Partnerships for Smart Diplomacy
“Multilateralism and Multipolarity”
Adapting foreign policy to new geostrategic realities.
Annual Reunion of the Romanian Diplomacy
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Bucharest
1 September 2010
Amir Dossal
Executive Director
The UN Office for Partnerships
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Partnerships in the United Nations System
UN system has been partnering with the private sector and civil society for over
60 years.
The last decade has seen increased interest from non-state actors to support
UN causes, leading to:
– Increase in number
– Increase in significance
– Increase in scope
– Strategic Partnerships
– New creative partners and resources
“Addressing global challenges requires a collective and
concerted effort, involving all actors. Through partnerships
and alliances, and by pooling comparative advantages, we
increase our chances of success.”
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
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Global Partnerships
 Partnerships are becoming increasingly important
 Entrepreneurial approach
 Various actors involved (Government, NGOs, private sector,
foundations, etc.)
 Capacity of partnerships goes beyond traditional development
aid
 Multi-lateral strategic partnerships
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Leveraging the Partnership Platform
 Partnerships as a foreign policy tool:
– For public diplomacy
– For specific policy objectives
– For development goals
 Partnerships for practical problem solving
 Creating a “partnership-friendly” environment
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US Engagement globally
US ODA in 2009: US $ 28.67 billion*
US FDI outflow in 2008: US$ 311.7 billion*
US Charitable giving in 2008: est. $307.65 billion*
*Sources: OECD for ODA, UNCTAD for FDI, Giving USA Foundation for charitable
giving
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Types of Partnerships
Global
Campaigns
Advocacy/
Outreach
Operational
Partnerships
Policies/
Norms
Management
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Millennium Development Goals
 In September 2000, heads of 189 member states ratified the
Millennium Declaration.
 The Declaration established 8 Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), which become an agreed blueprint for accelerating
improvements in the lives of the world’s poor by 2015.
 These 8 MDGs directly address social, economic and
environmental dimensions of worldwide development, and
help to prioritize some of our greatest challenges in the 21st
century.
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The Eight MDGs
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Changing Landscape of Partnerships
UNOP serves as a Catalyst and Facilitator for innovative multi-stakeholders
partnerships, working with Governments, Private Sector, Civil Society and
International organizations.
Private Sector
Brand Equity
MDGs
Management Skills
CSR
Resources
Grass-roots
Network and
Outreach
Smart
Philanthropy
Technologies
Operating Discipline
Field-level
Distribution
Deepening Interdependencies
Understanding Corporate Cultures
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How to get engaged?
1. Leverage know-how, capacity and resources
2. Capitalize enterprise solutions to poverty that are commercially
viable
3. Sustain access to needed goods, services, and employment
opportunities
4. Engage in public policy dialogue and serve as an advocate for
causes and campaigns
5. Media and communication (Articles, Speeches and Op-eds)
6. Creative use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
7. Share best practice and lessons learned
8. Help design innovative programmes and projects
9. Fund new and/or existing projects
10. Bring on board new partners
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Guiding Principles for United Nations-Business Cooperation
Advance UN Goals: The objective needs to be articulated clearly and
must advance UN goals.
Clear Delineation of Responsibilities and Roles: the partnership
arrangement must be based on a clear understanding of respective
roles and expectations, with accountability and clear division of
responsibility.
Maintain Integrity and Independence: partnership arrangements
should not diminish the UN’s integrity, independence and
impartiality.
No Unfair Advantage: Every member of the business community
should have the opportunity to propose cooperative arrangements,
subject to the applicable guidelines and criteria of the specific UN
agency, fund or programme concerned. Cooperation should not
imply endorsement or preference of a particular business entity or its
products or services.
Transparency: Cooperation with the business sector must be
transparent. Information on the nature and scope of cooperative
arrangements should be available within the Organization or to the
public at large.
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The UN Office for Partnerships
Organizational Structure
UNDEF
Advisory Board
Secretary-General
Partnerships
Advisory Board
Deputy Secretary-General
United Nations Office for Partnerships
United Nations
Fund
for International
Partnerships
Partnership
Advisory and
Outreach Service
United Nations
Democracy
Fund
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The UN Office for Partnerships
 Serves as a gateway for collaboration between the
private sector and foundations, and the United Nations
family.
 Promotes new partnerships and alliances
 Promotes the Millennium Development Goals
 Provides support to new initiatives of the SecretaryGeneral.
 UNOP is comprised of 3 sections:
– United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP)
– United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)
– Partnership Advisory and Outreach service
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The UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP)
 Established by the SecretaryGeneral in March 1998 to
serve as the interface
between the UN system and
the UN Foundation – the
public charity responsible for
administering Ted Turner’s $1
billion contribution in support
of UN causes.
 To date over US$1 billion has
been programmed for over
400 projects implemented by
39 UN entities in 123
countries
Thematic Contributions by the
UN Foundation through UNFIP
Environment,
162 938 932
Children's
Health,
619 404 908
Other,
63 384 023
Women and
Population,
135 993 119
Peace, Security
and Human
Rights,
49 485 198
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United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)
 The World Summit Outcome declared that Democracy is a
universal value; there is no single model of democracy; it
does not belong to any country or region. The Heads of State
and Government welcomed the establishment of a Democracy
Fund at the United Nations.
 As of today the Fund has allocated more then US$ 78 million for
211 projects in more than 100 countries and territories. It
supports Civil Society Organisations who present actionoriented projects with tangible improvements in democracy and
human rights; projects that focus on gender equality and the
participation of vulnerable groups.
 Democracy Fund supported projects foster democratic dialogue
and support for constitutional processes; civil society
empowerment; civic education, voter registration and political
parties strengthening; citizens access to information;
accountability, transparency and integrity.
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Partnership Advisory Services and Outreach (PASO)
a) Provides advice on appropriate strategies for developing and managing partnerships in
support of United Nations goals and objectives and related operational activities;
b) Provides technical advice to United Nations offices, departments and entities concerning
partnership building, advocacy and resource mobilization strategies with the private sector,
foundation and civil society partners;
c) Provides advice to external entities on United Nations procedures and best practices;
d) Provides advice on strategies for effective outreach;
e) Identifies opportunities for public-private partnerships for advocacy support and for
supporting operational activities of the United Nations, including resource mobilization in
support of United Nations causes;
f) Facilitates the engagement of private sector, civil society and philanthropic leadership in
the work of the United Nations system, including by convening meetings to promote
dialogue and outreach with relevant United Nations entities on partnership opportunities,
strategies and policy issues;
g) Facilitates and brokers engagement and dialogue between companies signatories to the
Global Compact and relevant United Nations system partners, including senior
management, technical experts and the network of private sector focal points, with a view
of converting principles into practice;
h) Assists in the design of programmes and projects;
i) Helps establish and, in some cases, manage global and regional networks, and
partnerships.
*Source: ST/SGB/2009/14, dated 18 December 2009.
In 2009, the Office handled nearly 1,400 enquires
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Accomplishments of UNOP

UNFIP: By the end of 2008, 455 projects have been implemented by 39
United Nations entities in 123 countries. Total funding reached $1.06
billion in 11 years, 42% of which came from UN Foundation’s allocation,
while the rest was generated via other private and civil society partners.

UNDEF: By 2008, 204 initiatives out of a total of 1,873 applications from
137 countries were approved with a funding of $58.7 million. In 2007,
applications increased by 45%. UNDEF also enlarged the donor base to
35 Member States to boost funding to $91 million.

PASO: In 2009, 1,400 plus external requests came through UNOP for
partnership advisory assistance, a 40% increase over 2008. Out of the
total activities conducted by UNOP, 60% was for advisory services.
(numbers from 2009 Roland Rich)
*Source: Annual Report of the Secretary-General A/64/91, dated 12 August 2009
Measurable
Reportable
Verifiable
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Challenges in a multilateral environment
 Need for cohesion
 Avoiding overlap
 Smart reporting
 Smart accountability
 Replicability
 Delivering as One
 Organizational and cultural differences
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Partnerships as a Foreign Policy Tool
Aid creates dependency,
Investment makes you independent
 Encouraging entrepreneurship at the local level
 Incubation of facilities
 Using advertising dollars for strategic initiatives
 Achieving intl. objectives beyond current capabilities
 Creative and innovative partnerships
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Some Examples of Social Partnerships



Ericsson: Provided in-kind
contributions of mobile
communication equipment and
expertise for humanitarian relief
operations.
Google: The UN Environment
Program uses Google’s 3D Google
Earth browser to track
environmental changes across the
globe.
Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola’s distribution
network was a key resource in the
post tsunami relief efforts.
 Moving the World is a multi-million dollar project in which TNT is
helping the World Food Program with logistics, communications and
fund raising for humanitarian emergencies.
 Nestlé: The UN Office for Partnerships is discussing with Nestlé a
potential collaboration on the water needs in Africa. About half of
Nestlé’s factories are in rural areas in the developing world, and are
a natural platform for addressing problems of water, food
availability, and socio-economic development. (new partnerships,
will kennedy ask for input for new social and advocacy partnerships)20
Some Examples of Social Partnerships (cont’d)

Dow Chemical: The Dow Chemical Company
started a round-the-world run (Blue Planet Run)
together with Motorola, Skype and PayPal, to
raise attention for over 1 billion people without
access to safe drinking water. Dow is also
providing $30 million to support the financing of up
to 2,000 community water systems, serving 11
million people without access to safe drinking
water in rural India.

Microsoft: The Microsoft Unlimited Potential
initiative helps individuals and communities
around the globe achieve their goals and dreams
through relevant, accessible and affordable
technologies. Programme areas include
education, innovation and employment creation. It
aims to bring the benefits of relevant, accessible
and affordable software to 5 billion more people,
with an initial milestone of reaching the next 1
billion by 2015.
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Some Examples of Social Partnerships (cont’d)
•
Haiti Hope Project: With the support of the
Haitian Government, The Coca-Cola Company,
the Inter-American Development Bank, and
TechnoServe are partnering on this five-year
project, estimated at $7.5 million. It aims to double
the incomes of 25,000 fruit farmers in Haiti and to
raise their standard of living while contributing to
the long-term development and revitalization of
Haiti.
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Some Examples of Advocacy Partnerships

Nothing But Nets: A creative initiative
started through an article in Sports
Illustrated. Led by the NBA and the UN
Foundation - donate $10 to “send a net,
save a life” - pays for an insecticide treated
bed net to a family in need in Africa, and
provides education on its proper use to
prevent Malaria. More than 1.8 million nets
have been provided so far.

UN-Marvel Partnership: DPI and the UN
Office for Partnerships are working with
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. to create a
comic book about the United Nations
collaborating with world renowned Marvel
super heroes to highlight global problems.
The comic book will initially be distributed
free to one million U.S. schoolchildren via
Marvel’s in-school network Cover
Concepts.
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Some Examples of Investment Partnerships

Business Advisory Council (BAC) for the Greater Tumen Region: The Office
for Partnerships has been supporting the Greater Tumen Initiative and developed
a BAC to attract new investment to the region. It consists of senior business
leaders from the countries of the Greater Tumen Region (the People’s Republic
of China, Mongolia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea
and Russian Federation) and foreign investors operating in these countries.
(Please also visit the BAC Homepage for more information)

Regional Centre for Partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa in
Qatar (proposed): The Centre will provide a leadership role in facilitating
strategic partnerships at the regional, national, and international levels across all
sectors in support of the MDGs. It will also be a centre of excellence for training
on partnerships to enable various stakeholders to be partnership-ready. The
Centre will contribute to local capacity building and provide employment
opportunities for youth in the region.

Global Business Council: Together with the Commonwealth Business Council,
the UN Office for Partnerships is setting-up a Global Business Council in support
of the MDGs. It will provide leadership in increasing international trade and
investment flows, create new business opportunities, promote good governance
and CSR, reduce the digital divide, and integrate developing countries into the
global market.
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Some Recent Partnerships/Advisory Services
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“Today, the United Nations Foundation is a key
Partner and ally for the United Nations, serving
as an architect of new and innovative alliances to
advance UN goals. We have focused on creating
partnerships that magnify the power that people,
Governments and organizations, public or
private, have - working together - to effect
change and promote a world of good.“
-Ted Turner, Chairman and Founder, UN
Foundation
Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro and Mr. Ted
Turner at an event held 14 May 2007
to launch Microsoft Investment
Strategy in Africa.
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Acknowledgements
• H.E. Mr. Teodor Baconschi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania
• Mr. Bogdan Aurescu, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Romania
• Mr. Doru Costea, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Romania
• Mr. Stefan Tinca, Political Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Romania
• H.E. Ambassador Simona Miculescu, Permanent Representative
of Romania to the United Nations
• Mr. Traian Filip, Deputy Permanent Representative of Romania to
the United Nations
• Ms. Yesim Oruc, UNDP Resident Representative a.i.
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Thank You
Thank you for your kind attention
For further information, please contact the
UN Office for Partnerships
Lucie Brigham
Chief of Office
E-mail: brigham@un.org
Phone: +1-212-963-3441
Fax: +1-212-963-1486
For more information please refer to:
http://www.un.org/partnerships
http://www.un.org/democracyfund
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