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In 2023, UN inter-agency pooled funds continued to prove their value as critical financing instruments to address intersecting challenges. The United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) has kept pace with the demand for pooled funding services, supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development along with peacebuilding, crisis response, and climate action around the world.

Throughout 2023, four strategic trends emerged and shaped the MPTF Office operations: 

1

A Robust Portfolio Emphasizing Climate and Peace Funds: With contraction in the humanitarian portfolio in 2023, came increasing demands for service in climate, peace, and development funds and an unwavering commitment to fund administration efficiency, transparency, and diversification.   For the year, these funds – both new instruments and mature existing ones received over 1.05 billion USD. This achievement reflects the trust, engagement, and support from over 50 UN entities across the system, a diverse group of contributors, including Member States, private sector, and philanthropic organizations. More than 100 program countries have led and benefitted from these multi-stakeholder funds, deploying integrated strategies to reach the SDGs.

 

2

Strong Investment in Quality Standards, Knowledge Management, and Innovation:  A continuous investment in quality standards and innovation for UN inter-agency funds has kept the MPTF Office at the forefront of the UN and partners' debates on quality funding. The development of the new MPTFO digital “Gateway” platform for fund management and administration and our efforts to ensure state-of-the-art quality features in pooled funds underscore the Office’s unwavering commitment to excellence. Additionally, the longstanding partnership of the MPTF Office with the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation produced another annual cutting-edge report on Financing the UN Development System. The year 2023 also saw the office lead a much-awaited deep dive into new opportunities for innovative finance modalities within MPTFs, further highlighting our dedication to advancing SDG progress through joined-up and innovative approaches.

 

3

Expanding Coalition of Multi-stakeholder Partnerships: Also, 2023 saw a significant expansion in multi-stakeholder partnerships, with new frameworks introduced to support global, regional, and country efforts towards SDG achievement. This collaboration led to the establishment of 20 new inter-agency pooled funds, significantly including those focused on climate and environment, which are poised to drive the Agenda 2030 mission forward. The SOFF, the Nature4Health Fund, and the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund (IRAF) operationalized are all examples of leveraging exciting new climate and environment partnerships for transformative change.

 

4

Operational efficiency and effectiveness across the portfolio: In 2023, the MPTF Office invested in process efficiencies to optimize resources, drive economies of scale, and improve operational effectiveness through digital transformation in fund management and fund administration systems. The MPTF Office used key performance indicators to monitor and track performance in delivering core fund administration services. The Office maintained the highest standards in efficiency, innovation, and quality, transferring funds to 118 participating organizations, and 90% of funds were transferred within a five-day window. The performance in this indicator dropped in 2023 to 95% due to new ERP implementation, where technical challenges in early 2023 resulted in funds transfer delays. By May/June 2023, 98% of annual and final consolidated narrative reports were finalized and published, compared to 92% in May/June 2022.

The MPTFO remains enthusiastic about helping propel the UN's sustainable development agenda forward. Through collaboration, transparency, accountability, and excellence, the MPTF Office will continue to support and champion multi-stakeholder engagements and UN inter-agency pooled funds as partnership platforms for delivering the major global transitions needed for future generations.  

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