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New Directions for TCDC
VI. A NEW AGENDA: BASIC ELEMENTS OF NEW DIRECTIONS 43. Inevitably, the identification of an agenda for New Directions for TCDC will necessarily involve not only new initiatives but also a reorientation and improvement of existing practices and procedures. This is to be expected, as many of the assumptions underlying TCDC, together with its practices and procedures, continue to be valid, although some would clearly need to be revised. Similarly, in seeking to make TCDC a more effective instrument for promoting collective self-reliance, it will not be necessary to devise in every case entirely new mechanisms, but rather to reshape proven methodologies to respond to new needs. (A) REORIENTATION OF EXISTING PRACTICES 44. Through an ongoing process of evaluation, SU/TCDC has consistently sought to refine its programming activities to ensure they are effective in promoting inter-country exchanges which would result in measurable economic and social gains. A recent review of past experiences in the promotion of TCDC carried out by external consultants on behalf of the Unit also suggests that many of the existing mechanisms for promoting TCDC linkages remain effective and appropriate for promoting both intra-regional and inter-regional exchanges. However, while supporting the retention of many of the key operational modalities, appropriate refinements and improvements are recommended in respect of their application in order to increase their operational effectiveness. The following provides a brief description of the existing TCDC practices to be retained, together with an indication of the specific improvements proposed for increasing their operational efficiency. (i) Support for formulation of National Policies for TCDC 45. An explicit policy regarding the promotion and utilization of TCDC is essential if national development efforts are to actively embrace TCDC. The SU/TCDC will assist countries in formulating or strengthening such policies. This will directly support ECOSOC Resolution 1992/41 which calls on all parties in the development effort to give the TCDC option "first consideration" in technical cooperation activities. (ii) Strengthening of National TCDC Focal Points 46. In order to ensure that national "focal points" function optimally, they should be elevated in status and located organizationally so as to have direct responsibility for, and be significantly involved in, the management of technical cooperation activities. In addition, consideration would need to be given to establishing TCDC focal points in national umbrella organizations representing the private sector, such as Chambers of Commerce and/or the NGO community, in order to provide greater synergy in the efforts of the various actors in society in the promotion of TCDC. (iii) Capacities and Needs Matching Exercises (CNMs) 47. A review and recent evaluation of the experience of past CNMs sponsored by the SU/TCDC suggests the need to ensure that these exercises are an adequately prepared, demand-driven process where needs and capacities identified are realistic in terms of their potential application and relevant to key development objectives of recipient countries and that adequate funding has been arranged to carry out the resulting agreements. 48. SU/TCDC will monitor the implementation of the agreements concluded under each CNM to evaluate the effectiveness of these agreements over time. This will enable the Unit to make a definitive assessment of the implementation rate of such agreements which, in turn, it will share with the participating governments, other developing countries and other interested parties. (iv) Enhancing the Role of the UNDP Country Offices as Facilitators of TCDC 49. To be effective, TCDC requires the support of committed practitioners located in the UNDP country offices who have the responsibility for imbuing the entire UNDP country programme with the spirit of TCDC and for carrying out a dialogue with appropriate government officials, including the national TCDC focal point, on the role of TCDC within the development process. Critical to the success of this effort will be the strong support and commitment which it receives from the UNDP country-based delivery system, led by the Resident Representative, and also from other UN agency representatives. (v) Improved Collaboration with Centres of Excellence 50. In recent years there has been a significant expansion in the number of 'centres of excellence' in the developing countries. In addition, there has been a proliferation of interesting 'think-tanks', business round-tables, NGO forums, NGO data-bases and communications networks as well as technical institutes. SU/TCDC will therefore seek to establish systematic linkages with various centres in an attempt to mobilise their support for the promotion of innovative TCDC programmes. Special emphasis will be placed on establishing effective research and cooperation programmes with partners such as the South Centre and the Third World Network, both of which have been very active in advancing the cause of South-South cooperation. (vi) Expansion of TCDC-INRES to a Multi-Dimensional Data Base System 51. The computerized TCDC-INRES has promoted and facilitated the use of the TCDC modality by maintaining and disseminating information on institutional capacities existing in the developing countries. To intensify the dissemination of information at the global level, SU/TCDC distributed a new software package, INRES-Lite, in late 1994 to all developing countries, UNDP country offices, UN agencies, the regional economic commissions and selected non-governmental organizations. The advantage of this new software package is that it is user-friendly and would enable its users to have direct access to information on institutional capacities in the developing countries. 52. To further accelerate the utilization of the TCDC modality through the use of computer technology, it is proposed that the computerized INRES System be expanded into a multidimensional database that brings together in one place useful information relevant to developmental activities. Such a multi-dimensional system would include data on a selected number of individual experts in each sector in the developing countries; centers of excellence in the developing world; together with a record of successfully completed, innovative projects suitable for replication in other developing countries. In the development of such a multi-dimensional system, SU/TCDC would draw as far as possible on existing systems in the UN system. 53. Preparations are under way to place INRES data and important TCDC documents on the Internet, along with access to the other databases that UNDP has already made available via its Internet gateway. This offers the prospect of world-wide and real-time access to TCDC activities and INRES. (vii) A More Pro-active Role for SU/TCDC 54. Given its central role and responsibility within the UN system for the promotion of TCDC, SU/TCDC intends in future to adopt a more proactive stance in bringing creative and innovative projects to the attention of developing countries and the international development community as a whole, instead of merely reacting to requests from governments and other agencies within the UN system. 55. SU/TCDC will also take the lead in consultations with the regional bureaux in ensuring the full integration of TCDC within UNDP programmes carried out at the national, sub-regional, and regional level. In addition, the Unit will also seek to promote, as apppropriate, increased linkages between its own activities and the TCDC components of these programmes. 56. SU/TCDC will develop suitable TCDC "products" and "project packages" which meet the needs of the developing countries and which, by virtue of their importance, will be likely to attract funding from the donor community as well as from the developing countries themselves. (viii) Promotional Activities 57. SU/TCDC will continue to publish its magazine "Cooperation South" on a semi-annual basis as a means of promoting greater awareness of TCDC. The publication will be modified, however, to make it more substantive than in the past, and also to provide a forum for the discussion of serious development issues relevant to TCDC which are likely to be of special interest to development practitioners as well as interested members of the public. 58. SU/TCDC will also increase its efforts to promote greater sensitization of the developing countries towards TCDC through support for training programmes carried out at the national level. In addition, the Unit will continue to organize suitable training programmes for UN agency representatives, whenever such training is requested. The Unit will also seek to ensure that a suitable TCDC component or module is included in all training programmes organised by UNDP, in a continuing effort to ensure that the concept becomes a pervasive element in the culture of multilateral technical cooperation. Finally, consideration should be given to the introduction of TCDC as a subject of national training programmes and, as appropriate in programmes carried out by relevant international institutes. (B) NEW INITIATIVES 59. In addition to retaining a core of existing TCDC practices and building on their proven success through improvement and refinement, the new global scenario that has emerged offers unique opportunities for the intensification and expansion of TCDC activities based on new and imaginative initiatives. The emergence of new linkages and capabilities as well as new needs at the national, sub-regional, regional and interregional levels places SU/TCDC in a unique position to play an over-arching role as a global facilitator of the TCDC process with the support of the rest of the UN system. This is true especially in areas where bilateral linkages are inadequate or where sustained strategic interventions cannot realistically be provided through other delivery mechanisms. 60. The following section describes a number of new elements recommended for expanding the interventions within the framework of the UN system and beyond. (i) Integration of TCDC and ECDC 61. As originally conceived in the BAPA and through resolutions of the UN General Assembly, TCDC was seen as having an integral relationship to ECDC. However, over the years there has been a tendency for the two concepts, although closely related, to be pursued somewhat independently of each other. This is partly explained by the fact that TCDC and ECDC are institutionally separate within the UN system, with TCDC the responsibility of the UNDP and ECDC the responsibility of UNCTAD. In light of current global realities, it is important and timely to reverse this trend and to renew efforts to ensure that the two concepts become more closely linked at an operational level. 62. This goal could be achieved by identifying areas in which TCDC initiatives could directly support comprehensive ECDC programmes such as the Caracas Programme of Action. SU/TCDC intends to undertake a systematic review of this programme as well as other initiatives being carried out within the ECDC framework to identify opportunities for establishing suitable linkages. 63. Following UN General Assembly decision 49/96, closer collaboration is already taking place on a formalized basis between the units responsible for TCDC and ECDC. This is occurring in the context of the preparation of the UN Secretary-General's report on the status of South-South cooperation and also in respect to the meeting of government experts which will make recommendations on the issues and modalities that might be addressed by a future conference on South-South Cooperation. SU/TCDC and the ECDC Division of UNCTAD have engaged in extensive consultations on these issues and SU/TCDC has in fact agreed to fund a number of consultancy inputs designed to assist UNCTAD in the substantive preparations for the experts meeting, due to be held in late July/early August, 1995. SU/TCDC has also funded other activities executed by UNCTAD which are relevant to the broad objectives of TCDC. 64. The establishment of closer links between TCDC and ECDC is a central aspect of the new strategic thrust which SU/TCDC intends to adopt in the future. (ii) Identification of Pivotal TCDC Countries 65. As described earlier, a number of countries in each developing region have achieved significant economic growth and have either engaged in sponsoring TCDC exchanges or would welcome the opportunity to do so. SU/TCDC will therefore initiate consultations with a number of pivotal countries in each region to identify new and innovative possibilities for implementing TCDC activities at either the regional or interregional level. Such initiatives could be carried out within the framework of a broad Cooperation Agreement between SU/TCDC and the countries concerned which would enable the parties to spell out their respective responsibilities in carrying out specific programmes. (iii) Promotion of "Triangular Cooperation" Arrangements 66. The concept of "triangular cooperation", which involves the participation of developed countries in the TCDC process, has the potential to make a significant contribution to the realization of the objectives of TCDC. Under such arrangements, donor countries can utilize the services of developing countries with the requisite capacity to deliver a technical cooperation input to another developing country at a cost-effective basis. This has occurred in the case of Chile which, with the support of the Netherlands, trained the TCDC focal points in the Central American countries. Similarly, Brazilian expertise was utilized, on the basis of donor funding, in support of technical cooperation activities in Mozambique. The Asian-African Forum initiative supported by Japan also has the potential to be used in this manner. It is possible to conceive a number of possible variations in the application of this basic concept. SU/TCDC will document successful TCDC triangular cooperation arrangements with a view to incorporating such arrangements involving governments, the private sector and NGOs, as appropriate, in its own activities. Information on these experiences will be shared with interested countries. (iv) Transfer of Successful Project Experiences among Developing Countries 68. A major weakness of traditional multilateral technical cooperation has been the failure to systematically document successful project experiences and to establish appropriate mechanisms for transferring such experiences to other developing countries, either within the same region or in other regions. Consequently, many successful and innovative project experiences have not been replicated. This has led to situations in which new technical cooperation interventions have tended to duplicate attempts to find solutions which have already been developed elsewhere. To eliminate this deficiency, SU/TCDC will document innovative and imaginative project experiences developed within UNDP and develop a global inventory of such projects which will be disseminated to all countries through a revised TCDC/INRES, which, as mentioned earlier, will be converted into a multidimensional data-base. In addition, where appropriate, SU/TCDC will be prepared to serve as a mechanism to facilitate the transfer of such project experiences to other developing countries. (v) Formulation of Subject-Specific TCDC "Products" 68. In order to respond to emerging problems which developing countries may need to address on a cooperative basis, SU/TCDC intends to explore the feasibility of formulating specific "project packages" in high impact development cooperation areas which could attract special funding, either from the developing countries themselves or from other donors. As examples, such projects could include specific assistance necessary to enable a select group of developing countries to comply with the requirements of the provisions of internationally accepted agreements such as those relating to the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT), now the World Trade Organization (WTO), or the implementation of a discrete set of activities to be carried out in the context of implementing the SIDS Programme of Action. (vi) The Group of 77 / UNDP Award for TCDC/ECDC 69. The launch of the "Group of 77/UNDP Award for TCDC/ECDC", which will be presented annually to an individual, group or institution to implement a project or carry out an activity deemed to make the greatest contribution to TCDC or ECDC, is designed to promote greater awareness of the importance of South-South Cooperation. The winner of the award will be announced on the anniversary of the G-77 and will be formally presented on the occasion of the annual ministerial meeting of the Group held in New York during the UN General Assemly. (vii) SU/TCDC and the Group of 77 70. SU/TCDC will seek to strengthen its cooperation with the Group of 77 in order to ensure effective support for the implementation of TCDC activities, particularly in the context of the Caracas Programme of Action. The cooperation between SU/TCDC and the G-77 in the management of the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF), for example, has produced good results and will serve as an important basis on which to build a stronger relationship in terms of the promotion of South-South Cooperation. (viii) SU/TCDC and the Donor Community 71. Although TCDC is primarily the responsibility of the developing countries, continued donor support for the modality can make an important contribution to its success. As mentioned earlier, South South cooperation was emphasized as an important element of the l99l DAC Principles on 'New Orientations in Technical Cooperation' which, among other things, stressed the importance for the developing countries to assume increased responsibility for the formulation and management of their technical cooperation programmes. The issue of South-South cooperation has also featured in the discussions which have taken place in the DAC/World Bank/UNDP Network on the effectiveness of technical cooperation in the 1990s. SU/TCDC therefore intends to initiate consultations with donors in order to identify possibilities for increased cooperation in promoting TCDC as a cost effective modality in the delivery of multilateral technical cooperation activities. VII. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS72. The broad elements of the 'New Directions' strategy outlined above would require appropriate institutional arrangements to be put in place to support the substance of the new thrust and its effective operationalization. This section of the report, therefore, addresses the institutional dimension of the New Direction process at the intergovernmental, national and regional level as well as within the UN Development System (UNDS). (a) The High level Committee 73. The HLC should continue to serve as the intergovernmental entity responsible for the review of TCDC. However, within recent years, apart from reviewing TCDC, the Committee has also monitored the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Report of the South Commission on South-South co-operation. In fact, the Committee requested the Administrator to report to its ninth session on the inclusion of the recommendations of the report in the TCDC activities of the developing countries and UN organizations. Bearing in mind the proposal in this report to promote closer operational linkage between TCDC and ECDC, it is recommended that the Committee should in future carry out a more systematic review of the relationship between TCDC and ECDC. (b) The National Level 74. Apart from formulating national TCDC policies, governments should carry out a review of internal institutional arrangements for coordinating and managing TCDC to determine what changes may be necessary to existing arrangements in order to ensure more effective support to the TCDC process. Moreover, governments could facilitate the application of TCDC at the national level by putting in place arrangements that would enable them to better utilize the revised TCDC/INRES information system and to use this resource as a means of exchanging information with other developing countries. 75. The effective promotion of TCDC would require that careful consideration be given to the strategic location of the national TCDC focal point mechanism in the government structure, the provision of adequate staff support and the effective control over resources allocated for TCDC in the national budget and overall development programme. 76. Consideration should also be given to the establishment of a suitable mechanism for incorporating the views of NGOs and the private sector in the articulation of TCDC policy and the planning and implementation of TCDC activities. One possible mechanism would be a national commission comprising representatives from the government together with representatives from umbrella private sector and NGO organizations to serve as a guidance council for promotional and operational activities. NGOs and private sector organizations should also be encouraged to utilize the TCDC/INRES data base as part of their overall information system. (c) The Regional and Sub-Regional Level 77. Regional and sub-regional organizations with clear mandates and specific sectoral or thematic orientation and supported with the resources necessary for carrying out their stated objectives could be utilized as effective conduits for delivering TCDC programmes. SU/TCDC will therefore strengthen its relations with such organizations in an effort to establish appropriate linkages in support of TCDC initiatives. (d) The UN Development System 78. Any proposal for changes in existing institutional arrangements and operational modalities in support of TCDC would need to take into consideration, among other things, existing legislative mandates on the subject, issues relating to the manner in which TCDC can be further enhanced within the UNDS and also the most appropriate location within the UN system of the functions of the institutions responsible for the promotion and application of TCDC, with special reference to the SU/TCDC which serves as the catalyst and coordinator within UNDS in respect of TCDC matters. This latter issue has been the subject of some discussion in recent years. Based on the recognition that the TCDC mandate, as reflected in the BAPA and reinforced by UN General Assembly resolution A/33/134, which endorsed the Plan of Action, is an independent and clearly articulated imperative of international cooperation, supporting institutional arrangements will need to reflect this reality. 79. More generally, there is considerable potential within the UNDS to support the systematic incorporation of TCDC in all operational programmes. Innovative approaches adopted in the various UN agencies, such as FAO's TCDC Protocol, should be replicated to the greatest extent possible. However, a renewed effort would need to be made to fashion operational modalities that will enable the system to become more responsive to TCDC. SU/TCDC will seek to play a proactive role in the future in seeking to ensure that TCDC is seen as a strategic element of multilateral development cooperation within the UNDS. Within UNDP itself, new and innovative approaches will be explored to stimulate the increased application of the TCDC modality in programme and project implementation. 80. SU/TCDC will in future contact national focal points, and national TCDC commissions where they exist, on a regular basis, to inform them of global TCDC developments and will also organize training programmes for focal points, both at the national and regional levels. In the UN organizations and agencies, the 'focal point' mechanism would need to be strengthened and orientation programmes in TCDC should be undertaken more systematically. 81. Based on a more systematic review of the status of TCDC in UNDS, as in the past, UNDP will seek to ensure that the subject is periodically reviewed by the Administrative Coordination Committee (ACC). VIII. FUNDING82. The provision of adequate funding remains central to the realization of the objectives of the New Directions agenda. 83. In reviewing these funding requirements, it is relevant to point out that TCDC represents a cost-effective approach to the delivery of technical cooperation in support of medium- and long-term development objectives. The relevance of TCDC and its unique advantages in tackling priority development issues are being increasingly acknowledged and recognized. Its increased utilization could, therefore, make a significant contribution to multilateral development cooperation by reducing the overall cost of such cooperation and by enhancing its quality. 84. In terms of sources and types of TCDC funding, some of the major possibilities are indicated below. (a) National Resources 85. In keeping with the principle of self reliance, the developing countries themselves should consider allocating resources from their national budgets for the promotion of TCDC. In addition, by meeting the basic thrust of TCDC, this could have an important demonstration effect and, on this basis, attract contributions from other sources. 86. One of the ways of securing optimal use of national resources dedicated to TCDC would be the pooling of resources currently under the administration of different national agencies. Such pooling of resources should also provide a basis for matching external resources with national allocations for TCDC. (b) SU/TCDC 87. In order to increase the capacity of SU/TCDC to promote and implement innovative and imaginative activities, consideration should be given to increasing the allocation of resources to TCDC during the next programming cycle. 88. In addition, SU/TCDC will attempt to assist countries and organisations to obtain financing for specific programmes and will also serve as a resource centre for developing innovative funding packages. (c) IPFs 89. Developing countries should be encouraged to continue to allocate resources from their national IPFs to finance TCDC exchanges among themselves. Moreover, the allocation of resources to activities using the TCDC modality can be enhanced through several mechanisms. First, at the time of preparing or reviewing country programmes, activities should be identified for the application of the TCDC modality. Secondly, the UNDP Project Appraisal Committees (PAC) and the Programme Review Committee (PRC) will be requested to examine whether the TCDC modality has been given due consideration in the design of programmes and projects. Thirdly, UNDP Resident Representatives will be instructed to report specifically on the application of the TCDC modality in their annual report. Fourthly, the Programme and Projects Manual (PPM) will be revised to include instructions for incorporating the TCDC modality. Finally, specific budget lines will be included in UNDP funded programmes and projects in order to identify TCDC elements in such programmes and projects. 90. Similarly, the various regional and sub-regional programmes could also play an important role in allocating resources in support of TCDC initiatives. Regional programmes should, therefore, be systematically reviewed to determine opportunities for the increased application of the TCDC modality. (d) Triangular Funding Arrangements 91. Triangular funding arrangements should be explored as a means of increasing resources for the promotion of TCDC. Under this arrangement, donor countries would provide third party funding for TCDC activities carried out between developing countries. The model is now fairly well established and is used by a number of countries in different regions. Its application would need to be expanded, especially in view of the shrinking volume of external financing for traditional development cooperation activities. (e) Special Financing Packages for TCDC 'Products' 92. As indicated earlier, the identification of specific products and project packages to deal with high priority issues relevant to the needs of the developing countries to be met through TCDC interventions may be able to attract appropriate donor funding. Through TCDC projects focused on specific problems on a sustained basis, products can be developed to deal with common issues confronting a large number of developing countries. Such 'products' could, inter alia, include plans for the implementation of WTO rules established under the Uruguay Round negotiations of the GATT, joint implementation arrangements for meeting obligations under the Convention on Climate Change, a macro-economic framework for structural adjustment protecting social investments, the establishment of a framework for the management of foreign aid and appropriate debt management systems. These products will contribute to increased economic cooperation and global growth and, on this basis, attract appropriate donor support for TCDC activities. (f) Private Sector Funding 93. In recent years, a number of major private sector corporations have emerged in the developing world. Some of these corporations operate transnationally and have significant resources at their disposal. Such corporations could become valuable sources of potential funding for TCDC. IX. CONCLUSION94. This report has sought to review the TCDC experience over nearly two decades since the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action in 1978. On this basis, it advances a number of proposals regarding the substantive policy and operational thrust as well as the elements of a new agenda that will enable TCDC to serve as a dynamic instrument of multilateral technical cooperation. These proposals have been formulated against the background of the far reaching changes taking place in the structure of international economic relations which have important implications for the future of multilateral technical cooperation. In fact, an important premise of the report is that, given the changes occurring in the traditional structure of multilateral technical cooperation, TCDC is likely to assume increasing importance in the future. 95. In view of the dynamic nature of the evolution of multilateral development cooperation, the report is presented as an initial statement in an ongoing dialogue on TCDC which is taking place in the context of an emerging global agenda that will be shaped by the contributions of a number of international conferences such as the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit on Social Development, the Fourth World Conference on Women, Habitat II as well as the proposed Agenda for Development which is expected to be adopted at the fiftieth session of the UN General Assembly. The definition of the role of TCDC and ECDC in this global agenda will also be shaped by the discussions which will take place during the preparatory processes leading up to the proposed Conference on South-South Cooperation and during the Conference itself. 96. It is appropriate, that as the UN celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, special consideration should be given to TCDC which, over the years, has developed as an integral part of the operational activities of the UN system. It is also significant that 1995 marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption by the UNDP Governing Council of the 'New Dimensions' decision which called for the application of TCDC as a major technical cooperation modality in programmes and projects funded by the organization. 97. The decisions of the HLC on New Directions for TCDC will make an important contribution to the further elaboration of TCDC as an instrument for harnessing the significant capacities which exist in the developing world in support of a truly global enterprise in the service of development. Annex IList of Participants ( External Panel on New Directions for TCDC New York, 6 - 7 March l995)
Summary of Main Recommendations of the Report
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