A partner of choice

Partnership is at the heart of everything UNDP does. We offer a nearly universal presence. Our substantial expertise—both intellectual acumen and practical experience—cuts across diverse development issues and settings. These valuable assets combined with our long legacy of trust have made us a global partner of choice.

Central and local public authorities

The implementation of the UNDP five-year country programme relies on the continued strong partnership with the central and local public authorities. A number of UNDP projects are implemented nationally, under the direction of the Government and in partnership with relevant national authorities.

Working with local public authorities, UNDP ensures that all community members, in particular vulnerable groups, participate in taking decisions which affect their life and that of the community.

We work closely with the Congress of Local Authorities and the Institute for Public Administration to further strengthen local public authorities.

United Nations System

The UNDP Administrator is the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which unites the 40 UN entities that contribute to the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the country level and which collectively constitute the UN development system (UNDS). The UNSDG provides strategic direction and oversight to ensure UNDS entities deliver coherent, effective and efficient support to countries seeking to achieve sustainable development. As UNSDG Vice-Chair, the Administrator convenes the UNSDG Core Group comprised of the Executive Heads of DESA, FAO, ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Women, WFP, WHO and the rotating chairs of the Regional Economic Commissions. UNDP’s integrator mandate serves both as a foundation for a strong UN development system, and as a key provider of integrated services and platforms in support of a coherent UN system approach to the achievement of the SDGs.

International Financial Institutions

International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are an important source of development funding. They account for a large portion of the non-core (earmarked, project-specific) funding of UNDP. UNDP has formal agreements with some IFIs (the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank), and is working on additional agreements.

Private Sector

The private sector can make an important contribution to development by fostering innovation, providing funding and promoting entrepreneurship. UNDP is continuously engaging with the private sector for solving public issues through social innovation.

Foundations

Both global and local foundations are providing strong backing for UNDP's development activities. We recognize the tremendous knowledge that foundations offer, ranging from governance and environment to health and financial inclusion; and work with them at the community level to better address local issues.

Civil Society Organizations

UNDP engages with civil society organizations (CSOs) at all levels to support people in their efforts to build a better life. The partnership with CSOs is of strategic importance given the integrator role of civil society actors in development. There is growing recognition that engagement with CSOs is critical to national ownership, accountability, good governance, democratization of development cooperation, and the quality and relevance of official development programmes. 

UNDP promotes regional cooperation, aiming for the transfer of technology and skills, beyond knowledge-sharing to lasting partnerships and concrete results that change people’s lives; achievements in promoting innovation, confidence-building and advancing renewable energy use have already been shared through UNDP networks. New partnerships for development have been established with reputable institutions, such as the European Space Agency. Engagement with the international centers of excellence in social innovation and impact evaluation (Nesta, MindLab, Behavioural Insights Team, FutureGov, etc.) will be continued.

The diversity of donors contributing to our programmes as well as the substantial resources channeled through UNDP programmes confirms once again the vote of confidence by the national government and the international and local community in UNDP’s role and effectiveness in the area of sustainable development.