Figure 4. The UNDP COVID-19 response in 2020

FIGURE 4. The UNDP COVID-19 response in 2020

United Nations Framework for the Immediate Socio-Economic Response to COVID-19 (UNDP technical lead for socioeconomic response) United Nations COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund COVID-19 Integrated Response Rapid Response Facility (RRF) RR Toolkit SEIAs Beyond Recovery: Towards 2030 United Nations socioeconomic programme indicators monitoring framework

Rapid Financing Facility (RFF)

SERPs Completion of first COVID-19 Mini-ROAR Data Insights Portal

MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV

Response Phase 1: COVID-19 Response and Offer 1.0 Response Phase 2: COVID-19 Response and Offer 2.0

ROAR= Results-oriented annual report; RR= Resident Representative; SEIA=socioeconomic impact assessment; SERP=socioeconomic response plan

Source: ‘Update on UNDP’s Socio-economic Response, Beyond Recovery: Towards 2030’, Briefing Note #2, 25 January 2021, prepared for the Executive Board at its first regular session of 2021, available here.

UNDP estimated that $5 million per country would be required for preparation, rapid response and initial recovery assessments, amounting to $500 million globally. A COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility was launched, funded by existing resources and capitalized with an initial $20 million, providing up to $250,000 per country for initial action. UNDP stated an intention to unlock additional resources by repurposing unspent programme funding, in consultation with host country Governments and donors as appropriate.

The UNDP financial structure (earmarked versus flexible funding) somewhat constrained the organization’s ability to mount a flexible response to the pandemic at scale. In 2019, earmarked funding accounted for 78 percent of the $4.8 billion reported, with voluntary regular resources (core) funding accounting for 14 percent. For the pandemic response, this placed a premium on releasing resources through reallocation and/or the mobilization of new donor funding.69 Of the $1.6 billion reported to have been utilized for COVID-19 as of November 2021, new funds accounted for 54 percent and repurposed funds for 46 percent.70

The next phase of the UNDP crisis response, Beyond Recovery: Towards 2030 (June 2020), set out a more detailed and granular strategic response to the pandemic.71 The stated purpose was to help policymakers make choices and manage complexity in four areas: governance, social protection, the green economy and digital disruption. The analysis behind this selection is based on the identification of seven ‘tipping points’ or thematic issues.72 Beyond Recovery highlighted the UNDP role as the integrator of the

69 Dag Hammarskjold Foundation and the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, Financing the UN Development System:

Time to meet the Moment, September 2021. 70 UNDP, COVID-19 Monitoring Dashboard, November 2021. 71 UNDP, ‘Beyond Recovery: Towards 2030’, June 2020, https://www.undp.org/publications/beyond-recovery-towards-2030 72 (i) Social contract: A rights-based social contract on greater solidarity; (ii) Capabilities: A capabilities revolution focused on health and addressing income inequalities; (iii) Climate and nature-based transition: Decoupling growth from carbon emissions and unsustainable consumption production; (iv) Inclusion and diversity: A decisive move on inclusion and diversity, including gender equality; (v) Digital disruption: A digital acceleration for people and planet; (vi) Peace: Peaceful and resilient institutions and societies capable of prevention, preparedness and risk management; and (vii) Human rights and multilateralism:

Reasserting multilateralism and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

United Nations development system. In that context, it underscored the importance of the UNDP role in working with Governments to develop integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) to align the COVID-19 response with the SDGs, with UNDP coordinating with international financial institutions. The document also refers to the UNDP private sector strategy as a key element in the COVID-19 response, including:

• Impact investor maps to identify investment opportunities in the recovery phase • Technology access partnerships to support local production of COVID-19 health technologies • The Connecting Business Initiative with 50,000 member companies operating across 13 countries

• Work with small and medium-sized enterprises • The COVID-19 Private Sector Global Facility, launched in partnership with the United Nations

Global Compact, International Chamber of Commerce and companies such as Microsoft, PwC and DHL

While Beyond Recovery was framed during an unfolding crisis, it was pitched at a high level of generality. The four priority areas spanned a vast array of themes, without specifying where and how UNDP would make a distinctive contribution. With the benefit of hindsight, it is worth asking whether a more concentrated focus on areas demanding urgent action and where UNDP has established competencies (for example, social protection) might have merited more weight (relative to universal health coverage, for instance). It was supported by more detailed development offers that, while not always linked to the response strategy, articulated how UNDP was adjusting its approach in several technical areas to align with needs arising from the pandemic.73

The UNDP Strategic Plan, 2022–202574 builds on the COVID-19 response. The pandemic overlapped with the development of the current Strategic Plan and has clearly had a strong influence on the future focus of UNDP work, as has the need to align financing to development needs. The plan sets four high-level goals for improving the human condition:

• Helping 100 million people escape multidimensional poverty • Supporting 500 million people to gain access to clean energy • Supporting 800 million people to participate in elections • Promoting over $1 trillion of public expenditure and private investment in the SDGs

The role of UNDP in achieving delivery is summarized as comprising a ‘3 x 6 x 3’ approach with the plan identifying three directions of change (structural transformation, leaving no one behind, resilience), six ‘signature solutions’ (poverty and inequality; governance; resilience; environment; energy; gender inequality); and three enablers (strategic innovation, digitalization and development financing). This builds on the framework of the previous Strategic Plan, 2018–2021 which was evaluated in an earlier IEO evaluation report. 75

73 From March 2021, UNDP developed guidance for its policy and programme offer, health systems support, inclusive and integrated crisis management and responses and addressing the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic, among others. The notes were short, giving examples of work, resources, tools and contacts. 74 UNDP Strategic Plan, 2022-2025, https://strategicplan.undp.org/ 75 UNDP IEO, 2021, Evaluation of the UNDP Strategic Plan, 2018-2021.