Financing the UN Development System 2018

This is the fourth annual report of Financing the United Nations Development System, a report that attempts to provide fresh insights into the funding of the UN development system and into the positioning of that funding within the larger financing dynamics of the 2030 Agenda.

This edition maintains the basic structure from previous reports. Part One of the report provides basic UN funding data on revenue and expenditures, which we believe is important to understand for current and future financing reform discussions.

In Part Two some 20 prominent guest authors from outside and inside the UN system present their thoughts, ideas and initiatives in short, concise essays on a range of issues linked to the overall theme of financing trends impacting the SDGs. 

On one level, the system is described as a relatively simple one dominated by grant receipts and grant disbursements for agreed purposes. While this is true on the surface, the deeper analytical dive of the report shows that for the Sustainable Development Goals requires the UN grant resources to be positioned more strategically to impact much greater and more diverse financing flows.

The overall ambition of this report is to contribute to – and push forward – current and future discussions related to the UN’s role in financing development. Armed with the latest statistics and with a broad menu of ideas for change, it hopes to do just that.

In the current 2030 Agenda era, change is not optional as the SDGs will not be achieved without serious financing reform. Some new doors are being opened, but many more still need to be unlocked. 

Our overall ambition of this report, which is the result of a collaborative partnership between the Dag Hammar- skjöld Foundation and the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, is to contribute to – and push forward – current and future discussions related to the UN’s role in financing development. Armed with the latest statistics and with a broad menu of ideas for change, we hope to do just that.