International commissions, academics, practitioners, and the media have long been critical of the UN's development efforts as disjointed and not fit for purpose; yet the organization has been an essential contributor to progress and peacebuilding.
This Handbook explores the activities of the UN development system (UNDS), the largest operational pillar of the organization and arguably the arena in which its ideational endeavors have made the biggest contribution to thinking and standards. Contributions focus on the role of the UNDS in sustainable social, economic and environmental development, describing how the UNDS interacts with the other major functions of the UN system, and how it performs operationally in the context of the new development agenda focused on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The volume is divided into 3 sections:
Realizing the SDGs, Opportunities and Challenges
Resources, Partnerships, and Management
Imagining the Future of the UN in Development
Comprised of chapters by knowledgeable and authoritative UN experts, this book provides cutting-edge and up-to-date research on the strengths and weaknesses of the UNDS, with each chapter focusing on different operational and ideational aspects.