Integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs) can help countries design and deliver financing solutions that can support the achievement of national sustainable development objectives, and a sustainable recovery. Since INFFs were first introduced as part of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, interest in them has grown steadily. The international community has responded by developing tools and providing funding for national reform efforts.  In the last two years, the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF), led by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), has published a series of guidance materials to support INFF implementation. Governments in over 80 countries are working with UN Country Teams, UNDP and other UN system agencies to implement INFFs. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout have further heightened interest in INFFs, with several countries adopting them in support of recovery plans. With a view to complementing the implementation support provided by partners, UNDESA is proposing a targeted support program for sustainable development and SDG Financing in 4 Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as part of the DESA-led Financing for SIDS (FINS Initiative). DESA’s work is complementary to UNDP country support, providing high caliber integrated experts who work in country, as well as tailored mentoring support and training at the regional and global level. This in-depth support both addresses the special needs of SIDS and will serve as a basis for refining and developing global analytical work. The SIDS work will thus be levered to support implementation of INFFs across a wide group of countries. INFFs can help SIDS develop effective and comprehensive frameworks for financing sustainable development and the SDGs at the country level, by considering all types of finance (i.e., public, private, domestic, and international) in a risk-informed manner. Initially, three African SIDS (Guinea Bissau, Mauritius, and Seychelles) expressed interest in receiving support on financing for sustainable development under the DESAled FINS initiative. To obtain support under the project, the government entity in charge of overseeing and coordinating the design of the financing strategy and its alignment with the country’s national development priorities (most usually the Ministry of Finance), in coordination with other relevant core Ministries as appropriate, must send a formal request for support to UNDESA through the UN Resident Coordinator Offices (UNRCOs).  As of August 2022, Mauritius and Seychelles have sent formal requests of support for the development of an integrated national financing strategy to UNDESA. This was the product of substantive exchanges with country officials that were facilitated by the UNRCO, UN country teams (UNCTs) and benefitted from engagement with other development partners such as UNDP.  Country selection for the project is a continuing process and conversations are well underway with other SIDS with similar levels of interest and political backing for INFF operationalization, such as the Dominican Republic and Vanuatu. 

Around 12 least developed countries (LDC) are scheduled to leave the category in coming years, more than doubling the number which have left the category in the 47 years since it was formed. Many of these potential graduates are concerned about losing access to the international support measures (ISMs) provided by the international community. After graduation, in some cases after a transition period, countries stand to face reduced support or forego access to support measures in trade, official development assistance and other areas such as travel support and reduced budgetary contributions to the UN. The loss of these benefits disincentivizes graduating LDCs, most of which are along the Belt and Road, from leaving the category, a process which is not automatic but is ultimately the sovereign decision of governments. The drop-off in international support also risks stalling development progress after graduation. LDC graduation and assistance for LDCs are mentioned in ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ approximately 44 times, particularly with a view to ‘leaving no-one behind’. Support for LDCs after they leave the category is an important way of helping these countries meet the SDGs by 2030.
The project will work with the governments of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal and Timor Leste, as well as international specialists and UN entities, to develop a set of proposals for post-graduation assistance. Some of these will be specific to the country concerned, and some generic – ie. applicable across the board. The proposals will partly aim at mitigating the potential impact of forfeiting existing ISMs – such as the loss of duty-free, quota-free market access under the European Everything But Arms Initiative – and will partly take the form of fresh measures to assist with the new development landscape following graduation, such as new infrastructure investment to support trade diversification. The key beneficiaries are thus the populations of these countries, totaling some 269 million people, intermediated through the Ministries of Planning, Trade, the Central Banks and private sector institutions. These will also be the prime entities involved with implementation in each country, alongside teams of national and international consultants overseen by UNDESA staff.
The project will first result in a concrete list, for each country, of new proposed assistance mechanisms for the post-graduation landscape. Communications and advocacy measures built into the project will aim at incorporating these mechanisms into international processes such as the forthcoming new Programme of Action for LDCs to be launched after 2020, and ideally some of the measures will be adopted by donors and trading partners. They will also be incorporated into government planning. Secondly, beyond the development and publicity of these measures, the project will strengthen policy frameworks and institutions for the adoption and use of selected assistance mechanisms in target countries.
Analysis and recommendations will be developed and published in an in-depth analytical study. Subject to government priorities and ratification, they will be included in the government planning documents of target countries, supported by development partners, and implemented with a view to enhancing sustainable development in the post-graduation era. An anticipated secondary outcome will be to incentivize the next graduating LDCs to leave the category, given new assurances of support.

Micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  MSMEs help reduce levels of poverty through job creation and economic growth, they are key drivers of employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship for women, youth and groups in vulnerable situations, and also make up the majority of the world’s food producers and ensure sustainable food production systems, they play a critical role in closing the gender gap as they ensure women’s full and effective participation in the economy and in society. Despite their noted contributions to the achievement of the SDGs, MSMEs, especially women and youth-owned enterprises, have been hit the hardest by the negative socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The urgent need to enhance MSME resilience has been prioritized in the General Assembly resolution A/RES/74/270 ‘Global Solidarity to fight the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)’ and the Secretary-General’s report ‘Shared responsibility, global solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic’. In accordance with official expressions of interest from pilot countries, the project will support the implementation of integrated and inclusive policy measures that enhance MSME resilience, including building an enabling policy environment and improving capacity and skills among MSME entrepreneurs. It will build the capacity of policymakers to design and implement effective policy measures tailormade to demands of MSME entrepreneurs, as well as improve the capacity of MSME entrepreneurs, particularly women and youth MSME entrepreneurs, expanding their access to financial resources, high-value market opportunities and innovative techniques that enhance resilience. Capacity building workshops, policy dialogue, technical trainings and study tours will be delivered to build the capacities of policymakers to formulate and implement structural transformation initiatives that include MSMEs as well as enhance the abilities of MSME entrepreneurs to access and adopt good practices and innovations conducive for MSME resilience. The project will deliver guidelines, toolkits and knowledge products to disseminate experience and good practices on MSME resilience for building forward better among pilot countries. It will endeavor to develop and promote a community of practice (CoP), targeting policymakers, MSME entrepreneurs and other stakeholders committed to fostering MSME resilience and building forward back from both project pilot countries, as well as countries willing to contribute to the project with their expertise and resources. To ensure its long-term sustainability, the project will leverage existing partnerships with government counterparts, Resident Coordinators’ Offices, UN Country Teams and private sector partners, which DSDG/DESA has built through implementing the current MSME project from 2017. To scale up sustained impact, the project will pursue opportunities to align with inter-governmental process, global and regional initiatives, such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in the Asia-Pacific region, creating synergies and leveraging resources for continued implementation of project achievements beyond its lifecycle. MSME entrepreneurs, in particular women and youth MSME entrepreneurs, are the targeted beneficiaries of this project. Project stakeholders include government authorities, development partners, private sector, civil society and research institutions. Eventually, by enhancing MSME resilience, the project will expand MSME contribution to shared prosperity, sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, sustainable patterns of production and consumption, reductions in inequality, and solidarity and cooperation among countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. 

The project aims to help five Least Developed Countries (LDCs) (four in Asia, one in the Pacific) increase their chances of achieving structural economic and social progress toward and beyond graduation from LDC status. This, for the two implementing organizations, involves: (i) provision of country-specific analytical material on the implications of LDC graduation; vulnerability and resilience-building; and smooth transition strategies; (ii) relevant advisory services to policy makers; and (iii) action to help project recipients and LDCs in general understand and use the export-related new requirements issued by trading partners.
The economies of graduating LDCs, while demonstrating forms of structural economic progress, often remain little diversified and dependent on a small number of products or commodities for export. The transformation these countries aim to achieve or pursue implies a range of structural economic changes, notably from lower to higher levels of productivity and value addition. Most graduating countries with an agenda for such progress will need post-LDC support measures, possibly new forms of special treatment after LDC status.
The context of reclassification from LDC status is an opportunity, for these countries, to step up their plea for alternative support measures after graduation, with a view to maintaining their momentum of progress. In short, making the most of LDC benefits while these are still available, then achieving a smooth transition to post-LDC status with some alternative support measures is a broad agenda of these States, an agenda they expect UNDESA and UNCTAD to help them bring to fruition. The project offers the two organizations and the five recipients a practical framework for achieving this goal.
Key stakeholders under the project are government officials in the ministries associated with LDC graduation and its implications: Foreign Affairs, Planning, Finance, Trade and Commerce. The project will enhance the capacities of selected officials within these ministries to: (i) better understand the implications of graduation from LDC status; (ii) incorporate policies aimed at mitigating vulnerability and building resilience into planning documents; (iii) formulate and enact smooth transition strategies; and (iv) keep up with changing international trade requirements.

The project aims at protecting and broadening the tax base of developing countries in Africa by strengthening the capacity of their National Tax Administrations (NTAs) and Ministries of Finance (MoFs) to effectively apply double tax treaties, drawing on the United Nations Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries (UN Model). This will help improve the investment climate and combat tax evasion, and thus increase tax revenues for investment in sustainable development. During the first phase of the project, a group of international tax experts will produce a draft of an updated and expanded revision of the United Nations Handbook on Selected Issues in Protecting the Tax Base of Developing Countries (the Handbook), drawing on the latest experiences and pressing concerns of developing countries on tax base protection issues, as expressed by representatives of NTAs and MoFs in recently held meetings and workshops organized by FfDO. To operationalize the guidance contained in the Handbook and make it accessible to a broader audience of stakeholders in developing countries, the experts will complement the revised Handbook with hands-on toolkits, called Practical Portfolios, on relevant tax base protection topics. Feedback and inputs on the revision and expansion of the Handbook, as well as on the Practical Portfolios, will be sought through the capacity development Workshop on Double Tax Treaties and Base Eroding Payments for Developing Countries. This activity will take place in Nairobi in the first quarter of 2017 and benefit from additional sources of UN funding (including through the United Nations Development Account project No. 1415A). The workshop will aim at increasing awareness and understanding of the UN Model among tax officials in NTAs and MoFs of developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and offer an ideal opportunity to discuss relevant BEPS-related issues covered in the Handbook and in the Practical Portfolios.
A second Workshop on Practical Issues in Protecting the Tax Base of Developing Countries will take place in Addis Ababa in the third quarter of 2017, with a view to further strengthen the capacity of NTAs and MoFs officials from Sub-Saharan African countries. The final updated edition of the Handbook and the Practical Portfolios will be officially launched on the occasion of this workshop.

The project aims to help six least developed countries (LDCs), two in Africa, two in Asia and two in the Pacific, that are either: i) assessed as eligible for graduation the first time and those close to meeting the graduation threshold; or ii) graduating and graduated from LDC status - to adjust their preparation for graduation in the wake of Covid-19 and to build greater resilience for a smooth transition in a post-Covid environment. The project offers dedicated capacity development support in the form of policy and technical advice and on-the-job coaching directly linked to the six service offering lines (SOLs) of the LDC Sustainable Graduation Support Facility (SGSF) delivered through the project’s seven outputs. Each country may co-design the specific support provided under each output to reflect each country’s priorities, context and in sync with their national and sectoral planning, budgeting, monitoring and reporting timelines and processes. The project is expected to contribute to strengthened national capacity of recipient countries: to access and apply information on new product requirements in export markets with a view to increasing exports and the use of ISMs; and to integrate resilience-building and smooth transition strategies into national and sectoral plans and policies. 
 

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 project aims to enhance and strengthen knowledge, policy development and national capacities of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to improve their policies and programmes supporting the growth of micro-, small-, and medium-enterprises (MSMEs) in order to promote productive activities, job creation, income generation and entrepreneurship especially among socially disadvantaged groups including women, youth, and to effectively contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The project activities focus on developing policy and program options to build capacities and promote MSMEs in developing countries, to develop global and regional networks for enhancing collaboration and partnerships, to exchange experiences and lessons learned, including through HLPF.
Sustainable development requires growth of economic activities, production of goods and services, creation of employment opportunities, revenue growth and infrastructure development without compromising environmental and social integrity. In this regard, the role of the private sector, in particular, of MSMEs cannot be overemphasized. Micro-, small- and medium-enterprises are present in almost every country of the world. Their role is even more vital in the developing countries. Formal SMEs contribute up to 45 percent of total employment and up to 33 percent of national income (GDP) in emerging economies. These numbers are significantly higher when micro enterprises and informal SMEs are included. MSMEs often involve people with little or no financial resources who also face tremendous barriers to access the conventional financial institutions for start-up businesses due to their poverty and lack of collateral assets. In addition, MSMEs are constrained by lack of capacity and knowledge on launching businesses, market access and other resources. Furthermore, many developing countries have not been able to fully tap the potentials of MSMEs due to weak policy, institutional and support mechanisms. MSMEs can be a powerful vehicle to improve economic and social conditions of individuals, communities and society. Accordingly, the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development has specific targets regarding MSMEs under Goal 8 but the significance of and support for MSMEs have been mentioned in many other Goals and Targets.
Add core problems/issues: lack of access to financial resources, credit, business operation capacities, market analysis skills and management skills. Lack of regional and global initiatives to strengthen the capacities of government agencies and financial sectors to provide necessary policy and operation support to the MSMEs.
Who are the key beneficiaries? The public sector agencies, in particular the ministries/agencies of planning and economic development, as well as the business association in support of MSMEs, and private sector, including the financial sector and trade associations, will be the main beneficiaries of the project. It is expected that the eventual beneficiaries of the project will be the MSME entrepreneurs including women and youth.
What/whose capacities will be strengthened by this project? Government ministries/agencies, business associations in support of MSMEs, MSME entrepreneurs, credit agencies and other lending institutions for MSMEs.
Main entities involved? DSD together with DPAD, FfD, UNDP, UNIDO, UNCTAD, ADB, AFDB and WB and other UN system partners; WBCSD and other business groups and foundations in support of MSMEs, through collaboration in desk studies, assessments, workshops and when appropriate, advisory services.
What capacities to be enhanced? Planning, policy formulation, training, market analysis, access to credit, business plan development, business management, accounting, etc. Building global and regional networks of MSME practitioners, financial sector, IT sector and relevant government agencies.

This project provided technical assistance to four least developed countries (LDCs), Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Lao PDR and Tanzania, on different aspects of their efforts to integrate the 2030 Agenda into national development plans and strategies. The work focused on areas that many countries have identified as a priority for technical assistance in their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs): policy coherence and inclusiveness (including aspects such as modeling, institutional arrangements and stakeholder engagement); financing of national development priorities; and data and monitoring.
The assistance was tailored to the specific needs and demands of each country. In addition to delivering the technical assistance itself, the project piloted an approach to DESA interdivisional work in close cooperation with the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) of each country.

The proposed project aims to address the lack of systematic and long-term asset management at the municipal level in the four least developed countries (LDCs). The ultimate objective of improving municipal asset management is to help municipalities meet a required level of basic services, in the most cost-effective manner, through the management of physical assets (land, buildings, infrastructure) for present and future customers. This objective is accomplished through enhanced lifecycle asset management and portfolio asset management. Lifecycle asset management encompasses all practices associated with physical infrastructure and property so that decisions are made based on the lowest long-term cost rather than short-term savings. Portfolio management involves managing groups of assets to maximize value and investment for the entire portfolio of assets rather than individual or single groups of assets. The project will follow a four-pronged strategy, consisting of (i) helping target countries assess the needs of their municipalities in asset management by training central government officials in the application of a diagnostic tool to review municipal assets in a holistic and integrated way and identifying critical areas for improvements; (ii) training municipal officials in the formulation and implementation of customized asset management action plans (AMAPs) that can be effectively linked to a medium-term budget and a long-term sustainable development strategy; (iii) increasing the dialogue among different stakeholders, in particular between central government agencies and municipal authorities to better understand the impact of existing policies, laws and regulations on municipal asset management and explore areas of reform and improvement; and (iv) sharing lessons learned and general policy recommendations with other LDCs. Accordingly, the project should result in the creation and implementation of AMAPs in the target countries in support of sustainable development, as well as a comprehensive publication of policy lessons that provides general guidance to other municipal governments in LDCs. Municipal governments in target countries (no more than 3 per country) will be chosen in consultation with the cooperating entities and national governments to ensure the project can leverage existing work of partner agencies and fits well into national sustainable development strategies. To make sure the proposed AMAPs will be implemented and lead to concrete actions on the ground, specific attention will be paid to ensuring that the sequencing of recommended actions is tailored to the municipal context; existing skills and technologies are considered and municipal ownership is ensured.