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UN Reform in Viet Nam:Towards More Coherent and Effective

UN Support to Viet Nam

TNTF Meeting – 25 April 2007

John HendraUN Resident Coordinator

Luu Quang KhanhDeputy Director General

FERD/MPI

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Overall Context

• Vietnam model case of successfulsuccessful development resultsdevelopment results - sustained high levels of economic growth translated into impressive progress re MDGs

• UN a traditional trusted and close partner of the GoV

• Strong UN Support to Achievement of MDGs through Policy Support, Capacity-Building, Benchmarking and Advocacy

• While Priorities remain MDGs 6 & 7 and achievement MDGs throughout Viet Nam, like all Partners UN needs to re-UN needs to re-positionposition itself to help address current and emerging development challenges (post-WTO) in context of increasing national ownership.

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Some Key Development Challenges

• Economic Change: Sustaining rapid growth and avoiding financial crises

• Social Change: Promoting equity and strengthening social cohesion

• Governance: Arriving at a Vietnamese approach to democratic citizenship

• Environment: Managing energy and other resources and limiting the negative impact of pollution

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• Sustaining growth: Many countries have moved from ‘lower’ to ‘lower middle’ income; only a few to ‘middle income’ or above and stayed there (<3%).

• Building economic institutions: financial sector, fiscal and monetary policy, exchange rate management, tax code and compliance, commercial and bankruptcy law, transparency and corporate governance…

• Increasing international competitiveness and finding a role in today’s highly concentrated and vertically integrated global business systems

• Joining the knowledge economy: Education, training, research, technology policies

Economic Change: Growth Challenges

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• Large movement of people from rural to urban and from self to wage employment

• Increasing economic inequality across social classes, regions, ethnic groups and urban and rural areas

• Unequal access to basic services and the commercialization of education and health

• Gender inequality including the gender division of labour, wages and burden of domestic work

• Young population with increasing competition for educational and employment opportunities

• HIV/AIDS and stigma and discrimination against PLWHA are threats to social cohesion

Social Change:Challenges to Social Cohesion

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• Moving toward democratic rights in citizenship

• Moving to the rule of law

• Maintaining stability while building/increasing authority of representative institutions and diversifying forms of participation

• Controlling corruption

• Creating more space for citizens outside of the structures of the state

The Governance Challenge

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• Avian Influenza and other infectious diseases are a major challenge to human health and development progress

• Natural disasters claim the lives and livelihoods of many people in susceptible regions

• Energy and minerals create opportunities but also social and political challenges

• Urban and industrial pollution impose massive costs on society, particularly the poor

• Agro-ecological systems are under strain under increasingly intensive production

• Management of natural resources including forests does not give sufficient voice to the poor

The Environmental Challenge

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Changing Needs & an Evolving Aid Effectiveness Agenda

• Changing financing landscape: ODA – one among many financing sources

• Changing ODA: greater national ownership and increasing aid effectiveness

• Ha Noi Core Statement/ Five Principles:

1) Ownership; 2) Alignment; 3) Harmonisation & Simplification; 4) Managing for Results and 5) Mutual Accountability

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“One UN Initiative” – Rationale(precedes the HLP)

• The needs of Viet Nam are changing. The UN needs to change with them.

• The harmonization and aid effectiveness agendas challenge the UN to deliver better.

• High Level Panel (HLP-November 2007) recommends to deliver as One UN at country level with one leader, one programme, one budget and harmonised business practices and one office where appropriate

• Gov’t leadership and ownership of the UN Reform process critical - Viet Nam requested to become a Pilot country for High Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence

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“One UN Initiative” - The Five Ones

1. One Plan

2. One Plan Fund

3. One Leader

4. One Set of Management Practices

5. One UN House

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One Plan

• UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNV, UNAIDS and UNIFEM currently participating in the One Plan (other Agencies joining in 2008)

• Consolidation of results plans (e.g. CPAPs) of participating Agencies with associated budget

• Increased programmatic synergies; builds on UN’s comparative advantages and core UN mandate; reduction in transaction costs

• Second draft of One Plan just finalised for circulation across Government and presentation at today TNTF meeting.

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One Plan Fund and One Leader

• Support the coherent mobilisation, allocation and disbursement of resources to the One Plan

• New pooled fund mechanism to finance the One Plan and strategic initiatives responding to emerging needs and more coherent UN support

• Enhanced authority and accountability for the Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam. Lead on operationalization of the UNDAF (and One Plan) in line with the HCS

• One Leader – One Plan – One Plan Fund nexus

• All participating Agencies adhere to the RC Note

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One Set of Management Practicesand One UN House

• Second draft of Harmonised Programme Management Guidelines (HPMG) for ExCom Agencies under preparation

• Common Services for UN Country Team overall

• Cost Norms work of PGAE (EU and UN)

• Cost-effective proposal to build and/or renovate space for all resident UN Agencies under preparation

• Four options for sites now being reviewed by UN and Gov’t.

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UN Joint Programmes

• Joint Programmes developed as an inclusive mechanism (all UN Agencies) for greater UN-wide coherence and enhanced UN impact

• With most Agencies indicating desire to join “One UN Initiative” including One Plan in 2008, JPs reflected in One Plan1. Avian Influenza (USD 23 million )

2. Kon Tum/Ethnic Minorities (USD 5 million)

3. M&E of SEDP (USD 3 million)

4. Joint Social Policy (USD 6 million) (finalisation stage)

5. HIV (finalisation stage)

6. Gender Equality (formulation stage)

7. Youth (formulation stage)

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One UN Communications Team& One UN Policy Team

• Ensuring More Coherent UN-wide Policy Position and Advocacy (“One Voice”)

• Matrix Management and Dual Accountability to UN-wide Team and to Individual Agency

• UN Communications Team – UNICEF, UNFPA and UNDP units co-located in UNICEF and under single Workplan

• UN Policy Team

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Key Milestones Ahead for “Five Ones”

• Government and Donor Consultations on One Plan (second draft) scheduled for mid to late May 2007

• Finalization and Launch of One Plan and One Plan Fund for implementation (June 2007)

• Finalization of One Leader Accountability Note

• Letter of Intent for those Agencies wishing to join “One UN Initiative” (Apr – May 2007)

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• Development of Key Results Frameworks of SAs for One Plan Revision

• Finalization HPMG (June 2007)

• Finalization Plan for One UN House

• Revision One Plan (2008)

Key Milestones Ahead for “Five Ones”

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Ownership:

“One UN” and the Five Principles of the Ha Noi Core Statement

• “One UN” reinforces Govt’ leadership and national ownership

Alignment:• One Plan facilitates greater UN alignment to

SEDP/Policy framework and implementation of GoV’s international commitments

• HPMG facilitates greater UN alignment to key national processes/procedures (procurement; financial management; programme management; decentralized management ODA)

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“One UN” and the HCS

Harmonization:• One Plan – 6 into 1

• Reduced transaction costs in Programme Frameworks; programming processes; reviews etc.

• More coherent mechanism for mobilization and allocation of resources (One Plan Fund)

• Harmonized common services in one location (One UN House)

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Managing for Results:

“One UN” and the HCS

• All UN programmatic work around 5 key priority outcomes in results-based framework

• Enhances programmatic synergies, inter-Agency collaboration and strategic UN approach to emerging issues going forward

• Overall results-based M&E Framework to better measure overall impact

Mutual Accountability:• Joint Ownership of One Plan as Key Framework• Joint ownership of HPMG towards alignment with

Gov processes• Greater transparency on UN support to national

priorities; potential areas for greater collaboration