MOPAN released its most recent assessment of UNDP in 2020.
Founded in 1965, UNDP aims to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities and exclusion. To this end, it works in about 170 countries and territories, helping countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnerships and institutional capabilities, as well as build resilience to sustain development results. Unlike other entities, UNDP is not a treaty organization, but works across multiple conventions and all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In that sense, UNDP has the most comprehensive task among all UN agencies, including but not limited to poverty reduction, democratic governance, peacebuilding and state-building.
The past four years have been extraordinarily turbulent for UNDP. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda and subsequent UNDS reforms, and the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, have had far-reaching consequences. UNDP has shown great resilience in responding to these shocks and demonstrated new dynamism, especially in responding to COVID-19. Building on the UNDS reforms, UNDP played a pivotal role in the preparation of the UN Secretary-General’s appeal, “Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity – responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19”, the policy framework, and the elaboration of socio-economic response and recovery plans at the country level (SERPs). Alongside its “traditional” roles, UNDP is seeking to reposition itself both as an innovator and, as mandated by the General Assembly, an “integrator” within the UN development system. Especially at headquarter (HQ) level, it has pro-actively invested in existing and new strategic institutional partnerships with UN partners and international financial institutions (IFIs). Simultaneously, UNDP has begun to roll out an ambitious #NextGenUNDP change agenda. Learning from past restructuring efforts, UNDP has also chosen to keep its organisational structure and decentralised business model intact, whilst adjusting to new realities. In doing so, it has adopted an incremental, “ink-spot” approach to organisational transformation by piloting new initiatives before scaling up, thereby aiming for a smooth change process.
