1. ECOSOC Operational Activities - 23 February 2016
Pooled funding, Coherence and Scale: QCPR indicator 11 and the lessons learned for financing Agenda 2030
ECOSOC Operational Activities February 2016
The Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office is a UN center of expertise on pooled financing mechanisms. It supports development effectiveness and UN coordination through the efficient, accountable and transparent design and administration of innovative pooled financing mechanisms as well as provision of advisory services for fund operations.
The MPTF Office is the UN’s focal point for discussion with WB on pooled financing instruments (MDTFs) and on coordinated UN – WB financing architectures in fragile and conflict-affected situations.
Housed within UNDP, the MPTF Office is firewalled from all UN implementing entities, UNDP included. The MPTF Office’s current portfolio is over $8 billion in total (> 900 million in 2014) and includes over 100 pooled financing mechanisms (country-level and global MDTFs, Joint Programmes (JPs) and National Funds), established for humanitarian, transition, development and climate change activities.
For more information and for MPTF Office publications, see mptf.undp.org.

2. Pooled funds as investment vehicles
Pooled funds are investment vehicles designed to support transformative change.
Well designed, capitalized and operationalized pooled funds can act as gravity centres to improve aid effectiveness, increase alignment among a wide range of actors and reduce transaction costs for donors, country governments and implementation partners.
The UN has a broad inter-agency working group, the UN Working Group on Transition, in which it discusses the linkages between humanitarian, transition, development and political issues for countries affected by crisis.
In recent years, this working group has focused on the issues of financing and the role of pooled funds in bridging the possible divides between different pillars of the UN’s work.
One of the outcomes of those broad UN discussions is an MPTF Office manual on Designing Funds for Performance, published under the auspices of the UN Working Group on Transitions.
The next few slides are based on this manual, which is available at mptf.undp.org

3. UN pooled financing instrument as part of a financing strategy
Response plans for 2015 – 2016 linked to Syrian crisis: overall needs and funding so far
• For , the 3 RP-plan launched in 2014 (Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan) costed the total UN needs for the refugee and resilient component at roughly $4.5 billion per year, just for UN support.
• Latest figures are that the 3RP is about 41 percent funded, while the Syria response plan is about 33% funded.
UN Agency requirements included in 3RP
• The Jordan Response Plan put the total financing needs for that country at roughly 3 billion just for 2015 (against the total UN requirements for Jordan being $1.2 billion for that year).
• The Lebanon Crisis Response Plan has been used as the joint plan of the Government of Lebanon and international partners, against which most international financing is currently allocated (Based on country-level information, $900 million has been received so far).
Some other response plans: oPt and Yemen
• In Gaza, the UN, WB, EU and Palestinian National Office for Reconstruction of Gaza conducted a Detailed Needs Assessment and developed recovery frameworks outlining prioritized sets of recovery needs and strategies for the reconstruction process for each sector. The recovery and reconstruction process was planned to require an investment of US$4 billion, including US$701 million in the social sector and US$1.9 billion in the infrastructure sector.
• In Yemen, the UN, WB, EU, ISDB and the Ministry of Planning are currently conducting a damage needs assessment

4. Main functions and added value of pooled financing mechanisms
Coherence
Policy coherence. Programmatic coherence by funding critical gaps & underfunded priorities
Consolidation
Reduces fragmentation. In many cases is the largest investment vehicle
Specialised / Thematic
Has focus on a particular thematic issue and/or specific expertise.
Risk Management
Reduces risks to governments and financial contributors through risk management & RBM
National Systems
Uses and strengthens national systems
Innovation
Provides a mechanism for transparency around innovative sources of finance
For more details on the MPTF Office approach to fund design, see: Designing Funds for Performance, available at mptf.undp.org

5. Non-core funding modalities for UN Operational Activities for Development: 2014

6. Putting 2014 in perspective: Trend in capitalisation of pooled funds
Close to two third of total inter-agency pooled funding is for humanitarian funds.
In 2014: 7 % of total development non-core went through inter-agency pooled funds and 15 % of total humanitarian non-core (including Humanitarian Fund for Iraq)

7. Results for QCPR indicator 11: countries meeting the 20 % threshold

8. Focus on countries: Papua New Guinea 7
Focus on countries: Papua New Guinea 7.5 mill or 23 % thru UN pooled funds
PNG UN Country Fund
Established in 2009
Closely aligned with development priorities of PNG Government & development partners
UN is strongly committed to Delivering-as-One and using PNG Country Fund.
Fund allows sector-specific earmarked investments
Results
Improved quality of UN programming, better coordination and less duplication.
Reduced transaction cost for contributors
Growth in multi-year funding commitments (Australia)
Single UN agency - dev

9. Focus on countries: Somalia 118 mill. or 22 % thru UN pooled funds
JP Health and Nutrition
Established in 2012 with 3 UN agencies
Supports efficient health system functioning to improve the health and nutritional status of Somali women, girls and children.
Encourages multi-year funding in a fragile situation
> USD 99 million from five donors
JP Local Governance
Established 2008 with 5 UN Agencies
Supports good governance in regional and district councils, public investment in basic services, and local participation
> USD 75 million from six donors
2015: integrated in UN MPTF for Somalia.

10. Focus on countries: Republic of Guinea 24 mill
Focus on countries: Republic of Guinea 24 mill. or 20 % thru UN pooled funds
Ebola Response MPTF
Established in Sept with 11 UN agencies
Supports activities of UN System to get to zero cases of Ebola.
Center of gravity: 11 percent of the funding of UN entities & focus on unfunded needs
Speedy, coordinated, and rapid UN action (7-day allocation cycle)
Mobilized over USD 125 million in its first three months in 2014
40+ Member States contributed to this global Trust Fund

11. Pooled Funds, Coherence and scale: what do country examples tell us?
Design matters & can evolve over time
Design + funding + excellent implementation  Transformative results & more funding
Scale matters for UN coherence, reduced transaction costs & transformative results
Global Funds (CERF, PBF, Ebola Response Fund) enabled countries to reach 20 % threshold
Broad donor base of Global Funds thus supported UN coherence at country level

12. Essential ingredients:
Preliminary lessons learned to inform financing strategy for Agenda 2030
UN inter-agency pooled funds can be used as investment vehicles to support transformative change
Essential ingredients:
Design Matters
Operationalisation Matters
Scale Matters