Institutional sustainability: at what price? UNDP and the new cost‐sharing model in Brazil

Abstract

By the turn of the twenty‐first century, UNDP had embraced a new form of funding based on ‘cost sharing’, with this source accounting for 51 per cent of the organisation's total expenditure worldwide in 2000. Unlike the traditional donor–recipient relationship so common with development projects, the new cost‐sharing modality has created a situation whereby UNDP local offices become ‘subcontractors’ and agencies of the recipient countries become ‘clients’. This paper explores this transition in the context of Brazil, focusing on how the new modality may have compromised UNDP's ability to promote Sustainable Human Development, as established in its mandate. The great enthusiasm for this modality within the UN system and its potential application to other developing countries increase the importance of a systematic assessment of its impact and developmental consequences.

Notes

As defined by the Brazilian government, the aims of MTC programmes and projects are ‘to promote a qualitative and sustainable change at the level of the recipient institutions, as well as generating positive impact on target sectors, mainly through mobilisation of human resources, training, and the occasional complementation of recipient institutions' infrastructure’ (ABC 2000).

UNDP resources are provided in two broad categories: regular (core) donor countries' voluntary contributions; and other resources (non‐core), which involve cost sharing and trust funds.

The literature covering such relationships is vast. For an introduction, the interested reader is referred to a special 2000 issue of Third World Quarterly 21(4) entitled ‘NGO Futures: Beyond Aid’ (guest edited by Alan Fowler) and in the same year Development in Practice 10(3&4) for a selection of papers.

NEX is also employed by the FAO, the World Meteorological Organisation, the United Nations Drug Control Programme, and the International Timber Organisation.

The HDI, for instance, has been extensively used for targeting government programmes.