UNSDCF Development Process and Implementation Status 2023

General Assembly resolution 72/279 elevates the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) as “the most important instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities at country level in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda)”. Given the ambition of the 2030 Agenda and the urgency of its timeline, the resolution represents a significant shift. The Cooperation Framework (CF) now guides the entire programme cycle, driving planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of collective UN support for achieving the 2030 Agenda. The CF determines and reflects the UN development system’s contributions in the country and shapes the configuration of UN assets required inside and outside the country.

In 2019, the United Nations Development System (UNDS) agencies and funds in collaboration with the Government of South Africa (GoSA) embarked on a process to develop the UNSDCF for the period 2020-2025. Given the need for a whole of society approach towards the realisation of agenda 2030, the development process involved consultations with other stakeholder, namely, civil society, private sector and research and academic institutions. Other components which contributed to the development of the UNSDCF include the development of a Common Country Analysis (CCA) and the analysis of the National Development Plan (NDP), the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and the 2020 State of the Nation Address (SONA). See schematic representation of how the development of the UNSDCF must be undertaken.