BACKGROUND PAPER on United Nations Development Programme (UNDP ...

manage development programmes.
UNDP's work is very decentralized so that each country office can respond to the
needs and concerns of the government and people of that country. In addition,
clusters of countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region share certain
specific needs, and so UNDP's regional managers have developed strategies to
address the concerns of each of the Caribbean and the Central American subregions,
within an overall five-year strategy 2000 - 2005 for UNDP operations in the
region.
UNDP Resident Representatives have authority to sign programme documents and
to fully manage staff and resources totaling around a billion dollars a year. The
primary signatory on all programme documents is the government of the country
concerned, but the programmes may be implemented by government or by national
institutions, and in some cases by non-governmental organizations.
Decentralization enables UNDP Resident Representatives to respond with speed to
a country's development needs. Plus, Latin America-Caribbean country offices are
very well-networked, which makes it possible for UNDP Resident Representatives to
respond not just quickly, but with quality services that draw on regional and
international expertise. As one high-ranking government official put it, "UNDP is our
window to the world".
UNDP invests in the knowledge and skills of its staff. Last year, 50 percent of its
Resident Representatives participated in an intensive course on the environment
organized by Harvard University. Staff have also participated in development
management courses. Substantive and managerial knowledge and skills are
constantly enhanced through exchange of experience and investment in learning.
Of the total number of staff - 27 - in UNDP's Regional Bureaux for Latin America and
the Caribbean - the majority are nationals from the region. UNDP also practices
what it preaches: a drive for the advancement of women within the organization has
been underway for over a decade. Today, 25 percent of the Resident
Representatives in the region are women, as compared to 8 percent a decade ago;
45 percent out of the Deputy Resident Representatives are women, as compared to
14 percent a decade ago.
Focus Area
• Institutions for Democratic Governance
• Policies for Poverty & Inequality Reduction
• Energy and Environment
• Information Technology for Development
• Human Development at Local Level
UNDP has decided to focus on five areas in which to produce region-wide Service
Lines. Services which fall outside these Service Lines, and that are demanded by
Governments or partners at the country or regional levels, can still be provided
within the framework established by the Administrator's Business Plans.
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