Dear Colleague,
The month of May 2021 has brought us several vibrant discussions about the present and future of development. In this new issue of the COP snapshot, we feature the Digital Armchair Conversation between UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation, Per Olsson Fridh, on the transformations needed to build forward better. Also, check out the virtual side-event on “Beyond Recovery, Towards 2030” on the policy interventions required to address the most pressing needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the post-COVID-19 era.
We invite you to contribute to the ongoing virtual conversation on “Developing Youth Skills” in the framework of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) Reflection Series 2021.
Be sure to check out upcoming online events, trainings, and opportunities at the bottom of this Issue. Share your views or ask how this community can help you by sending a message to cop-poverty@undp.org.
Stay tuned,
Ricardo, Samantha, Rishi, and Renata
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Digital Armchair Conversation on Reimagining the Future of Development
As the world struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, more efforts are needed to reflect on the development choices made, assess current norms and paradigms, and shape a green and inclusive future to achieve the SDGs. In this armchair conversation, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation, Per Olsson Fridh, and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner discussed visions and perspectives for the next chapter of development in the 21st century. Susanna Gable, Chief Economist at the Swedish International Development Cooperation, moderated the dialogue. Watch here.
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E-discussion: UNDP work on Youth Economic Empowerment
ONLINE CONSULTATION - NOW THROUGH 9 JUNE- JOIN HERE
As part of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) Reflection Series 2021, the e-discussion on “Keeping people out of poverty” seeks to explore experiences, barriers, lessons learned, and future paths to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions. Three priority topics will frame the conversation: Developing Youth Skills (running until 9 June); Development Finance (forthcoming); and UNDP’s COVID-19 adaptation and response during 2020 (forthcoming). The outcome of the ongoing first session will inform the IEO Thematic Evaluation on UNDP Support to Youth Economic Empowerment, which will be presented to the Executive Board in 2022. Add your voice!
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Beyond Recovery, Towards 2030: Policy Recommendations to Address Inequality
On 25 May, UNDP’s Inclusive Growth team and the CoP on Poverty and Inequality co-hosted a virtual event on “Beyond Recovery, Towards 2030: Policy Recommendations to Address Inequality” at the side of the Preparatory Committee for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (PrepCom1). The event discussed how the development of LDCs during the post-pandemic period can help reduce inequalities and build a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable future after COVID-19. The session gathered a distinguished panel of experts from government, international organizations, and academia. Watch here.
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Operationalizing the New Social Contract at the Country Level: Sharing Experiences of Integrating UN Values for Transformative Economic Change
On 5-7 May 2021, OHCHR, the Development Coordination Office (DCO), UN Women, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) held a three-day workshop to share and learn from country experiences on how the UN is working to build forward better. The workshop explored how COVID-19 response and recovery can address inequalities, build transformative, inclusive, and sustainable economies, and operationalize a ‘new social contract’. Mansour Ndiaye, Head of Inclusive Growth Team, UNDP, and Ivan Gonzalez de Alba, UNDP Country Economist (Cambodia), participated as speakers. Learn more and find the summaries here.
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Cambodia, COVID-19 and Social Protection
UNDP in Cambodia has played a critical role in the country's national efforts to scale up its systems of Social Protections to be more resilient to shocks such as Covid-19 by working hand-in-hand with the Royal Government of Cambodia and other development partners. This panel discussion, featuring commentary from UN ASG and UNDP Director of Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP Cambodia Resident Representative Nick Beresford and others aims to provide key insights and lessons learnt from Cambodia’s successful experience in social protection responses during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the contribution of UNDP in this journey. Learn more about the initiative and register here.
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Publications and Resources
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Global Gender Gap Report 2021
REPORT - MARCH 2021 - READ HERE
The Global Gender Gap Report tracks the evolution of gender-based inequalities in four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. The 2021 edition of the report finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women and girls, reversing progress made in gender parity over the last decades. Preliminary findings indicate that it will now take 135.6 years to close the gender gap globally. Explore it now.
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New Report on UNDP-UNHCR Partnership on Forced Displacement
REPORT - MAY 2021 - READ HERE
UNDP and UNHCR have released a new report reviewing the progress of their “Partnership on Forced Displacement,” launched in October 2017. The report provides an updated outline of how the two organizations have worked together in refugee response at the global, regional, and country levels, bringing together humanitarian and development work. It covers key areas of the joint collaboration between UNDP and UNHCR, including the rule of law and local governance, employment and livelihoods, access to basic services, and social cohesion. Read more.
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Are We Building Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and pathways to inclusive green recovery spending
POLICY BRIEF - APRIL 2021 - READ HERE
Green investments are one of the most effective tools for improving the lives of the poorest and achieving the SDGs. Yet, this paper finds that despite some promising examples of green recovery spending, they have mainly been implemented in a small group of wealthy nations. We need to mobilize efforts to increase green recovery policies to address the ongoing health, economic, and environmental crises. Such policies will lead us towards improvements in pollution and nature loss while fulfilling the poverty eradication and inequality reduction objectives of the 2030 Agenda. Read the paper.
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Developing countries in times of COVID: Comparing inequality impacts and policy responses
RESEARCH PUBLICATION - APRIL 2021 - READ HERE
Published in partnership with UNDP, this World Inequality Lab Brief explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on socio-economic inequality within and across developing countries and the policy responses needed to mitigate them. It discusses how some low and lower-middle-income countries have managed to navigate the crisis and outlines key lessons learned for mitigating future shocks and addressing structural inequality in developing economies. Read more.
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Launch of the World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives
REPORT LAUNCH - MARCH 2021 - WATCH HERE
The COP team invites you to watch the launch of the World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives, the first of its kind that is fully dedicated to data and its contribution to human progress. The session discussed pathways to leverage the full potential of data to eradicate poverty, improve people’s lives, and advance development objectives. Panelists included World Bank President David Malpass; Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid; Microsoft President Brad Smith; and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Watch here.
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Tomorrow’s Economy: A Guide to Creating Healthy Green Growth by Per Espen Stoknes
BOOK RECOMMENDATION - MARCH 2021
What does green economic recovery look like? What are the transformations and innovations needed towards a more sustainable, equitable, and healthier growth? In this timely book, Per Espen Stoknes, Director of the Center for Sustainability and Energy at the Norwegian Business School in Oslo, distinguishes between healthy and unhealthy types of growth at personal, corporate, city, national, and global levels, mapping a three-part synergy between buyers, sellers, and society. The book concludes that, although we have the means to achieve healthy growth, our success would depend on transformations in scaling innovations, government and multilateral practices, and individual choices and behaviors. Read more.
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Transforming Systems in the Decade of Action: Dialogue 5
ONLINE WEBINAR - INTERNAL - 3 JUNE - REGISTER HERE
This dialogue, hosted by the SDG Integration (SDGi) team, is the final dialogue in a series of co-inquiry sessions into human development in the Anthropocene, building from the Human Development Report 2020. It continues the journey through Presencing Institute’s (PI) Theory U as a method for awareness based systems change. Please note that previous attendance in other dialogues is not required to attend Dialogue 5. Register here.
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World Forum of Local Economic Development
ONLINE EVENTS - EXTERNAL - 26 MAY - 1 JUNE
The fifth World Forum on Local Economic Development (WFLED) seeks to address some of the most pressing issues related to Local Economic Development and its potential to support the transition to a sustainable future, such as economic modelling, innovation, and the future of work. WFLED is part of an open working process that brings together a strong multi stakeholder coalition of engaged governments, national and international organizations, who acknowledge the potential of the local economic development approach and jointly work to advance the debate and strengthen a global partnership for concrete actions. It enables concrete cooperation and joint actions that can help advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local level. Learn more and register here.
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Building State Capacity for Tax Collection: Emerging Evidence and Implications for Practice
WEBINAR - EXTERNAL - 3 JUNE 2021 - REGISTER HERE
The challenges of domestic resource mobilization are shared by many low-income countries. These challenges are complex and involve factors related to state capacity for tax collection and delivery of public services, the prevalence of informal economies, and firms’ and citizens’ knowledge and beliefs about paying taxes. The webinar is part of the Governance, Crime, and Conflict Initiative’s (GCCI) series and will discuss randomized evaluations conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo that address these questions and their implications for policymakers. Learn more and register here.
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Including migrants and communities in socio-economic recovery: Experiences from the IOM-UNDP partnership on COVID-19
WEBINAR - INTERNAL - 10 JUNE 2021 - REGISTER HERE
Through collective efforts, we can continue harnessing the development dividends of human mobility in a world affected by the pandemic, responding to the needs of migrants, including returnees, and local communities. Join Achim Steiner (UNDP) and António Vitorino (IOM), among others, for an interactive discussion on the building blocks for scalable and sustainable interventions to support governments in the quest for inclusive, long-term socio-economic recovery from COVID-19, building on experiences from the joint IOM-UNDP seed-funding initiative. This webinar is part of the Development Dialogues series - learn more about the event and register here.
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EdX Course on Inclusive Growth
E-COURSE - EXTERNAL - ONGOING THROUGH 20 JULY
This free course offered by the IMF economists will introduce you to the roles of the private sector and government in fostering inclusive growth. You will explore how many critical issues of our day—including rising inequality and poverty, globalization, and climate change—are interlinked and how to design policies to tackle them. This course provides hands-on training to answer questions like "How can countries foster strong economic growth while also sharing its benefits equitably across all segments of society and maintaining economic and environmental sustainability?' Learn more and register here.
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Social Protection and Rural Poverty Micro-Course
E-COURSE - EXTERNAL - SELF-PACED - ONGOING
This free self-paced e-course (3 hours) focuses on the multiple dimensions and drivers of rural poverty and inequality and on how social protection can make rural transformation more inclusive, including themes such as human capital, food security, and decent work, as well as the synergies that can be enabled when combining social protection with other interventions. The course was developed by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) in collaboration with The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as part of a 5 part series on Social Protection. Find more here.
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Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs
COURSE & CONVERSATIONS - EXTERNAL - MONTHLY
Join Columbia University Professor and Development Practitioner Jeffrey Sachs for monthly interviews with renowned authors about their groundbreaking work in history, social justice, sustainable development, and more. Can't make the live sessions? Check out the recordings of these important conversations instead! Register and learn more about the monthly selections here.
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OPHI Summer School 2021: Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis
SUMMER COURSE - EXTERNAL - AUGUST 2021 - APPLY NOW
This two-week intensive Summer School intends to provide a technical introduction, to multidimensional poverty measurement using the Alkire-Foster method, and to share examples of its practical applications. Upon completing the course, students will have the skills required to construct and analyse a multidimensional poverty measure and to describe its policy relevance and usefulness for analytical purposes. Drawing on Amartya Sen’s capability approach and empirical examples of national and global Multidimensional Poverty Indices, the conceptual and empirical motivation for measuring multidimensional poverty will be presented, as well as the full suite of measurement tools. Learn more and apply here.
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Check out these new opportunities below!
Energy Economist (IPSA-11) | UNDP | Home-based | Apply by 1 June
Regional Gender Specialist (IPSA-10) | UNDP | Bangkok, Thailand | Apply by 1 June
Cash Transfer and Social Protection Researcher (IPSA-8) | UNDP | Home-based | Apply by 2 June
Inclusive Growth & SDG Finance Advisor (P5) | UNDP | Pretoria, South Africa | Apply by 7 June
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Your CoP team would love to hear from you! Contact us at cop-poverty@undp.org to send feedback or share content and events to be featured in our CoP Communications.
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