A Study Of The Capacity Of The United Nations Development System

This volume provides a short and accessible introduction to the organization that serves as the primary coordinator of the work of the UN system throughout the developing world –the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The book: traces the origins and evolution of UNDP, outlining how a central UN funding mechanism and field network developed into a more comprehensive development agency evaluates the UNDP’s performance and results, both in its role as system coordinator and as a development organization in its own right considers the return of the UNDP to a more central role within the UN development system, in order to review the successive attempts at UN development system reform, the reasons for failure and the future possibilities for a more effective system with the UNDP at the centre. Offering a clear, comprehensive overview and analysis of the organization, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars of development studies, international organizations and international relations.

This study is intended as a constructive contribution to the debate on the reform of UN development co-operation.

Contents: (1) Foreword by Kemal Dervis, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator: Strengthening capacity for positive change; (2) Improving lives through capacity development; (3) UNDP¿s role in the UN development system; (4) UNDP programmes: Capacity development in action: Strong institutions, inclusive growth: Poverty reduction and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; Empowering citizens for development: Democratic governance; Strengthening capacity to surmount vulnerability: Crisis prevention and recovery; Greening growth: Environment and sustainable development; (5) Developing capacities to deliver results; (6) UNDP resources. Illustrations.

'The United Nations system was a pioneer in the field of technical cooperation, and capacity development is its central mandate. UNDP has long played an important leadership role in both, as a source of technical cooperation funds and advisory services and as the home of innovative intellectual research and analysis on how to make them more efficient and effective. This book [presents] a vision that builds on new possibilities for knowledge-sharing, for which the revolution in information and communications technologies offers ample opportunities... a vision that is firmly founded on genuine ownership by the ultimate beneficiaries of development efforts: the government and citizens of developing countries' From the Foreword by MARK MALLOCH BROWN, Administrator, UNDP Capacity for Development brings together innovative and well-supported studies of technical cooperation along with its potential to build sustainable capacities in developing countries, by enhancing the knowledge, skills and productive aptitudes of their populations. A team of eminent development professionals and economists examine the achievements of technical cooperation and offer recommendations for reform in the context of globalization, democratisation, the information revolution and the growth of capacities in the South. They analyse the issues from three perspectives: ownership, capacity enablers and knowledge. The team show how the complex processes involved can be restructured to produce local involvement and empowerment, set out a normative framework for the input from society, and describe a new paradigm of knowledge for capacity building in the network age. This book will be essential reading for all development professionals and policy-makers, as well as providing an invaluable research and teaching resource.

This comprehensive survey presents a critical analysis of the United Nations programs that offer aid to developing countries for their economic and social growth. Explaining in detail the political struggles and considerations underlying the birth of each of the programs, this study covers the inherent flaws in their conceptualization while analyzing the growth and changes in structure over the last five decades. This reference explores the chronic problems encountered in implementation, discussing the need for further progress in coordination, and for simplifying the legislative decision-making structure relating to development aid.