2.5 UNDP strategic positioning and other programme performance factors 2.5.1 Responsiveness to national priorities Finding 12. In a context of strong national capacity and ownership of the development process, UNDP is well‑known in development dialogues due to its strong positioning as a trusted and neutral partner that is responsive to the Government’s expectations and requests. Historically, the comparative advantage of UNDP in Nigeria has been its core human development mandate and contribution to national development planning processes. Despite recent shifts in its strategic positioning and comparative advantage, and management instability and legacy issues, the current UNDP management is helping to revive earlier positive perceptions of UNDP as a trusted and neutral partner to the Government (the coordination and relationship with the Government were negatively affected by frequent management turnover at the country office between 2015 and 2018). In addition to trust, UNDP is said to have convening power, with the ability to mobilize partnerships and technical expertise from across the globe. UNDP plays a catalytic role and acts to mobilize resources for development and humanitarian interventions, for example through the COVID‑19 Basket Fund, Spotlight initiative or GEF. Additionally, the UNDP position of trust with the Government, derived from its multilateral character, allows it to play an intermediary role between the Government and bilateral donors, avoiding perceptions of conflict of interest. In a context where the Government has strong ownership of the development process, UNDP and other development partners must be responsive to their requests. In this respect, the focus areas of UNDP programmes correspond to national development priorities and sector strategies, though they are relatively small in comparison to the size, capacity and needs of the country. UNDP is seen as a leader in governance and peacebuilding interventions in Nigeria, as confirmed by government partners and other interviewees. The peacebuilding and conflict prevention work was cited as highly relevant and important in the context of growing insecurity. Key policies such as the ERGP and the new Economic Sustainability Plan have identified insecurity as a key obstacle to achieving the SDGs and other development priorities of the Government. The various programmes implemented by UNDP were, to a large extent, directly linked to these national policies and sector strategies such as the Humanitarian Response Plan and the Buhari Plan blueprint. However, coordination during the design, implementation and monitoring of specific interventions was considered an area for improvement. Evidence from document reviews and interviews with implementing partners shows that the UNDP programme was responsive to changing development priorities and challenges in the country.109 Currently, members of NSAGs in the north‑east region are coming out in large numbers to accept the Federal Government’s amnesty. In anticipation of this, UNDP has been supporting the governments of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States to enhance community preparedness for reintegration, reducing rejection and stigmatization of former NSAG members and preparing the ground for community‑based healing and reconciliation. This was very proactive programming on the part of UNDP, and needs to be sustained to cover more communities hosting NSAG members. UNDP was similarly proactive in setting up a knowledge hub, contributing to strengthened in‑house data and analytics, and national data analysis and reporting capacity, (with NCDC, NBS, OSSAP and others).
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Evidence from document reviews and interviews with implementing partners.
Chapter 2. Findings
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