Power Distance (PDI)

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LAC RDT Effectiveness of the UN Development
System at the Regional Level 2008 Global
RDT Oslo, March 4-6 2008
Presented by Rebeca Grynspan Regional Director,
UNDP-RBLAC
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Inclusive Membership

• Practice to include all interested Regional
  Directors with management responsibilities over
  the programmes in the countries and or the
  region
• Members should have constant and regular
  involvement in RDT meetings and activities
• Originally the 4 ExCom, as mandated in 2003, then
  expanded from 6 members in 2006 to 14 in 2008
• For RC Appraisal, only those with supervisory
  function over staff in the country concerned and
  generally the same grade or above those being
  appraised (standard practice).

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RDT LAC EXPERIENCE

• Currently 14 regular members
• UNDP,
• UNFPA
• UNICEF
• WFP,
• PAHO/WHO
• ECLAC
• OCHA
• UNIFEM

• UNAIDS,
• ILO,
• UNEP,
• OHCHR,
• UNOPs,
• UNHCR,

FAO, UN Habitat, UNESCO have participated in
particular meetings depending on agenda
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LAC RDT Mission

• MISSION Enhancement of UN system-wide coherence
  at the regional level and support of UNCTs at the
  country level to deliver as one to achieve
  sustainable human development for all.
• TCPR 2007  
• Reiterating the importance of the development of
  national capacities to eradicate poverty and
  pursue sustained and equitable economic growth
  and sustainable development as a central goal of
  the development cooperation of the United Nations
  system.

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RDT LAC Enhancing effectiveness and efficiency

• Programmatic Support to UNCTs
• a) QSA and oversight for CCA/UNDAF process
  (Ecuador, Haiti, Venezuela in 07, Argentina,
  Guatemala in 08), joint missions, training, etc
• b) Support to specific countries (Haiti,
  Colombia, Bolivia, Uruguay) regular RDT
  discussion item and follow-up.
• c) Focus on sub-national inequalities and
  excluded groups (eg. Indigenous, afro-descendant,
  women)
• d) Focus on sub-regional and cross border issues
• Operational
• RDT Secretariat
• Regional Co-location Panama Regional Center
• Partnerships
• Collaboration with regional/sub-regional bodies
  (CARICOM, Ibero-America Summit, Summit of the
  Americas, OAS, IDB,CEPREDENAC, CDERA, Intl NGOs
  eg IFRC)

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LAC RDT Functional Structure

• Strategic Programme Support and guidance to
  specific countries in sensitive situations.
  Integrated support on the MDGs, HIV/AIDS,
  CCA/UNDAF , Delivering as One UN, and other
  emerging issues, support on joint programming,
  and capacity building for UN Country Teams
• Appraisal, Accountability, Feedback and Support -
  Resident Coordinator/UN Country Team performance
  and UNCT work plans
• Interagency support to crises and emergencies
  Regional IASC/Crisis Prevention , Preparedness,
  Response and Recovery development of REDLAC
  regional coordination, REDHUM information
  exchange
• Operational Support joint offices, UN presence
  and operations in selected countries .

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2008 LAC Regional Leadership Structure
Regional Directors Team Latin America Caribbean
RDT Secretariat
4 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE RDT LEADING UN
REFORM IN THE REGION

• Interagency support to
• crisis and emergencies
• Emergency response
• Support Resource Mob.
• Assist interagency coord. (IASC, REDLAC)

• Operational Support
• Common services
• Common Premises
• Joint Offices

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From Process to Substance

• Agreement on collaborative work on 3 regional
  priority MDGs
• Child malnutrition
• Child/infant mortality
• Maternal mortality
• ECLAC led IA analysis for advocacy ID best
  practices
• Next regional report sustainable development or
  employment
• HIV/AIDS
• Mainstreaming the decent work agenda
• Follow up on Declaration for the Rights of
  Indigenous Peoples
• Focus on national ownership and capacity building
  in UNDAF (TCPR 07 reiterated)

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Panama Regional Center

• LAC RDT is establishing a regional common
  premises for co-location of regional entities in
  Panama City, City of Knowledge to increase
  collaboration and efficiency (TCPR)
• Feasibility Study by IA Group
• RDT Agencies agreed on Panama as its regional
  center
• Endorsement by UNDG Chair Dec 2006
• SG Declared Panama the Regional Hub June 2007
• Presentation to donors and high level UN
  Officials Feb 08
• Currently hosted in the City of Knowledge
  regional offices of UNICEF, WFP, OCHA, OHCHR,
  UNAIDS, UNEP, UNOPS soon UNFPA, UNDP regional
  programmes.
• sub-regional offices of IFAD and DSS, and other
  regional and sub-regional programmes and units
  (PAHO/WHO Emergency and Disasters Program FAO
  regional programs, etc)
• Greening the center

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Lessons Learned

• To engage agencies in RDT, it was important to
  work on a shared vision on the priorities of the
  region.
• MIC status and inequality
• Importance of RDT activities beyond regular RDT
  meetings
• RDT meets with RCs (cluster meeting)
• Joint Country Missions (Uruguay, Guyana/Suriname)
• Joint Participation in Regional Meetings
  (HIV/AIDS conf. etc)
• Working Groups and shared responsibilities

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Challenges
Regional Coordination/RDT is tasked but not
resourced

• Coordination demands considerable time and
  effort -there are clear limits if there are not
  additional resources
• Need more dedicated and sustainable resources
  allocated to regional level support resources
  should be assigned at the global level for
  regional coordination purposes, it can not be
  solved at the regional level, especially in MIC
  region where our core resources are being
  depleted.
• Need to balance between agencies involvement in
  RDT work without creating big structures.
• RDT should support UNCT and not add an
  additional layer.
• Quality Support needs to be improved and extended
  beyond design to implementation more knowledge
  sharing , training and more experienced people
  involved at the agency level to support UNCTs
• More need to demonstrate value added of
  coordination/support.
• Need for further consultation with RDT before
  important decisions or guidelines are established
  and disseminated.
• Systematization of messages/communications from
  highest levels through out and among agencies (to
  all agency staff).

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Challenges in working in regional Middle Income
Countries

• TCPR 2007
• recognizes that middle-income developing
  countries still face significant challenges in
  the area of poverty eradication and that efforts
  to address those challenges should be supported
  in order to ensure that achievements made to date
  are sustained, including through support to the
  effective development of comprehensive
  cooperation policies