Reports - United Nations Development Programme

COUNTRY EVALUATION: ASSESSMENT OF DEVELOPMENT RESULTS – TURKEY
ANNEXE 8: UNDP TURKEY VISION
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A. Vision Statement
The United Nations Development Programme
works for Democratic Governance and
Growth without Poverty.
UNDP supports Turkey’s ambitious reform agenda
where EU accession figures prominently.
UNDP works with the Government,
civil society and the private sector
to find practical Solutions to Turkey’s
Development challenges and
Manages projects to address them.
(24 July 2003)
The UNDP supports the reform agenda of the
Government of Turkey, where EU accession figures
prominently but not exclusively.
The UNDP partners with Turkey’s Government, civil
society and private sector to support policy reform for
democratic governance and for combating poverty.
The UNDP is a strategic ally for Turkey in realising
its vision for more participatory, accountable and gender
responsive governance and better distribution of national
resources. We also recognise and promote Turkey’s potential
to support other countries in their development efforts.
The UNDP provides policy support and project
management services for Turkey to realise these goals.
We draw from our global network of knowledge and
build policy lessons based on a solid tradition of technical
cooperation.
The UNDP advocates the UN Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) as a platform for decision
makers to steer national policies and programmes towards
sustainable development.
B. Elements of a Vision for the
Turkey Country Office
1. UNDP SHOULD ASPIRE
To be a visible, trusted and sought after policy adviser,
that can contribute to Turkey’s definition of its own vision
and support the implementation of the country’s
development priorities, where the EU accession agenda
features prominently, including issues related to social
inclusion and an efficient, transparent and accountable
public administration.
Policy advice
Policy advice is at the heart of the new UNDP and is
where the UNDP is best suited to support Middle
Income countries like Turkey. UNDP’s role in Turkey
should thus be focused on knowledge, partnership and
policy advice.
Trust
Trust will not automatically come from the neutrality,
universality and independence that characterise the
UNDP because it is a part of the UN.
This is due in part to the perception of the UN in
relation to its intervention in the Cyprus issue, to the
reluctance of national institutions to receive advice from
outsiders, etc.
Instead, trust will have to come from being seen as
relevant and effective in policy making. Therefore,
UNDP/Turkey needs to:
Have something of substance to say about the central
concerns of the Government and of society in
general, with EU accession as a key driver of these
concerns. This in turn requires that the Country
Office keep pace with national change.
Break the isolation of pilot projects, take them to
scale for broader national relevance and translate pilot
activities into policy lessons.
Create opportunities / a forum for policy dialogue,
systematically and reliably.
Visibility
UNDP/Turkey needs to build a virtuous circle where
visibility, trust and credibility reinforce each other.
Visibility and strong image building should be the
first entry point in order to break out of the current
impasse. This could be achieved in a number of
ways, including:
Building on existing successes better
Making better use of high visibility opportunities
(e.g. public events)
Engaging in topics that are of concern to the ordinary
citizen (e.g. where are the victims of the 1999
earthquake today)
Finding more creative ways to work with private
sector heavy weights
Being willing to tackle issues that raise sentiments
(but not too political), e.g. in the area of human rights.