Uruguay One UN Coherence Fund - Documents

Overview

Subsequent to the recommendation of the Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence, and the nomination of its Government, Uruguay was in 2007 appointed as one of eight countries to be a "Delivering as One UN Pilot Country” for 2007-2010. Currently, Uruguay continues to implement the Delivering as One approach and objectives to ensure more effective development operations and to accelerate progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Additionally, the Delivering as One in Uruguay is a concerted effort by the UN system in the country to deliver in a more coordinated way, in line with national priorities and under the leadership of the Government.

Following an extensive process of participatory consultations and building on the Delivering as One approach, the Government of Uruguay and the UN organizations in Uruguay signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2011-2015 on May 2010 (Spanish version).  Subsequently, a new UNDAF Action Plan (UNDAP) was drafted to specify the mechanisms for joint coordination and management as well as the outputs that would be achieved jointly by the UN System in Uruguay.  Furthermore, the UNDAP 2011-2015 substitutes the Country Programme Action Plans for UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF. Also, the UNDAF 2011-2015 and its UNDAP are based on both a Human Rights and a Human Development approach.

Originally, the Uruguay One UN Coherence Fund was established for the One UN Programme 2007-2010, and currently, the Government and the Participating UN Organizations in the UNDAF 2011-2015 for Uruguay have agreed to give continuance to this common development fund as a mechanism to support the UNDAF (2011-2015) and its UNDAP. The One UN Coherence Fund is under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, and it supports the coordinated resource mobilization, allocation and disbursement of donor-contributed resources for the unfunded elements of the UNDAF and the UNDAP.

The One UN Coherence Fund will support efforts to meet the following strategic objectives of the UNDAF and UNDAP:

1. Promote the diversification of production and the country’s participation in the global economy, the growth of productive investment and greater incorporation of scientific and technological innovations in production processes, as pillars of economic development.
2. Move towards the implementation of sustainable development models that will foster conservation of natural resources and ecosystems, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and use of renewable sources of energy.
3. Enhance social development (with particular emphasis on the areas of early childhood development, health and education) with a view to reducing inequality and various forms of inequity (including intergenerational, gender, racial and geographic inequity).
4. Strengthen democratic governance at the national and local levels through public involvement, strengthening of State institutions and the comprehensive national human rights protection system, in accordance with the declarations and conventions to which Uruguay is a party.

To measure progress, impact and results achieved on these strategic objectives, the UN System in Uruguay has developed a monitoring mechanism which includes the participation of the UNCT Thematic Groups. In turn, regular progress reports will be produced and posted on this website.

The Uruguay One UN Coherence Fund is administered by the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with its financial regulations and rules.

Assistance Strategy

Need for an Assistance Strategy
During most of the 20th Century, Uruguay was considered a relatively developed society within Latin America. According to the 2010 Human Development Report, Uruguay ranks 52nd among 85 countries with "high human development". With life expectancy of around 76.1, a literacy rate of 97.9% in the age bracket over 15, and per capita GDP of USD 9.654 (2008), Uruguay is still one of the most developed societies in the continent.

Because Uruguay is one of the 104 countries in the world labelled as a "Middle Income Country" - and, within that group, one of the 48 countries labelled as "high-middle income countries"-, it has not enjoyed significant access to donor resources as it is evidenced by the low official development assistance.  Nevertheless, over the last four decades, the Uruguayan society has faced serious problems or obstacles to reach higher levels of human development: in particular, to achieve sustained and sustainable economic growth, to reduce the incidence of poverty and inequality in income distribution and to strengthen the quality of its institutions and policies. The fact of being a "high-middle income" country does not imply that Uruguay has assured, in the mid and long term, the human development indicators reached. In fact, progress remains to be made to achieve a sustained and sustainable growth trajectory, or to prevent the dramatic erosion of the social progress previously made as evidenced by the 2003 economic downturn.

The universal principles of the United Nations and its Charter lead us not to exclude any State, not even to consider that there is a "full stop" in terms of development. A country does not "graduate" from development. There are more or less critical or vulnerable situations in different sectors of the economy, society, institutions of the Member States that the international community must cooperate with. The internal challenge is to recover that capacity to approach development with a vision that is compatible with the whole set of values enshrined in our mandate. The need to redefine cooperation involving "middle-income countries" is crucial, as their positive indicators cover borderline situations. Just like Uruguay, such countries have high human development indicators but simultaneously suffer severe structural vulnerabilities in key areas. These vulnerabilities, in addition to domestic imbalances and inequities, require high-level policy advice.

Governance

Steering Committee of the UNDAF 2011-2015
The Steering Committee is co-chaired by the Director of the Budget and Planning Office of the Presidency and the UN Resident Coordinator. Other members of the Steering Committee are: a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives from Participating UN Organizations, and Donors (as observers). The Steering Committee is responsible for determining the use of the Uruguay One UN Coherence Fund by establishing the allocation criteria and approving projects/programmes among others. It consults with other stakeholders, specially the civil society, through appropriate mechanisms. The One Programme Steering Committee is governed by its One Programme Steering Committee Terms of Reference.  

UN Resident Coordinator
The United Nations Resident Coordinator (RC) is responsible for the strategic leadership and ultimate decisions on the allocations made by the One UN Coherence Fund. The RC is accountable and responsible for the consolidated Fund reports based on reports from Participating UN Organizations and with the support of the Administrative Agent.

Consultative Committee
The Consultative Committee is the space for dialogue with stakeholders not participants of the Steering Committee on strategic and overall priorities of the UNDAF, the UNDAP and the Coherence Fund and to discuss the progress of operations on the basis of reports submitted by the Steering Committee. The Consultative Committee may make recommendations about the activities funded under the Uruguay One UN Coherence Fund and their harmonization with those funded bilaterally by the Donors.

The Coherence Fund Consultative Committee is integrated by the Director of the OPP, the Resident Coordinator, representatives from the Agencies of the UN System that are not part of the Steering Committee, a representative from each donor country to the initiative, and representatives from civil society (National Association of Non-Governmental Organizations [ANONG, the Spanish acronym], Uruguayan Federation of Cooperatives [CUDECOOP, for its Spanish acronym], and the National Association of Micro and Small Businesses [ANMYPES, for its Spanish acronym]). If the Government, through the OPP, should consider it advisable, relevant Ministries will become part of the Coherence Fund Consultative Committee as permanent members or ad hoc. The Consultative Committee may invite other representatives from other sectors of society, such as academia, foundations, private sector, or trade unions.

Administrative Agent
The UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) has been appointed the Administrative Agent of the Uruguay One UN Coherence Fund. Its responsibilities include the receipt, administration and management of contributions from Donors; disbursement of such funds to the Participating UN Organizations in accordance with the approved Annual Work Plans/Programmatic Documents; and provision of consolidated narrative and financial reports, in accordance with the MOU, on the Uruguay Coherence Fund to the One Programme Steering Committee and to each donor based on reports of the Participating UN Organizations.

Decision-Making Process

Eligibility
Any Participating UN Organization that has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is eligible to submit project proposals for funding from the Uruguay Coherence Fund. Other Non-UN Participating Organizations with similar financial regulations and rules may also submit proposals to the Uruguay Coherence Fund if they have signed a separate MOU with the MDTF Office as the Administrative Agent. Implementing Partners such as NGOs involved in the UNDAP will have access to the Uruguay Coherence Fund through the Participating UN Organizations. The Participating UN Organizations will utilize their standard NGO cooperation modalities for this purpose and charge the corresponding direct and indirect costs to the Uruguay Coherence Fund on the basis of its financial regulations and rules.

To be eligible, projects need to meet the following criteria:

1. The joint project or programme should contribute to the achievement of at least one of the Millennium Development Goals in Uruguay, according to the established objectives for the country.
2. The joint project or programme should be related with one of the Outcomes of the Priority Areas in the UNDAF 2011-2015.
3. The joint project or programme should identify and be integrated in the national policies and initiatives that it supports demonstrating its added value.
4. The joint project or programme should ensure the adequate participation of key stakeholders of the national counterparts and the UN System Agencies (at least two).
5. The joint project or programme will complement its activities and resources with other initiatives being implemented or to be implemented financed by the Government and/or other UN System Agencies.

Proposal Submission
The projects will be developed by a Drafting Committee and will be submitted to the Steering Committee jointly by the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget and the Resident Coordinator.

Proposal Review & Approval Process
The Director of the Office of Planning and Budget, along with the Resident Coordinator, will review the proposals to verify that there are no overlapping objectives or activities. After review, the proposals will be presented to the Steering Committee for approval and financing.