectively, the UN must undertake a process of reform and renewal—as was recognized at the 2000 Millennium Summit and again at the 2005 World Summit. Achieving greater UN coherence is also the objective of a new high-level panel established by the Secretary-General early in 2006. UNDP, at the heart of the UN development system, has a key role to play in supporting this overall agenda for change.

Shaping tomorrow's UN: UNDP's role

UNDP is a leading member of the UN Development Group (UNDG), the coordinating umbrella for all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues, which is chaired by the UNDP Administrator. UNDP is also the funder and manager of the UN Resident Coordinator (RC) system, and promotes greater synergy in UN operational activities in developing countries. UNDP has been working to enhance its ability to fulfil its mission for the UN development system, both at the country and headquarters levels.

UNDP is currently taking the lead in strengthening the role of the RC. In particular, it is spearheading efforts to put in place a new appraisal system, which is aimed at giving the RC increased authority to speak as the voice of the UN, to promote new development strategies and to create partnerships that heighten the impact of programmes on the ground.

With increased functions and responsibilities, there is an urgent need to provide greater support to the RC, especially in countries with large UN Country Teams, and those with complex UNDP programmes. UNDP has already begun appointing Country Directors to run UNDP's day-to-day operations in some of these countries. It has identified funding for 15 such positions and is mobilizing resources to fund another 24. In addition, we are working to strengthen UNDG leadership at the regional level and moving towards the establishment of integrated UN Country Teams under the concept of 'One UN Programme,' which will help rationalize UN activities at the country level.

In response to a call in the 2005 UN World Summit Outcome Document for more effective coordination of UN activities, the Secretary-General established the High-level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence in the Areas of Development, Humanitarian Assistance and the Environment, of which the UNDP Administrator is an ex-officio member. UNDP is supporting the work of this group, which will explore a range of options on how best to strengthen the coordination of UN activities worldwide.

Greater cohesion is also needed to deliver development outcomes in countries that have experienced conflict. The creation of the new Peacebuilding Commission—a key outcome of the 2005 World Summit—will help the UN and its agencies move towards a more integrated approach to post-conflict recovery. UNDP has been working to support the Peacebuilding Commission, and will act as the fund manager for an associated peacebuilding fund. UNDP is also actively engaged with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and other parties in improving the planning process for UN integrated missions and in ensuring a smooth transition from humanitarian to recovery efforts, in collaboration with UNDG and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

One of the key challenges UNDP faces is helping developing countries address underlying cross-sectoral capacity constraints. In 2005, UNDP's Executive Board agreed to dedicate core programme resources for UNDP's efforts in leading the UN system towards strengthening such national capacities. For the period 2006-2007, an estimated $210 million will be available for such UNDP-led capacity development initiatives that are expected to support the activities of the wider UN system and other development partners in their respective sectoral areas. More broadly, the initiatives should support the work of the international development community, helping to ensure that official development assistance is used wisely, effectively and efficiently—and, as a result, helping to support developing countries in their efforts to achieve the MDGs.

The mechanisms UNDP has developed to facilitate the sharing of information and knowledge among its staff can also benefit the UN system as it moves to transform itself into a knowledge-based organization. A decade ago, UNDP began to create knowledge networks that connect staff around common professional interests. Today, there are 22 knowledge communities—including three knowledge networks open to other UN agencies and external partners. With over 14,000 participants in total, these are vibrant communities of expertise that operate around the clock. Our ability to provide countries with practical knowledge is enhanced by our network of policy centres—the International Poverty Centre, based in Brasilia, the Nairobi Drylands Development Centre and the Oslo Governance Centre. These hubs of knowledge help improve the impact of our activities on the ground by providing our country offices with the most up-to-date ideas about a wide range of development issues.

UNDP's own successful experience in knowledge networking means it is now in a lead position to support new knowledge-sharing mechanisms within the UN and stimulate closer cooperation among UN agencies. UNDP's pioneering knowledge communities model is already being used in the UN system in a number of areas, including human rights, debt management and crisis prevention. There are now over 10 UN agencies collaborating with UNDP on different approaches to knowledge management. Under the auspices of UNDG, we are leading the work of a new Policy Network, which provides technical support to 18 UN Country Teams.

The relevance of UNDP's reform experience

UNDP can help provide useful templates for managing change based on its own management reform experience. Over the last six years, UNDP has undertaken a programme of radical transformation, leading to widely-recognized gains in institutional coherence and unprecedented growth in the scale of its activities. The organization has markedly improved its ability to deliver development results, including through a clearer strategic vision, stronger programme focus and more effective UN coordination. The lessons learned from that experience can help enhance the UN organizational reform agenda as outlined in the Secretary-General's Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger organization worldwide, and facilitate its implementation.

UNDP's reforms have made it more accountable and transparent. In 1999, it introduced a Multi-Year Funding Framework (MYFF) as a pledging mechanism under which donors could link their financial contributions to results, programme performance and aid effectiveness. The Framework brings together programme objectives, resources and outcomes within a single strategy document. In addition to being a key instrument for effective internal management, the MYFF also allows donors and stakeholders to monitor the performance of the organization and measure its achievements against human development objectives. The introduction of the MYFF transformed UNDP into a results-based organization. At the same time, the MYFF continues to be enhanced based on lessons learned over the past six years.

UNDP also made significant headway in moving its operations closer to the people it serves. Through its regional offices in Bangkok, Bratislava, Colombo and Johannesburg, UNDP is now able to support country offices more effectively. By creating a critical mass of advisory, programme and operational capacity at regional level, UNDP is able to achieve economies of scale and pool its resources more effectively.

Improved streamlining of UNDP's work has been enhanced by the creation of a Risk Management Group, which advises the Administrator about making UNDP more adaptable and more responsive to change. A comprehensive accountability framework is in the process of being finalized. A Gender Steering and Implementation Committee, chaired by the Administrator, has been established, which is building on UNDP's gender mainstreaming efforts to make sure that a gender perspective is rooted in all aspects of the organization's work.