| United Nations | E/1997/79 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
16 June 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Substantive session of 1997
Geneva, 30 June-25 July 1997
Item 3 (c) of the provisional
agenda*
* E/1997/100.
OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION: REPORTS
OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARDS OF THE UNITED NATIONS
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME/UNITED NATIONS POPULATION
FUND, THE UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND AND THE
WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME
Annual report of the Administrator of the
United Nations Development Programme to
the Economic and Social Council
1. In its decision 97/20 of 23 May 1997, the Executive Board of the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and of the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) took note of the report of the Administrator
of UNDP entitled "Reports to the Economic and Social Council"
(DP/1997/15). The Executive Board also decided to transmit the
report, together with the comments made on it, to the Council for
consideration at its 1997 substantive session.
2. Section I of the present document contains the report of the
Administrator; the comments of the Executive Board on the report are
found in section II below, which is an extract of the report on the
annual session of the Executive Board.
3. The annual report of the Executive Director of UNFPA is contained
in document E/1997/72.
I. REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
Page
PART ONE: FOLLOW-UP TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY
RESOLUTIONS 47/199 AND 50/120 AND TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1996/42 ................................ 3
PART TWO: FOLLOW-UP TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 50/227 ........... 10
PART THREE: FOLLOW-UP TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1996/36
AND TO DECISIONS TAKEN AT MAJOR INTERNATIONAL UNITED
NATIONS CONFERENCES INCLUDING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
PROGRAMMES OF ACTION ADOPTED BY THEM ...................... 12
PART FOUR: FOLLOW-UP TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1996/43 14
PURPOSE
In compliance with Economic and Social Council resolutions
1996/42, 1996/36 and 1996/43, this report is submitted in a common
reporting format agreed on by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
The report takes into account the comments and recommendations of the
Executive Board on the report to the Council for 1995.
EXECUTIVE BOARD ACTION
The Executive Board may wish to take note of the present report
and transmit it, with its comments, to the Council.
PART ONE
FOLLOW-UP TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY
RESOLUTIONS 47/199 AND 50/120 AND TO ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1996/42
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In the course of 1996, UNDP, in collaboration with other United
Nations entities, continued to implement measures called for by the
series of triennial policy reviews undertaken by the General Assembly,
which led up to General Assembly resolution 50/120.
2. Implementation by UNDP of General Assembly resolution 50/120 was
undertaken entirely in keeping with the management process set up in
compliance with paragraph 52 of the resolution and contained in annex
II of the report entitled "Operational activities of the United
Nations for international development cooperation: Progress on the
implementation of General Assembly resolution 50/120" (E/1996/64).
That report gave due attention to resources, capacity-building, and
field and regional coordination, which the Council will review at its
1997 substantive session on the basis of a progress report by the
Secretary-General. Accordingly, the present report focuses on matters
specific to UNDP.
II. PROGRAMME MATTERS
A. Programme approach
3. UNDP has played a key role in the development of a common
understanding of the programme approach which is now contained in the
Operational Activities Reference Manual published in 1996 by the
Consultative Committee on Programme and Operational Questions (CCPOQ)
with significant substantive and financial support from UNDP. Efforts
are now under way to further refine the procedures for the programme
approach in order to facilitate its application in all regions where
UNDP operates. In February 1997 UNDP participated in a CCPOQ workshop
on best practices under the resident coordinator system. In that
workshop, the United Nations system-wide common understanding on the
programme approach was reviewed and improved in light of country-level
experience. Publication of the CCPOQ manual, and specifically its
section on the programme approach, reflects the endorsement of the
programme-approach concept and its practice system-wide. While there
is some consensus on the concept of programme approach, its actual
application varies greatly and is not yet widespread among United
Nations agencies. In 1997, UNDP will conduct a strategic evaluation
of the programme approach, from the UNDP perspective, to analyse its
application, identify constraints and make recommendations.
4. The governing bodies, the Executive Board and the Council may wish
to recognize and further encourage the system-wide scope of the
programme approach and the efforts being undertaken by UNDP and CCPOQ
in that regard.
B. Harmonization of programme cycles and programming procedures
5. Throughout 1996, UNDP was active in the Subgroup on Harmonization
of Policies and Procedures of the Joint Consultative Group on Policy
(JCGP) and chaired the JCGP Subgroup on Harmonization of Country-level
Programming-cycle Implementation and Management. By the time of this
report, programming cycles had been harmonized in 27 countries. In
another 54 countries they will be harmonized by 1999, while in a
further 26 they are likely to be harmonized thereafter. Eight
countries constitute special cases, where for various reasons such as
emergency situations, programming cycles are unlikely to be harmonized
in the foreseeable future. UNDP has made clear to country offices
that the new successor programming arrangements with the three-year
rolling financial cycle are fully in keeping with the harmonization of
the UNDP country cooperation frameworks (CCFs) with the country
programming arrangements of other agencies since the determining
factor for harmonization is a country's own planning cycle, the
three-year rolling cycle of UNDP being merely a financial management
device. Ideally, the planning time-frame for country cooperation
frameworks and for the programmes of other funds and agencies should
be the relevant planning time-frame of the national government
concerned.
6. UNDP participated in the implementation of the common country
assessment (CCA), a JCGP exercise to rationalize the collection of
socio-economic data at country level for purposes of preparing,
monitoring and assessing country programmes. It is planned that the
finalized guidelines for CCA will be distributed in March 1997. CCA
is to become the basis for all country programmes in the present
programming cycle. During the current programming period, it will
also serve as a basis for reviewing and adjusting programmes as they
evolve.
7. The governing bodies may wish to recognize the progress achieved
so far by JCGP and endorse and further encourage the use of CCA as an
instrument of vital importance for ensuring compatibility of and
harmonization among country programmes of individual funds and
programmes.
C. Common operational activities reference manual
8. As indicated in the report on follow-up to the decisions taken by
the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of 1996,
CCPOQ, with considerable substantive and financial assistance from
UNDP, published an operational activities reference manual, which has
now been forwarded to all country offices and will serve as a unifying
framework within which each agency will operate using its own detailed
operational procedures. The Manual represents a common denominator
for a common conceptual understanding of operational activities. It
is a living instrument which will be continually updated. As a result
of the CCPOQ workshop held in February 1997, several chapters of the
Manual are being updated by the CCPOQ secretariat.
9. The governing bodies may wish to recognize the CCPOQ Manual as a
specific system-wide response to the call for a common manual emerging
from such intergovernmental legislation as General Assembly
resolutions 47/199 and 50/120 and to encourage its development and
expansion.
D. Capacity-building
10. In 1996 capacity-building continued to be a primary tool in the
hands of UNDP for helping programme countries to strive for the goal
of sustainable human development. The assessment of UNDP conducted by
the Governments of Denmark, India, Sweden and the United Kingdom in
1995 was fed back into UNDP efforts in the realm of policy
development. UNDP has some four decades of experience in
capacity-building, and the leitmotif of the assessment was the
comparative advantage of UNDP in capacity-building in programme
countries whereas dispersed, grass-roots interventions, are best left
to civil society organizations. In 1996, in addition to the emphasis
laid on the need to develop good governance, the importance of
capacity-building, particularly in the management and coordination of
and by nationals, was reaffirmed as an integral part of the mission of
UNDP. Capacity-building in which UNDP participated in past decades is
largely responsible for the achievements of the newly industrializing
countries, which are now themselves emerging as donors. In order to
be approved, any country cooperation framework for the programming
cycle which begins in 1997 must explicitly target capacity-building.
As a follow-up to the assessment of UNDP, UNDP has accepted a trust
fund from Denmark for the equivalent of about $8 million for new
initiatives by UNDP in capacity-building in specific programme
countries.
11. An important subset of capacity-building activities are those
related to capacity-building for the coordination and management of
aid. A study entitled "Aid coordination and management: A role for
UNDP", published by UNDP in 1996 establishes the strategy and policy
of UNDP in the area of the coordination and management of aid
recognizes that those functions are primarily the responsibility of
the Governments of programme countries, the role of UNDP being that of
assisting countries, at their request, to strengthen their capacity in
that area and also of providing direct support to (a) the coordination
and management process through mechanisms such as round-tables and (b)
the resident coordinator system.
12. The governing bodies may wish to recognize the progress made by
UNDP in defining its role in capacity-building and to encourage it to
make further refinements in that regard to focus its concentration
more sharply on that role in its operational activities and to promote
the integration of its programme role (a) in helping to build national
capacity for the coordination and management of aid and (b) in
providing direct support to the coordination process.
E. Monitoring and evaluation
13. In 1996, the JCGP Subgroup on Harmonization of Policies and
Procedures finalized the common guidelines on monitoring and
evaluation, which UNDP has shared with all country offices. These
guidelines are the result of an extensive review of monitoring and
evaluation procedures by JCGP and provide a single set of parameters
based on common terminology and concepts defined in previous JCGP
efforts. They deal with monitoring and evaluation at the project and
programme levels and recommend a common approach to mid-term reviews
of country programmes and CCFs.
14. The Inter-agency Working Group on Evaluation, chaired by UNDP, met
in Geneva in November 1996 and exchanged information and proposals
relating to enhanced coordination among evaluation offices of the
United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions. Matters
discussed included performance rating systems in the Development
Assistance Committee (DAC) and the World Bank and issues related to
evaluation and to oversight and harmonization.
15. UNDP is currently developing a more comprehensive system for
absorbing lessons learned into its managerial and decision-making
forums. Several mechanisms are now in operation for disseminating
lessons learned and promoting their application in new projects and
programmes. These include:
(a) Decentralization of institutional memory, in which summaries
of individual project/programme evaluations are registered in a
central evaluation database (CEDAB) now containing over 1,500
summaries. CEDAB is currently being redesigned in a more
user-friendly format and decentralized to all UNDP units at
headquarters and in the field and to other United Nations agencies and
donors. Easy access to CEDAB will enable project/programme managers to
learn about the best and worst practices and the lessons learned from
past evaluations in similar sectors, themes, regions or countries;
(b) Training and workshops. In this connection UNDP conducted
subregional workshops in new dimensions in monitoring and evaluation
at Kuala Lumpur and Prague, in which stress was laid on the
application of lessons learned. These were attended by UNDP national
officers, government officials with evaluation responsibilities and
representatives of NGOs;
(c) Publication and dissemination of all strategic thematic
evaluation results. Evaluation reports systematically include a
section on findings, evaluations and lessons learned and are
distributed to a large audience within UNDP, including the Executive
Board and donor agencies; to other bodies in the United Nations system
and to academic institutions and other bodies to which experts in
evaluation contribute;
(d) Application of lessons learned. No new project or programme
should be considered for approval by the UNDP Programme Management
Oversight Committee (PMOC) or the Project Appraisal Committees (PAC)
of the regional bureaux before a comprehensive search for relevant
lessons has been conducted and the application of those lessons has
been suitably incorporated into the design of the projects and/or
programmes concerned.
16. To strengthen further its monitoring and evaluation capacities,
UNDP has identified the following objectives: (a) adaptation of
current monitoring and evaluation requirements and guidelines to new
programming arrangements; (b) introduction of new methodological
developments which have emerged from the international donor
community; (c) incorporation of new modalities, such as national
execution, the programme approach, and participatory development, into
the monitoring and evaluation system; (d) achievement of a harmonized
monitoring and evaluation system for all United Nations agencies; and
(e) incorporation of the lessons learned from experience with a view
to feeding them back into the system. In 1996 the UNDP Office of
Evaluation and Strategic Planning (OESP) revised the 1988 monitoring
and evaluation guidelines prepared in 1988, taking the above
objectives into account.
17. Since the adoption of the national execution modality, UNDP has
been especially active in the strengthening of national monitoring and
evaluation capacities. Projects aimed specifically at developing national
capacities for monitoring and evaluation are in implementation in
Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guyana, Kenya, Morocco and South
Africa. By promoting the participation of government evaluation
personnel workshops like these help to develop the capacity of
Governments in this area.
18. UNDP encourages joint evaluations, in which other agencies
participate when they are clearly involved in a project or programme
and would provide significant input in the evaluation process. Joint
evaluations have proved quite successful at the country level but are
more difficult to coordinate at headquarters because monitoring and
evaluation guidelines and requirements are not effectively harmonized
among different United Nations agencies and the negotiation process
is slower and more complex. One practical step taken by UNDP with
regard to joint evaluations by United Nations bodies is an evaluation
of cooperation activities with Cape Verde involving UNDP, UNICEF, the
International Fund for Agricultural Development, WFP, the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health
Organization, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
19. At the central level, UNDP undertook six main evaluations in 1996.
These included evaluations of (a) the environmental projects
undertaken in Latin America and the Caribbean; (b) the efforts to
strengthen the work of the resident coordinators; (c) global,
interregional and regional programmes; (d) the fifth cycle special
programme reserve; (e) co-financing modalities and (f) the exercise
relating to public sector management and reform in the Arab States
region. Where policy formulation and new programme design are
concerned, UNDP has been relying increasingly on comprehensive
thematic and strategic evaluations such as these because they make it
possible to draw lessons from a large sample of projects and
programmes whereas evaluations of individual projects yield data from
which it is harder to generalize.
20. The governing bodies may wish to take note of the progress
achieved by UNDP in the area of monitoring and evaluation and to
encourage further efforts in effective harmonization of monitoring and
evaluation activities among funds, programmes and agencies of the
United Nations system.
F. Field and regional coordination
21. The integrated follow-up on United Nations conferences provided an
opportunity to coordinate United Nations activities at three levels,
i.e., at global level, through the Administrative Committee on
Coordination (ACC) and its inter-agency task forces; at regional
level, through regional meetings of agencies members of ACC, chaired
by the Executive Secretaries of the regional economic commissions; and
at country level, through task forces operating within the resident
coordinator system.
22. In 1996, UNDP continued to promote periodic consultations with the
Executive Secretaries of the regional commissions by holding two
meetings of the Administrator, the Associate Administrator and the
Executive Secretaries on the occasion of each of the two sessions of
ACC. Collaboration between UNDP and the regional commissions includes
policy analysis, involvement in regional meetings, exchange of
information and joint efforts in project implementation. In 1996, a
further flagship project was identified in each region to serve as a
vehicle for a policy dialogue on programme themes of relevance to the
regions between UNDP and the commission concerned.
23. Regarding country-level coordination, in 1996, UNDP continued to
fund the resident coordinator function at the level of some $100
million annually. Staff costs of the resident coordinator and
support staff directly related to this function were also covered by
this figure, which accounts for nearly one third of the country office
annual administrative budget for direct support to the United Nations
system and resident coordinator activities. Specifically, UNDP has
moved to strengthen the resident coordinator system by (a) broadening
the selection pool of candidates to include other agencies; (b)
providing operational funding for resident coordinator work per se in
1996, a move which dovetails with the new arrangements approved by the
Board for 1997-1999; (c) expanding training programmes held in
connection with the United Nations Staff College at Turin; (d)
supporting the management process developed by the United Nations to
ensure implementation of General Assembly resolution 50/120; (e)
preparing tighter management and personnel performance appraisals; (f)
ensuring policy coherence and coordination both at headquarters and at
country level by meeting the coordination responsibilities entrusted
to the Administrator by the Secretary-General. Significant
outstanding issues related to the resident coordinator system include
increasing the commitment of all system partners to the system and
strengthening the legislative basis for the resident coordinator
function.
24. The governing bodies may wish to recognize the contribution made
by UNDP to coordination in the field and at the regional level and to
encourage further harmonization of the coordination at the global,
regional and country levels.
II. MANAGEMENT, PERSONNEL AND FINANCE
A. Management audit systems and aid accountability
25. In 1996 direct collaboration continued between the internal audit
services of UNDP and those of United Nations bodies. Consultations
were held on the development of databases of common audit findings,
the need to ensure a similar scope for management audits so as to
permit coordinated corrective action and the use of outside
contractors to conduct internal audits. For its part, UNDP made the
goal of ensuring optimal accountability one of its five corporate
objectives for 1996. In pursuit of this objective it (a) expanded
audit coverage in an innovative and cost-effective manner,
establishing regional service centres, one for Africa and the other
for Asia; (b) established an accountability framework covering all key
management systems for implementation in 1997; (c) set up mechanisms,
such as the Standing Committee for Personal Responsibility and
Financial Liability, to ensure rapid review and decision-making in
accordance with due process; (d) established a database to track the
implementation of internal audit; (e) established transparent,
peer-review procedures for staff evaluations, hiring, promotion and
assignments; (f) consolidated all cases involving account-ability into
one database; (g) implemented procedures for imposing personal
liability for loss to the organization and penalizing infractions of
financial rules and regulations; (h) ensured that all staff is
regularly apprised of actions taken when infractions occur; and (i)
increased the compliance rate for audits of nationally-executed
projects from 8 per cent in 1989 to 70 per cent in 1996.
B. Harmonization of budget presentations
26. In compliance with decision 94/30 of the Executive Board of the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and of the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) enormous progress has been made in the
harmonization of budget presentations. A report entitled
"Harmonization of budgets: UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF" (DP/1997/2,
E/ICEF/1997/AB/L.3), which was submitted to the Board at its first
regular session in January 1997, contained a proposal for a common
format for presentation of the biennial support budget, a compendium
of common terms and definitions and a common methodology for the
preparation of budget estimates. The relevant Executive Boards
approved the common format following direct consultations between
their finance divisions, which then briefed the Boards.
C. Common premises and administrative services
27. With UNDP in the chair in 1996, the JCGP Subgroup on Common
Premises and Services reviewed the actions taken to establish common
premises and agreed that the methodology and operational guidelines
for development and implementation of common premises and the mandate
of the Subgroup should be improved. In particular, the Subgroup noted
the absence of technical expertise in the areas of real estate and
facility management. In its consultations with sister bodies, UNDP
has stressed the importance of common services as a prerequisite for
the establishment of common physical premises.
28. The Subgroup expects, with the assistance of real estate
management consultants with extensive international links, to produce
the following outputs in 1997: revised terms of reference for the
Subgroup; a definition of specific criteria and operational guidelines
for ownership and/or eventual disposal of properties; and operational
guidelines for establishing common premises in the future, covering,
among other matters, cost- and service-sharing, cost control, project
management and partial or total disposal or enlargement of properties
and a methodology for cost/benefit analysis for decision-making in the
area of common premises and services.
29. The governing bodies may wish to acknowledge the progress made so
far on common premises and services and to reaffirm the need to
increase efficiency through, inter alia, consolidation of
administrative infrastructures of the organizations by establishing,
in cooperation with host Governments, common services and, where
appropriate, common premises.
PART TWO
FOLLOW-UP TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 50/227
I. ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLICATIONS ON OPERATIONAL
ACTIVITIES OF RECENT TRENDS IN CORE AND OTHER RESOURCES
30. An analysis of trends in UNDP resources availability in 1996 and
previous years indicates continued strong growth in overall resources
attributable primarily to increases in non-core resources, whereas
core resources have remained stagnant. Annual contributions to the
core resources of UNDP over the fifth cycle have fluctuated from a
high of $1,177,900,000 in 1992 to $903,000,000 in 1995 and an
estimated $850,000,000 in 1996. Pledges for 1997 and other estimates
indicate that core resources in that year will be slightly higher than
the $850,000,000 expected for 1996. Overall resources, including both
core and non-core resources have, however, over the same period grown
from $1,739,100,000 in 1992 to $1,925,000,000 in 1995, with an
estimated $2,000,000,000 for 1996. The conclusion is quite clear: all
contributors to UNDP - both traditional donors and programme countries
- have as a group experienced constraints in expanding core funding.
An analysis of the causes of this phenomenon will point to the ways in
which UNDP must move in order to remain a well-funded organization.
II. RECOMMENDATIONS ON INCREASING CORE RESOURCES
31. Core resources remain the primary means of providing impartial,
universal multilateral assistance and will continue to be the
foundation of the resource bases of UNDP. No organization can be
truly multilateral without core resources. Donations to the core
resources of UNDP are now apt to be directed towards a smaller group
of countries and a smaller number of activities which relate to
sustainable human development. Not only do these countries and
activities coincide with the interests of specific constituencies in
the donor countries but they also reflect the results of major United
Nations conferences, such as the World Summit for Social Development,
and hence represent the consensus of the majority of nations.
32. Nonetheless, it is proving difficult to expand the reservoir of
core contributions. Emerging donors in particular set their sights on
their own regions or on countries to which they have geographical,
historical and cultural ties. They may not have the same goals as the
traditional donors vis-a-vis the relatively small group of low-income
countries which can benefit the most from core resources and
consequently they tend to seek out trust funds or project cost-sharing
schemes which target their own or regions or individual countries in
those regions instead of donating to the UNDP core. Budgetary
restrictions in major traditional donors currently appear to be
imposing a ceiling on UNDP core contributions even though such
activities are largely used to provide sustainable human development
in low-income countries and therefore clearly reflect the aid
objectives of those donors.
33. The following three approaches to increasing core contributions
may therefore be taken:
(a) Making UNDP more efficient and transparent so as to increase
its attractiveness at a time when major traditional donors may be
downsizing their own aid infrastructure and institutions. By aiming
at a similar group of countries and making sustainable human
development its overall goal, UNDP may well become an increasingly
more attractive channel for traditional donors. At a high-level
meeting held in 1996 on multilateral cooperation by the Development
Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), all donors were urged to give
serious thought ways of achieving the best possible mix between
bilateral and multilateral aid. UNDP and its sister agencies need to
demonstrate the efficiency, transparency and credibility of
multilateral aid as a vehicle for achieving the ultimate goals of
people-centred, sustainable development which the world community
subscribed to at the World Summit for Social Development;
(b) Showing emerging donors that, as economic globalization
continues, the countries targeted for core funding by UNDP are
potential economic partners of emerging donors and that contributions
to core resources help those potential partners develop and open the
way to mutual long-term benefits. It is challenging to try to
convince donors to contribute to core resources since donations to
non-core funds give them greater control over the destination of their
donations, but they must be convinced if multilateral cooperation is
to survive;
(c) Seeking additional core contributions from net recipient
countries, who are the primary beneficiaries of the core fund.
III. ADOPTED TARGETS
34. The introduction of the resource mobilization target (RMT) as an
integral element of CCFs reflects a recognition of the importance of
both core and non-core resources in coming years and, in particular,
constitutes an acknowledgement of the insufficiency of core resources
to meet the goals of CCFs. The RMTs will also serve as a basis by
which programmes can be evaluated once resource mobilization is an
eloquent indicator of any programme's relevance to donors and
recipients. The RMT clearly reflects the decentralized nature of the
current UNDP resource mobilization strategy. It is the responsibility
of those at country level - in both the host Government and the UNDP
office - to do everything in their power to convert the RMT into
reality.
IV. PRIORITIES AND PROGRAMMES AGREED BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
35. A number of landmark decisions adopted by the Executive Board,
including decisions 94/16 and 95/23, have changed the mechanism by
which UNDP mobilizes and allocates its resources. Emphasis has
shifted from the entitlement-based indicative planning figure (IPF)
system to a performance-based target for resource assignment from the
core (TRAC), in which the interdependence between core and non-core
resources is explicitly recognized. Core and non-core resources must
interact positively, with increases in one leading to increases in the
other, if the cooperation framework is to work. All the CCFs to be
considered by the Board in 1997 will reflect those decisions. The
sectoral breakdown of UNDP resource allocations is also in the process
of shifting in such a way as to reflect major focus areas of
sustainable human development, including (a) poverty eradication; (b)
employment; (c) gender in development; (d) the environment; and (f)
good governance. UNDP expects that these major shifts in structure
and substance will attract traditional and emerging donors to
contribute to the core fund, which must remain at the heart of UNDP.
V. NEW AND INNOVATIVE SOURCES AND MODALITIES
FOR FUNDING OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
36. Since this issue is to be covered extensively in a report of the
Secretary-General to the General Assembly prepared pursuant to
resolution 50/227, annex I, section I, paragraph 17, to which UNDP is
making a separate contribution, only a few comments on this subject
will be made here. UNDP has recognized that private resource flows
now dwarf official development assistance and, as part of its resource
mobilization strategy, is seeking to tap the private sector as an
additional source of funding without compromising any of the
principles of neutrality in multilateral assistance. In 1996, it
developed draft guidelines for use in accepting private sector
contributions.
37. The governing bodies may wish to take note of the situation of
UNDP as regards core and non-core funding and reaffirm the fundamental
importance of core funding, encouraging continued support by all
contributors to the UNDP core fund, while recognizing that if core
resources increase, non-core resources will also grow. In line with
legislation such as that reflected in Executive Board decision 95/23,
the governing bodies may also wish to encourage UNDP and its sister
bodies to seek out actively new sources and modalities of funding,
including those countries outside the group of traditional donors
whose capacity to contribute to international development cooperation
has increased in recent years.
PART THREE
FOLLOW-UP TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1996/36
AND TO DECISIONS TAKEN AT MAJOR INTERNATIONAL UNITED NATIONS
CONFERENCES INCLUDING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMMES OF
ACTION ADOPTED BY THEM
38. In 1996, UNDP participated in all four of the inter-agency groups
established by ACC to constitute an integrated framework for follow-up
to the major United Nations conferences, in which it is recognized
that the results of the conferences are complementary and that
follow-up with regard to specific themes must take the results of all
the conferences into consideration. Following the World Summit for
Social Development, UNDP moved to make poverty eradication the central
area of focus within its concentration on sustainable human
development. That area has also been identified as the theme which
cuts across all the major conferences. UNDP and the resident
coordinators it supports moved in 1996 to assist countries in
developing comprehensive anti-poverty strategies and to promote
coordinated United Nations support of those strategies.
39. The prime purpose of the inter-agency groups is to ensure that
headquarters-level support is provided to resident coordinators and
United Nations country teams so that they may effectively assist
national Governments and institutions in their pursuit of the goals
and commitments of the major United Nations conferences. At the
country level, the goal is to move to a new phase of inter-agency
coordination, which is viewed as goal-oriented rather than mere
information-sharing.
40. The four groups include one on basic social services for all,
which is chaired by UNFPA; one on employment and sustainable
livelihoods, chaired by ILO; one on an enabling environment for
economic and social development and one on women and gender equality.
After presenting the integrated framework for follow-up to United
Nations conferences to OECD/DAC at the high-level meeting held in
1996, the Administrator of UNDP organized a meeting with the Chair of
OECD/DAC and the chairs of the ACC inter-agency groups. It was agreed
that a joint plan of work would be developed to ensure complementarity
of efforts in the implementation of the strategy outlined in the
OECD/DAC publication entitled "Shaping the 21st Century" and of the
integrated framework for follow-up to United Nations conferences, both
of which have essentially the same goals.
41. At country level, UNDP provided direct funding for activities of
the resident coordinator system for conference follow-up. In India,
for example, a United nations inter-agency support unit was
established as part of the resident coordinator's office to help shape
a common framework for United Nations agencies. United Nations
agencies in Kazakstan have established four thematic groups
responsible for follow-up to United Nations conferences. These groups
deal, respectively, with social services, sustainable development,
employment and the advancement of women. United Nations agencies in
Nigeria have set up five thematic groups to work in the areas of
poverty eradication, social development, capacity-building, job
creation and sustainable livelihoods, and sustainable agriculture and
environmental development. The United Nations country team in the
Philippines is supporting the Government's social reform agenda, an
integrated plan which includes the outcomes of a number of United
Nations and national conferences. The local task-forces established
mirror those at global level. Additionally, UNDP continued in 1996 to
provide the secretariat for the United Nations Special Initiative for
Africa (UNSIA) designed to facilitate the implementation of the United
Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa (UN-NADAF) and of
action relating to Africa called for in major United Nations
conferences.
42. With the endorsement, in General Assembly resolution 50/227, of
the modality of small inter-agency task forces as a central working
tool of ACC in order to develop joint inter-agency programmes at
operational levels, UNDP will continue to contribute financial and
human resources to the support of such inter-agency groups both at
headquarters and the country level.
43. The governing bodies may wish to take note of the progress
achieved by UNDP and other United Nations funds, programmes and
agencies in the integrated follow-up to conferences and to encourage
the full integration of all conference follow-up activities, including
those of the World Food Summit, into the common ACC framework and the
resident coordinator system at the country-level as called for in
legislation such as General Assembly resolutions 50/227 and 51/171.
PART FOUR
FOLLOW-UP TO ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1996/43
44. UNDP achieved significant progress in 1996 pursuant to Economic
and Social Council resolution 1996/43, as reflected in particular by
new agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and with the
World Bank and by continued cooperation at country level in several
notable cases.
45. In July 1996, an important joint letter addressed to the staff of
IMF and that of UNDP on cooperation between the two organizations was
signed by their two executive heads, who called on their members to
collaborate more closely on new and ongoing technical assistance,
country strategy notes (when requested by Governments) and policy
framework papers and stressing the need for greater collaboration in
post- and near-crisis countries and in countries engaged in programmes
involving market-oriented reforms and transition.
46. The major development in the collaboration between UNDP and the
World Bank was the signing of the World Bank/UNDP aid-coordination
agreement, which, while focusing primarily on the complementary roles
of the Bank and UNDP in round-table and consultative group meetings,
also introduced new language on other types of aid-coordination
meetings, capacity development, the role of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and the private sector, the World Bank Special
Programme of Assistance (SPA) for Africa and post-conflict situations.
This agreement is the framework for the implementation by UNDP of
paragraph 17 of resolution 1996/43 which calls on the United Nations
development system and the Bretton Woods institutions to improve their
cooperation in the preparation, discussion and follow-up to
round-table and consultative group meetings held to promote
discussions of policy.
47. A joint working group on poverty monitoring composed
representatives of the World Bank, UNICEF and UNDP met in October 1996
to discuss a joint poverty-monitoring home page on the Internet,
testing the Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire (CWIQ) in the field
and devising a participatory poverty assessment as part of an
integrated poverty-monitoring system. A consultative group to assist
the poorest (CGAP) was established in June 1996. Both UNDP and the
United Nations Capital Development fund (UNCDF) are members of this
group, which focuses on macro-finance. The World Bank and UNDP also
signed a memorandum of understanding to reinforce their working
relationship as regards technical cooperation for national
capacity-building in the areas of monitoring and evaluation.
48. Another important area for collaboration among UNDP, the World
Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) continues to
be the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). At the eighth GEF Council
meeting, which was held in October 1996, the UNDP $50.5 million work
programme covering seven national and three regional projects was
approved.
49. Project preparation and implementation continues to be an
important form of collaboration between UNDP and the World Bank at
country level. Typically, by funding consultants and studies, UNDP
helps to prepare investment projects for subsequent World Bank
financing. In addition, Governments have decided to use the proceeds
of the technical cooperation components of World Bank loans as
cost-sharing contributions to UNDP projects in the same sector. From
the point of view of the borrowing countries, the main advantage of
such arrangements from is the expeditious implementation, through UNDP
involvement, of those components of investment projects.
50. Another achievement in the area of country-level collaboration was
the performance, by the Office of United Nations Support Services
(OUNS), of a survey, in which 105 resident coordinators took part on
the status of relationships between the United Nations and the Bretton
Woods Institutions. The summary report on this survey revealed a good
and close relationship overall, but it also noted a desire on the part
of many resident coordinators to be kept better informed of
country-level missions and consultations by the Bretton Woods
institutions, especially in matters of system-wide concern.
51. The working group of United Nations senior officials on
strengthening collaboration between the United Nations and the Bretton
Woods Institutions continued to meet and produced a report containing
concrete recommendations in such areas as countries in special
circumstances, exchange of information, country-level collaboration
and policy coordination and reporting to intergovernmental bodies.
The report will serve as an input in the reports of the
Secretary-General to the Economic and Social Council and the General
Assembly in this area.
52. Thus the scope of UNDP/Bretton Woods collaboration is becoming
increasingly substantive and oriented more and more towards policy, in
keeping with the provisions of resolution 1996/43. This represents a
move away from the traditional relationship, in which UNDP basically
provided funding for technical assistance executed by Bretton Woods
institutions.
53. The governing bodies may wish to take note of the achievements of
UNDP in the area of relations with the Bretton Woods Institutions and
to encourage the realization of further progress in the emerging area
of substantive dialogue at policy level, in addition to continuing
with traditional cooperation in project preparation and
implementation.
II. EXCERPT FROM THE REPORT ON THE ANNUAL SESSION OF THE
EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME AND THE UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND
HELD 12-23 MAY 1997
CHAPTER VII. REPORTS TO THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
1. The Administrator introduced his report to the Economic and Social
Council (DP/1997/15), noting the great importance he placed on
discussion of the item. He cited the common reporting format agreed
on with other United Nations funds and programmes, the coverage in the
report of follow-up to four related but distinct General Assembly
resolutions, and the incorporation of comments and recommendations of
the Executive Board on the report of the previous year.
2. He noted that the follow-up to Economic and Social Council
resolution 96/42 was directly linked to the implementation of General
Assembly resolutions 47/199 and 50/120. As Administrator, he served
as Convenor of the Executive Committee of the Development Cooperation
Group, one of the four sector groups created by the Secretary-General.
As Convenor of the Executive Committee, he had prioritized the
follow-up to General Assembly resolution 50/120 and the implementation
of the Secretary-General's "track one" reform measures in the
Development Cooperation Group. The Executive Committee, which met
monthly, aimed to strengthen the resident coordinator system, the move
to common premises and services, and to formulate a United Nations
development assistance framework. On 8 April 1997, the Executive
Committee had agreed to maintain the current arrangement regarding the
resident coordinator system under the stewardship of UNDP, with the
understanding that there would be major improvements in the way it
functioned. He then described several aspects of the resident
coordinator system that would be examined by the Executive Committee
of the Development Cooperation Group. The Administrator elaborated on
the comparative advantages of UNDP in leading the resident coordinator
system. The leadership of the Administrator as Convenor of the
Executive Committee of the Development Cooperation Group was coherent
with that of UNDP as steward of the resident coordinator system at the
country level. He noted that the Development Cooperation Group had
taken up the issues of common premises and services and the proposed
development cooperation framework. The Office for United Nations
System Support and Services (OUNS), which supported him in his role as
Convenor of the Executive Committee, would be strengthened through
future staff secondments from the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World
Food Programme (WFP).
3. As one of the best examples of a coordinated system-wide
undertaking, the Administrator also cited the work of inter-agency
groups established by the Administrative Committee on Coordination
(ACC) to constitute an integrated framework for follow-up to the major
United Nations conferences. A workshop on the follow-up to
conferences would be organized by OUNS and the ACC Consultative
Committee on Programme and Operational Questions (CCPOQ) in autumn
1997 at the Turin Centre, prior to continued review of the subject at
the second session of ACC in 1997. The Administrator cited his
interest in rationalizing the relationship between the process of the
inter-agency groups and the intergovernmental reviews of the follow-up
to conferences, including the need for more streamlined reporting
arrangements. There could be, for example, reporting on each
conference by lead agencies to the respective functional commissions
of the Economic and Social Council, with the support of the United
Nations Secretariat. Similarly, reports based on the work of the
three ACC Task Forces and the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and
Gender Equality would be prepared annually for the Council,
coordinated by the Convenor of the Development Cooperation Group.
Thus, both conference-by-conference reporting on overall
implementation and reporting on United Nations assistance to programme
countries would be possible.
4. In the follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolution
1996/43, the report (DP/1997/15) cited the measures taken to enhance
collaboration between UNDP and the Bretton Woods institutions. The
Administrator informed the Executive Board that UNDP was aware of the
new directions taken by the management of the World Bank and hoped
that dialogue with the Bank would be enhanced with a view to ensuring
complementarity and a division of labour between the two
organizations. He expressed the view that grant-based technical
cooperation aimed at building key governance capabilities for
sustainable human development should be the responsibility of UNDP.
5. In referring to the follow-up to General Assembly resolution
50/227, the Administrator informed the Executive Board that UNDP was
in the process of developing a comprehensive funding strategy. Owing
to the number of informal consultations on other subjects, it had not
been possible to hold informals to prepare the way for the funding
strategy. He hoped that the paper would be available at the third
regular session 1997 following discussions at the present session, at
the informal consultations in June, and at the Economic and Social
Council. Paragraphs 33 and 36 of document DP/1997/15 contained the
kernel of a resource mobilization strategy, which would be further
elaborated on in the paper. He cited the expected income for UNDP in
1997 to be an estimated $2 billion in total resources, with
approximately $800 million of that amount in contributions to the core
budget. He emphasized that while the target for the overall resource
mobilization of UNDP would be the sum total of all resource
mobilization targets of all country cooperation frameworks, the
bedrock was the contributions to the core budget. The core resource
mobilization target of $3.3 billion for 1997-1999 contained in
Executive Board decision 95/23 should be taken seriously. Despite
reform and streamlining by UNDP and improvements in governance, as
cited in General Assembly resolution 50/227, the contributions to the
core budget continued to decrease. For UNDP to undertake all the work
that it was responsible for and to respond effectively to the needs of
developing countries, it would need increased contributions to its
core budget. UNDP would like to move to a funding strategy that
featured a more predictable base at a higher level than was currently
the case.
6. In introducing the UNFPA reports to the Economic and Social
Council (DP/FPA/1997/10 (Part V)), the Deputy Executive Director
(Policy and Administration) stated that coordination of operational
activities was widely recognized as the overarching priority of the
United Nations development framework. In that regard, UNFPA continued
to work closely with all of its development partners, in, for example,
chairing inter-agency task forces on the follow-up to international
conferences, in participation in such mechanisms as the Joint
Consultative Group on Policy (JCGP), ACC and CCPOQ, and continuing its
close cooperation with other agencies and organizations in
strengthening the resident coordinator system.
7. The Deputy Executive Director (Policy and Administration) informed
the Executive Board that relations between UNFPA and the Bretton Woods
institutions and funding for operational activities had been dealt
with in the document as a build-up to the triennial policy review
scheduled for 1998. The position of UNFPA on funding for operational
activities was being coordinated with the United Nations Secretariat
as part of the Secretary-General's report to the Economic and Social
Council. The Fund was looking at new ways of collaborating with the
Bretton Woods institutions within the terms of the UNFPA mandate.
Other topics addressed in the report included harmonization of
programme processes, national execution and national
capacity-building, and monitoring and evaluation of UNFPA programmes.
General comments
8. Delegations welcomed the introductory remarks of the Administrator
and the Deputy Executive Director and expressed their satisfaction
with the reports to the Economic and Social Council of the
Administrator (DP/1997/15) and the Executive Director (DP/FPA/1997/10
(Part V)), citing the improvements over those of previous years. Some
speakers stated that more analysis and reference to problems faced by
UNDP and UNFPA in implementing the legislation could be included in
future reports to the Council. More information on linkages with
overall United Nations reform would be welcomed. Delegations
appreciated the fact that the reports employed a common format with
other United Nations funds and programmes and noted that their
contents illustrated progress in the follow-up and implementation of
General Assembly and Economic and Social Council resolutions. A few
delegations proposed that the reports include suggested
recommendations to the Council on follow-up to resolutions. One
delegation requested more clarity on data in the report of UNFPA
relating to country-level operations and expressed support for a
recommendation of the Executive Director to lessen and streamline
reporting arrangements.
9. One speaker, on behalf of the African Group, underlined the
support of that regional group for the work done by UNDP to follow up
the resolutions of the General Assembly and Economic and Social
Council, as cited in DP/1997/15.
Follow-up to implementation of General Assembly resolutions 47/199 and
50/120 and to Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/42
10. Many speakers welcomed the remarks made by the Administrator on
the part of the report concerning the resolution, in particular with
regard to the resident coordinator system and the increased commitment
to partnership both at the headquarters and country levels. Much
progress had been seen in the area, including on the harmonization of
programme cycles and budget presentations. An update on programme
delivery was requested, an area that many speakers stressed must
continue to be a top priority of UNDP. One speaker, also on behalf of
another, requested information on the 26 countries that would not have
harmonized programmes by 1999. The rise in nationally executed
programmes was welcomed and should be further increased. The issuance
of the reference manual for operational activities was welcomed.
Support for the leadership role of UNDP in the resident coordinator
system was expressed. More information on the coordination of
regional activities was sought.
11. Efforts to broaden the pool of resident coordinators coming from
different United Nations organizations should be continued and
enhanced. Some speakers requested that the Administrator continue to
provide an update to the Executive Board at future sessions on the
numbers of resident coordinators coming from outside of UNDP, as well
as information on the staff secondments to OUNS. Many speakers
emphasized the importance of strengthening the resident coordinator
system and underlined the need for all organizations to be fully
committed to that goal. One speaker cited the need for resident
coordinators to be impartial and to function as a partner with others
in the system. Another speaker requested further information about
the cost of managing the resident coordinator system.
12. Several delegations urged UNDP to continue the move to common
premises and services in order to fulfil the requirements of General
Assembly resolution 50/120. The document (DP/1997/15) contained
reservations on that issue in the view of some speakers. Some
speakers supported the need to look at common premises and services on
a case-by-case basis. One delegation stated that it was considering a
"soft earmarking" of funding to promote common premises in 1997.
Another delegation requested further information about the reference
in paragraph 28 to the use of real estate management consultants by
the JCGP Sub-Group on Common Premises and Services. A query was
raised about whether there was a detrimental effect to harmonization
when funds and programmes used different information systems.
13. The Administrator stated that the commitment of UNDP to common
premises was complete and that the organization would pursue it
vigorously.
14. Enhanced harmonization of monitoring and evaluation activities by
UNDP was also encouraged.
15. Several delegations welcomed actions undertaken by UNFPA, as
described in the report, in the following areas: harmonization of
programme cycles and programming procedures; national execution and
national capacity-building; monitoring and evaluation;
decentralization; and harmonization of budget presentations. The
achievement of close to a 50:50 gender ratio of Professional staff was
also welcomed. With regard to monitoring and evaluation, delegations
welcomed the inclusion of lessons learned in country programme
presentations. Several speakers welcomed the clear commitment of
UNFPA to the resident coordinator system.
16. Many delegations supported the use by UNFPA of the programme
approach and the role of the Executive Board in the programming
process. They welcomed the decentralization of approval authority as
a means to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of programme
delivery. A few delegations questioned the effect that
decentralization would have in terms of the procedures and role of the
Fund's internal Programme Review Committee.
Follow-up to General Assembly resolution 50/227
17. Several delegations looked forward to receiving the UNDP paper on
funding, which they stated should include information on the
consequences of declines in funding levels to the core budget. Many
speakers expressed concern about the shortfall in contributions to
core resources. Some delegations underlined that core resources
ensured fairness and universality of assistance. Some speakers cited
what they considered to be an unfair burden-sharing among donors, with
concentration among only a few at the highest levels. Traditional
donors and emerging donors should be encouraged to contribute more to
UNDP core resources. A query was raised about the linkage between
core and non-core resources, as stated in paragraph 37 of document
DP/1997/15. One delegation, also on behalf of another, suggested that
funding on a more predictable basis, such as for a three-year cycle,
could be explored. Other suggestions for innovative funding
mechanisms would be welcomed. While some speakers supported the
target of doubling of the UNDP resource base, as stated in the
proposals for change, others questioned the viability of that target.
18. One speaker expressed support for the government cost-sharing
mechanism, which he stated had not been elaborated on in the document
and thus more information on the mechanism was needed for a full
debate on it. The majority of cost-sharing projects in his country
related directly to sustainable human development or governance
programmes.
19. One delegation informed the Executive Board that a request for
increased funding to UNDP over its 1997 level, to $100 million, had
been made for 1998. His delegation supported the effective use of
resources by UNDP as a means to ensure greater contributions from
major donors. In particular, UNDP programmes must have a clear focus
and duplication with programmes of other organizations should be
minimized. Further economization might be needed, including the
consideration of closing some UNDP offices.
20. Some speakers requested further information about the modalities
for tapping of the private sector as an additional source of funding,
as cited in paragraph 36 of document DP/1997/15. Caution was advised
in relation to that activity, as it was noted that private capital
flows often went to only a small number of countries.
21. One delegation expressed the view that the role of UNDP at the
Lyon Summit should have been included in the document.
22. With regard to UNFPA resources, many delegations welcomed the
conference room paper on meeting the goals of the ICPD: consequences
of resource shortfalls up to the year 2000 (DP/FPA/1997/CRP.1).
Delegations noted that the paper, with its clear resource targets and
goals, was a good contribution for further discussion on such issues
as the ways and means for increasing core resources for operational
activities. On the other hand, other delegations felt that the
document suffered from certain insufficiencies: a confusion between
working hypotheses and tested numbers, the imprecision of the sources,
and the presentation of possible and hypothetical consequences as
though they were a certainty. For those delegations, the report also
erroneously presented as engagements of the international community at
Cairo what were in fact provisional and estimated numbers that had
been worked out by experts concerning the amount of resources that
needed to be devoted to population programmes. The Executive Board
requested that UNFPA refine the methodology contained in the paper and
introduce it as a formal document at the third regular session 1997.
A number of delegations supported the increase in programme resource
allocations to Africa from 1995 to 1996. One delegation noted that
proposed UNFPA initiatives on debt swaps would need to be examined in
light of existing mechanisms for debt relief.
Follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/36 and to
decisions taken at major international United Nations conferences
including implementation of the programmes of action adopted by them
23. Several delegations expressed support for the work of UNDP in
relation to the implementation of the strategy outlined in the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation for Development/Development
Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) publication entitled "Shaping the 21st
Century" and the linkage of that strategy with the integrated
framework for follow-up to United Nations conferences. One delegation
emphasized the critical importance of country-level activities in that
regard, and underlined the need for UNDP, in cooperation with
bilateral donors, to play a leading role in local coordination of the
follow-up to conferences and the DAC strategy. The delegation also
requested information on the participation of UNDP in the World
Bank/OECD-DAC/United Nations seminar on indicators, to be held in
Paris on 20 and 21 May 1997. Positive comment was made about the UNDP
role in coordination of the follow-up to conferences at both ACC and
at country levels. The conference room paper on the 20/20 concept
(DP/1997/CRP.20) was welcomed. Greater information on the follow-up
to the World Food Summit was sought. The Administrator's proposals
for enhancing the follow-up to conferences in intergovernmental forums
was requested to be issued in writing.
24. Many delegations welcomed UNFPA activities in the follow-up to
international conferences and, in particular, its role as Chair of the
Task Force on Basic Social Services for All. UNFPA participation in
the other two ACC Task Forces was also cited positively.
Follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/43
25. UNDP was encouraged to continue its cooperation with the Bretton
Woods institutions, especially the World Bank. Several speakers noted
their support for the formal agreements signed by UNDP with the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund. More detailed information
on collaboration with the World Bank in poverty assessment and
strategies was requested.
26. Several delegations stated that UNFPA should continue to
strengthen linkages with other multilateral organizations, including
the Bretton Woods institutions, and with bilateral partners. At the
same time, the Fund should continue to promote and strengthen
South-South cooperation. Collaboration with the World Bank at the
country level should be further strengthened to ensure greater policy
coherence.
Responses
27. The Administrator thanked delegations for their comments and
responded to the queries raised. He noted that it was often difficult
for UNDP to quantify the impact of its activities and more analysis
would be undertaken in that respect. He would welcome the views of
bilateral aid organizations on how to measure the relationship between
resource availability and impact.
28. He emphasized the powerful link between reform in the United
Nations and at UNDP. Reform at the United Nations had been carefully
monitored and was taken into consideration in the change proposals put
forward by UNDP. He agreed that the resident coordinator system must
serve the system as a whole. UNDP must be increasingly dedicated to
supporting that system.
29. In a total of 81 countries, the programming cycles of JCGP
agencies would be harmonized by 1999. Although 26 programmes would
still require harmonization, he stressed the strong commitment of UNDP
to doing so. The Development Assistance Framework would ensure that
programming cycles were harmonized.
30. He underlined the commitment of UNDP to common premises and noted
that the move from ownership to rental would reduce the need for
hiring real estate consultants. Some 17 commitments from other funds
and programmes had been made to broadening the pool of resident
coordinators. He cited the lack of response to advertisements for
certain posts as a contributing factor to the move to widen the pool.
An informal mechanism to explore the differences among JCGP members
information systems had begun to operate in April.
31. The Administrator stated that UNDP would reach out to emerging
donors for contributions to core resources. He was cautiously
optimistic that some progress would be made in that area, but
emphasized that contributions from traditional donors could not be
replaced. UNDP would proceed cautiously in raising money from private
sources. He confirmed that UNDP was contributing its ideas to the
discussion at the Economic and Social Council on innovative sources of
financing. He noted that the decline in core contributions was linked
to an overall decline in official development assistance (ODA). The
United Nations share of ODA must be increased. In that regard, UNDP
could manage twice the amount of resources it had at the present time.
He welcomed an informal discussion with the Executive Board on
resource mobilization. In response to the query raised, he stated
that increased contributions to core could indeed provide an impetus
to increased non-core contributions, as cited in paragraph 37 of the
document. He informed the Board that he would make a separate
presentation on programme delivery later in the session.
32. In response to queries raised, he noted that UNDP had played a
role in both the Lyon Summit and in developing the DAC strategy. The
follow-up to the World Food Summit as a more recent conference had not
moved along as far as that of the other conferences. He noted that
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and ACC
had agreed that the follow-up would occur within the framework of the
integrated follow-up to conferences.
33. The Deputy Executive Director (Policy and Administration), in
response to a query raised, explained that at present, programmes and
subprogrammes and some projects were approved by the Programme Review
Committee. UNFPA would strive towards greater decentralization in
order to enable the country offices to approve all projects and the
details of the subprogrammes. With regard to collaboration with the
World Bank, he noted that such collaboration was well established
through work at the country level in programme development and in
consultations between World Bank officials and UNFPA geographical
division heads on strategies aimed at ensuring coherence. UNFPA and
the World Bank also collaborated, inter alia, in South-South
cooperation and in the Global Contraceptive Commodity Programme.
UNFPA was working with the World Bank and OECD/DAC on refining
indicators for sustainable development.
34. The President informed the Executive Board that the issue of
resource mobilization in UNDP would be taken up in informal
consultations in June 1997.
35. The Executive Board took note of the reports of the Administrator
on reports to the Economic and Social Council (DP/1997/15) and the
report of the Executive Director to the Economic and Social Council
(DP/FPA/1997/10 (Part V)) and the comments made therein, and decided
to transmit the reports to the Economic and Social Council.
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