18 July 2018: In a report to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on the UN Office for Partnerships (UNOP), the UN Secretary-General reviews the level and quality of partnerships needed to deliver the SDGs, and calls for a significant, targeted effort to build an enabling environment for partnering, including institutional capacities, convening and supporting infrastructure and a supportive policy environment.

UNOP oversees the UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), a trust fund established in 1998 to serve as the interface between the UN Foundation and the UN system, as well as the UN Democracy Fund, which aims to support democratization around the world. UNOP also provides partnership advisory and outreach services in response to demand from the UN system, governments and non-State actors.

The Secretary-General’s report indicates that in 2017, numerous companies, foundations and civil society organizations approached UNOP to seek advice and explore paths of engagement with the UN, with most enquiries related to mapping specific collaborative opportunities and identifying relevant partners within the UN system towards the advancement of the SDGs.

Among the initiatives examined under the UNFIP programme, the report outlines the ‘Girl Up’ campaign, which seeks to intensify efforts to address the needs and rights of adolescent girls. According to the report, the campaign, launched by the UN Foundation in 2010, has inspired more than 2,400 Girl Up clubs in 102 countries, in which members build their leadership skills and work to achieve gender equality for girls around the world.

The report also highlights the Instant Network Schools programme, a collaboration between the Vodafone Americas Foundation, the UN Foundation and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to deliver education programmes for children in refugee camps by facilitating access to the internet and technology. Also on technology, the report notes the Digital Impact Alliance, a partnership between the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the government of Sweden and the UN Foundation to overcome the barriers related to the use of digital solutions for global development. According to the report, the Alliance works closely with UN partners, governments, industry and civil society to expedite the deployment of digital technology, expand the availability of digital distribution channels, and ensure responsible and widespread access to and use of data for development.

The report also outlines the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, a network of over 320 partners, including governments, businesses, civil society, international organizations, academia, foundations and statistics agencies that are committed to ensuring that the international community has the data needed to achieve the SDGs.

The ‘Girl Up’ campaign, launched by the UN Foundation in 2010, has inspired more than 2,400 Girl Up clubs in 102 countries.

Another reported activity is an initiative to promote innovative clean energy solutions for health care facilities in developing countries to improve services’ availability and quality, in particular for women and children. In the context of this initiative, a pilot project that uses innovative solar photovoltaic (PV) technology was implemented to bring power to 62 under-electrified primary health care facilities in Ghana and Uganda. The project, the report says, demonstrated how access to modern, affordable and sustainable electricity services can enhance the delivery of health care services and the achievement of the SDGs. The initiative was launched by the UN Foundation, and the project was implemented in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Governments of Ghana and Uganda, with the support of the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The report notes that since its establishment during the 2005 World Summit as a UN general trust fund, the UN Democracy Fund has experienced “considerable growth” in its portfolio, donor base, impact and visibility. It indicates that during its first 11 rounds of funding, the Fund supported almost 750 projects in more than 130 countries, with a total disbursement of some US$160 million. The projects ranged from supporting civil society efforts for accountability and transparency to building capacity for strengthening good governance and the rule of law.

Other partnerships highlighted in the report include:

• the 2017 Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum convened by UN-Women, the UN Global Compact, the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation and UNOP to explore the role of the private sector in achieving the SDGs, with a special focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls;
• the 2017 Partnership Exchange, jointly organized by the UN Division for Sustainable Development and UNOP to enhance the global partnership for sustainable development; and
• the Media for Social Impact Summit, convened by UNOP and the PVBLIC Foundation to build partnerships to further social progress and increase momentum towards global action on the SDGs.

In the report on repositioning the UN development system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda from December 2017 (A/72/684-E/2018/7), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that UNOP will be “firmly established as the Organization’s global gateway for partnerships.” The Executive Office of the Secretary-General initiated, in 2018, a review of the operations of UNOP to inform a “reinvigorated platform for more effective partner engagement of public and private sector stakeholders.” [Publication: United Nations Office for Partnerships: Report of the Secretary-General (A/73/222)] [UNOP website]