1. Governance of United Nations Development
Rutgers University
Governance of United Nations Development
Recharging multilateral cooperation
for the post-2015 era
New Jersey, 20 November 2014
Kristinn Sv. Helgason

2. Governance of United Nations Development
Presentation outline
Governance of United Nations Development
Introduction
Current governance system
Major challenges
Changing functions of UN Development
Governance requirements
Possible reform options
Kristinn Sv. Helgason

3. A. Introduction (a) United Nations Development
Composed of the 34 UN entities that receive contributions for operational activities for development
UN Development is the largest multilateral partner of OECD/DAC countries, an important indicator of the significant role played by the Organization in global development cooperation 3
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4. A. Introduction (a) United Nations Development 4 Funds & programmes
(12)
Specialized
agencies
(13)
Other
entities
(9)
UNDP, (incl. UNV, UNCDF)
FAO, IAEA, UNESCO, ILO
ECA, ECE, ESCAP
UN-Women, UNFPA, WFP
ICAO, IMO, ITU, UNIDO
ESCWA
UNICEF, UNHCR, UNAIDS
UPU, WIPO, WHO, WMO
UNCTAD (incl. ITC), UNEP
UNWTO
OCHA, DESA
UN-Habitat, UNODC
UNRWA
IFAD, OHCHR 4
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5. A. Introduction (b) Operational activities for development
UN operational activities for development include both development-related activities as well as those with a humanitarian assistance focus
In 2012, operational activities for development of the UN system amounted to some $24 billion and accounted for nearly two-thirds of all system-wide activities of the Organization
Close to 95 per cent of all operational activities for development are funded from voluntary contributions 5
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6. A. Introduction
(c) Analytical framework
Strategic Triangle (Mark Moore, HKS)
What are the sources of legitimacy and support that allow the governance system to take action and provide necessary support?
Is the action politically and legally feasible?
What is it that Member States want UN Development to accomplish?
Is the purpose publicly valuable?
What are the governance capacities that Member States have put in place to enable UN Development to deliver on the desired results?
Is it operationally and administratively feasible to establish such capacity?
Authorizing environment
Mission
What to Member States want UN Development to achieve?
Political and legal feasibility for UN Development to take action
Capacity
What governance capacity is in place to deliver on the desired results? 6
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7. B. Current governance system
Overview
System-wide
Agency-specific
Country-level
General Assembly
Economic and Social Council
Executive Boards of funds & programmes
Governing bodies of specialized agencies & other entities
Agency-specific programming documents
United Nations Development Assistance Framework 7
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8. B. Current governance system
(b) System-wide
Bodies
Main instruments
Primary task
General Assembly
Quadrennial comprehensive policy review (QCPR)
High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Operational guidance
Normative guidance
Economic and Social Council
Operational Activities Segment
Integration Segment
Operational coordination
Substantive coordination 8
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9. B. Current governance system
(c) Agency-specific
Key functions
Executive Boards of funds and programmes
Implement GA & ECOSOC guidance
Approve country programmes
Approve strategic plan & budget
Monitor performance
Allocate core resources
Informal joint meeting of EBs
Discuss issues of common concern
Governing bodies of specialized agencies 9
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10. B. Current governance system
(d ) Country-level
Key tasks
Country programme documents of funds and programmes
Define programme priorities and present indicate allocation of non- core funding based on consultation between government and UN entity
United Nations Development Assistance Framework
UNDAF is the strategic programme framework describing the collective response of the UN system as a whole to national development priorities 10
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11. B. Current governance system
(e) Governing bodies: distribution of political power
Regional groupings (based on the principle of equitable geographical distribution)
Constituency-based groupings
Mixed regional and constituency-based groupings
Key question
What is an effective and equitable method for distributing political power for decision-making in the area of operational activities for development? 11
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12. B. Current governance system
(e) Governing bodies: distribution of political power
Regional groupings
Constituency groupings
UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR, UNCTAD, UNODC, UN- Habitat, UNEP, UNRWA, FAO, ITU, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WIPO, WHO, WMO, UNWTO, OHCHR
GA, ECOSOC
[political groupings negotiate resolutions on system-wide policies on operational activities]
Regional commissions (5)
OCHA, DESA
ICAO, IFAD, IMO
Mixed regional and constituency-based groupings
UNAIDS, UN-Women, ILO, 12
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13. B. Current governance system
(e) Major challenges
Governing bodies of UN Development entities operate in almost total isolation from each other. Decisions and policies in one area are generally not known to or, or seen as important by those operating in another
The ability of agency-specific governing bodies to provide regular, detailed guidance on operational activities is affected by variation in their size and meeting frequency. Some governing bodies meet only every two years, while others report to policy-making bodies, not designed to provide guidance on operational activities 13
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14. B. Current governance system
(e) Major challenges
Central governing bodies are not able to hold entities accountable for the implementation of system-wide mandates such as those relating to the quadrennial comprehensive policy review and established by GA or ECOSOC
Central governing bodies do not have the capacity to further policy coherence and interoperability in programming and operations across UN entities 14
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15. B. Current governance system
(e) Major challenges
The governance of key country-level coordination instruments such as the resident coordinator system, UNDAF and business operations is left to voluntary agreements established through inter-agency bodies such as UNDG, which operate on the basis of consensus, with the final outcome often heavily dictated by the specific mandates and business models of individual agencies 15
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16. B. Current governance system
(e) Major challenges
The significant fragmentation of the governance system is costly and reduces the ability of UN Development entities to capitalize on opportunities for synergy in programming and operations. It is estimated that synergy through enhanced efficiency and reduction in duplication across entities could amount to some 20 per cent of total operational activities for development 16
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17. B. Current governance system
(e) Major challenges
Quadrennial comprehensive policy review
An example of lack of alignment between (a) the authorizing environment, (b) the mission of UN Development (as reflected in QCPR mandates) and (c) the governance capacity 17
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18. B. Current governance system
(e) Major challenges
Quadrennial comprehensive policy review
No Executive Board of fund/programme formally discusses progress in QCPR implementation – left to informal joint meeting of boards
QCPR implementation not on the agenda of governing bodies of other entities
Little evidence that entities measure performance in QCPR implementation (or review of QCPR progress part of background documentation)
No governing body in UN Development adopts decisions on progress in QCPR implementation 18
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19. C. Changing functions of UN Development
(a) Post-2015 development agenda
Integration of economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development, requiring greater emphasis on pursuing activities in combination rather than isolation as with MDGs
Broadening of development agenda to include global public goods, which to a large extent will need to rely on country-level action
Growing concern about systemic risks associated with accelerating globalization and interconnectedness of countries 19
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20. D. Emerging governance requirements
Governing body design
The overarching principle of governing body design is that form should follow functions
Over the years, the functions of most UN Development entities have changed significantly but the form of governance has remained the same 20
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21. D. Emerging governance requirements
(b) UN Development functional groupings
Entities with operational focus (10)
Entities with normative focus and major operational programmes (11)
Entities with normative/analytical focus (13)
UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP, UN-Women, UNHCR, UNAIDS, UNRWA, OCHA, IFAD
UNIDO, WHO, FAO, UNESCO, ILO, UNEP, UN-Habitat, UNODC, IAEA, ICAO, OHCHR
IMO, ITU, UPU, WIPO, WMO, UNWTO, UNCTAD, DESA, ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA 21
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22. D. Emerging governance requirements
(c) Strategic triangle concept (Mark Moore, HKS)
Firstly, what “public value” is the governance system expected to provide?
Secondly, what sources of legitimacy or support would be relied upon to authorize the governance system to take action to create that value?
Thirdly, what operational capabilities would governance system rely on to deliver the desired results? 22
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23. D. Emerging governance requirements
(d) Critical governance capacities
Firstly, a post-2015 development agenda with significant focus on the integration of country and global development action will require innovations in the application of the principles of national sovereignty and global responsibility, or what Kaul (2013) refers to as ‘smart sovereignty’
The ‘smart sovereignty’ principle recognizes policy cooperation among countries as the best way to achieve national interest in the global public domain 23
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24. D. Emerging governance requirements
(d) Critical governance capacities
Secondly, UN Development will increasingly have to work as one in an environment characterized by growing diversity of both national development experiences and sources of financing. This will require UN Development to develop strong governance capacity for internal and external coordination 24
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25. D. Emerging governance requirements
(d) Critical governance capacities
Thirdly, in the post-2015 era, UN Development will need to develop an organizational capability anchored in integrated approaches that reduce duplication and fragmentation and enable entities to exploit opportunities for synergy in programming and operations 25
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26. D. Emerging governance requirements
(e) Post-2015 era
What are the sources of legitimacy and support that allow the governance system to take action and provide necessary support?
Is the action politically and legally feasible?
What is it that Member States want UN Development to accomplish?
Is the purpose publicly valuable?
What are the governance capacities that Member States have put in place to enable UN Development to deliver on the desired results?
Is it operationally and administratively feasible to establish such capacity?
Authorizing environment
Mission
Universal SDGs
Global public goods
Integrated solutions
Pooling of knowledge and expertise
Broadening of funding base
System-wide and agency efficiency and accountability
Post-2015 agenda
Rise of global challenges
Emerging economies
Diversification of development experiences and funding sources
Management of interdependence
‘Smart sovereignty’
Capacity
Policy coherence and interoperability across entities
Coordination with authority
Balancing of agency and system- wide governance
More precise criteria for participation in governing bodies 26
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27. D. Emerging governance requirements
(e) Legitimacy in governance
The major changes needed in governance capacity of UN Development in the post-2015 era will require Member States to rethink what constitutes political and performance legitimacy of governing bodies
A governance system dominated by agency-specific considerations no longer able to meet the emerging mission of UN Development
Rebalancing authority of agency-specific & system- wide governing bodies will require more effective and equitable distribution of political power in decision- making in the governance system 27
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28. D. Emerging governance requirements
(e) Legitimacy in governance
A governance system aimed at furthering policy cooperation among Member States will require decision-making processes characterized by high degree of legitimacy of representation
Operational activities, however, are not of equal importance to Member States and the adoption of more precise criteria for selecting members of governing bodies rather than relying only on regional groupings and the principle of equitable geographical distribution could enhance legitimacy in governance 28
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29. D. Emerging governance requirements
(e) Legitimacy in governance
A key message of the paper is that a more effective and equitable method of distributing political power in decision-making on operational activities of UN Development in the post-2015 era will be a governance system based on:
Constituency-based selection, or
Mixed regional grouping and constituency-based criteria 29
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30. D. Emerging governance requirements
(e) Legitimacy in governance
Possible criteria to enhance the legitimacy of representation in governance of UN Development entities could include:
Income groupings (to better reflect the socio- economic profile of members of regional groupings)
Expenditure level in different regions
Contribution level
Other 30
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31. D. Emerging governance requirements
(e) Legitimacy in governance
Constituency-based selection of members of governing bodies and “variable geometry” to enable rotational representation may be particularly important innovations to further a culture of policy cooperation among Member States and governing bodies of UN Development entities in the post-2015 era 31
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32. D. Emerging governance requirements
(e) Legitimacy in governance
Intergovernmental negotiations on operational activities in central governing bodies conducted by political groupings should ideally be replaced by constituency groupings with a view to:
Reducing incentives for proliferation of system-wide mandates that cannot be realized due to capacity constraints in system-wide governing bodies and inter- agency mechanisms, and
Helping to ensure alignment of objectives of decision- making processes of agency-specific and system-wide governing bodies 32
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33. E. Possible reform options
The primary objective of reform would be to enhance legitimacy in governance of UN Development:
Performance
Increased system-wide coherence, including high-degree of synergy in programming and operations, enhanced accountability for implementation of agency-specific and system-wide mandates and greater transparency and cost-effectiveness in governance
Political
More effective and equitable distribution of political power in decision-making that better reflects the interests of those Member States that are core stakeholders of operational activities for development 33
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34. E. Possible reform options
Development Board (fulltime)
For operational activities of 19 funds, programmes and other entities reporting to General Assembly
Four Executive Boards of six major funds and programmes would be merged in new DB
DB would regulate operational activities of other funds and programmes reporting to GA but existing governing bodies perform norm- and standard-setting and policy- making roles
Composition of DB based on mixture of equitable geographical distribution and constituency-based selection criteria along with “variable geometry” 34
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35. E. Possible reform options
(b) Joint Executive Board of Fs/Ps (fulltime)
Four Executive Boards of six major funds and programmes UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UN- Women and WFP would be merged in new JEB
JEB organized around segments for each F/P and sessions to discuss issues of common interest
Composition of DB based on mixture of equitable geographical distribution and constituency-based selection criteria along with “variable geometry” 35
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36. E. Possible reform options
(c) ECOSOC as system-wide governing body
Role of ECOSOC firmly recast as central coordinating body for operational activities of UN system
QCPR resolution upgraded into system-wide strategy
UNDG established as legal entity and made formally accountable to ECOSOC for implementation of system-wide mandates such as those established in QCPR resolution 36
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