UNDP Contribution 2022 - 2024


UNDP’s key priorities, i.e. poverty eradication, structural transformations for sustainable development and conflict prevention, rule of law, governance and early response and recovery, gender equality, women’s empowerment, are in line with the Swiss strategic priorities as outlined in the Federal Council’s Dispatch to Parliament on International Cooperation 2021-2024. Beyond these thematic priorities, Switzerland will also focus its dialogue with UNDP and other member States on UNDP’s organisational effectiveness and transparency. 

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Global
Governance
Conflict & fragility
nothemedefined
Public sector policy
Decentralisation
Elections
Conflict prevention
01.01.2022 - 31.12.2024
CHF  269’100’000
Area of responsibility

Established in 1965, the UNDP supports developing countries in formulating long-term, socially responsible and sustainable development strategies to overcome poverty in all its forms. It therefore plays a key role in implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With its presence in 170 countries, the UNDP has the largest external network within the UN and is the SDC’s most important UN partner in terms of financial volume. Besides its agency specific mandate, UNDP also performs important UN Development System (UNDS) -wide coordination functions, in particular by  providing back office support to the offices of the resident coordinators and ensuring the administration of all UN Multi-Partner Trust Funds.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world's 46 least developed countries. It offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF does not have its own Board, but is dealt with by UNDP’s EB. That’s why the contribution is part of this CP,

Switzerland's and the organisation's strategic priorities and their coherence UNDP is one of Switzerland’s 16 priority multilateral development organisations as outlined in Switzerland’s International Cooperation (IC) Strategy 2021-2024, and one of Switzerland’s key development partner since 1974. UNDP’s work contributes to all four Swiss strategic priorities as outlined in the Strategy. UNDP is an important partner of Switzerland in the achievement of the SDGs, in particular goals 1 (poverty eradication), 10 (reduced inequalities) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). UNDP is active in 170 countries, including in fragile and conflict affected contexts where other development actors are often absent. It allows Switzerland to extend the means of its cooperation beyond the mere SDC programme countries, where UNDP is also present in. UNDP also is an important partner for Switzerland to promote the humanitarian-development nexus and to contribute to the UNDS Reform implementation. Through its core contribution Switzerland gains influence over UNDP’s policy and strategy development and contributes to an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences.
Results of the organisation's previous engagement

In 2018-2020, UNDP projects improved access to basic services for 48 million people, half of whom are women. In 28 crisis-affected countries, it created jobs or improved livelihoods for 5 million people. In the area of governance, UNDP projects supported electoral processes in 23 countries and helped register 28 million voters, 48% of whom were women. At the same time, 65 parliaments in 15 countries were strengthened in the exercise of their functions with a focus on women's participation. In 2019, UNDP launched its new digital strategy, which invests in the organization's digital skills and capabilities. In Bangladesh, for example, UNDP worked with the government to save the least well-off citizens $8 billion, 2 billion working days, and 1 billion government visits through digitized public services. In its role coordinating UN national teams, UNDP also supported 107 countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda. In the context of the Covid 19 pandemic, UNDP is concen-trating on addressing critical social and economic impacts, supporting health response, and strengthening crisis management and response. In doing so, UNDP has already provided $12.6 million to 47 countries to help governments maintain con-tinuity and plan, coordinate, communicate, and fund their crisis response.

The surge of the COVID-19 pandemic since the first half of 2020 has heavily impacted UNDP’s operations, which have reoriented towards the socio-economic consequences of the crisis. The response of UNDP, also in coordination with Resident Coordinators and other agencies, has been critical in a number of contexts where governments and other local actors needed a quick reorientation of programmes and policies towards the new realities provoked by the pandemic. In this context, the large operational capacity and the agility of UNDP have proven to be an added value to the UNDS.

The major impact of the UNDS Reform on UNDP’s work was caused by the de-linking of the Resident Coordinator’s function from UNDP. Even though UNDP has well accompanied this process, this has weakened the “integrator role” of UNDP, with the consequence that UNDP has often become solely an implementer, comparable to its sister UN organizations. The new Strategic Plan 2022-2025 addresses this issue, with the objective of strenghtening the position of UNDP as a more systemic actor advocating for policy changes and reforms.

The activities of UNCDF have equally been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. UNCDF rapidly adapted to the challenge, by repurposing its programs and helping to assist countries in responding to COVID-19, e.g. by providing localized emergency grants, benefiting over two million people, 60% of whom were women.

Results of Switzerland's engagement in previous phase

Switzerland is engaged in ensuring the implementation of the UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and UNDP’s implementation of the UNDS Reform.

The conflict prevention agenda has proceeded in 2020 and 2021, though at a slower pace due to the global pandemic and to UNDP’s response to it. The three global programmes of the crisis Bureau supported by Switzerland have managed to progress in their respective areas providing inputs for the elaboration of the new  UNDP offer on prevention

In the frame of its policy dialogue within the Executive Board and with UNDP’s Senior Management, Switzerland has successfully advocated for UNDP’s active participation in the UNDS reform, including the de-linking of RCs and the adoption of the Funding Compact. Furthermore, Switzerland has contributed in the reform of the Evaluation Unit, which is now more capacitated and independent from the Senior Management.

The Swiss core staff of UNDP has almost doubled from 2018 (10) to 2021 (19). This said, Switzerland is still underrepresented compared to the weight of its core contribution to UNDP.

In the period 2017-2020, UNCDF supported the piloting of over 180 financial products and services, of which over 80 per cent were digital solutions. More than 3 mio clients (annually) have been served by financial products developed with UNCDF support, with almost 60% benefitting women. UNCDF provided inclusive financial and digital solutions in 44 LDC and supported 536 local governments. 22 national governments developed local development finance strategies based on UNCDF support.   

Medium-term outcome of organisation's current engagement

The Strategic Plan 2022-2025 describes the work of UNDP as:

(a) Supporting countries towards three directions of change: structural transformation, leaving no one behind and resilience, b) Through six signature solutions: poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, energy and gender equality,

(c) Enhanced by three enablers: strategic innovation, digitalization and development financing.

Compared to its predecessor, this SP keeps working on the same thematic priorities but puts a stronger focus on innovation and digitalisation. Moreover, UNDP has the ambition to increase its contribution to systemic changes through policy support, including through a bigger budget allocation towards strategic funds rather than individual projects.

Switzerland’s monitoring and dialogue focuses on UNDP’s contribution to poverty eradication and on its organisational effectiveness and governance structure, in particular on the audit and investigation function. Since the publication of the draft UNDP OAI performance audit report on the GEF portfolio management, the management and oversight effectiveness of UNDP has been under scrutiny by Member States. Other cases of alleged irregularities have emerged, raising the level of concern on the capacity of UNDP to detect and address fraud and mismanagement. In 2021, UNDP has implemented 31 management actions to strengthen its management and oversight systems and better prevent and detect possible irregularities. UNDP has also strengthened its anti-fraud policy and is re-viewing its whistleblower protection mechanisms. Switzerland will coordinate a group of like-minded Member States in order to strenghten the management and oversight functions of UNDP and further increase the indipendence and capacity of the Office for Audit and Investitations (OAI).

The contribution to stronger central and local institutions and core government functions and the implementation of SDG 16+ is at the core of UNDP’s mandate. In this context, UNDP should move from its role of service provider and project implementing agency and focus on its strategic ambitions and initiatives, aso by empowering local actors.

Switzerland uses its leverage within the executive board but also in informal institutional discussions with other Member States and with senior and mid-level management of UNDP

Effect in Switzerland

1.     UNDP’s work on conflict prevention, rule of law and core government functions is strengthened (development-peace nexus).

2.     System wide coherence is strengthened and progress on UNDS reform is ensured. In particular, UNDP contributes to consolidate the leadership of Resident Coordinators and the use of joint programming at the country level. 

3.     The representation of Switzerland within UNDP is enhanced through increased number of Swiss staff and experts

4.     Via UNCDF to accelerate inclusive, diversified, green economic transformation through a) increased availability of products, services, and infrastructures and b) increased flows of public and private finance.

5.     Switzerland’s multilateral engagement contributes positively to Switzerland’s successful candidacy for the Security Council.

6.     Switzerland advocates for enhanced coherence and partnerships with the World Bank.

7.     Swiss positions are informed through feedback from SDC field offices and their collaboration with UNDP. Information from SDC HQ to the field contributes to a coherent approach towards UNDP. 

Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Credit area Development cooperation
Project partners Contract partner
United Nations Organization (UNO)
  • United Nations Capital Developoment Fund
  • United Nations Development Programme


Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    269’100’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    3’000’000
Switzerland's ranking in the DonorOrder

2020: Switzerland ranks as 7th top donor amongst core donors.

Donors

Core contributions ranking (2020):

1. Germany, 2. United States, 3. Japan, 4.United Kingdom, 5. Sweden, 6. Norway 7. Switzerland, 8. Canada, 9. Denmark, 10. Netherlands. 

Coordination with other projects and actors

Switzerland regularly coordinates its positions with the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), as well as establishes cross-regional alliances.

Project phases Phase 44 01.01.2022 - 31.12.2024   (Current phase) Phase 43 01.01.2021 - 31.12.2021   (Completed) Phase 42 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2020   (Completed) Phase 41 01.01.2015 - 31.12.2017   (Completed)