1. A COMMON VISION FOR
UNCOMMON RESULTS
An overview of UN integration in Liberia
2. CONTENTS
Vision statement 1
Achieving a common strategy 2
Achieving a common approach 6
Achieving common delivery 8
Greater integration ahead 11
Statement of commitment 14
3. Uniting our efforts
Vision statement
Never before has it mattered more to make a reality of the “united” in United Nations. As we commit to
assisting governments throughout the world to help realize security and development, the entire United
Nations family must come together more and more if it is to deliver on ever-growing aspirations in the
ever tougher socio-economic climate.
We believe that our work in Liberia is doing just that. “At Work Together” means we strive to work as a
united team at every level. Together we determine long-term strategy, knit the country team together
with individual UN agencies, funds and programmes, the World Bank and the UN’s peacekeeping mission,
UNMIL. We encourage staff to think beyond mandates and specific programmatic areas, supporting
flexible and innovative working relationships across the UN family.
One of the reasons for integrating our efforts and expertise is to bring the best of the UN to bear on
complex problems. Joint projects, joint campaigns, joint offices, joint analysis, joint policy planning and
joint teams in the field all form part of our integrated approach. We want to maximize the individual and
collective impact of the UN’s response. The UN has moved forward to rely on all of its assets as a whole
– joining up the strengths and expertise of the mission, agencies, funds and programmes. This common
vision is helping us move forward along a common path.
In the next pages, some of the specific achievements will be described, as well as how we are setting
about our tasks together. In a structural sense, but also in terms of delivery, and achieving the ends that
will improve lives of Liberians in the long term, our “do and learn” methods are working.
We are striving to integrate our efforts as we see this as the best way to support Liberia’s Government and
people to reduce poverty and progress towards lasting prosperity.
At each stage, the level of our cooperation with Government and other partners reinforces the common
capacity to address Liberia’s complex reality. Effective, integrated delivery depends on weaving a complex
web of interventions – with actors binding together, united by an overall vision, to add strength to the
whole effort. Post-conflict peacebuilding is undoubtedly a complicated undertaking, relying on harnessing
different processes and building dialogue and a participatory approach to work. It involves recognizing
and building on our individual and collective strengths and supporting each other to minimize our weak-
nesses. The aim of these efforts is to assist Liberians, who now are witnessing the dividends of peace and
the prospect of a more inclusive economy.
Much remains to be done. Liberia is still home to people emerging from 14 years of a devastating war,
which ended in 2003. Health, unemployment and security are among people’s pressing concerns. Building
roads, running vaccination campaigns and training new police officers are some of the ways the UN has
helped the country take concrete steps to begin to heal itself.
We integrate not for the sake of integration, but for the strength of purpose, efficiencies and, most impor-
tant, the results it can yield. We work together for the benefit of all Liberians.
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4. ACHIEVING A COMMON STRATEGY
Planning together
Aiming high Harmonizing planning instruments
We want our contribution to help lead to the The most important aspect of this coordinated
fastest transformation of lives in Liberia. The planning approach has been to coalesce around
country is beginning to recover from 14 years Government’s stated direction. Such high national
of civil war that devastated lives, infrastructure ownership of plans and programmes to forward
and severely hampered hope. Given that difficult the country’s development and advance out of
backdrop, the UN has made it a priority to find poverty meant that we have made it a priority to
innovative ways to bring the UN Country Team tailor our approach to support this.
(UNCT) – which consists of 16 specialized agencies,
funds, programmes including the World Bank Most recently, the Government has set out its plan
– together with UNMIL, the UN’s peacekeeping to reduce poverty in its $1.61 billion 2008-2011
mission in Liberia, to support Government-led Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), known as “Lift
recovery in a precarious post-conflict environ- Liberia”, which was finalized in April 2008.
ment.
The entire UN in Liberia contributed to the PRS
Everything is a priority, all at once – be it security, process under the leadership of the Deputy
justice, education, food, prevention of sexual Special Representative of the Secretary-General /
abuse, jobs, roads, sanitation, investment, even Resident Coordinator (DSRSG/RC). The four pillars
office furniture. With that in mind, we have set of the PRS provide a framework for Government
about making complex tasks as simple and to organize its response to pressing needs in the
clear-cut as possible. country, according to consolidating peace and
security; revitalizing the economy; strengthening
Throughout, there have been tough decisions to government and the rule of law; and rehabilitating
take. We have all picked our way amid a series of infrastructure and delivering basic social services.
potentially catastrophic risks that come with such
post-conflict situations – securing stability in the In coordinating our own response to support
immediacy of the aftermath of conflict, when Government, we have developed a single frame-
there was little national capacity to deliver services work for UN integrated planning in response to
for the people, for example. The peacekeeping the clear national leadership given by the demo-
operation was established at short notice in 2003, cratically elected government. The 2008-2012 UN
and had a lot to do. While the Mission has bene- Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF)
fited from significant resources, many UN agencies establishes what the UN will do in Liberia, echoing
have had to be creative with what they had, and each of the four pillars of the poverty reduction
it is against this background that our total contri- strategy. It adds a fifth tenet, to combat HIV/AIDS,
bution can be measured. We also keep the future due to the potential scale of the epidemic and
at the front of our minds – at some point the the need to act before it takes hold. In support
well-equipped UNMIL peacekeeping mission will of national priorities, we have made the Govern-
withdraw. ment’s own framework, the PRS, the basis of our
efforts. This has helped streamline and order our
We have tried from the outset to plan our work approach; for example, peacebuilding issues are
together – among the UN family, among donors, threaded throughout the PRS and the UNDAF,
NGOs and with the Government. Members of the rather than dealt with as an additional outcome
UN family have executed as parts of an organic under the UNDAF, as some countries have done.
whole, drawing on knowledge, best practice,
and comparative advantages of each other and While our own strategy is in line with the Govern-
external partners. This teamwork will be crucial ment’s PRS, the UN’s joined-up policy advice and
to the country’s effort to secure long-standing support during the preparation of the PRS also
achievements. helped inform the Government’s own approach
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5. and priorities, and the UNDAF reflects our support benchmarks have also been deliberately closely
for the implementation of the PRS. As such, the aligned to the Outcome Groups (OGs: see below)
UNDAF remains a “living” document – one that that monitor the implementation of the five
must embrace flexible responses at every turn outcomes of the UNDAF.
where possible.
Monitoring
In ensuring our own approach brings together the
best of the UN family, and is as robust as possible, Setting out what we want to do in concert is not
we have brought the UN peacekeeping mission enough; we also want to make sure we achieve
into the preparation of the UNDAF, more usually an our goals, which means assessing how best to
agency tool. This was important not only in estab- implement complex plans and regularly checking
lishing a useful framework, but also in establishing progress, recognizing where things are going less
a model for cooperation and integration within the well, correcting and learning the lessons.
entire UN family in Liberia.
As we progress through UNMIL’s drawdown, a
Another part of the big picture is planning for the series of benchmarks will help us plan for the
eventual withdrawal of UNMIL, to ensure that no crucial CDW transition, enabling us to establish
glaring gaps will emerge. The UNMIL has consis- priorities and meet a series of goals. Including
tently ensured that its mandate is interpreted in a core and contextual benchmarks aims to give the
way that includes UNCT activities. Security Council a comprehensive assessment of
progress in Liberia, and thus provides a key mech-
Although it is unclear when or how quickly the anism to monitor progress.
peacekeeping operation will scale down, we can
already plan for the long-term scaling up of UNCT. In 2009 we introduced a UN Integrated Work Plan
An integrated approach here will be critical to the that sets out what we want to achieve each year
future success of the UN in Liberia: as the peace- in pursuit of the UNDAF, so that we can show the
keeping mission assesses how best to withdraw, Government how we hope to realize the aims
whenever that day comes, the input of the of the UNDAF’s five-year plan. The Integrated
UNCT is also proving crucial to the planning and UN Work Plan is a matrix of UN agencies’ and
implementation of transition. The peacekeeping sections’ planned activities, responsible parties,
mission’s plan for Consolidation, Drawdown and partners, timeframe and costs for the coming year.
Withdrawal (CDW), along with stage-by-stage The UNDAF Outcomes and Outputs are used as
benchmarks to establish the pace and timing of the reference framework to enable monitoring
drawdown in concert, involves the UNCT. CDW of progress and analysis of the UN’s combined
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6. folded into the Government-led coordination frame-
work of the Liberia Recovery and Development
Committee (LRDC). Now that the Government has
its own structures to coordinate poverty alleviation,
in particular with the new PRS, we work to support
that instead.
For each of the four pillars of the PRS, the Govern-
ment has established sector committees that hold
regular meetings, for example to tackle health
challenges. As the Government has acquired the
capacity to step in and assert how best to coor-
dinate nationally, we have moved away from the
humanitarian cluster approach to support this
structure.
planned activities by each Outcome Group. The
workplan will allow us to identify gaps, overlaps, Leadership too is crucial for ensuring we achieve
key common priorities and possible areas for coop- results, through planning, implementing and moni-
eration at the beginning of the year. toring together. At the top, the Strategic Policy
Group (SPG), established in 2007, is a high-level
Such planning instruments mean we are estab- forum that brings together UNMIL Section Chiefs
lishing a common strategy to which we and the and Representatives of UN agencies in meetings
Government can hold ourselves to account. Both held twice a month, and now oversees the imple-
the UN and the Government will report against mentation of the UNDAF, chaired by the Special
targets set in the UNDAF and the PRS in the same Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG).
manner, so we can also all monitor progress
together. By making sure our own system of moni- UNDAF Outcome Groups (OGs) also enable us to
toring and evaluation heeds that of the Govern- promote progress towards achieving the aims of
ment, our annual UNDAF review assesses how far the UNDAF and enable us to provide coherent
the UN family is reaching in its commitment to support to achieve the aims of the PRS, both of
support Liberia’s new Poverty Reduction Strategy which are tightly linked. These OGs are organized
as well as the UNDAF itself. Not only does a single for each of the five outcomes, topped by a convener
joint annual review meeting reduce transaction from either a UN agency or an UNMIL section,
costs, it also reinforces a sense of teamwork and with overall accountability to the Government of
focus on results. It enables us to learn mutually Liberia by the DSRSG/RC. One of the strengths of
reinforcing lessons together. the integrated UN approach is that leadership of
each OG can be provided from either the UNCT or
How we organize ourselves UNMIL, whichever has the strength in a given area.
Two groups are convened by UNMIL DSRSG (Rule
Setting out and agreeing our priorities for both the of Law) and the Police Commissioner, and three
long term and the step-by-step process of how to by representatives from UN Agencies, Funds and
achieve them requires careful organization. As the Programmes, and each group presents its progress
circumstances and capabilities of Government have to the SPG every other month. These OGs also agree
changed and developed, so we have evolved the common work processes and work plans. This is
way we organize ourselves. particularly evident in Rule of Law sector. While
UN Agencies have traditionally focused more on
During the emergency humanitarian phase, we social services delivery, development and gover-
relied on a series of clusters, which brought the UN nance, UNMIL offers leadership in Rule of Law. The
family and other aid agencies together to concen- UNDAF OG is an instrument for information-sharing
trate on key areas, such as water and sanitation; and defining joint strategic direction, addressing
nutrition; health; food security; early recovery and challenges and gaps, and facilitating stronger UN
protection. When the Government’s capacity to Agency interventions and participation in security
coordinate increased in 2007, the clusters were and Rule of Law-related activities.
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7. Each OG acts on behalf of the entire UN in Liberia As we sought to take speedy action in the
for that single outcome, aiming to bring together post-war environment, several ad hoc groups
joint UN advocacy, policy support and advice, emerged, such as the anti-rape group. Today
technical leadership, expert UN opinion, and to we are instead implementing through longer-
maintain links to cross-cutting groups, to share term frameworks such as joint programmes
information on exiting and pipeline programmes, that bring relevant parts of the UN together
relevant resource mobilization; and to create the in line with one framework – such as that on
possibility for joint outputs. We continue to make Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), with
progress towards multi-purpose, strategic, func- steering committees that take overall oversight
tioning OGs. for the entire programme. These are co-chaired
by Government ministers and the DSRSG/RC.
Beyond that, four functional teams also look Together they can make decisions regarding
after technical issues, such as communications, assessing need, policy, budgets, work plans,
monitoring and evaluation, common administra- monitoring and evaluation and how best to
tion services and programming. The UNCT and mobilize resources and work with partners.
UNMIL, with its mix of resources and expertise, Each joint programme has a programme
work together in these groups to provide better manager, to supervise staff and mete out
services and products than any single UN entity responsibilities.
could do on its own. In addition, there is a series
of thematic groups, ranged around cross-cutting In all we have committed to six joint
issues such as gender and youth, which are programmes. These are, in addition to the
significantly strengthened by the knowledge and County Support Teams (CST) (see below):
capacity that UNMIL brings to what are tradition- Food Security and Nutrition; Youth Employ-
ally UNCT forums. It is the diversity of the UN in ment; SGBV; Gender Equality; and HIV/AIDS.
Liberia, harnessed through clear leadership and All, with the exception of HIV and AIDS, have
accountability, which enables us to move beyond been signed with the Government and draw on
what we can deliver individually. national frameworks.
United Nations in Liberia
Integrated Management and Coordination Structure
Strategic Policy Group (SPG) UN Mission in Liberia
Management
UN Country Team Chair: SRSG SRSG
(UNCT) DSRSG (RoL)
Chair: DSRSG/RC/HC Security Management Team DSRSG (R&G)
(SMT) Chair: SRSG
UNDAF Outcome 1 UNDAF Outcome 2 UNDAF Outcome 3 UNDAF Outcome 4 UNDAF Outcome 5
Peace & Security Economic Revitalization Governance and RoL, Infrastructure and HIV and AIDS
UNDAF
Chair: UNPOL Chair: UNDP Chair: UNMIL DSRSG Social Services Chair: WHO
Chairs: UNICEF
Inter-Agency Operations
Functional
Programming Team Management Team UN Communications M&E Group Inter-Agency Steering
(IAPT) Chair: (OMT) Chair: Group (UNCG) Chair: Chair: UNDP Committee (IASC)
UNICEF UNDP UNMIL Chair: HC
Cross-cutting and Joint
Programmes
Gender Equality Children & Youth
Peacebuilding & Food Security & Nutrition Environment & Climate Macro-economic
Chair: UNIFEM, Co-chair: Chair: ILO
Conflict Sensitivity Chair: FAO Change Taskforce
UNMIL OGA Co-chair: UNICEF
Chair: UNHCR Co-chair: WFP Chair: UNDP Chair: WB
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8. ACHIEVING A COMMON APPROACH
Wanting to work together
Willing cooperation way of working towards implementing the UNDAF
and thus the PRS. Indeed, following 132 consulta-
Deciding to work together effectively requires tions undertaken in all the country’s districts, the
willingness. In some cases simply ensuring people formulation of 15 County Development Agendas
from different strands of the UN work together (CDAs) helped lead to and shape the PRS. Since
and get used to working together can bring the end of 2008, the responsibilities of the CST
dividends much later: the experience in Liberia Facilitators have been strengthened as they have
shows that planning is important at early stages of been combined with the new function as Head
integration. In preparing the UNDAF and CDW, for of Field Office in each county – this creates a
example, UN staff have become used to working streamlined reporting line at county level for both
together, with the same tools, to the same aims. Mission and Agency staff. As UNMIL begins to
That makes communicating plans and progress draw down, these CSTs will form a crucial link in
within the UN family much easier. It would have maintaining and sustaining the UN’s development
been easier still if integration had been foreseen presence, and, in time, will be able to broaden
at the time the peacekeeping mandate was being their focus to provide the kind of support that will
articulated. be needed to match the process of decentraliza-
tion to local authorities once those are formulated.
We seek to eradicate needless, costly and inef-
ficient duplication. By ensuring there is a joint UN The nitty gritty
presence not only conceptually but also on the
ground, we can streamline our operations and The most important element of our common
budget and deliver more effectively, avoiding a approach is practical cooperation and imple-
doubled bureaucracy. Since the end of 2008, we mentation, fostering greater administrative
have integrated the Office of the Resident Coor- and logistical support integration and pooling
dinator and the Office of the D/SRSG for Recovery resources and assets at all levels. So when it comes
and Governance – thus avoiding overlap of staff to working on the ground, especially in remote
functions and ensuring better use of human counties, we adapt our approach to be sure we
resources and mutual support. can deliver. Whether it be car pooling or using the
same health clinic facilities; ordering office statio-
In the counties together nery or sharing security guards in joint offices in
the field; flying in the same planes or relying on
The County Support Teams (CST), of which there the same bulk fuel, we are increasingly making
is one in each of the 15 counties, form a unique strategic use of common services and integrating
coordinating mechanism between the Mission our structures on the ground to make the best
and the Agency staff in support of local authorities possible use of the limited resources.
and decentralization. Given that local authorities
currently have limited capacity, the CST are a key Our first joint premises outside Monrovia, the
support to Government and form part of the effort Joint UN Office in Voinjama, capital of the remote
to restore national authority at the local level. The Lofa County in the north of the country, was
CST work through UNMIL Civil Affairs staff, with opened in June 2008 and joins our functions
resources channeled through UNDP, monitoring in the most comprehensive way yet. It brings
and information offices supported by UNHCR together seven UN agencies (FAO, UNDP, UNHCR,
and UNICEF – all managed by a joint steering UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP, WHO) and UNMIL under
committee co-chaired by the Minister of Internal one roof. Initially it enabled the first efficient use
Affairs and the DSRSG/RC. of scarce resources such as security guards, fuel
stations, satellite internet communications and
The CST develop implementation capacity and generators, and in the longer term it will enable
local ownership of interventions, and form a key an integrated approach to programming, work
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9. plans and staffing. It brings to bear the expertise expertise. Very simple ideas can pay large divi-
and resources of the UN in remote areas, and the dends: creating an environment in which it is
common premises provide a convenient mecha- more fun to work together will mean people are
nism to function as a united team, with a view more likely to coordinate. It can be fruitful to make
to taking up a joint approach to programming working together an end in itself – by including
and planning. It means staff leaders in the field this in performance appraisals for example, which
constantly need to seek opportunities for further has been done for focal points on Sexual Exploi-
collaboration in planning and decision-making in tation and Abuse, it also boosts the chances for
Lofa. We also opened a second Joint UN Office, at integration.
Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, in February 2009.
Staff should be encouraged to work together
In each, the Head of Field Office promotes joint – ensuring the leadership’s personal interest
UN activities, coordinates these and meetings to alongside kudos for those who coordinate will
follow up, keeps looking for linkages, and also thus be an integral part of the process and its
takes the UNDAF, PRS and CDW into account with success. This can also be achieved by a vibrant
every plan. culture of communications; ensuring successful
teamwork is communicated throughout the
Encouraging teamwork internal organization and beyond. Currently, the
UN Communications Group (UNCG) has a joint
In securing common approaches on the ground, work plan, producing a joint UN newsletter, radio
leadership and approaches to human resources programme, training for communications and
have a key role to play. We are therefore making a programme officers, providing media outreach,
point of integration – we have held retreats, work- and carrying out joint communications initiatives
shops and discussions as to how best to elicit an on special days such as the International Day of
integrated UN family. Strategies are all very well, Peace, as well as a public website. We have much
but to avoid “document fatigue” and to ensure further to go in developing our communications,
that commitment to the joint effort doesn’t wear however, and we’re in the process of finalizing
thin and to ensure results, senior UN staff must a Communication Strategy for the entire UN in
show a personal interest in working together and Liberia as well as tools for internal communication
consistently highlight the benefits of combining with a view to engendering greater integration.
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10. ACHIEVING COMMON DELIVERY
Making it happen
Dividends of integration distributing supplies. Together this has helped
ensure that Liberia is polio free (2008). So far 95%
The most crucial impact that we can hope to of children vaccinated against measles, and there
achieve is that we are succeeding in supporting have been no confirmed cases of measles in the
significant improvements to lives. In many areas past two years.
already, the UN has come together to do just
that. Through some of the efforts at integration The Ministry of Public Works, together with
described, we believe we have reached much UNDP and UNMIL, funded by the World Bank,
further and achieved much more than we could have come together for short-term employment
have done without it. creation through labor-intensive road rehabilita-
tion of primary and secondary roads. While UNMIL
There are many examples, and we hope there will provided technical expertise and equipment,
be many more. In our efforts to return Internally funding was channeled through UNDP. From 2006
Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their homes, UNHCR, to early 2009, more than 46,000 short-term jobs
WFP, UNMIL and UNDP came together. Likewise, were created under this initiative, resulting in close
UNMIL, UNDP, UNICEF and others have come to 1,500,000 million working days within a budget
together for the reintegration of ex-combatants of more than US $6,000,000. Moreover, UNMIL and
and children formerly associated with the fighting WFP have joined hands in implementing labour-
forces (CAFF). intensive feeder road rehabilitation under the
food-for-work programme, from which more than
Tens of thousands of children have been vacci- 10,000 community members have benefited.
nated because the UN decided to bring all of In developing and maintaining our dialogue with
its assets together –offering UN helicopters, UN the Government, we have been able to focus on
health workers and UN expertise to support the key things together, such as peacebuilding, conflict
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the local resolution, gender mainstreaming,youth empower-
County Health Teams in organizing, planning and ment and child well-being.
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11. Another key example is the 15
CST, which enable meetings to
take place in offices in far-off Focus on Food
regions in a unified manner.
Rather than assemble people Our $140 million Joint Food Security and Nutrition
beneath trees, the local authori- programme, 2008–2011, the first in the world that brings
ties now have electricity, some together the UN family and World Bank in support of both
equipped with solar power, food security and nutrition, is a good example of a joint
vehicles and sufficient staff; programme. It responds to the immediate needs of the
they have County Develop- global food crisis as well as the medium-term priorities in the
ment Agendas and are trained PRS, and its joint approach recognizes that food concerns
to lead team efforts in pursuit of affect several aspects of the country – affecting not solely
these goals (see below for more the health of the population, but also the economy as well
details). as education concerns, making an integrated response the
most sensible. The practical success of the project relies on
Joint programmes joint analysis of data, which has helped us to develop the
right interventions. Considerable joint analysis, including the
Working through joint Comprehensive Food Security and Nutrition Survey (CFSNS),
programmes forms a crucial part undertaken by Government in partnership with FAO, UNDP,
of the UN’s integrated approach. UNICEF, UNMIL, WFP and WHO in both rural and urban areas
It means we can best utilize in 2006, and updated in 2008, provided the first information
our own expertise and that of of its kind for years. This has helped sharpen the Programme,
others, and together focus it on enabling more targeted support for food security and nutri-
cross-cutting issues, bringing a tion efforts.
joint approach to preparation,
implementation and evaluation Amid high levels of poverty,
throughout. They might not food insecurity and malnu-
necessarily deliver the quickest trition (44% of childhood
wins, but they create a means to deaths are attributable to
divide the cake better and focus malnutrition), the country
resources on priorities rather than imports 60% of its rice
donor preferences. needs. Liberia risks losing
$431 million to the economy
We have six joint UN programmes by 2015 due to the impact
agreed in the UNDAF, and five of poor nutrition, and severe food insecurity during the
have been finalized in coop- 2008 food crisis saw food costs rise 22% in a year. Led by the
eration with the Government Ministry of Agriculture, the joint programme brings together
– County Support Teams, Sexual FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, UNIFEM, UNMIL and the World
Gender-Based Violence, Youth Bank, to ensure rice supply, increase food production and
Employment and Empowerment, protect the vulnerable. Hot meals have been provided for
Food Security and Nutrition, and 600,000 pre- and primary school children, and agriculture-
Gender Equality and Women’s related employment has been promoted for 40,000 women
Empowerment. The UN comes and youth. Working together has also enabled a streamlined
together to consider joint needs- fast funding mechanism administered by UNDP relying on
assessments, joint planning, a “pass-through mechanism” that unites various UN actors.
coordinated implementation, This ensures donors deal solely with one agency, while still
joint monitoring and evaluation, drawing on the expertise and delivery capacity of several, to
collaborative decision-making, secure resources at speed with little fuss. Through this mecha-
and streamlined dialogue with nism, the Government of Denmark has offered $6.5m for
partners. It is through such joint 2009–2011 directly into the food and nutrition programme,
programmes that we show for example.
integration really does improve
delivery, not just talk.
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12. We believe that an integrated UN reinforces the
From campaigns to programmes
quality of programmes, plays to expertise and In the immediacy of the post-conflict situation, we
improves both credibility and management of often relied on time-bound campaigns to achieve
resources. In this way, looking for the overlap and delivery and cooperate on a large sale, as with
making a virtue of it will strengthen the impact of vaccination campaigns. These are often largely
projects and joint programmes. dictated by timings and achieving as good a
deployment of resources as possible, which make
Combined efforts will involve a joint approach them relatively easy to work. While campaigns
to identifying target beneficiaries: in seeking have well known limitations, they also provide
to target women farmers as part of the Food an important boost to routine processes and,
Security and Nutrition joint programme, UNIFEM provided they are backed up by complementary
takes responsibility for trainings, FAO for tools, information and services, can be highly effective.
UNDP for building storage facilities, WFP for
marketing trainings, and UNMIL has staff in the The 2008 population census, led by the Govern-
counties to help with monitoring. We also include ment and supported jointly by UNFPA, UNMIL,
communities in designing joint programmes to UNDP, UNICEF and UNHCR, has proved a crucial
ensure local ownership, share information to raise planning tool that will provide all actors with key
awareness about joint programmes so others decision-making information.
can feed into them, and ensure accountability
through regular reporting and proper monitoring In developing joint programmes, we have strived
and evaluation schemes. Integrated approaches to integrate more robustly, through developing
allow us to improve information-sharing, work joint analysis to inform our approaches. Joint
to given advantages throughout the UN family programmes are much more complicated to
operating in the country, monitor mechanisms develop, and engage parts of the UN, Government
jointly, hold regular meetings, link local initiatives and other donors in a different, more lasting and
into UN activities, and set operational norms for deeper way. Of necessity, they have taken longer
joint office and programme management (see to develop, and we believe they will deliver over
Focus on Food box). the longer term too.
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13. GREATER INTEGRATION AHEAD
Knitting together
Accounting for work practical steps to ensure that an integrated
approach to planning, implementation and
Liberia is in many ways already a model country delivery ensures we minimize the danger of any
on UN integration with joint programmes, joint gaps emerging. The pace will of course depend
offices, joint management and some joint work on developments on the ground, which only
plans, but we want to do even better. We aim to increases the need for close collaboration, as we
hold ourselves to account, before the Govern- monitor what stage we have reached and what
ment, before the people of Liberia, and before to do next. Certainly, the post-mission envi-
our own donors. ronment will require us to change the way we
deliver: no helicopters, limited logistical capacity,
In holding retreats, and deliberately focusing on greater costs and fewer staff are among the chal-
the value of integrating our efforts to the results lenges we will face. A well-planned transition
we can help achieve on the ground, we have will thus be critical to lasting success, and will
been grateful to learn from experts with experi- allow the UN family to support Liberia even after
ence in other countries, as well as staff here who UNMIL has withdrawn. The SPG has decided to
come across overlaps in their daily work, which establish a mechanism, the Integrated Transition
show that efforts to integrate must never stop. Design Team, to design elements of the transi-
tion with the goal to ensure the UN’s continued
What next impact during and after the UNMIL drawdown
and beyond the end of the first PRS.
As we prepare for the eventual withdrawal of
the peacekeeping mission, we can take many We can take some immediate practical steps, by
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14. looking at how to bring the UNCT and UNMIL Sometimes this will require a significant change
further together. The UN Humanitarian Air in behavior and attitude among our staff, and
Service, managed by WFP, already flies UN staff our strong leadership and commitment to joint
on mission to remote counties and neighboring efforts will help make this a reality. Boosting our
countries at no cost, for example. UNMIL heli- internal communications efforts will help as well.
copters fly UN agency staff across Liberia, as well
as to Ghana and Sierra Leone. In the communi- In 2009, we hope to increase coordination to
cations realm we are also striving to share both mainstream cross-cutting issues such as gender
internet and intranet networks. We will also equality, human rights and conflict sensitivity. We
strive for better information-sharing through will also give stronger emphasis to empowering
our new Communications Strategy. staff throughout the organizations, so that those
who are closest to a particular challenge have
In the counties, we must be creative about the necessary flexibility and motivation to work
addressing challenges that are likely to remain together and find efficient and creative solu-
for some time – how to reach hard-to-reach tions. It might be easy to find good leaders who
populations, unpredictable and insufficient decide good things, but we must ensure that we
funding with no common way of mobilizing take our staff with us on this journey – regular
resources, insufficient coordination among meetings with access to leaders, alongside well-
development partners, including ourselves, and developed internal communication will help
encouragement to others to step in line with make the difference.
the Government’s four pillars of the PRS so we
can all plan effective interventions and monitor We must also strive for higher levels of trust
their progress, too. To overcome fragmented among agencies and sections so that division
financing, we must avoid parallel or isolated of labor truly can work, and communicate the
projects. Already the Government has estab- importance of integration as part of this effort.
lished pooled funds for health and education, We also need to see how to make both UNMIL
for example, and our joint programmes also rely and the UNCT work further, so that we share
on common funding channels. the best of what we have to offer, whether it be
transport and administration support, sharing
In addition to our first two Joint UN Offices, we services such as communication and information
must also understand that if our field structures technology, or putting our analytical expertise
are to work and to respond effectively to local and brain power to work together.
challenges, we must trust our local staff leaders
take decisions, to give them the authority to One journey
plan projects and make them a reality. As we
support the Government’s decentralization We want to take the whole of the UN family and
policy, we must make efforts to deepen our our Government and development partners with
own. us on this journey as we streamline our bureau-
cracy and improve our delivery through an
At the strategic level, we must establish who is integrated approach. Clear expectations, regular
responsible for what – whether it be partners, monitoring, as well as consistent action, are
timing, costs or plans – and ensure we account crucial. From the outset we have taken a practical
for ourselves, identifying gaps, overlap and approach to sharing the best we have to offer, for
key common priorities and possible areas for example by establishing joint Government, UN
cooperation. Donor coordination remains an and donor committees to support Government
area ripe for improvement. We want to agree leadership during the transition from emergency
frameworks for accountability and performance coordination characterised by aid coordina-
reviews for staff where greater teamwork will tion and humanitarian clusters, to recovery and
be beneficial: for county staff reporting to the development. Today’s integrated planning means
Head of Field Office, staff in joint programmes everyone can look ahead in the same direction,
reporting to the manager, or active participation plan together and, most important, deliver for
in the gender theme group, for example. the benefit of the Liberian people.
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16. STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT
Beyond UNMIL and the UNCT:
The United Nations Integrated Team in Liberia
One of the gratifying aspects of developing our integrated approach to working and deliv-
ering together is that we are increasingly asked how we do it. We like that question, because
it makes us think more not only about what we are already doing, but also how to improve
our integrated approach to achieving and maintaining security and development in Liberia.
We have learned that nothing can be achieved without Liberian ownership. Not only does
that mean listening to the Government and aligning our own framework to that of the
Government’s at the center, but it also means encouraging debate and input from local
communities in regular consultation. This is why we have made it a priority to base ourselves
throughout the country, but while streamlining our systems. Part of it is about peeling back
bureaucracy – ensuring there are fewer parallel systems, and that organizations work in synch
for the same aims. We are committed to improving that process: looking for the overlap, elim-
inating duplication, integrating our systems whether it be sharing the internet or planning a
project. We want to be proud of good practice that embraces the innovative and the creative,
mainstreaming cross-cutting issues and developing policy and operational partnerships.
Being “at work together” cannot be a title alone – it must be embraced by the hearts and
minds of all our staff and embedded in the very fabric of every decision and step we take.
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