UN DESA | DPAD | Development Policy Analysis Division
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Capacity Development and Advisory Services
Millennium Development Goals
On September 6-8, 2000, the Heads of States participating in the United Nations Millennium Summit approved a bold and wide-ranging agenda for reducing poverty and improving lives in the world. That agenda was imbedded in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), most of them to be achieved by 2015, using 1990 as the standard benchmark. So far, success towards achieving the MDGs has been very uneven in the developing world, largely because initial conditions and historical experience tend to differ among countries. Moreover, the recent global economic downturn as well as high energy and food prices have led to a considerable slowdown in progress.
UN-DESA has joined forces with other international institutions to support National Governments in evaluating existing and designing alternative national development strategies. These strategies support achievement of MDGs through the implementation of a number of capacity development projects.
Strengthening Macroeconomic and Social Policy Coherence through Integrated Macro-Micro Modelling (2011-2013)
- Objectives
- Activities
- Countries
- Outputs
- Partners
The project's primary objective is to institutionalise the use of an integrated macro-micro modelling framework in order to strengthen the capacity of policymakers to formulate countercyclical policies that may help mitigate the adverse impacts of the global economic crisis and other external shocks and put the countries back on track to timely achieve the MDGs by 2015. Use of the analytical framework is also expected to enable trained policymakers to be better prepared to anticipate and respond to new external adversities, including those related to high food and energy prices, drops in export demand or declines in worker remittances, among others, to avoid future setbacks in achieving the MDGs.
Launched in 2011, the project builds on the accumulated work of previous capacity development projects "Realizing the Millennium Development Goals through socially inclusive macroeconomic policies" and "Implications of macroeconomic policy, external shocks and social protection systems for poverty, inequality and social vulnerability in Latin America and the Caribbean".
- 3-5 June 2014—Final workshop (Amman, Jordan)
- 7–10 April 2014—Second Intensive Training workshop (Amman, Jordan)
- 30 October 2013 — Final workshop Tegucigalpa, Honduras
- 16-17 October 2013–Presentation of policy notes and project outputs (Entebbe and Kampala, Uganda)
- 10-13 September 2013–Presentation of policy notes (Managua, Nicaragua)
- 27 August 2013–Presentation of policy notes (La Paz, Bolivia)
- 21–22 August 2013—Final Training Workshop (Manila, Philippines)
- 16 July – 18 July 2013 —Training workshop Tegucigalpa, Honduras
- 7 May – 10 May 2013 —Training workshop Tegucigalpa, Honduras
- 22–25 January 2013—Final Intensive Training Workshop
(Managua, Nicaragua) - 15–18 January 2013—Second intensive training workshop
(Quito, Ecuador) - 15 January 2013—Event (San José, Costa Rica)
- 18–20 December 2012–Final intensive training workshop (La Paz, Bolivia)
- 10–14 December 2012—Training workshop (San José, Costa Rica)
- 3–5 and 11–12 December 2012—Training workshop
(Tegucigalpa, Honduras) - 28 November 2012—Working meetings (San Jose, Costa Rica)
- 12–15 November 2012—Training workshop and working meetings (Amman, Jordan)
- 23–26 October 2012—Training workshop (Managua, Nicaragua)
- 2–3 October 2012—Inception workshop (Manila, Philippines)
- 11–14 September 2012—Second training workshop (Kampala, Uganda)
- 28 August –30 August 2012—Training workshop (Quito, Ecuador)
- 24 July –27 July 2012—Training workshop (La Paz, Bolivia)
- 10 –11 July 2012—Inception workshop (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
- 28 May –1 June 2012—Inception workshop (San Jose, Costa Rica)
- 25–26 April 2012—Training workshop (La Paz, Bolivia)
- 18–19 April 2012—Inception workshop (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)
- 28–29 March 2012 — Inception workshop (Amman, Jordan)
- 7–9 March 2012 — First Intensive Training Workshop (Entebbe, Uganda)
- 20–22 December 2011—Working meetings (Managua, Nicaragua)
- 13–15 December 2011—Working meetings (La Paz, Bolivia)
- 5–9 December 2011—First intensive training workshop
(San José, Costa Rica) - 17–20 October 2011—Scoping mission and inception workshop
(Entebbe, Uganda) - 20–22 July 2011—First intensive training workshop (Managua, Nicaragua)
- 20–24 June 2011—Inception workshop and meetings (San José, Costa Rica)
- 10–12 May 2011—Inception workshop (Quito, Ecuador)
- 27–28 April 2011—Inception workshop (La Paz, Bolivia)
- 25–26 January 2011—Inception workshop (Managua, Nicaragua)
- 20–21 December 2010—Inception workshop (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)
The project is implemented in the following countries:
- Bolivia *
- Costa Rica **
- Ecuador **
- Honduras *
- Jordan
- Kyrgyzstan *
- Nicaragua *
- Philippines *
- Uganda *
* Funding from the Development Account.
** Funding from UNDP's country office (and the Ministry of Coordination for Social Policy in Ecuador).
Selected outputs to be delivered under the project are:
- Studies and policy briefs, which will draw from the application of the methodological framework and incorporate conclusions and policy recommendations in support of policymaking
- Microeconometric studies on the main determinants of MDG achievement, databases and country Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) for each country
- A "toolkit" (i.e., methodologies, computer codes, manuals and guides, and user-friendly guidelines for use of the methodologies and interpretation of the results for policymaking purposes) for policymakers, which is anticipated to become available for general use and training of other potential users in the project's participating countries or other countries
Realizing the Millennium Development Goals through socially inclusive macroeconomic policies (2006–2011)
- Objectives
- Activities
- Countries
- Outputs
- Partners
A number of activities have been conducted for this project, including training workshops and in-country missions. These activities and technical backstopping through telecommunication have paved the way for institutionalizing the use of the integrated modelling framework for policy making. By reaching a wide audience of policymakers, national experts and researchers, they have also promoted a continued policy dialogue among participants.
This capacity development project was implemented in twelve countries: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen in the Arab region; Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and the Philippines in Asia; and, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda in Africa.
This project was implemented by DPAD in close collaboration with UNDP and the World Bank. Most of the funding was provided by the United Nations Development Account. The World Bank provided the core modelling framework—the Maquette for MDG Simulations (MAMS)—which was applied and further developed in the country studies conducted for this project. UNDP's Regional Bureau for Arab States and UNDP country offices provided institutional and financial support to facilitate the implementation of the project in several participating countries.
The project was also implemented in close collaboration with teams of local experts and policymakers, who were the main beneficiaries of training activities aimed at strengthening their analytical capacities in the use of the project's methodologies.