United Nations Development Programme Research Articles

Core funding and the performance of international organizations: Evidence from UNDP projects

AbstractScholarship on the administration of international organizations (IOs) has extensively discussed how autonomy influences their performance. While some argue that autonomy increases performance through greater adaptability, others warn that it may increase the risk of agency slack. Authors typically distinguish between three types of performance: output, outcome, and impact performance. We focus on core funding as a key source of IO autonomy and argue that projects with more core funding show decreased output performance but an increased outcome and impact performance. Our empirical analysis relies on results from data on up to 3590 development projects run by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 128 recipient countries between 2004 and 2020. Subsequently, we test the impact of more core funding on project volumes (output performance), objectives achieved in individual projects (outcome performance), and their effects on sub‐national human development in project regions (impact performance). Our findings suggest that, although reliance on core resources is associated with lower output performance (less funding), it may result in stronger outcome and impact performance, as reflected by more objectives achieved and a higher sub‐national HDI where UNDP projects are implemented. Our findings have important implications for debates on the effectiveness of global governance.

Effect of Rural Banditry on Food Security and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria

This research investigates how rural banditry hinders sustainable food security and poverty reductions in Nigeria. The Food and Agricultural Organisation, the International Monetary Fund, the National Bureau of Statistics, the United Nations Development Programme, scholarly journals, and field surveys were the sources from which the data were gathered. Three hundred questionnaires were administered to farmers in six states via Plateau, Nassarawa, Kaduna, Benue, Oyo and Niger, in addition to a focused group discussion with selected farmers in each of the study areas. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings show that unemployment, poverty, poor governance, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient security measures and lack of effective institutional coordination, create a network of individuals who support or engage in banditry; farmers experienced disruptions in farming activities, psychological distresses and loss of livestock. Among the socio-economic impacts of banditry include: loss of income and economic opportunities, displacement and migration of the rural population, reduced productivity and infrastructural degradation. These led to food shortages, hikes in food prices, malnutrition and increased poverty level in Nigeria. This study emphasizes the urgent need by the federal and state governments to tackle the problems of unemployment and poverty; develop infrastructure; increase security expenditure; and implement targeted rural development policies. These solutions will curb rural banditry, ensure food security and reduce poverty in Nigeria. Keywords: Rural Banditry, food security, poverty reduction, food production, development policies, farmers.

Adaptation of the RESPECT framework to prevent violence against women, Indonesia.

Violence against women is a global health problem. Effectively preventing such violence requires locally adapted strategies. The World Health Organization in Indonesia, in collaboration with United Nations (UN) Population Fund, UN Women, United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Development Programme and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, launched capacity-building initiatives to introduce RESPECT as an evidence-based framework to address violence against women. The initiatives included stakeholder engagement, module development, sensitization training, a workshop and evaluation sessions. These sessions introduced RESPECT strategies to government officials, UN officers and community representatives, mapped best practices and developed action plans. Indonesia has a substantial burden of violence against women, despite numerous laws and policies to combat it. The 2021 Indonesian violence against women survey showed that 26.1% (3341/12 800) of women aged 15-64 years had experienced violence in their lifetime, with 8.7% (1114/12 800) experiencing violence in the past year. The initiatives to introduce RESPECT led to securing government support, and verbal commitment was given by the Director for the Protection of Women's Rights against Domestic Violence and Vulnerability to integrate RESPECT into the 2025-2029 National Development Plan and National Strategy for Reducing Violence Against Women. RESPECT can be adapted to local contexts through customization and capacity-building and by ensuring initial government support, dedicated personnel, resource allocation and use of established relationships with key stakeholders. Improved research, monitoring and evaluation are vital to promote evidence-informed decision-making, together with community engagement and multistakeholder collaboration. The UN can facilitate these efforts.

Good Governance Principles: The Process of Legal Documentation and Information Networks in Sumedang Regency

The principle of Good Governance in general is a concept that refers to the process of achieving decisions and their implementation that can be accounted for together well. As a consensus reached by the government, citizens, and the private sector for the implementation of government in a country. Examining the implementation of Good Governance to determine policies in the Sumedang Regency Legal Secretariat which is the current public service paradigm to serve the community optimally. This study aims to describe and analyze the implementation of good governance in the process of making legal products of the Sumedang Regency Regional Secretariat. In this study, the researcher used a qualitative approach to secondary data with a descriptive writing method. Implementation of the Principles of Good Governance according to the (United Nation Development Programme), 1997, the Sumedang Regency Legal Secretariat has made efforts to fulfill the principles of Good Governance by creating services that can be easily accessed via the internet network.is a system that aims to provide easy, transparent and accurate access to legal information

International agencies and the implementation of the New Urban Agenda: Evidence from the United Nations in Angola

ABSTRACT The New Urban Agenda (NUA) was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2016 and embodies the contemporary ideal of sustainable development in an urban world. While the question who can and who should bring the agenda to life has been addressed by research for various actors and governance arrangements, international agencies have mostly been confined to their function as progenitors and advocates of norms. In this paper, I take a closer look at their operational work in implementing the NUA and analyze the main policies pursued by two UN agencies in Angola, UN-Habitat and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). I argue that rather than being led by national or local actors, NUA implementation in Angola was driven by international agencies. Highlighting the potential and pitfalls of their efforts, I further show how scarce funding, discontinuities, and a strong reliance on direct collaboration circumscribed their impact on the ground.

Evolving Organizational Models: Microfranchises and the BOP 4.0 Paradigm in Post-Conflict Colombia

ABSTRACT Microfranchises (MFs), as an innovative organizational model, aim to enhance the productive capacity of the base of the pyramid (BoP) population in diverse contexts. We provide original insights into the underexplored role of MFs in the socioeconomic inclusion of victims of the conflict and former combatants in conflict settings while advancing theory-building in overlooked areas. To bridge these gaps, we use grounded theory in exploratory analysis of the total population sampling of 17 Colombian social enterprises/seven MFs financed by the United Nations Development Program and Inter-American Development Bank. Our results suggest that MFs were the most adopted organizational model in post-conflict Colombia, promoting the inclusion of victims and ex-combatants who collaboratively create contextualized solutions and prioritize community well-being, which has led to the development of a new iteration of the BoP model – BoP 4.0 - closely aligned with MFs, an innovative sustainable business typology developed. Its focus on Colombian social enterprises in post-conflict settings delimited this research. Thus, generalizing these findings beyond this context should be approached with caution. This study marks a significant contribution by revealing the pivotal role of MFs in promoting socioeconomic inclusion for victims in conflict-affected regions. Furthermore, it introduces the innovative concept of BoP 4.0, representing an evolution in sustainable business typology within the BoP framework.

Development of the National Cooling Action Plan of the Philippines

Abstract The Philippines NCAP was developed to account for the environmental impacts of energy consumption (indirect impacts) and use of high-GWP refrigerants (direct impacts) from the RAC Sector that can be mitigated by transitioning to more climate-friendly and higher-efficiency refrigerants. Utilizing the NCAP Methodology developed by the UNEP-led Cool Coalition, UN ESCAP in collaboration with Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) together with and built on the expertise of the Cool Coalition’s NCAP Working Group facilitated by The Kigali Cooling Efficiency Programme (K-CEP), the Philippines NCAP was launched by the Philippines Department of Energy – Energy Utilization and Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and United Nations Development Programme (Philippines Country Office). This paper presented the Reference Cooling Scenario (RCS) and the Sustainable Cooling Scenario (SCS) adopted from the business-as-usual (BAU) and Clean Energy Scenario (CES) of the Philippine Energy Outlook. With these assumptions on RCS and SCS, the domestic refrigeration sector will save 4.41 TWh while the residential cooling sector will save 12.15 TWh. There is a net effect in total emission reduction estimates of 10.68 MT CO2 equivalent which is close to 12 % of the unconditional target submitted to UNFCCC.

Worldwide predictors of science literacy in lower-secondary students: a TIMSS 2019 analysis

ABSTRACT In today's technologically advanced and environmentally challenging landscape, enhancing global scientific literacy is increasingly imperative. A solid grasp of scientific principles is vital for fostering innovation and achieving sustainable development worldwide. Utilizing data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), this study inquiries into various factors impacting grade eight students' science literacy in the TIMSS 2019 assessment. Exploring student socioeconomic status, cultural background, attitudes towards science, school organisation, teacher experiences, and country-level variables, we aimed to identify predictive associations with science literacy. Additionally, we correlated TIMSS 2019 results with the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index (HDI). Employing three-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling, we assessed which student, teacher, and country-level variables were linked to grade 8 science literacy. Results indicate that the students' socioeconomic resources and motivation/confidence in science positively influence science literacy. Conversely, a higher percentage of science items covered in national curricula was weakly associated with lower science literacy scores. Teachers reporting greater teaching limitations due to student needs showed negative correlations with science scores. At the country level, the HDI emerged as the strongest correlate with grade 8 science literacy. These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of science literacy and its interplay with various socio-cultural and educational factors on a global scale.

Implications of public policies performance on social inequality worldwide

This study probes the linkage between public policy (represented by GDP growth, inflation, CO2 emissions, and unemployment factors) and social inequality indicators, paying attention to economic, environmental, and social elements. The study questions the impact of these policies on overall social inequality as one measure and its separate dimensions, which are gender, income, education, and life expectancy, whereas data was gathered between 2010 and 2021 from the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for 139 countries. The linear regression revealed a significant relationship that explained 51% of the variance in overall social inequality, except for unemployment. Regarding separate dimensions of social inequality, the findings point out that GDP growth and inflation both affect life and gender inequality, whereas unemployment only affects income inequality; on the other hand, the CO2 emissions factor has an inverse effect on all dimensions of inequality (income, life expectancy, education, and gender inequalities). Considering the implications, increased CO2 emissions would reduce income inequality by boosting job creation, but they also pose environmental and health hazards, necessitating sustainable development strategies. Rising unemployment exacerbates income distribution, demonstrating the need for policies that enhance job stability and reduce inequality. Additionally, it necessitates investing in healthcare and education, eradicating gender inequality, and implementing sustainable strategies to foster economic growth while considering the consequences of inflation on life and gender justice. Thus, realizing these principles would build a sustainable and equitable society that balances economic enhancement with environmental protection and achieves equal opportunity.

Resisting Post‐Political Adaptation to Climate Change: How a Small Community Stood Up to Big Development

AbstractRecent critical scholarship has brought attention to local resistance in the spaces of adaptation, with reported instances of local communities rejecting planned adaptation interventions around the world. As adaptation funding is only expected to grow, so should our understanding of this resistance. In this article, I investigate one such dispute where residents of a small village in São Tomé and Príncipe refused to participate in an adaptation project implemented by the national government and the United Nations Development Programme. I ground my analysis in the literature on post‐politics and discuss the community's resistance as a Rancièrian “political interruption” of the post‐political adaptation configuration in the country. I also investigate the factors that arguably led to local resistance, including the residents’ disillusion with what I term Big Development, and their political subjectivation through a local grassroots initiative. The paper concludes with reflections on countering the post‐politics of adaptation as a prerequisite for more democratic and equitable local climate governance.

Towards Sustainable Mining: Evaluating Pyrometallurgy as a Green Alternative in Gold Ore Processing

Environmental pollution by mercury in small-scale gold mining in Kulon Progo has occurred. Amalgamation has been carried out since 1997. It caused many impacts to the environment and human health. It contaminated soil and water in Kalirejo, Kulon Progo. Referring to Minamata Convention through Law Number 11 of 2017, Indonesia through Technology Assessment and Application Agency was collaborating with United Nations Development Program for the development of a pilot plant pyrometallurgy in Kulon Progo. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pyrometallurgy methods. The research method was assessment research. This research used purposive sampling to collect data and the weighting method to process questionnaire data. Based on the research, pyrometallurgy was still not practical due to its high operational costs. On the other hand, it was environmentally friendly. The heavy metals and pH of wastewater from the scrubber of the arc furnace and roasting met the quality standards. It was possible to switch to pyrometallurgy with a society approval level of 64%..

The influence of social, demographic and economic factors on fertility trends in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: A longitudinal time trend analysis-1980-2021.

To analyze the fertility rate trends in the GCC countries and their association with socioeconomic factors so that policymakers may use the study findings for future healthcare plans. Total population, crude death rate, life expectancy, literacy rate, human development index (HDI), female employment, unemployment rate, urbanisation, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and inflation were chosen as possible predictors of TFR trends. The data were collected for the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study and other official databases such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program and Our World in Data for the 6 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Mean with standard deviation and percentage change was calculated to assess trends of TFR and all other variables from 1980-2021. The fertility rate declined in all 6 countries in 2021 compared to 1980. The highest decline was found in the United Arab Emirates (75.5%), while the lowest was in Kuwait (60.9%). From 1980-2021, total population, life expectancy, HDI, literacy rate, GDP, urbanisation, and female labor force increased in all GCC countries. The total population, life expectancy, urbanisation, female labor force, GDP and HDI were negatively and significantly correlated with TFR (p<0.01). The literacy rate showed a negative and significant correlation with TFR in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The TFR is declining in GCC countries. The plausible causes include the inclination towards postponement of marriages and excessive costs of living. These trends and associations need to be evaluated by policymakers so that they identify priority areas for interventions, allocate resources and formulate developmental plans accordingly to ensure strategic progress of the region.

Measurement and Comparison of Poverty in Abhujmadiya Tribe: Income-based and Deprivation-based Poverty Approach

The present paper is attempted to measure and compare the difference and discrepancy between the income-based and deprivation-based poverty measurement in poverty of Abhujmadiya tribes of Chhattisgarh. Two international poverty measurement approach is considered for poverty measurement of Abhujmadiya tribes, first income-based measurement developed by World Bank and second, Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by United Nation Development Program (UNDP). Research study is based on primary data of 80 household collected from 8 village of 2 block of Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh State. Results shows that 90% Abhujmadiya peoples are poor in income-based poverty whereas, 48.43% Abhujmadiya peoples are poor in deprivation-based poverty measurement. A difference of 41.57% is found in the measurement of poverty by both the poverty measurement approach and this discrepancy is more in income-based poverty as compare to multidimensional poverty measurement. The study also reveals that health facilities, year of schooling, cooking fuel, sanitation and housing conditions are the major contributor in the poverty of Abhujmadiya Tribes.

Modeling and Monitoring CO2 Emissions in G20 Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Multiple Statistical Models

The emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered one of the main factors responsible for one of the greatest challenges faced by the world today: climate change. On the other hand, with the increase in energy demand due to the increase in population and industrialization, the emission of CO2 has increased rapidly in the past few decades. However, the world’s leaders, including the United Nations, are now taking serious action on how to minimize the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. Towards this end, accurate modeling and monitoring of historical CO2 can help in the development of rational policies. This study aims to analyze the carbon emitted by the Group Twenty (G20) countries for the period 1971–2021. The datasets include CO2 emissions, nonrenewable energy (NREN), renewable energy (REN), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and Urbanization (URB). Various regression-based models, including multiple linear regression models, quantile regression models, and panel data models with different variants, were used to quantify the influence of independent variables on the response variable. In this study, CO2 is a response variable, and the other variables are covariates. The ultimate objective was to choose the best model among the competing models. It is noted that the USA, Canada, and Australia produced the highest amount of CO2 consistently for the entire duration; however, in the last decade (2011–2021) it has decreased to 12.63–17.95 metric tons per capita as compared to the duration of 1971–1980 (14.33–22.16 metric tons per capita). In contrast, CO2 emissions have increased in Saudi Arabia and China recently. For modeling purposes, the duration of the data has been divided into two independent, equal parts: 1971–1995 and 1996–2021. The panel fixed effect model (PFEM) and panel mixed effect model (PMEM) outperformed the other competing models using model selection and model prediction criteria. Different models provide different insights into the relationship between CO2 emissions and independent variables. In the later duration, all models show that REN has negative impacts on CO2 emissions, except the quantile regression model with tau = 0.25. In contrast, NREN has strong positive impacts on CO2 emissions. URB has significantly negative impacts on CO2 emissions globally. The findings of this study hold the potential to provide valuable information to policymakers on carbon emissions and monitoring globally. In addition, results can help in addressing some of the sustainable development goals of the United Nation Development Programme.

Fiscal policy and inclusive growth in Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of fiscal policy on inclusive growth in Nigeria from 1985-2022. Secondary data on the human development index, the ratio of total tax revenue to GDP, total government expenditure, inequality, and government expenditure on infrastructure and education were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) technique was employed as the main analytical tool. The ARDL Bounds test showed that in the long run, government expenditure on infrastructure, and education, has a positive and insignificant relationship with inclusive growth (human development index) in Nigeria. Also, total government expenditure and the ratio of total tax revenue to GDP have a negative and insignificant relationship with inclusive growth (human development index) in Nigeria. Interestingly, inequality has a negative and significant relationship with inclusive growth (human development index) in Nigeria. In the short run, the ratio of total tax revenue to GDP and government expenditure on infrastructure has a negative and significant relationship with inclusive growth (human development index) in Nigeria. At the same time, government expenditure on education, total government expenditure, and inequality has a positive and significant relationship with inclusive growth (human development index) in Nigeria. These results highlight the vital role that responsible fiscal policy management plays in promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth. The study recommended a need to augment tax revenue, enhance capital investment, and address income inequality to bolster inclusive growth efforts in the country further.

Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Chikungunya Incidence in Brazil and the Impact of Social Vulnerability: A Population-Based and Ecological Study.

To assess the temporal and spatial dynamics of chikungunya incidence and its association with social vulnerability indicators in Brazil, an ecological and population-based study was conducted herein, with confirmed cases of chikungunya and based on clinical and clinical-epidemiological criteria from 2017 to 2023. Data were obtained from the Notifiable Diseases Information System and social vulnerability indicators were extracted from the official platform of the United Nations Development Program and the Social Vulnerability Atlas. Temporal, spatial, and global spatial regression models were employed. The temporal trend showed that in 2017, the incidence increased by 1.9%, and this trend decreased from 2020 to 2021 (-0.93%). The spatial distribution showed heterogeneity and positive spatial autocorrelation (I: 0.71; p < 0.001) in chikungunya cases in Brazil. Also, the high-risk areas for the disease were concentrated in the northeast and north regions. The social vulnerability indicators associated with the outcome were those related to income, education, and housing conditions. Our analyses demonstrate that chikungunya continues to be a serious health concern in Brazil, but specially in the northeast and north regions. Lastly, mapping risk areas can provide evidence for the development of public health strategies and disease control in endemic regions.

A study on wood waste potential in Turkey

The aim of this article is to examine and assess Turkey's wood waste potential through an experimental investigation approach to serve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of United Nations Development Programme. While integrating entrepreneurial and architectural perspectives from two authors, the survey provides insights into the waste wood-producing sector, highlighting the gaps within the data in the existing literature. To address these gaps, after reviewing available sources in the wood-waste producing sector, the authors conducted interviews with directly involved volunteers to gather first-hand information and suggestions. Viability studies were subsequently conducted for theoretical products, comparing their potential to create value-add by utilizing wood waste capacity.The proposal for handmade, unique, products from solid wood waste demonstrated a higher added value attributed to elevated selling price expectations, albeit with limited benefits in recycling substantial amounts of wood waste. Conversely, the proposal focusing on wood-based pressboards exhibited a lower added value, influenced by competitive pressure from industrially produced boards, but demonstrated a significant capacity for CO2 sequestration. The findings of the study underscore a considerable future potential for wasted wood and its utilization in Turkey, while also emphasizing the pressing need for additional research on wood waste recycling to enhance ecological sustainability.

Anticipatory Development Foresight: An approach for international and multilateral organizations

AbstractMotivationIn the three years before 2023, we have seen multiple parallel crises—from climate emergencies to economic instability, dramatic increases in costs of living, and political insecurities. Looming larger than the risks is the resultant uncertainty. Development agents, including governments, are historically unprepared for managing converging crisis. When risks are analysed and governed in narrow ways, the historically oppressed and excluded continue to carry the brunt of impact.PurposeThis article reflects on the question: How can institutions, including governments, become more anticipatory against this backdrop, to ensure that their policy and investment choices do not leave anyone behind due to lack of preparedness?Approach and methodsIt draws insights from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Asia and the Pacific's efforts since 2020 to apply more future‐fit planning and programming, recognizing that foresight is not an end in itself, but a mechanism for shaping more anticipatory institutions. It is based on qualitative learning synthesized from over three years of work to establish new systems, capabilities and processes for UNDP and its partners to engage in anticipatory risk and planning.FindingsPractices rooted in strategic foresight and anticipation can support institutions to incorporate long‐term thinking in planning and analysis, but their translation into development decisions and investments requires shifts in perspectives and risk appetite. Historically, strategic foresight has not been mainstreamed within international organizations and governments owing to: failing to embed anticipation into core systems and processes; giving more attention to tools and building skills than to the demand for alternative decision‐making models and to risk tolerance; relying overly on external support and static models; insufficiently attending to organizational culture and relational drivers of thinking and action.Policy implicationsWe suggest four interconnected levers to help sustain impact and equity when bringing anticipatory approaches into policy processes: ensure design elasticity to encourage local, context‐specific models of anticipatory decision‐making; build anticipatory systems as a base to understand future risks, harms, and correlating impacts; interrogate what counts as legitimate and relevant evidence for policy decisions; cultivate imagination as an act of inquiry.

Harnessing Dialogue as a Social Technology for Systems Change in Development Institutions

Across global development discourse and practice can be seen a growing a recognition that deep transformation of social, economic and ecological systems cannot be achieved through new policies, data or technology alone. The capabilities needed for 21st century leadership and governance relate to the ability to create new conditions, relationships and pathways for social and moral imagination to flourish. Drawing from an in-depth case study of several interlinked initiatives of the United Nations Development Programme to build such capabilities among development practitioners, this conceptual paper elaborates the continued need for, and pathways and barriers to institutionalizing, more dialogic- and process-based approaches to systems transformation in mainstream development processes. It posits that a reconceptualization of dialogue within multilateral and government-led systems transformation frameworks in particular can help valorize the seeds of development impact that reside in the sites where culture, relationships and shared consciousness are built. Further learning is needed, however, to understand and address barriers that lie in normative perceptions, organizational culture, and accountability frameworks of these institutions, which impede the rhetorical interest in inclusive and transformative dialogue from translating to more process- and relationship-centric ways of working. As a contribution to this learning, the paper considers how conceptual frames that give weight and visibility to the role of social containers in systems change processes, with dialogue as a core technology for container-building, canhelp advance more transformative development paradigms and praxis that tend to the reciprocal relationships between inner change and societal change.

The influence mechanism of multi-government environmental regulation synergy on corporate environmental responsibility

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) calls for enhanced global efforts to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals by 2030, highlighting the crucial role of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) in advancing global sustainability. As a significant participant, China is leveraging its government-led environmental regulation (ER) system, which has a multi-level and multi-sectoral structure, to effectively combat climate change. However, the effect of this ER system, especially collaborative efforts among multiple government subjects, on CER remains unknown. Thus, this paper is the first attempt to investigate the effect and underlying mechanisms of multi-government ER synergy on CER from the perspective of government subject synergy. Using a dataset of Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2021, this study finds the following. First, multi-government ER synergy boosts CER. Direct ER synergy, stemming from joint policy-making across departments, encourages CER in end-of-pipe governance. Indirect ER synergy, arising from administrative hierarchy constraints among multi-level governments, fosters CER in front-end governance. Second, financing constraints and executives’ attention to CER are two key channels through which multi-government ER synergy influences CER. Third, firms with political connections, those in heavily polluting industries, or those located in central and western regions adopt more proactive CER strategies under multi-government ER synergy. This paper expands research on government collaborative governance from the regional macro-perspective to the micro-firm level, providing valuable insights for countries worldwide, particularly emerging economies that share similar characteristics with China, to contain rapidly growing environmental challenges and advance global sustainability.