LocationsAcross the world, UNDP is engaged in taking on the toughest development challenges, helping countries fight poverty, responding to crises, and striving to build a better future. To do this effectively needs reliable funding. The most important funding is called "core" resources, provided mostly by member countries.
CORE
Core is a general fund – it's flexible, unlike money labeled for specific projects. This means UNDP can use such funding where it's needed most, whether that's quickly responding to a natural disaster, filling gaps in long-term development projects that aren't getting enough attention, or tackling unexpected challenges.
Here's why that flexibility matters:
Helping the Poorest: A big chunk of core money goes directly to the world's poorest countries, focusing on those hardest to reach and most in need.
- Fast Crisis Response: When disaster strikes or conflict breaks out, core funds allow UNDP to act immediately, providing vital support in those crucial ‘make or break’ early moments.
- Attracting More Money: Core funding acts like smart investment. When UNDP can show it has a solid foundation with core money, this encourages other organizations, charities, and even businesses to pitch in with more specific funding, multiplying our work’s impact.
- Trying New Ideas: Core funding allows UNDP to experiment with innovative solutions to development challenges, like our "Accelerator Labs" that explore new approaches and solutions. It also supports important research, and reports that shape global thinking on development.
- Keeping Things Running Smoothly: This flexible money also underpins UNDP's global network of offices and staff, allowing them to provide on-the-ground support to governments and work efficiently within the broader UN system. It also ensures that we can maintain high standards, and be transparent and accountable in our work.
UNDP's core resources have had a profound impact on development across Asia and the Pacific, and the world.
What's Core got to do with it?
Enabling Innovation, Resilience, and Impact in Viet Nam
UNDP has been a beacon of innovation and resilience in Viet Nam’s development journey. At the foundation of this vital work, is core funding, which allows UNDP to remain a reliable and agile, and resposnsive in the face of challenges, and to pioneer new fields of work, establish capabilities, and maintain a continuous presence—opening doors to transformative policies, large-scale investments, and rapid crisis response.
Top Core Donors
We deeply value the flexible funding provided by our donors and partners, which is instrumental in enabling UNDP to adapt to a changing development landscape and effectively deliver on our vision and mission.
Seeding Innovation: Development “Firsts”
With core funding, UNDP has embarked on numerous critical first investments that have reshaped the landscape of development in Viet Nam. One of the most recent and significant achievements has been the introduction of innovative frameworks that inform the country’s Socio-Economic Development Strategy (SEDS 2021-2030) and the Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP 2021-2025). These pioneering efforts, counpled with the Integrated National Finance Framework (INFF), have opened doors to new financing models for development, helping Viet Nam navigate complex development challenges with creativity and determination.
Testing and Scaling Policy Innovations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, UNDP took on the role of a “development lab,” testing critical policies that were rapidly scaled into national reforms. Through rapid impact assessments on enterprises, especially those led by ethnic minority women, UNDP provided data-driven insights that shaped the government's responses and initiation of new projects including SEDEMA, aimed at accelerating socio-economic development and poverty reduction among ethnic minorities, and ISEE-COVID project strengthening the ecosystem for social impact businesses. In addition, UNDP’s labor market impact assessments provided data-driven policy recommendations, leading to public investments driving economic recovery.
Sustaining Presence & Rapid Response in Crises
Core funding has also ensured that UNDP can respond swiftly in times of crisis. When Super Typhoon Yagi struck in September 2024, devastating coastal and northern provinces, UNDP mobilized immediate relief efforts within days, demonstrating the power of timely intervention. This rapid response was made possible by core funding, which facilitated technical leadership for Viet Nam’s Multi-Sectoral Disaster Assessment and helped develop a resilient recovery strategy. Similarly, during the pandemic, UNDP was able to deliver vital support to protect micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and vulnerable workers, showcasing an unwavering commitment to resilience. In addition, through core funding, UNDP conducts the annual economic assessments of the Mekong Delta region, contributing to enhancing reliance against climate change.
Thought Leadership & Policy Influence
Beyond immediate responses, core funding enables UNDP to shape the future through thought leadership and policy influence. By providing cutting-edge research and strategic guidance, UNDP has positively affected Viet Nam's environmental regulations and energy transition policies. Initiatives focusing on vehicle emissions and renewable energy commitments reflect how core resources can catalyze national reforms that benefit both people and the planet.
Leveraging Core for High-Impact Investments
Moreover, these core contributions have been instrumental in unlocking substantial external funding, leading to high-impact investments across various sectors. By leveraging core resources, UNDP Viet Nam was able to secure significant external funding. Projects such as the $29.5 million Green Climate Fund initiative to strengthen coastal resilience and the $30.2 million project supporting climate adaptation for smallholder farmers exemplify the potential that core funding has to leverage additional resources, amplifying the impact of UNDP’s work. The EU-supported iLandscape Project, promoting deforestation-free supply chains, and the $20.4M Canada-supported Viet Nam Climate-Smart Coastal Communities Project on climate resilience are a few recent examples.
Core funding is more than financial support—it is the enabler that allows UNDP to stay, innovate, and lead. It ensures that UNDP can test new ideas, respond rapidly in times of crisis, and shape the future of development in Viet Nam. Whether pioneering new policy frameworks, driving digital transformation, or delivering immediate humanitarian aid, core funding ensures that UNDP remains a trusted and effective partner.
By securing sustained core contributions, we can continue to unlock high-impact, scalable solutions that drive Viet Nam’s progress, resilience, and sustainable development in an increasingly complex world.
