When good-quality administrative systems are in place and their information is regularly updated, they can reliably provide a full picture of key aspects of a country’s population or economy on a continuous basis. Data collected for administrative purposes can be a rich and cost-efficient source for the production of timely and high-quality official statistics, especially to address the urgent need for disaggregated data on SDG indicators to ensure no one is left behind in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. However, many countries still lack the infrastructure and technical and institutional arrangements needed for the efficient exchange and processing of administrative data and metadata for the production of official statistics. Moving in a direction of increased use of administrative data for statistics production will also make the statistical system more agile and resilient in times of crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The project supports 9 countries in addressing legal and technical challenges to administrative data sharing and processing administrative data. For each country one or two thematic areas are chosen. The results of the work will provide practical level experiences that also others can benefit from and will lead to a number of examples along the overall process of using administrative data for statistical purposes; from accessing data to processing them and publishing statistics based on them. Key stakeholders of this work will be the National Statistical Offices and the owners of the administrative data, along with the wider statistical system. Policy and decision makers will benefit from the results of the work.

The proposed project will enhance the resilience, accessibility, and sustainability of infrastructure assets in developing countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and in support of the 2030 Agenda. The main challenge it seeks to address is the lack of sustained and systematic strategies, policies and actions at the national and local government levels to ensure that infrastructure assets support inclusive, affordable and sustainable essential public services over their entire lifespan. It will train local and central government officials in beneficiary countries in designing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing forward-looking, risk-informed, and data-driven infrastructure asset management strategies, policies, and action plans in support of essential public services that leave no one behind.  It also aims to build capacity at the level of central governments on how to design and implement an improved national policy, regulatory and legislative framework to support infrastructure asset management at the national and local levels. The key stakeholders include central government ministries (finance, municipal government, urban development), municipal development banks, local government officials (elected and administrative) as well as civil society and the private sector. UNDESA is the main implementation entity with UNOPS and UNCDF as co-implementing partners. UNDESA will also consult and engage with relevant UNCTs, UNDP, UN Habitat, and regional economic commissions in the implementation of the project activities.

The aim of this project is to strengthen national capacity in the three project countries to formulate, implement, monitor and evaluate effective and evidence-based national policies and programmes aimed at social and economic integration and inclusion of young people with disabilities. As set out in the Programme of Action of the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development, the aim of social integration is to create “’a society for all’, in which every individual, each with rights and responsibilities, has an active role to play.” In the case of the present project, inclusion of youth with disabilities means that they are to be actively engaged, as both agents and beneficiaries, in the two focus areas of the project: 1) the design and implementation of national policies for social inclusion of youth with disabilities, and; 2) the design of national programmes and strategies for creating employment opportunities and including youth with disabilities in national labour markets.
Project activities will consist of a combination of analytical and operational capacity building work engaging national and international experts in conjunction with UNDESA and ECLAC/UNDP staff. The main beneficiaries/participants in the project will be policymakers, members of parliaments, and Government officials with mandates related to youth, employment and persons with disabilities. Representatives of youth organizations and disabled persons organizations will participate as both beneficiaries and resource persons for the project.
Activities will further include delivery, in project countries, of comprehensive training on formulating and monitoring participatory evidence-based youth policies and programmes aimed at achieving social inclusion and employment opportunities for youth with disabilities. This will support policymakers to work with and create the space for the participation of young people and relevant civil society organizations. It will also contribute to effective policy-making, and a greater awareness of the needs of young people with disabilities in national planning initiatives.
Upon the completion of the project, national programs for training and employment of young people with disabilities will be incorporated into the existing national development plans and programmes in the project countries.

The Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) was launched as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the objective to support the SDGs. It includes three major components – an Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) of over 30 UN-system agencies; an annual multi-stakeholder Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Forum; and an on-line platform that is expected to serve as a gateway for information on existing science, technology and innovation (STI) initiatives, mechanisms and programs, within and beyond the United Nations. These are advised by a 10 –Member Group of academics, policy makers, entrepreneurs and others, appointed by the Secretary-General. This project aims to strengthen the capacity of key constituents in developing countries to access, operationalize and benefit from STI for the SDGs. It will strengthen the learning and adoption of relevant innovations by developing countries across both the South and the North; improve the capacity of governments and entrepreneurs to access relevant STI solutions through on-line mechanisms (including through improving their design); and strengthen the off-line partnerships, policy supports and institutional structures needed to make these self-sustaining. Throughout, the natural synergies across the different components of the TFM will be fully utilised. The direct beneficiaries of the project are STI and SDG communities in the target countries, including government officials, academics, scientists, technologists, practitioners, business persons and community leaders. The project will enhance their capacity to develop, disseminate and adapt STI solution in key strategic SDG areas, including a better understanding of relevant policy instruments and the sustainable development implications of new technology trends. The ultimate key beneficiaries of the project are all stakeholders around the world that will use the Online Platform to increase their capacity to use STI for SDGs. 

All governments from developing countries confront the challenge of designing coherent policies that can simultaneously accelerate growth, reduce poverty and inequality, preserve and improve the environment, and help adapt/mitigate to climate change. To successfully achieve these objectives, countries need both i) sound institutional arrangements for policy integration; and ii) quantitative analytical capacities to assess policy options. The ultimate aim is to foster a cohesive policy formulation process that incorporates development objectives across the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
In response to the Government requests from Cameroon, Ethiopia and Senegal, this project aims to support policy coherence through stronger inter-agency collaboration and coordination, while building integrated assessment methodologies and capacities to address the interlinkages and tradeoffs among policies, goals and the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. A climate, land-use, energy and water systems integrated assessment (CLEWS), including socio-economic aspects, will be developed in each country within the framework of improved cooperation among institutions and public administration and integrated whole-of-government approaches. Capacity building activities will be provided to government officials, in order to address the challenges and particular policy scenarios discussed with official government counterparts, to inform evidence-based policy discussions.
The Project will result in enhanced institutional capacity and inter-agency cooperation within target countries for developing integrated approaches and tools to support evidence-based policy-making to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).