UNDP

Generic guidelines for mainstreaming drylands issues into National Development Frameworks

carol — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:59:43 -0600

The Generic Drylands Mainstreaming Guidelines have been developed by the UNDP-DDC in close collaboration with the UNEP and UNDP/Global Environment Facility (GEF) Global Support Unit. This document provides broad generic steps for mainstreaming environment and drylands issues into national development frameworks, as well lessons drawn from various countries on environment and drylands mainstreaming.

It is important for the implementation of poverty reduction strategies and the achievement of the MDGs to take into account drylands issues and challenges, especially how they impact the poorest communities. These communities have the lowest per capita GDP and the highest infant mortality rates. The combination of high variability in environmental conditions and relatively high levels of poverty leads to situations where human populations can be extremely sensitive to changes in the ecosystem. If drylands are not mainstreamed, they will lose out in resource allocation. These guidelines have been developed with the aim of influencing action at several levels of planning and policy engagement, because it is necessary to make drylands visible at all levels.

The guidelines have been informed by lessons drawn from 21 countries on mainstreaming environment into development frameworks with a particular focus on drylands issues, and by a review made of other international organizations’ guidelines on the same subject. This concerted action will create the synergistic and critical pressure needed to put and keep drylands issues at a place of importance on the developmental agenda.

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & the Environment

Dryland opportunities - A new paradigm for people, ecosystems and development

carol — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:55:06 -0600

Drylands cover 41 percent of the earth’s terrestrial surface. The urgency of and international response to climate change have given a new place to drylands in terms both of their vulnerability to predicted climate change impacts and their potential contribution to climate change mitigation. This book aims to apply the new scientific insights on complex dryland systems to practical options for development. A new dryland paradigm is built on the resources and capacities of dryland peoples, on new and emergent economic opportunities, on inward investment, and on the best support that dryland science can offer.

Information Provided by Carol Lombard, Department of Social Development Population Website

KM & the Environment

A Users' Guide to Measuring Local Governance (2009) UNDP Oslo Governance Centre

storytelling — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 03:15:46 -0600

This is a useful guide from the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre on the evaluation of the many tools to measure Local Government. Specifically the guide covers:

Urban Governance Index (UN-HABITAT)
Local Governance Barometer (Impact Alliance)
Good Governance for Local Development – GOFORGOLD Index (Afghanistan)
Local Democracy Assessment Guide (International IDEA)
Indicators of Local Democratic Governance (Tocqueville Research Centre & OSI)
Methodological Guidelines for Local Governance Analysis (UNDP)
Governance Index (Indonesia, Kemitraan - Partnership)
Measuring Municipal Performance – MIDAMOS (Paraguay)
Observatory of Democracy in Central America: System of Legal and Institutional Governance Indicators for Central America (Centro Estudios para el Futuro)
Desde lo Local – Strategic Decentralization for Local Development (Mexico)
Council of Europe’s Guide to Developing Well-Being & Progress Indicators with Citizens - Application of the Governance Module in Timisoara (Romania)
Citizen Report Cards (Public Affairs Centre, India)
Social Audit of Local Governance (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Social Audit of Governance and Delivery of Public Services (Pakistan)
Local Governance Self-Assessment (Bangladesh)
Governance for Local Development Index - GOFORDEV Index (Philippines)
Assessments Informing Performance Based Grant Systems (UNCDF)
Local Governance Performance Management System (Philippines)
Index of Responsibility, Transparency and Accountability (Macedonia)
Standards of Municipal Transparency (Chile)
Local Integrity Initiative (Global Integrity)
Methodology for the Assessment of Capacity of Municipalities in Turkey and the Western Balkans to Deliver Basic Services (UNDP)

KM & Governance

UNDP KM Toolkit for the practice of Crisis Prevention and Recovery

KMAadmin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:09:15 -0600

This Knowledge Management Toolkit for the CPR Practice Area was prepared by UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery in response to requests from members of the Crisis Prevention and Recovery Practice Network for guidance on knowledge management tools and techniques. This toolkit aims to explain the theory and outline the tools used in knowledge management for UNDP staff working in crisis and post-crisis situations. It is targeted at both BCPR staff and members of the wider Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) Practice Area within UNDP. However, many of the suggestions given here are not strictly CPR-specific and can be applied to knowledge management in other UNDP Practice Areas.

This toolkit aims to provide ideas and entry points to a wide range of tools and methods that can help us to better share and apply the knowledge that exists within UNDP on crisis prevention and recovery. By working to simplify and standardize knowledge management products and methodologies, we can cut out the time-consuming process of ‘reinventing the wheel’ every time we embark on a knowledge management-related task. This toolkit is one step along the road to advocating for a simplified and standardized approach towards knowledge management in the CPR Practice Area.

KM for Conflict & Change Management