B oRa B esgül 26 - Contemporary global challenges in geopolitics, security policy and world ec

II.1. Interagency cooperation of un agencies within the framework of SDGs

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Abstract

This paper aims to draw an accurate picture of the interagency cooperation of United Nations (UN) agencies within the framework of the newly established Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to understand how and to what extent different agents in the UN system cooperate, the research project applies semi-structured interviews with UN officials as the primary data collection method. Expert interviews have been selected within UNIDO, UNDP, UNODC, and WHO, taking into account that these agencies have strong cooperation due to the nature of their assigned tasks. Although UN funds and programmes are overall highly diverse, this research focuses only on the cooperation within the UNIDO-UNDP and UNODC-WHO partnerships and seeks to conduct a cooperation analysis that can be applied easily to other complex institutions within the UN system. The author also investigates to what extent the inter-agency cooperation has changed after the adoption of the SDGs and what are the virtues and shortcomings of the inter-agency cooperation as things stand. Overall, cooperation problems, horizontal governance, a lack of joint programming, and the absence of a decent communication channel hinder attaining a strengthened partnership between the agencies.

Keywords: United Nations, agencies, cooperation, Sustainable Development Goals

26 PhD Candidate – CUB IR Doctoral School, bora.besgul@gmail.com

II�1�1� Introduction

A crucial development in terms of UN interagency cooperation was the adoption of the Millennium Declaration and its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (l^e B^lanc, d. 2014).

Although it can be claimed that these goals have been successful on a large scale, it is hard to maintain that the interagency cooperation has

been strengthened, a problem which seems to have led to less efficient service delivery. Nevertheless, the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 appeared to be the cutting edge of the United Nations system. The United Nations agencies have aligned themselves with specific goals which are cross-cutting, allowing for greater cooperation

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among different agencies and ensuring effective implementation in order to resolve one of the foremost criticisms the UN received in the time of MDGs (namely, that UN activities were not unified due to duplication of tasks and miscommunication) (K^lingeBiel, s.

1998). This research starts with the questions: How has inter-agency cooperation changed after the adoption of the SDGs? Plus: What are the virtues and shortcomings of inter-agency cooperation now?

In order to answer these questions, the author has had to investigate existent cooperations among UN agencies. However, concentrating on every partnership in the UN system would make the research very broad and hardly possible due to the high number of joint projects among agencies as well as time and budget constraints. The activities of the UN funds and programmes are highly diverse (B^aRKin, j. 2015).

Some institutions have a sectoral orientation (e.g. nutrition), others a target-group-specific one (e.g.

children). Meanwhile, the most extensive UN program, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), has no fixed focus but nevertheless plays a crucial role in coordinating the UN’s development activities. Therefore, the author has had to narrow down the scope of

their research by focusing only on specific agencies. Agencies were selected on the basis of the fields they operate in common, and of their links to another UN organ.

The data collection process was conducted with semi-structured interviews with UN officials of certain agencies as United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and World Health Organisation (WHO).

Moreover, the preliminary research has revealed that no previous research has been done in terms of inter-agency cooperation in the time of SDGs. Even though SDG 17 aims to increase partnership for the goals, it barely emphasises the importance of the UN agencies’

interagency cooperation. Finally, because there is a practical application for the future activities of the UN, and there is an evidence-based gap concerning interagency cooperation within the UN system, researching this topic appears to be both relevant and timely. To this end, the paper aims to address this evidence-based gap and to attract subsequent analysts into the topic.

Even though some documents point out the problem of inter-agency cooperation in the UN system (Sixty-ninth General Assembly

Thematic Debate United Nations 2015), the existing literature puts its emphasis more on the possibilities of strengthening cooperation of UN with the regional and sub-regional organisations in the field (silva, m. l. 2003) and overlooks the importance of cooperation among UN agencies to reach desired targets. As emphasised earlier, Goal 17 itself also barely draws attention to the UN agencies’ cooperation with only some partial exceptions:

“In order to gain access to science, technology, and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, should be enhanced,” “Global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence, enhances policy coherence for sustainable development. (UNDP Goal 17 Targets 2018).

Stephan Kliengebiel made the following claim about UN cooperation: some substantive profiles of some agencies were unclear – notably, UNDP’s functions; there was inadequate political control and coordination within the UN; there was insufficient coordination between the UN and the specialized UN agencies and, last but not least,

there had been a proliferation of UN development-cooperation agencies, entailing fragmentation of tasks as well as overlapping functions and duplicated work, inadequate quality and insufficient cost awareness (K^lingeBiel, s. 1998).

Further relevant research was done by Steffan Bauer and Frank Biermann (B^aueR, s. – B^ieRmann, F. 2004). This study analyses the progress of cooperation and collaboration between UNDP and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with a view to the integration of their respective policy objectives within the overall framework of Sustainable Development (SD) in particular. The paper also indicates that the policy integration for SDGs between this cooperation is somewhat problematic due to administrative pathologies. Additionally, it points out that the structural imbalance between environmental and development institutions obstructs policy integration on the ground. A cohesive approach that recognises how the SDGs are interlinked is required (UNODC Guidance Note 2018). Finally, after resolution A/72.

L52 of the General Assembly, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed claims that there is strong evidence that the cooperation among the UN Agencies has so far been a cacophony whereas today

we have an opportunity to make a symphony for the SDGs, which can make a real difference to the UN on the ground (UN News 2018).

In this respect, the Digital Era Governance (DEG) concept can make a particular difference in the context of the UN system;

reverse agentification and disruption, joined-up governance, a horizontal approach, re-planning of back-office functions, network simplification, interactive information-giving and searching, restructuring on the ground of demand, data warehousing, agile administrative processes, sustainability, providing electronic services, utility computing, a new form of automated processes, channel streaming, and open-book government are some key elements and components of DEG which can be applied to the UN administration system in order to achieve the increase in service efficiency and effectiveness that the UN craves.

The UN is an intergovernmental organization with social, environmental, and economic goals. “The work of the UN can be divided into two broad categories: promoting economic and social development, and enhancing regional and international security” (moRan, t.

h. 2009). SDGs bring a change of paradigm for international policies

on cooperation and their targets, so they can also increase inter-agency cooperation. In this regard, this paper suggests; “Paradigm change in the paradigm change” by proposing that the new paradigm, in cooperation with SDGs, fits well with the new understanding of public administration with the concept of DEG, since it highlights networking, information and knowledge management, the “best mixture” and horizontal governance.

These principles should be used as a means to achieving much needed inter-agency cooperation.

One of the most significant characteristics of Government 2.0 – another name for DEG - is networking, facilitating total information awareness for all participants in cooperation with net-centered governance to make the right decisions and react at short notice. Moreover, it determines the design, architecture, and processes of the working organization as a platform – the stage of interaction for the smart masses (KaRvalics, l. Z. 2008). The UN system, inevitably, needs a new way of networking which unites all the relevant agencies (UNIDO, UNDP, etc.), local institutions, and individuals within a single, joint platform.

Significantly, all the information and knowledge

processes must be planned, maintained, watched, and, last but not least, measured. More reliable and more professional knowledge management is a must, since government 2.0 implies a solution for supplementing needed knowledge from a broader community that crosses the borders of inter-agency cooperation (K^aRvalics, l. Z.

2008). Then again, well-planned, well-maintained, and measured information and knowledge management can contribute to total information awareness for the agencies, enabling them to reach information synchronously from more comprehensively constructed data sets. Importantly, DEG also offers an opportunity to integrate all knowledge processes of crucial importance and accordingly, helps agencies to achieve better service delivery. The new organisational order is not based on a command and control or hierarchical structure, but is more like a flat organisation, which is known as a delayered

(horizontal) organisational structure.

The use of the Government 2.0 approach to the UN serves as practical foundation. The approach is mostly based on horizontal governance, which replaces hierarchical leadership with collaboration, shared responsibility, and coordination for decisions and

outcomes (moRan, t. h. 2009).

SDGs aspire for much-needed cooperation between UN agencies.

However, whether UN agencies’

central relations are based on hierarchical (vertical) or horizontal governance remains an important question. There have been tensions between upper-ranked and lower-ranked employees over the delivery of services and meeting the community needs (ibid.). Pollitt and Bouckaert have emphasised the issue with their use of the term “incompatible statements”

(pollitt, c. – BoucKaeRt, g. 2004).

Following the literature review, the research indicates that there is no quantitative data available capable of measuring the interagency cooperation of intergovernmental organizations such as can be seen in the UN system.

Therefore, in this study, qualitative data collection methods inevitably came to the fore in order to answer the research questions. Hence, the paper analyses cooperation between chosen agencies in the UN system by means of semi-structured interviews. The author expected to reveal the extent to which UN agencies cooperate during the implementation of UN services by conducting semi-structured interviews with internal and external experts of the UN system. The questions were

prepared under three different headings: introductory questions, specific areas of analysis, and concluding questions. The areas of analysis section features five different sub-categories, which this study claims are essential points to be investigated: these are joint projects, knowledge, coherence, performance, and mainstreaming.

On the other hand, this study was limited due to the lack of relevant documentation that can be tracked. Although the agencies cooperated well with the researcher, not all the answers were documented as files that can be accessed. Moreover, even though it is possible to find documents on joint projects, it is unlikely that they will help understand the true level of cooperation between the agencies. Therefore, it was essential to conduct expert interviews as well as interviews with staff members who are involved in inter-agency communication. This research particularly emphasised this part of the data collection methods.

However, while the statements of experts are well-grounded, they are still subject to criticism on account of various types of unconscious/

conscious bias or subjectivity. In order not to fall into the trap of only seeing one side of the story, it is essential to talk to people from as many different backgrounds as

possible, as well as to talk to staff members of different ranks in the agencies. Ultimately, the author considers this study to be more policy-oriented research rather than causal research.

II�1�2� Interviews

The author has conducted eight expert interviews: one interview in the field of UNODC-WHO cooperation, three interviews in UNIDO-UNDP cooperation, and two external university professors with a thorough knowledge of the subjects and who cooperates closely with the UNODC.

The first interviewees in both associations were chosen based on the network of the author, who continued to select the following interviewees with the snowball method. However, in the field of UNODC-WHO cooperation, the desired number of interviews could not be achieved due to very tight schedules of staff members of the UN. Consequently, two university professors from Vienna University were chosen to complement the one expert in this cooperation who had been interviewed before. On the other hand, a semi-structured interview process was applied because the questions to be asked were predetermined, and the difficulties of setting up another

interview with those interviewees had to be taken into account. The answers are anonymous in this paper due to some of the statements made by the interviewees in sensitive areas that could bring them administrative problems in their institutions. Therefore, indications such as „Interviewee 1”, „Interviewee 2”, and so on have been used. The interviews were divided into parts comprising a basic introduction to interagency

cooperation; knowledge, coherence, performance and

mainstreaming; and a conclusion with recommendations regarding the chosen agency’s cooperation.

II�1�3� UNODC – WHO

In document Contemporary global challenges in geopolitics, security policy and world economy (Pldal 54-60)