Brief of Contents:

Overview

Summary of findings

• The reinvigorated Resident Coordinator System
• The new generation of UN Country Teams
• Partnership for the 2030 Agenda
• Funding Compact
• Direction, Oversight and Accountability
• Overarching narratives and areas for attention
• Looking beyond – areas for further enquiry

Positive and resisting forces for UNDS Reform

Overview of the progress in the transformation areas

• Reinvigorated Resident Coordinator System
• New Generation of UN Country Teams
• Partnership for the 2030 Agenda
• Funding Compact
• Direction, Oversight and Accountability

Purpose

Structure of the report

Summary of Findings

There has been notable progress across many of the central transformation areas, signifying success in building the architecture of the reform. Key achievements include the establishment of a reinvigorated RC system and a more coherent, inclusive UNCT, brought closer together through and as demonstrated by the COVID-19 response. At the same time, the reform is at a critical juncture in which the strong top-down leadership and political will that have driven implementation to date must transition to a more human-centred phase focused on embedding cultural and behavioural changes that can make the reform self-sustaining. Key challenges to the reform include embedding ownership and buy-in across both UN entities and member states (MS), where inconsistencies in capitals/HQ and field levels lead to behaviour misaligned to global commitments. The COVID-19 crisis has supported progress in collective working and is an opportunity for transformation, but must be actively seized or risk going to waste. Against this positive momentum, the reforms face a number of countervailing forces that threaten to stall or regress the change process – chief among these is a funding environment that has not transformed as envisioned and that presents a particularly worrying outlook.

The reinvigorated Resident Coordinator System

The new Resident Coordinator (RC) system has been successfully set up and is one of the areas of the reform that has seen the most progress. Actors across the development system, including UNCT members and governments, broadly recognise and appreciate the role of the RC, which has already yielded concrete benefits for coherence, including in supporting the response to COVID-19. The de-linking process went relatively smoothly thanks to strong support from both DCO and UNDP. The enhanced capacity of the Resident Coordinator Offices (RCOs) has also proven valuable, although these offices may still be insufficient for some of the more demanding contexts.

Challenges remain related to the Management and Accountability Framework (MAF), which is not yet empowering the RCs to the degree intended. There are also some gaps around creating incentives and attractive career paths to attract RCs with the right skills for such a demanding position, and more fundamental questions about their authority to tackle the most difficult issues, such as country presence or mandate overlap. While the initial funding to get the system set up has been a success, sustainable funding for the RC system remains perhaps the most critical risk – not only for the RC system, but also, because of its centrality, for the reform as a whole.

Partnership for the 2030 Agenda

Looking at partnership with IFIs and the private sector in particular, the study found many good examples of joint working aligned to the 2030 Agenda. These partnerships are generally highly driven by needs and thus well aligned to country context. There is also a broad recognition by agencies at the global level of the importance of partnership, reflected in some important agreements there. System-level guidance is also seen as valuable, particularly in the private sector.

That said, the approach to partnership envisaged for the reform has not been achieved; partnership remains fragmented, individual-driven, and opportunistic in nature, and stakeholders lack a clear, common picture of the alternative. This may be related to a lack of common understanding among potential partners – both agencies and external entities such as IFIs – about how they work, what they have to offer in a partnership, and what their value-add is in the service of development objectives. Some of the skills required to act as a credible convener for IFIs and the private sector are not commonly found across the UNDS. The Global Compact, while seen as a positive among those who are aware of it, is not widely understood or utilised and has thus yet to realise its potential.

Funding Compact

The Funding Compact itself is a notable achievement that recognises the need for mutual accountability alongside a transformation of financing to achieve the SDGs. Agencies have been making clear progress on delivering their end of that deal in terms of improvements in transparency, visibility, reporting, and efficiency. A lot of important foundational work to explore avenues for efficiency gain has taken place, particularly in the UNSDG; many of the low-hanging fruit have been picked, which is expected to already yield sizable and recurring cost savings. More fundamental shifts will take time and, critically, investment to produce the degree of gains envisioned for the reform.

On the MS side, there have been some modest advances, for example on the share of pooled funding. However, the transformation toward higher quality and more predictable funding – agreed as essential to achieve the reform – has not been taken place. Progress on the share of pooled funding and some increase in volume are modest in contrast to the overall undercapitalisation of such key instruments as the Joint SDG Fund. Implementation of the 1% levy to support the RC system has not been administered or paid as intended (‘at source’) and is de-facto coming from agency programme budgets. The current situation around funding, and in particular for the RC system as a central component of the reform, is particularly worrying given the looming socio-economic impacts of COVID-19.

Direction, Oversight, and Accountability

One strength of this iteration of UNDS reform is the broad, deep buy-in across UNDS stakeholders – notably leadership by the Deputy Secretary General and buy-in from the broad swath of MS. Although not completely uniform, the clarity and commonality of the vision for the reform had a meaningful impact on stakeholders’ implementation on the ground. There has also been progress setting up accountability mechanisms, such as the MAF, and improving interoperability between agency systems, although work remains on both fronts. Some exchanges between boards have occurred, and there have been important interventions at the governing body level in support of UNDS coherence, which demonstrates strong ownership by MS. However, fragmented governance remains a key barrier to the reform overall. These and other initiatives, such as UNINFO, have also incurred heavy transaction and bureaucratic costs for agencies, which further strains already limited resources.

Underlying and compounding these issues is that the understanding and buy-in for the reform is highly inconsistent at the layers below global, senior management. Due in part to the lack of an integrated change management process, officials at working level do not necessarily understand or own the reform, nor do they appreciate the role they play in ensuring its success. This is a challenge for agencies and MS alike, with the latter not necessarily reflecting the agreements made in New York either on the ground or in the various governing bodies.

Overarching narratives and areas for attention

Cutting across the transformation areas, four overarching narratives emerged that frame where the reform stands and where stakeholders could focus their attention. These are:

1. Funding is a central risk to the reforms: Funding, and in particular, the lack of sustainable funding for the RC system and limited progress by MS on Funding Compact commitments, presents a major challenge for the reforms’ success.
2. From crisis to true transformation – accelerating the SDGs after COVID-19: The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for the reform. In the short term, it has caused a shift towards more collaboration and an increase in partnerships within and outside the UNDS. These changes must be acted upon quickly to maintain momentum and to secure transformation in support of the reform and the SDGs.
3. Bringing the global vision into effective ownership and action at every level: The strong global vision of the reform needs to translate into ownership and action at every level – from HQ to regional to country. It is critical to strengthen the linkages between different levels of the UNDS and to raise awareness about the reforms across different parts of government.
4. An integrated, long-term approach to change management to drive behaviour change and ensure sustained reform: The lack of an integrated approach to change management has inhibited behavioural and cultural change within the agencies constituting the UNDS, the MS, and the UN Secretariat structures that are key enablers for achieving the system-wide vision. The time is ripe to pivot to the soft and hard human dimensions of the change process to ensure sustainability.

Under these four overarching narratives, the study identities eleven specific and immediate areas on which UNDS stakeholders may focus to enable the reform’s success.

Looking beyond - areas for further enquiry

The study concludes by presenting eight questions that sit within the transformation areas and also address some of the wider conditions influencing the UNDS reform. These questions remain open for further enquiry:

1. How does country context affect the relative strength and/or fragility of the UNDS reform process?
2. How do mandate, nature, size, and other unique characteristics shape agencies’ perception and engagement with the opportunities and challenges of UNDS reform?
3. What is the best approach to ensuring meaningful measurement of results against common objectives – notably evaluating the SDCFs? What is the appropriate role of the UN system-wide and in-agency evaluation functions?
4. What are the expectations about the role of the regional tier in the UNDS reform? Is this being delivered on? What are the conditions/ needs required of regional actors to support the reform?
5. What does a more systemic approach to partnership with IFIs, civil society, and the private sector look like, and what are the appropriate roles of the various stakeholders (e.g. agencies, RCs, MS) and institutions (e.g. the Global Compact, International Organisation of Employers)?
6. What challenges and opportunities exist and how does UNDS reform relate to development-peace-humanitarian actions, including in relation to the RC function in complex contexts?
7. What are the tracks and existing resources available for a system-wide change management approach focused on the (now critical) behavioural and cultural change aspects of UNDS reform?
8. What shapes and drives the internal consistency of MS cross-government decisions and behaviour in respect to UNDS reforms?

The figure below summarises the main positive and countervailing forces affecting the reform. It is followed by an overview of what is going well, what is evolving, and what is challenging in the five selected transformation areas. The main report discusses findings and the supporting evidence in greater detail.

Positive and resisting forces for UNDS Reform

Overview of progress in the transformation areas

Reinvigorated Resident Coordinator System

New Generation of UN Country Teams

Partnership for the 2030 Agenda

Funding Compact

Direction, Oversight, and Accountability

PURPOSE

MOPAN’s study series on Lessons in Multilateral Effectiveness aims to provide learning opportunities on issues cutting across the multilateral system. These studies build on MOPAN’s unique position within that system, and the well-established body of knowledge and expertise developed through its assessments of organisational performance. In contrast to MOPAN assessments, these studies have no accountability objective but rather are focused on learning.

The overall aim of this study is to inform strategic thinking on UNDS reform in preparation for continuing policy discussion and operational decisions by UNDS stakeholders. This study seeks to give an overall sense of progress on the UNDS reforms, including:

• The extent to which select aspects of the reforms are implemented.
• The underlying drivers affecting the reforms and how the UNDS is responding, including any risks and challenges.
• Suggested areas to consider as the reforms continue.

This study provides MOPAN members and other UNDS stakeholders with a general sense of lessons emerging from the reform, including in preparations for discussion around the UNSG’s comprehensive review of the RC system and its funding.

The intended audience for this study is all stakeholders of the UNDS and those interested in the reforms’ progress, including not only the study sample countries and MOPAN members, but all UN MS. The study also aims to provide value and insight to the RCs, UN DCO and to the UN entities and their partners living and implementing the reforms at HQ and at regional and country team levels.

Structure of the report

1 Introduction

2 Positioning and approach

• Context - including the genesis of the reforms, their intended outcomes, and the specific challenges around COVID-19.
• Methodology and limitations – including the study scope and approach as well as practical and methodological limitations.

3 Transformation areas

• Main findings for each transformation area, including the extent to which specific reforms in each transformation area have been implemented as planned and key drivers identified as powerful forces pushing the reform forward or restraining it.

4 Conclusions and way forward

• Including potential areas for attention for UNDS stakeholders and areas for further enquiry.