UNDP for UNKT Goals

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN System in Kosovo

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the coordinator of UN development efforts in Kosovo.  The organisation through the Resident Representative Ms. Osnat Lubrani has reorganized its joint programming efforts through the UN Common Development Plan for Kosovo (CDP).  Lubrani is also serves as the UN Development Coordinator in Kosovo. A new, more cohesive and results-orientated cooperation mechanism is underpinned and supported by the Office of the UN Development Coordinator (O/DC) for Kosovo. The operationalization of the CDP through the work planning process of UN agencies, funds and programmes will be facilitated and monitored through this mechanism.

Operational support to joint programming

UNDP leads and contributes to the joint planning and implementation through the following structure:

Office of the Development Coordinator: The DC is the key point of interface between the UNKT and other actors engaged in the Kosovo arena, including UNMIK, Kosovo's Aid Management Platform, key donors and higher levels of government. The O/DC will represent the UNKT at the level of the CDP Steering Committee, lead the UNKT effort to prioritize and coordinate activities under the CDP and link the TGs with the integrated priorities of the UN Strategic Framework. The DC will also coordinate the UNKT in joint resource mobilization for CDP priorities and engage non-resident UN agencies, funds and programmes to participate in critical CDP initiatives. Through the inter-agency Knowledge Hub and secretariat support to the TGs, the O/DC will provide core staff to facilitate joint analysis and policy decision-making for CDP management, implementation and evaluation

Theme Groups : Four Theme Groups (one for each Strategic Theme) will be established within the UNKT, bringing together UNKT members with the greatest engagement in each theme. The first two TGs will operate together, to consider interlinked outcomes for social policy. These TGs will provide strategic management of UN cooperation towards each CDP Result and associated Outcomes, meeting regularly to formulate, guide and monitor the delivery of outputs, coordinate resource mobilization and further the development of external UN partnerships. Although the TGs will be UN internal coordination groups primarily, they will also link regularly with relevant Kosovo counterparts and donors, for more detailed and inclusive joint planning.  The TGs will also be responsible for mainstreaming gender and broader human rights accountability into CDP implementation.

Inter-agency Policy, Knowledge & Advocacy Hub: an inter-agency Knowledge Hub will be established supported by the O/DC and by staff participating from the UNKT. The Knowledge Hub will be a core resource for all UNKT work, specifically geared towards achievement of CDP goals and the Paris Principle of managing for results. Its primary tasks will be to provide the analytical and evidence basis to enable CDP oversight at the strategic level through the TGs. It will absorb functions of working groups already operating as part of UNKT coordination.

Joint Programme Development Groups (JPDGs) and field level joint programming: to ensure that priority joint outputs for each UNKT Outcome are planned and delivered in the most inclusive possible way, Joint Programme Development Groups will be established for each major cooperative initiative as funds become available. These will include all relevant implementing partners for the initiative, including Kosovan authorities, civil society, NGOs, donors and UN agencies. JPDGs will serve as the consultative body to develop each initiative, and will be structurally tailored to the specific and differing needs of each initiative (i.e. some may be very clearly geared towards ground-level activities and others may have a broader remit linked to advocacy and participation). PMGs will provide regular reports to the TG under which their initiative falls. The UNKT also coordinates closely at the level of programme implementation in the field. Joint programmes already in process, or developed under the CDP, will have a clear governance structure leveraging the comparative advantage of each UN agency to enable a detailed engagement with local counterparts and civil society. 

UN Advocacy Group: the UNKT currently has an active inter-agency Advocacy Group, which ensures that public messaging on key issues is consistent and that the UNKT speaks with one voice on Kosovo's development agenda. This group will continue as part of the UN Policy, Knowledge and Advocacy Hub, to produce public information materials geared towards the promotion and dissemination of CDP goals.

Cross-cutting issues - gender and human rights accountability insurance: The UNKT is committed to ensuring that the CDP delivers its promises to women and the most vulnerable groups, and will strengthen its internal and partnership oversight and coordination mechanisms on gender and human rights through the CDP.  First and foremost, the TGs will be responsible integrating these cross-cutting issues into CDP planning, management, implementation and resource mobilization - fostering system-wide ownership and accountability. Supporting this effort, a Gender Accountability Mechanism (GAM) will be established within the UN Knowledge Hub, as a core part of the monitoring and evaluation strategy for the CDP. The GAM will inform the work of the COGs from the perspective of gender-accountability and ensure that gender indicators are present and evaluated for each CDP outcome. It will also strengthen agency capacity to institute internal monitoring on gender.

Contribution to UNKT Common Development Plan Themes

United Nations Development Programme contributes to the achievement of UN Kosovo Team goals through three programme components:

Inclusive Growth:Fostering an enabling environment for generation of inclusive economic growth and employment remains a priority. UNDP has pioneered an active labour market programme (ALMP) in Kosovo and this has lead to the adoption of an employment strategy by the government based on ALMP. In order to enable stakeholders to exchange information and cooperate on the labour market, UNDP supports the establishment of a Labour Market Information System, and engages with each of the stakeholders (MLSW, municipal employment offices, and vocational education training institutions, companies) in order to bridge the gap between the unemployed and the potential jobs or businesses. This programme is addressed to young women and men entering the labour market after school or university, to increasing numbers of readmitted persons returning to Kosovo, to minority communities, and people with disabilities. The reintegration of IDPs and returnees remains a priority for the social inclusion agenda. UNDP will work to develop the capacities of local and central institutions for provision of services to returnees (voluntary and forced), IDPs, Roma, Ashkali and Egiptians and other vulnerable groups (with special focus on women) in support of their sustainable integration in the community.

UNDP will continue to promote stability through support for integrated, inclusive community development by strengthening the capacities of relevant institutions to deliver public and social services in an inclusive and gender-sensitive manner. An expansion of area-based development initiatives will support local institutions, private sector, and civil society in northern Kosovo to facilitate economic development, community stabilisation, and women's empowerment. Activities will be extended to new Northern Kosovo Municipalities contributing to the overall local development in the area, availability and quality of employment opportunities and services including socially excluded and vulnerable groups. UNDP will seek to reduce urban-rural income disparities through targeting isolated and disadvantaged rural areas. In addition, initiatives that encourage regional cooperation and integration will be supported, and efforts made to capture and share knowledge between neighbouring countries.

Democratic governance: In the area of democratic governance UNDP will focus on strengthening capacities of central and local governments for gender responsive, quality policy processes. Civil society participation, women's empowerment and greater transparency and accountability will receive important emphasis across these areas. Capacities of public administration in Kosovo will be developed through on-the-job mentoring and coaching for high ranking civil servants, and other support will be mobilised as necessary to support the implementation of the public administration strategy. Jointly with other UN agencies, UNDP will support the Kosovo Assembly, executive institutions and civil society organizations to improve the legislative, budgeting and implementation processes, strengthen the legislative's monitoring and oversight mechanisms and achieve better internal and external accountability. UNDP will continue to support the decentralization processes, building on the assessment led by the Ministry of Local Government Administration of the results of the local government reform undertaken during 2005-2010. Further support will include capacity development of new municipalities and local officials and improvement of secondary legislation in order to make local-level development more inclusive and other interventions to strengthen inter-municipal cooperation. Rule of law, a strong judiciary and access to justice for all are cornerstone of democratic governance. Kosovo has made good progress in establishing a legal aid system and strengthening its judiciary, but the backlogs of cases is still very high, people's access to justice is constrained and the safety and security mechanisms at local level are fragile.

Environmental sustainability: UNDP sees as a priority to help Kosovo authorities at central and local levels to improve the management and conservation of natural resources, with gender considerations applied at every stage. Thus, UNDP will support the establishment of the first national park in the Sharr mountains, and will work with the central and local level officials to help them prepare management plans, and gain capacity for the management of the park, including monitoring and management of valuable species, expansion of tourism activities, including possible trans-boundary initiatives, and development of income-generating activities protective of the environment for villagers living in the protected area. The management of the national park is encompassed in a more comprehensive programme of support to the municipality of Dragash based on sustainable development principles. On the example of the first national park, UNDP will explore possibilities to disseminate further models of integrated management of natural resources.