INTRODUCTION
This Annual Report covers activities of the New Deal Implementation Support Facility in 2015, its second year of full operation. As per the original project document, the Facility was designed to support three key deliverables:
• Deliverable A: Country support, including advisors in New Deal countries, flexible seed funding and secondment of advisors to the g7+ at the global level.
• Deliverable B: Support for travel to international meetings of the g7+ and the International Dialogue.
• Deliverable C: A stronger and more capacitated g7+ Secretariat
In addition, thanks to an earmarked grant from Australia, we have added a fourth deliverable:
• Deliverable D: SDG Implementation Support.
Since the inception of the Facility in 2013, many pilot countries have made significant progress. At the same time, several countries have faced serious shocks, such as the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, civil war (South Sudan and Central African Republic), political change (Democratic Republic of Congo) and deterioration of security (Afghanistan), which have slowed down or halted implementation. Such developments impacted the level of activity in some of the New Deal pilot countries in 2014 and 2015. However, over the course of 2015 there has been a strong resurgence of interest amongst beneficiary countries in financing and technical support from the Facility, and going into 2016 there have been many ambitious country workplans submitted for financing.
In order for us to continue to meet ongoing country demands for support, we are very grateful to our donors for granting no-cost extensions for the Facility through to June 2016 (Denmark, pending the extension/renewal of the New Deal at the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (IDPS) Ministerial Forum in April 2016), and December 2016 (Australia and Finland).
In early November 2015, Christine Chan joined us as Policy and Partnerships Specialist and New Deal Facility Manager, taking over responsibilities from Christian Lotz, and Claire Leigh, who served in the interim. Christine brings experience of work on implementing the New Deal in Timor-Leste and Liberia since the inaugural International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding held April 2010 in Dili. In early October Karoline Klose joined the team as Policy Analyst with an institution building background, taking over responsibilities from Kristoffer Tangri.
September saw the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly, and with it the adoption of Goal 16 on Peace, Justice and Effective Institutions. For the IDPS community this marks the culmination of years of hard work, and coincides with the end of the New Deal pilot period. As we head into 2016, various processes and meetings will consider the role of the IDPS, the International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF) and the New Deal in the new development landscape. We believe the Facility will continue to play a vital role in supporting the g7+ Secretariat and promoting the implementation of the New Deal principles at the country-level in 2016 and beyond.
This report serves both as a Q4 and annual report for 2015. The report is structured as follows: A short summary of the work of the Facility in individual countries; An overview of the cross-cutting activities and events supported in 2015; Detailed reports on each country where the Facility is active (Deliverable A); Detailed report on the Facility’s support to g7+ travel (Deliverable B); Detailed report on the Facility’s support to strengthening the g7+ Secretariat and g7+ Chair’s Office (Deliverable C); overview of plans to support SDG Implementation in fragile situations (Deliverable D); plus, An overview of expenditure in 2015, and finances available in 2016.
SUMMARY OF COUNTRY ACTIVITIES
In pilot countries, a number of new initiatives were supported by the Facility in 2015. In Afghanistan, the first New Deal Assessment was finalized, and the Afghanistan Fragility Assessment Report was presented in Kabul in March 2016 at the g7+ Ministerial Meeting.
In the Central African Republic (CAR), the Bangui National Forum held in May used the Fragility Matrix – developed with support from the Facility – as a key input, and the Forum’s recommendations included implementation of the New Deal principles, including calling for the development of a full Fragility Assessment and Compact. In DRC, the New National Strategic Plan for Development 2017-21 is being developed, with UNDP technical support to the component “Peacebuilding, stabilization and reconstruction”.
A recent scoping mission to Guinea led to a roadmap taking into account principles of the New Deal in the implementation of the Post-Ebola Recovery Plan, and the formulation of the next medium-term strategic development framework which includes inclusion, prioritization and monitoring of SDGs. In response to Sierra Leone’s request, UNDP supported the finalization of a National Ebola Recovery Strategy, and how best to integrate New Deal principles into the national and regional strategies of the three affected countries. In addition, Sierra Leone requested support for the popularization and mainstreaming of the SDGs in the Agenda for Prosperity and National Budget, which is being funded in 2016.
In Somalia the High Level Partnership Forum met in July, being the largest international conference held in the country in decades, setting important agreements, commitments and deadlines. Under Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goal (PSG) 1, three programmes were presented to kick start support to the implementation of Vision 2016, including the state formation process, the constitutional review, and the electoral process. The Facility provided substantial technical and financial assistance to the setting up of the Aid Coordination Unit, reinforcing its capacities to support coordinated implementation of the Compact. A comprehensive review of aid information management, and an aid mapping exercise were completed. Engagement of the regions in Compact consultations was also supported. For 2016, UNDP will help develop a costed framework for sub-federal engagement in New Deal implementation, support coordination between government and NGOs for improved service delivery, and support the development of a National Development Plan 2017-19 integrating the New Deal principles.
In South Sudan, a peace agreement between warring factions was signed in August 2015. Preliminary discussions among donors point to the need for a compact similar to the one developed in 2013 to ensure mutual accountability. There may be significant scope for reviving the New Deal in South Sudan in 2016.
In Timor-Leste, a Second Fragility Assessment was validated in September, and the Facility made a new allocation to support a range of other New Deal Activities going forward, including support to the g7+ Secretariat.
A mission to Togo to sensitize the government to the New Deal was undertaken in November, and an action plan and a road map for New Deal implementation have been prepared and await finalization. There is interest in carrying out a fragility assessment, to enable the government to ensure peacebuilding and statebuilding concepts are integrated into Agenda 2030 and implementation of the SDGs.