The United Nations Development Program: follow-up investment and procurement benefits

The study robustly examines the role of the United Nations in South Sudanese state-building and failure. In South Sudanese state building, the United Nations family of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have been viewed to have built South Sudanese state through support to peace building and mediations, support to the states programmes and national programmes such as Governors forums and reconstruction activities of South Sudanese state. However, UNDP and UNMISS have failed South Sudanese state through associated regime change agenda. UNDP capacity sucking out in-lieu of capacity building demonstrated the UN desire to fail South Sudanese state. UNMISS’s biased role during 2013 political conflicts is seen as state failure strategy. This was revealed in 2014 when the UN marked Container Truck carrying goods to Bentiu was impounded by the SPLA and later found to be carrying ammunition. UNMISS failure to protect civilians during 2013 and 2016 conflicts was viewed as an act of state failure of South Sudan. On methodology, the study used primary and secondary sources in understanding the role played by UN in South Sudanese state-building and failure. Primary data include the use of questionnaires and interviews in tapping the understanding of the role played by UNDP and UNMISS in state building and failure of South Sudan. Secondary sources include the use of empirical literature review in deeply understanding the UN’s hand in South Sudanese state-building and failure. The study used a sample size of 200 respondents with sample types of persuasive and cluster sampling combined. The study also combines process tracing and case study methods to contextualize and validate causal chains and empirical casual processes of the UN role in South Sudanese state-building and failure The results of the study indicate that the United Nations and particularly, the UNMISS negligently contributed to South Sudanese state failure than building through its strategy to stay neutral and above all, its failure to protect civilians in the 2013 and 2016 political conflicts. Finally, the study concludes on the need of South Sudanese Government to take its constitutional role in providing development services and protect its citizens in the eventuality of political violence and civil war in South Sudan. The study recommends future research on how the UN family (UNDP and UNMISS) and Government of South Sudan can improve their working relationships for sustainable state building and prosperity of South Sudanese citizens.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), charged with promoting development projects in the second UN Development Decade, faced a serious financial crisis during the first half of the 1970s. In this paper I investigate the UNDP's budgetmaking to determine the sources of its financial crisis. Unlike municipal, state or national governments, this analysis finds that the UNDP, which is financed by voluntary contributions from member states, is less likely to use an incremental method of budgetmaking. The financial conditions strongly constrain the budgetmaking of the UNDP. However, the UNDP Secretariat's estimates of available resources for technical assistance have been optimistic, allowing the agency rapidly to expand its activities in response to the demand of developing countries, but also leading to the UNDP's serious financial crisis.

The Evaluation Office (EO) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) regularly conducts a number of country evaluations called Assessments of Development Results (ADRs) in order to capture and demonstrate evaluative evidence of UNDP contributions to development results at the country level. Undertaken in select countries, ADRs focus on outcomes and critically examine achievements and constraints in the UNDP thematic areas of focus, draw lessons learned and provide recommendations for the future. ADRs also provide strategic analysis for enhancing performance and strategically positioning UNDP support within national development priorities and UNDP corporate policy directions. The Evaluation Office (EO) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) regularly conducts a number of country evaluations called Assessments of Development Results (ADRs) in order to capture and demonstrate evaluative evidence of UNDP contributions to development results at the country level. Undertaken in select countries, ADRs focus on outcomes and critically examine achievements and constraints in the UNDP thematic areas of focus, draw lessons learned and provide recommendations for the future. ADRs also provide strategic analysis for enhancing performance and strategically positioning UNDP support within national development priorities and UNDP corporate policy directions.

Joan Brown, a college student in Atlanta, Georgia, wakes up in the morning to an electronic alarm clock before she microwaves breakfast, takes a hot shower, grabs a latte at Starbucks, and drives h...

Analysts frequently note that the UN was established in very different times, when interstate war dominated the international security agenda and the wave of decolonization had barely begun. The UN's membership was one-quarter the current size. Concepts such as human security, human development, governance, and peacebuilding, if they existed at all, were little used or understood, and it was the rights of and relationships between states (rather than individuals or groups) that enjoyed the spotlight. Some geopolitical fault lines were as pertinent then as now. The first ever General Assembly (GA) resolution called for the elimination of atomic and other weapons of mass destruction, (1) and in its first five years the Security Council was preoccupied by the Middle East, India-Pakistan, Indonesia, the Korean peninsula, and the Balkans. (2) But it is noticeable that Africa, which today represents over 50 percent of the docket of the Council, barely featured in the early days. The structure of the UN still largely reflects its birth. On the intergovernmental side, there was a clear distinction from the outset between the arenas for development issues-the GA and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)--and the forum for peace and security, the Security Council. The same distinction was evident within the UN Secretariat and its agencies, funds, and programs. As a result, two quite different communities-the development community and the conflict management (3) community--evolved, with separate procedures, financial arrangements and decisionmaking forums. Over time, however, and specifically with the end of the Cold War, the international community began to focus on the linkages between peace and development. This necessitated an enormous and ongoing institutional adaptation within the UN, whereby the development and conflict management communities began to work closely together, bridging the gaps created by their separate approaches. In this article I describe that adaptation, with a specific look at its application in Afghanistan. While I take into account both the intergovernmental (the UN as an arena) and the international civil service (the UN as an actor) sides of the UN, (4) my focus is mostly on the latter. On the other hand, major institutional innovations within the UN rarely occur without the explicit sanction of an intergovernmental body--the executive board in the case of an agency such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Security Council and GA political and budget committees in the case of Secretariat departments--and for that reason, I also describe the debates in those bodies. The UN and Development Cooperation The assumption by the UN of development functions was foreseen in the charter and early GA resolutions, (5) but development did not acquire real prominence on the UN agenda until the 1960s. Before then, development assistance was almost exclusively bilateral, but perceptions that multilateral channels were less political and more efficient led to an expansion in multilateral assistance, particularly after the Pearson Report of 1969. Already by the late 1940s, however, assistance to underdeveloped countries was being discussed, and in 1948 the GA approved a budget line for technical assistance (advisory social welfare services) amounting to U.S.$750,000. In 1950, the UN Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance (EPTA)--the first multilateral development program financed from voluntary contributions--was established. (6) In 1966, EPTA merged with the Special Fund for Economic Development to create the main UN agency for development, UNDP. (7) UNDP was primarily intended as a funding agency, providing funds for and assisting governments with the planning and management of national development programs. Programs were frequently executed by UN specialized agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), or by UNDP's own Office for Project Services (spun off in 1995). …

The issue of the appropriate leadership style to adopt in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Abuja has lingered as far as the inception of the organization in Nigeria. Most employees of the organization have ascribed their dwindling commitment to work, productivity and morale to the autocratic style of leadership in the organization. The study examined the effects of leadership style on employee’s performance in United Nations Development Programme, Abuja, Nigeria. The following hypotheses were formulated in null form, they are Leadership style has no significant effect on employee’s commitment to work in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Abuja. Leadership style has no significant effect on employees’ productivity in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Abuja. Leadership style has no significant effect on employee’s morale in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Abuja. The survey research design was used in the study. Data was collected from primary source with the use of questionnaire. The duration of study was between 2013 to 2022. Ordinary Least Square was adopted and findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between Leadership style and employee’s performance in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Abuja.

This report (RE-240) by the Evaluation Office presents the findings of an evaluation of the cooperation between the Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the execution of Bank-funded programs. The evaluation reviewed the UNDP's role in project execution and identified issues that warrant further discussion in the interest of increasing development effectiveness and optimizing the benefits of the collaboration for both the Borrowers and the Bank. Information for this study was gathered from IDB project documents and execution reports, UNDP project documents, completed questionnaires soliciting the views of Bank and UNDP field staff on the relationship at the country level, and interviews with more than 50 government, UNDP and Bank officials. Four countries -Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Panama- were selected for the in-country fieldwork, because each had several ongoing Bank loans and/or technical assistance operations on which the UNDP was collaborating in project execution.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Working with Faith Representatives to address Climate Change: The Two Wings of Ethos and Ethics Natabara Rollosson On November 3rd, 2009 at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) cohosted a summit that gathered religious and secular leaders from around the world to announce their action‐based commitments to protecting the environment and addressing climate change. Religious participants included representatives from numerous traditions from within nine major faiths: Baha’ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Shintoism. Engaging substantively with the faiths on environment and climate change issues was new to UNDP’s work. Even though over the years UNDP had engaged in development projects on different issues that have involved faith‐based organizations (FBOs) as partners, it was not until the direct interaction at Windsor that the opportunities of working on climate change with FBOs came into focus. Instead of bringing religions together to agree upon one collective statement on climate change, the Windsor gathering encouraged each of the faith representatives to develop respective action plans to address environmental issues in their own unique way. As the faiths shared their different approaches, some faiths took note of other plans and openly acknowledged their desire to replicate certain elements of other faiths’ action templates. The overall theme of the gathering was a “celebration” of diverse action plans and appreciation for the natural environment, with some faiths inspired to spontaneously transcend and expand their originally conceived commitments. A month later, in December, a stark contrast played out on the world stage. This time, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change brought governments together in Copenhagen. However, delegates came with a notable difference in approach, and one that has plagued nations for decades. The history of climate change negotiations can be characterized as a mentality of scarcity: governments generally wanting to do as little as possible while pushing others to do as much as possible. In an interesting contrast of philosophies, the FBOs came together with an entirely different mentality of abundance, saying in effect: “this is what we can offer; this is what we are going to do.” They did not say “we’ll only do this if another faith does this, or if the government does this.” It was during preliminary religious events and gatherings leading up to Windsor that UN Assistant Secretary‐General and UNDP Assistant Administrator Olav Kjørven first noticed the dichotomy of the abundance and scarcity mentalities. Kjørven hypothesized the world’s faiths—joined together—could possibly become the planet’s largest civil society movement for change: “[W]ith their unparalleled presence throughout the world, the world’s religions could be the decisive force that helps tip the scales in favor of a world of climate safety and justice for future generations.” One of UNDP’s non‐governmental partners, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), a secular organization based in the United Kingdom, played the key role in leading on, harnessing, and encouraging the abundance mentality. Prior to the summit, ARC set out to consult directly with faith representatives to support them in building their own action plans, incorporating a methodology that addressed their internal structures and highlighted the inherent strengths of each faith. Alliance of Religions and Conservation approached the faith representatives with a guide to creating multi‐year plans that emphasized seven key areas, through which many of the world’s major faith traditions can have significant impact on environmental action through their own resources, traditions, and beliefs. These were as follows: 1 Faith‐consistent use of assets: land and forests; construction and buildings; investments (including micro‐finance); water; food and hospitality; purchasing and property. 2 Education and young people: curricula; conservation and recycling policy; school buildings and grounds; youth camps and nature retreats. 3 Pastoral care: theological education and training; liturgies and quotations; sacred places; rediscovering past traditions and wisdom; crisis and climate change adaptation. 4 Lifestyles: environmental audits; simple living traditions; families; pilgrimage and tourism; combined purchasing power. 5 Media and advocacy: internal and external subject matter; circulation and influence. 6 Partnerships & eco‐twinning: links to other groups and projects in...

The study appraised the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s intervention programmes on community development in Lagos State. Multiple regression analysis, using ordinary least square (OLS) techniques of data analysis will be used to test Hypotheses. OLS techniques of data analysis constitute inferential statistics. The hypotheses will be tested at 5% (percent) level of significance. Finding suggests that UNDP’s humanitarian assistance programme does not significantly enhance community development in the selected communities in Lagos state. The study also revealed that UNDP’s empowerment programme does not significantly enhance community development in the selected communities of Lagos State. The findings of this study highlight the non-positive impact of UNDP programmes on community development in selected communities in Lagos State. Building upon these insights, the following comprehensive recommendations are provided for consideration by UNDP development Partner. UNDP, in collaboration with relevant governmental and non-governmental agencies, should reinforce humanitarian assistance programs. Emphasis should be placed on the development of long-term strategies that address the root causes of socio-economic challenges, ensuring sustained positive impacts on community development. UNDP's women empowerment programmes should be expanded and tailored to address specific challenges faced by women in the selected communities. Efforts should include capacity-building initiatives, promoting entrepreneurship, and fostering gender equality to empower women as key contributors to community development.

This chapter discusses the role of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in ocean governance. It first provides a background on the history of the UNDP and its basic approach to ocean governance, with emphasis on how its history has shaped the UNDP’s relationship with ocean governance. It then considers the UNDP’s current and former activities relating to ocean governance, noting that many of the initiatives it supports appear to focus on the concept of Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) or on integrated coastal zone management. It also describes the UNDP’s regime building approach to the development of oceans governance regimes and concludes with an assessment of areas in which UNDP’s activities fit with global ocean governance objectives.

Women are half of the worlds total population. Their condition around the globe is drastic. Womens empowerment is much underscore issue of the 21st century. The West, which got phenomenal prosperity, is a direct result of empowering their women. It is a proven fact that without empowering the half of the population, a country cannot achieve prosperity in any field. Several governmental and non-governmental organizations are working intensively on womens empowerment issue, but the United Nations (UN) contributions are above all, as its charter ensures the basic rights of women. During the last two decades, the UN has held many conferences, seminars and workshops on women rights to launch a global strive. A number of the UN agencies are working on this issue, but most effective work on womens empowerment has been carried out by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It works throughout the world by advocacy, partnerships, and provides technical support and financial aid to government and non-governmental organizations. In Pakistan, women are 51.73 percent of the total population. The condition of female population specifically in rural areas is adverse. Women are deprived of their basic human rights, and the literacy ratio among women is also alarmingly low. Being a developing state, Pakistan depends upon financial aid and technical support from international agencies. After the 18th amendment to the Constitution, provinces receive all sorts of aid directly from the donor agencies. The UNDP operates throughout the country known as the UNDP Pakistan. Because of dire situation in rural areas, the UNDP is working for rural uplift. This study has highlighted the socio-economic impacts of UNDP initial program on women in detail.

Policy Implications to Improve the Business Environment to Encourage Female Entrepreneurship in the North of Vietnam

Chapter 5 considers the negotiations and establishment of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It demonstrates that earmarked funding was first accepted at UNDP to accommodate a pledge from the Netherlands that they wished to earmark for special industrial services. The UN Office of Legal Affairs determined the contribution would be illegal under UNDP rules but recommended a legal maneuver to allow UNDP to accept the contribution. Less than two years later, the UNDP Governing Council formally incorporated the recommendation from Legal Affairs in its financial rules, formally allowing earmarked funding. Consistent with the theoretical framework, evidence demonstrates that earmarks were not introduced to undermine multilateral governance. Rather, they came from states with a pro-UN orientation seeking to overcome political disagreement over the substance of UNDP activity, especially in the field of industrial development. It further demonstrates that the impetus for earmarked funding rules at UNDP and early earmarked contributions came not from the US, but from smaller donor states. Proposals from these states were less likely to provoke suspicion and opposition, facilitating the subterranean nature of institutional change.

The 1994 Human Development Report, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), introduced and formalized the concept of human security. The UN agency argued that the concept of security should be expanded beyond the traditional state-centric, politico-military dimension. According to the Report, human security means economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political security. The concept is generally defined as “freedom from fear” (from direct physical violence) and “freedom from want” (from indirect and nonphysical or structural violence) (UNDP 1994). Although the idea of human security was not entirely new, the UNDP Report made a global impact on intellectual and policy thinking. Sorpong Peou (2014) argues that the study of human security has now emerged as an academic field. However, as David Black, Astri Suhrke and others point out in their respective articles in this special issue, human security as a normative concept has lost much of its persuasive power among policymakers. Our purpose here is not to ignore this policy challenge but to assess the progress the human security agenda has made, identify remaining obstacles, and continue the search for more creative ways that would help us build a more humane world. How has the concept of human security evolved? More can be learned from the various papers presented in this special issue, but a brief discussion is necessary. While the UNDP and the UN Secretariat under the leadership of Kofi Annan played an instrumental role in pushing the human security agenda forward, it was a group of individual intellectuals and government officials who pioneered this agenda. Although the UNDP championed the new security agenda, it was a Pakistani government official, Mahbub ul Haq (after his appointment in 1989 as Special Advisor to the UNDP Administrator) who led a Asian Journal of Peacebuilding Vol. 2 No. 2 (2014): 143-149 Special Issue Article

UNDP and educational development: An institutional policy analysis