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Report of the UNSDG Chair
on the Development Coordination Office

Responses

Better Integrated Responses

Responses

Better Integrated Responses

With new tools for joint planning and programming, namely, the Common Country Analysis (CCA) and the Cooperation Framework, Resident Coordinators are bringing UNCTs together to design truly integrated policy and programmatic responses, as the 2030 Agenda demands.

A new generation of UNCTs is emerging

At the core of this transformation is the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. The Cooperation Framework ensures joint work planning in the UNCT and with the government and better monitoring and transparency of UNCT activities.

DCO facilitated an inter-agency process to develop guidance for the new Cooperation Framework. The guidance is complemented by a companion package that details the steps for CCAs, prioritization, programme design and UNCT configuration, as well as implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Cooperation Framework. The package emphasizes how to support economic transformation, strategies for UN funding and SDG financing, and development-humanitarian-peace collaboration.

Nearly two in three UNCTs (69%) report improved joint planning as a key achievement in 2019

15 Cooperation Frameworks were launched in 2019. 37 are being developed in 2020.

58 staff across UNDS entities were trained as trainers to support UNCTs, governments and partners to design and implement Cooperation Frameworks, along with regional peer support groups.

The wealth of expertise across the United Nations development system is more engaged with UN Country Teams (UNCTs)

The UNCT in Comoros includes 12 agencies with no physical presence on the ground

Turkmenistan’s new Cooperation Framework has 18 UN signatories, only six have a physical office in the country.

  • Regional Economic Commissions (RECs) are part of 40 UNCTs today, compared to 34 in 2018

  • 27%

    In 2019, an average of five out of 18 UNCT members did not reside in the country

  • Virtual UNCTs are becoming more common, facilitating new collaboration

Uganda

In Uganda, after the first-ever dialogue between the UNCT and the President, the Government appointed a new national SDG focal point to work with the UNCT

Maldives

In the Maldives, the UNCT was joined by the government at their very first CCA retreat to discuss the prevention agenda and the SDGs.

Senegal

In Senegal, the UNCT carried out its first joint field visit where 11 agencies engaged with regional government authorities.

Guatemala

In Guatemala, the UNCT and the EU undertook a major exercise to align their respective planning tools, and Sweden bilaterally committed to align to the Cooperation Framework.

Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan, a joint retreat with the World Bank helped align both entities’ analytical work.

Cabo Verde

In Cabo Verde, the Resident Coordinators and the Minister of Foreign Affairs co-led a dialogue with the UNCT and all development partners on partnerships and possible new SDG.

An integrated approach is visible in efforts to leave no one behind, including through the translation of global strategies into country actions

  • turkey
    The UNCT in Turkey developed the first inter-agency action plan with enhanced complaint mechanisms and support for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse.
  • bangladesh
    In Bangladesh, UNCT commitments in the SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard translated into a gender-responsive Cooperation Framework, grounded in gender analysis in the CCA. This had never happened in earlier UNDAFs.
  • burkina-faso morocco
    In Burkina Faso and Morocco, the UNCTs are jointly mapping all youth activities. In Burkina Faso, the team shifted to a more coherent and systematic joint approach to working with youth.
  • moldova
    In Moldova, the UNCT has worked with the Government to develop youth centres and strengthened civic engagement among youth, with attention to those with disabilities.
  • turkmenistan uzbekistan
    In Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, UNCTs have begun massive consultations listening to thousands of youth and people with disabilities, including in rural areas, as part of their CCA and Cooperation Framework processes.
  • fiji guatemala malawi tajikistan
    The Resident Coordinators in Fiji, Guatemala, Malawi and Tajikistan are supporting the piloting of a disability inclusion scorecard.
  • Joint programmes addressing gender equality increased by 39%, from 145 in 2018 to 201 in 2019 across UNCTs

  • 72%

    72% of Cooperation Frameworks in 2019 featured gender results as an outcome

  • DCO’s enhanced support to Resident Coordinators for realizing indigenous peoples’ rights has reached over 30 countries (for example, Benin and Costa Rica)

Resident Coordinators are engaging with the highest levels of government and convening all partners to help countries reinforce the SDG financing architecture

Over 15 “pioneer” countries started designing Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) with the support of the UN system

Resident Coordinators lead the overall coordination of Integrated National Financing Frameworks at the country level, with UNDP ensuring technical leadership and the EU, IFIs and other partners providing additional support

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development, chaired by DESA, is developing the global INFF methodology to support Member States

Regional collaboration is progressing

  • Kenya Uganda

    With support from Resident Coordinators and UNCTs, the Heads of State of Kenya and Uganda sealed a historic commitment to improve peace and stability, respond to climate change and achieve the SDGs in a disaster and conflict-prone area at the border of the two countries.

  • Benin Togo

    Similar collaboration in Benin and Togo is embedded in the Cooperation Framework to address cross-border challenges such as population movements, child trafficking, conflict prevention, youth radicalization and epidemics.

Cross-pillar collaboration is increasing

The new Resident Coordinator system has become the anchor for integrated SDG solutions that link the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding interventions.
CCAs and Cooperation Frameworks feature stronger analyses of drivers of need and vulnerability, and better highlight interlinkages of cross-pillar interventions.

Strong coordination across development, humanitarian and peacebuilding interventions is especially critical in transition settings

Jordan

Jordan’s Cooperation Framework includes a vulnerability umbrella that bridges the humanitarian and development divides to address inequality more systematically.

Syria

Under the leadership of the Resident Coordinators, the UNCT in Syria is working to develop a strategic response that focuses on community cohesion to underpin much needed stabilization.

Mali

In Mali, the new Cooperation Framework complements the multi-year Humanitarian Response Plan, MINUSMA’s Integrated Strategic Framework and the Transition Calendar.