The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), has launched new guidance on South-South and triangular cooperation mainstreaming across project cycles.
Adopted into UNDP’s programming manual (Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures), the guidance reinforces the organization’s commitment to fostering cooperation among developing nations in support of Sustainable Development.
“UNDP, with its extensive footprint across 170 countries and territories, has been instrumental in crafting the United Nations System-Wide Strategy on South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development, as well as its Action Plan,” said Mr. Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, in a joint launch message with Ms. Dima Al-Khatib, UNOSSC Director. “UNDP’s leadership continues to be vital in steering the successful implementation of this strategy. To further advance our efforts, UNDP has been proactively enhancing its operational tools and institutional capacity, aiming at embedding the principles of South-South and triangular cooperation more deeply into our programmatic activities.”
The newly introduced guidance, entitled Considerations for South-South and Triangular Cooperation Design, Implementation, and Documentation, aims to embed South-South and Triangular Cooperation principles more systematically into UNDP’s programmatic activities, thereby enhancing the support for sustainable development endeavors.
Crafted through a joint effort between UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), and UNOSSC, this tool aligns with the strategic frameworks of both UNDP (2022-2025) and UNOSSC (2022-2025). It offers a comprehensive approach to incorporating South-South cooperation into UNDP projects, featuring a typology of South-South engagements, a project-level activity checklist, and specific evaluation questions rooted in the South-South principles delineated in key international agreements, including the Outcome Document of the 2nd High-Level Conference of SSC (BAPA+40).
To further empower UNDP Country Offices and their partners in South-South cooperation design, implementation, and evaluation, a series of webinars will be rolled-out offering insights into strategic alignment, partner engagement, and the integration of South-South and triangular cooperation into program development phases. Good practices from projects that have championed different aspects of South-South mainstreaming will be showcased, focusing on their technical application of South-South cooperation approaches.
This initiative underscores UNDP and UNOSSC’s dedication to leveraging South-South and triangular cooperation as a pivotal mechanism for achieving the 2030 Agenda, promoting inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and resilience to development challenges.
