evaluations examined as well as in country studies. It is also not sufficient by itself to ensure success but is an important ingredient in areas where UNDP engages in policy and no more so than in the highly political area of poverty reduction. This relationship, where it exists, also allows UNDP to maintain an appropriate balance between being flexible in its approach and proactive in advocating a pro-poor agenda from the multidimensional perspective. In Jordan for example, government officials noted that UNDP works with us, not by us. This sentiment was repeated in other ministries. Engaging a broad range of society in UNDP’s work also makes it better especially through the MDG and NHDR process as well as through consultative processes that allow civil society to engage in policy processes, for example, through the PRSP process. Moreover, the overall approach of some of the key vehicles for promoting a pro-poor enabling environment – both awareness raising and capacity development – have explicitly promoted the kind of relationship that will facilitate greater effectiveness (see Box 5). Related to this relationship, some evaluations have pointed to the importance of UNDP’s work at the policy level being grounded in the realities of the local situation, a grounding derived from its downstream activities. UNDP’s downstream work will be examined in the next section and the linkages between the two in the section on efficiency.
4.3 FINDINGS ON EFFECTIVENESS OF UNDP’S DOWNSTREAM INTERVENTIONS Beyond its work to support pro-poor evidencebased policy development, UNDP also plays a role in downstream work, aimed at implementing
Box 5. Principles Related to MDGRs and NHDRs Four principles of UNCT assistance to developing MDG reports126
Broad national ownership based on close consultation and collaboration with all relevant institutions, including Government, civil society organizations, foundations, and the private sector; Full involvement of UN agencies, the regional commissions, the World Bank, IMF, regional development banks, European Commission and bilateral donors; Recognition of data already collected, analysed and assessed through a consultative process among development partners127; Support to national capacity for data collection, analysis and application.
Six broad principles that characterize excellence in NHDRs128
National ownership
Participatory and inclusive preparation process
Independence of analysis
Quality of analysis
Flexibility and creativity in presentation
Sustained follow-up
policies and directly supporting poverty reduction. The portfolio of activities is extremely broad and ranges from support to capacity development of local government officials to microfinance schemes and this in itself presents a problem for generalization. Moreover, as noted in Chapter 1, the evaluation will not identify what types of intervention are more effective than others, as this is often context specific. Rather it will attempt to identify the systemic issues that help or hinder UNDP’s contribution to poverty reduction. In this context the following are the key findings:
126. UNDG MDG Strategy
127. As reported in PRSPs, UN Common Country Assessments (CCAs), NHDRs, and other reports/assessments/ strategies prepared by the Government, academic or research institutions, civil society organizations, treaty bodies and external partners. 128. UNDP, ‘UNDP Corporate Policy on NHDRs for National Regional HDR Teams’, New York (undated).
C hapter 4 . A S S E S S M E N T O F U N D P ’ S C O N T R I B U T I O N
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