22 January 2018: “The SDGs have raised the bar for us,” said UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner, as he highlighted the Programme’s support for the Sustainable Development Goals. Addressing the Executive Board of UNDP, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), he also presented UNDP’s business model, four-year strategic plan, and gender equality strategy.

Steiner reported that UNDP has established an inter-bureau Task Team to facilitate and support ways to create effective SDG Country Platforms with UNDP country offices and technical teams. The Team is located at UNDP headquarters in New York, US.

UNDP has established an inter-bureau Task Team to support effective SDG Country Platforms.

On gender, Steiner highlighted an upcoming consultation with the Executive Board in June 2018 to discuss UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2021, with a focus on how UNDP plans to integrate gender equality in its development work as well as on its commitments to planning, reporting, and overseeing gender equality results. On gender parity at UNDP, he reported that by the end of 2017, its staff ratio was 50.7% women to 49.3% men. In the field, he observed “good progress” with women comprising 47% of Resident Representatives and 49% of deputy Resident Representatives. Steiner said UNDP aims to attain gender parity at each grade level, including among service contractors, and emphasized UNDP’s commitment to zero tolerance to sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation. UNOPS also plans to launch a gender strategy, said Executive Director Grete Faremo, including a commitment to gender parity by 2020, and a gender balancing strategy in its project design, which will help the organization to “point out gender relevant effects of different possible project designs.”

Presenting UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 to the Board, Steiner said it is informed by the UN Secretary-General’s vision for the UN development system. The Board also discussed the four-year strategic frameworks of: the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), which focuses on SDG 1 (no poverty) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals); and UN Volunteers, which seeks to leverage the power of volunteerism and volunteers to implement the SDGs.

On funding, he said UNDP will continue to review its work with the private sector with the aim of moving beyond a funding relationship, to one where UNDP can work with governments to deliver results. In other initiatives related to UNDP’s business model, Steiner said UNDP will host an event to review its innovation work and establish an approach for a “more dedicated focus on innovation” in both programmatic and operational areas.

Steiner said UNDP’s 2018 institutional budget is US$50 million less than 2017 and is in line with the approved integrated resources framework. He informed that UNDP’s core and non-core funding remained steady.

The first regular session of the Board took place on 8 January and from 22-26 January 2018, in New York, US. [Executive Board Session Webpage] [UNDP Administrator Statement] [UNOPS Statement] [UNFPA Strategic Plan]