6 August 2012: The UN Development Group (UNDG) has released guidelines for national-level, multi-stakeholder consultations to help define the post-2015 development agenda. The consultations are to be held in at least 50 countries. UN agencies, funds and programs are invited to submit concept notes for consultations by 17 August 2012. The consultations are expected to be held by 31 March 2013.

The country-level consultations are intended to complement the intergovernmental process on the post-2015 development agenda, which also includes the work of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 31 July, and a 30-member Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to be established by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) at its 67th session in September 2012.

In cooperation with RCs, the UNDG Chair has put forward a list of 50 countries for participation in the consultations, including: Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

The results of the consultations, to be recorded by June 2013, will feed into a global report from the UNDG, to inform post-2015 discussions. They will serve to: build a shared global vision with clear recommendations for governments, civil society and other stakeholders; amplify the voices of the poor and other marginalized groups; and influence intergovernmental processes so they align with the aspirations of civil society. The UN Resident Coordinator (RC) in each participating country will provide overall guidance, and may designate one or more UN agencies to co-lead the process.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated seed funding of US$64,000 per country for the consultations, and human resource support is to be provided through the UN Volunteers (UNV) project “Volunteering and Sustainable Development: Rio+20, Follow-up to the MDGs and Post 2015 Agenda.” The oversight for the project is provided by the UNDG Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Task Force.

In an accompanying webinar titled “The Future We Want – Post-2015 Development Agenda: UN system-wide preparations,” Jose Dallo and Renata Rubian of the UNDG provide an overview of the country consultation process, also highlighting other elements of the process, including thematic consultations with subject specialists, and a web portal and social media campaign to be launched by the UN Secretary-General. [Publication: Post-2015 Development Agenda: Guidelines for Country Dialogues: What future do you want?] [Webinar: The Future We Want – Post-2015 Development Agenda: UN system-wide preparations] [UNDG Webpage on Guidelines]