25 February 2019: The UN Sustainable Development Group has launched an open data portal to support UN Resident Coordinators in coordinating assets at the country level. The portal aims to enhance effective coordination of the UN’s work in over 160 countries in support of the SDGs and is part of wider UN reform efforts on development, management, peace and security.

The major changes to the RC system were operationalized in January 2019. The UN Secretariat houses the ‘Special Purpose Trust Fund (SPTF),’ which was established by the UN to “receive, consolidate, manage and account for all contributions and financial transactions” of the new RC system in an effective and transparent way.

The open-access web portal reflects every commitment, contribution and expenditure recorded for the SPTF. Funding sources come from three areas: voluntary contributions from Member States; the doubling of cost-sharing amounts from UN entities; and a 1% levy applied to contributions for UN development-related activities earmarked to a single project, programme or agency.

The portal will feature real-time contributions from the RC system. To date, 38 Member States and 19 entities have contributed to the RC System Special Purpose Trust Fund, which are displayed on the portal. The portal lists amounts of contributions and displays them on a map.

The UN previously discussed such a portal during a 2018 session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on proposals to reposition the RC role. During a panel discussion on the theme, ‘In support of the field: A reinvigorated, impartial and independent Resident Coordinator system,’ the UN Resident Coordinator for Peru, Maria del Carmen Sacasa, said the UN was working to “launch an open web portal” to identify development gaps and facilitate more targeted interventions. [UN Open Data Web Portal for the SPTF] [UN Reform website]