V.B: Development Effectiveness Principles

Support principles and approaches for development effectiveness: national ownership, effective aid management, and South-South cooperation

Other Information:

60. All UNDP efforts to support programme countries in developing national and local capacities for human development and achievement of the MDGs will be shaped by national ownership, effective aid management, and South-South cooperation. National ownership 61. UNDP activities are based on the premise that governments have the primary responsibility for the development of their countries and for establishing and leading the national development agenda, including its respective policies and plans in that country. This principle applies in different development contexts, be they different stages of development progress or post-conflict and early recovery situations. In all cases, UNDP focuses its support on the development of national capacities, which must be led and grounded in endogenous efforts if it is to be meaningful and sustainable. This is at the heart of how UNDP understands and applies the principle of national ownership. 62. National ownership is fully embedded in the harmonized United Nations programming process. This process builds on a development analysis, on which the United Nations Development Assistance Framework is based, resulting in the UNDP country programme document. This documentation frames the United Nations development role in a country, and is undertaken in direct response to national development strategies and priorities and aligned with national programming cycles. Full government engagement is sought throughout the programming process. UNDP country programmes are demand-driven, designed and implemented jointly by national partners and UNDP, and subject to approval and review by the Executive Board. Effective aid management 63. One of the key indicators of development effectiveness is the alignment of aid flows with national priorities and strategies and the need to reduce transaction costs for programme countries. UNDP is committed to supporting programme countries to enhance effective aid management, in line with broadly accepted good practices. The TCPR calls on United Nations organizations to further strengthen the capacity of developing countries to better utilize the various aid modalities. This is a core application area for UNDP work in capacity development in support of national aid management and implementation capacities, in the context of national and regional initiatives, inter alia, the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, to strengthen development cooperation. South-South cooperation 64. South-South cooperation has made – and continues to make – a valuable contribution to development progress and partnerships across regions. UNDP is dedicated to advancing South-South initiatives as a significant dimension of its contribution to the global partnership for development. 65. UNDP will step up efforts to mainstream South-South approaches in all focus areas in the following ways: (a) By leveraging its network of country offices in support of South-South cooperation; (b) By seeking ways to strengthen the work of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, with its mandate to coordinate United Nations system-wide activities, to advise UNCTs, and to act as a catalyst of South-South exchange mechanisms; (c) By leveraging its global reach to assist developing countries in strengthening capacities to scale up the impact of such cooperation; (d) By assisting programme countries in identifying, documenting and disseminating cutting-edge experiences in critical development areas, including through the establishment of a unified system and database of best practices; (e) Within country and regional programmes, by encouraging the use of available institutional, technical and human resources in the South in meeting internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs; (f) By supporting programme countries, at their request, in developing institutional capacities to effectively manage, design and implement national South-South cooperation policies and initiatives, including through the establishment of multi-stakeholder focal points and networks at the national, regional and interregional levels; and (g) By enhancing the coherence and coordination of United Nations system support to South-South and triangular cooperation through policy research and dialogue, broad public-private partnership engagement, and joint initiatives.

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