Country-Level Aid Coordination at the United Nations: Taking the Resident Coordinator System Forward

Abstract

Die deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar.The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb. Tables Table 1: The 32 Members of the United Nations Development Group 47 Table 2: Milestones in the evolution of UN country-level aid coordination 76 Table 3: Leadership role for UN in external aid coordination 84 Table 4: Size of UN Country Teams by world regions 87 Table 5: Adaptation patterns of the RC system 103 IntroductionThe fragmentation of the United Nations (UN) development system requires aid coordination to bring about a more consistent whole. As the "lynchpin of coordination" at the country level, the system of Resident Coordinators (RCs) is a key driver of coherence for the operational activities of the UN for development.With overall contributions totalling more than US$ 22 billion annually, the UN is one of the "big players" in development. Active across sectors and dealing with a multitude of development challenges, the UN member states have created a complex UN development system that consists of 37 different funds, programmes and agencies with operational activities at the country level. All of the UN entities have countless achievements to show for their development success, yet at the same time it has become a commonplace that the UN development system collectively "punches below its weight". Making the different components of the "UN puzzle" fit together is a substantial challenge for country-level aid coordination.Currently, reforms are underway to make headway towards more coherence. Because of a political impasse among member states in reaching consensus about changes at the global level, a pragmatic shift of attention towards the country-and operational levels can be observed, with a particular focus on the RC system. Tasked with strengthening the effectiveness, efficiency and relevancy of the UN development system through coordinating assistance and activities of the UN entities in each of the 130 partner countries, the RC normally is the UN's highest-ranking official on the ground. In that sense, it is not surprising that a functioning RC system has been deemed key for the overall functioning of the UN system at the country level. Moreover, in a majority of countries, the RC also has a leadership role, together with partner governments, in coordinating all aid coming from the broader bilateral and multilateral donor community, giving it additional weight in the process.Against this background, this study offers an in-depth examination and assessment of UN country-level aid coordination mechanisms revolving Theoretical perspectives on aid coordinationAs part of donor harmonisation, aid coordination has been highlighted in the discourse about aid-and development effectiveness emanating from the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness an...

The Role of Indicators in Development Cooperation: An Overview Study with a Special Focus on the Use of Key and Standard Indicators

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