In depth

 

 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports Jordan to achieve the sustainable development goals that lead to transformational change, bringing about real improvements in people’s lives. The rationale for UNDP Jordan’s engagement in inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods is anchored in the “UN policy on employment creation, income creation and reintegration in post-conflict situations”, which provides a framework for interventions in the short, medium and long term. It also derives from its roles as the UN’s global development network, the importance of decent jobs and livelihoods to human development, the objectives set forth in UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and beyond, and its proven comparative advantages and strengths.

The focus area of Inclusive Growth goes beyond ‘having a decent job’, and comprises all the ways that people bring together their assets, capabilities, and activities to support themselves and their families or communities.

UNDP supports to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth, with a focus on helping Jordanian people to contribute to and benefit from the economic growth opportunities while having minimal impact on Jordan’s environment and limited water resources. We believe that creating an enabling environment for inclusive growth helps bridge economic, social and environmental gaps for sustainable development.  Areas of focus include women and youth employment creation, decent work, and redistributive programmes that address poverty, inequality and “Leaving No One Behind”.

On the fiscal and macroeconomic level UNDP promotes fiscal policies and access to finance, consistent with inclusive and sustainable growth objectives; promoting domestic resource, local value chains mobilization and the adoption of innovative and social impact financing mechanisms for environmental sustainability and clean energy.

Our Activities include establishing evidence-based analysis for national inclusive local economic growth plans, promoting economic diversification and sustainable growth that addresses Jordanian vulnerable communities’ challenges through revitalization of key economic sectors, distributed value chains and underutilized heritage and cultural assets in urban and regional communities.

The core aim of UNDP’s approach is to promote the diversification of sustainable livelihoods that can help reduce vulnerability and build resilience to help people recover from current and future shocks and stresses and maintain or enhance its capabilities with regard to its human, natural, physical, political, financial, and social assets without undermining the natural recourse base.

UNDP Jordan’s Inclusive Growth & Sustainable Livelihoods pillar aims to strengthen six assets through the above mentioned horizontal and vertical approaches, while paving a way for long-term economic growth.

UNDP seeks to link the inclusive growth to its work in the support to the national strategic plans in terms of the decentralization process, connected to the local and regional economic development plans, especially in the vulnerable areas and communities. Local Economic Development Plans aim to promote economic stabilization and recovery in selected areas with an emphasis on communities which experienced significant inflows of refugees from Syria and the protracted impact of the crises on the Jordanian economy, trade and investment.

UNDP’s work on LEDs and revitalization of distributed value chains seeks to create long-term livelihoods and employment fostered through provision of employable skills and local economic growth stimulated through grants to micro and small-scale enterprises and social impact startups in partnerships with key stakeholders. This includes the revitalization of key urban areas, assets and local infrastructure that is critical for economic recovery and strengthening of local service delivery while contributing directly to employment through short and long-term job creation activities and support for the supply of labour market-based skills and vocations. It is intended that lessons learned from the project will contribute to the formulation of a larger and longer-term ‘Flagship Projects’ aimed at reducing urban poverty and unemployment in Amman key selected areas of the country.

UNDP’s Inclusive Growth & Sustainable Livelihoods Pillar has three interrelated areas of focus to achieve the outcome of: Socio-economic resilience building for enhancing access to livelihoods opportunities for vulnerable groups; these are:

-  Creating and strengthening policies and institutional frameworks and systems for socio-economic resilience building

-  Introducing integrated local development interventions that expand access for socio-economic resilience building

-  Prioritizing Jobs, livelihoods, and inclusive economic recovery and growth in the post crises situation

-  Working extensively with other UN agencies, and development actors including IFIs, the private sector and civil society, to support and assist Jordan pursue inclusive and sustainable growth strategies and economic reform programs