New York. Featured in Helen Clark’s statement on UN Reform to the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board and the 2010 Annual UNDP report are UNDP Mutli-Donor Trust Fund Office’s activities in providing transparent and accountable fund management services to the UN system through a diverse mix of 32 country-specific and global MDTFs operating in humanitarian, post-conflict/transition and development contexts, as the de facto administrative agent for the UN system.

New York. Featured in Helen Clark’s statement on UN Reform to the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board and the 2010 Annual UNDP report are UNDP Mutli-Donor Trust Fund Office’s activities in providing transparent and accountable fund management services to the UN system through a diverse mix of 32 country-specific and global MDTFs operating in humanitarian, post-conflict/transition and development contexts, as the de facto administrative agent for the UN system.

Excerpt from the 2010 UNDP Annual Report: “Delivering on Commitments”:

As part of the broad UN efforts to enhance UN system-wide coherence, UNDP experienced a further growth in the number and diversity of multi-donor trust funds (MDTF s) it administers. In 2009, UNDP took on the administrative agent functions for seven new funds, including five Delivering as One funds initiated by countries on their own, as well as for the DRC Recovery and Stabilization Fund. UNDP is also now serving as a fund manager for the expanded Delivering as One funding window, an innovative global facility set up to financially support the Delivering as One funds. Overall, UNDP’s fund portfolio continues to reflect a diverse mix of country-specific and global multi-donor trust funds, with donor contributions evenly spread out over funds operating in humanitarian, post-conflict/transition and development contexts. To strengthen further the accountability and transparency, and improve the quality of fund management services as the de facto administrative agent of the UN system, UNDP introduced new tools for management of the funds, streamlined its business processes and has achieved overall efficiency gains. Key 2009 results included:

• Over $1.2 billion in new donor contributions were received, bringing the total deposited contributions to $4.2 billion for the period 2004-2009;
• $756 million was transferred to 29 participating UN organizations;
• Separation of responsibilities between UNDP’s role as the administrative agent of the funds and UNDP’s role as a recipient of fund money was strengthened through a number of measures, including opening a new bank account to manage, track and audit fund accounts separately from UNDP accounts; and,
• The Multi-Donor Trust Fund Office Gateway was developed. The Gateway is an online application accessible by anyone that provides both up-to-date information on the different Funds as well as real-time financial data pertaining to receipts, transfers of contributions and permits, significantly streamlining reporting on programmatic and financial results. The Gateway, the first of its kind within the UN system, also provides participating UN organizations, donors and governments with easy access to programme documentation and knowledge products online.
• The significant 2009 results have laid a strong foundation for further use of multi-donor trust funds as an important pooled funding mechanism that enables the UN to channel donor funding towards its strategic priorities at both the global and country level, while ensuring the highest levels of accountability and transparency