Assessment of development results : evaluation of UNDP contribution. United Arab Emirates / United Nations Development Programme.

"Sales #: E.11. III. B.28"--Page 4 of cover.

"May 2012."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 73-74).

Executive summary -- Introduction -- National development context: United Arab Emirates -- UNDP response -- UNDP contributions to national development -- Strategic positioning of UNDP in a net contributor country -- Conclusions and recommendations.

As a core area of the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Evaluation Office (EO), an Assessment of Development Results (ADR) seeks to independently and systematically assess progress around key initiatives in countries that receive UNDP support. This ADR is the 69th EO evaluation, and the 9th conducted within Arab States. This is the first ADR conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), taking place close to the end of the current 2008-2012 programming cycle. In 1999, the UNDP Executive Board recognized the importance of UNDP support to net contributor countries in their pursuit of the objectives of sustainable human development. Since then, UNDP has been providing a range of development services to 69 middle- and high-income countries, including 46 net contributor countries. There are five net contributing countries in the Arab States region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The UNDP-UAE relationship is, therefore, structured around the UNDP definition of a net contributor country, which implies that the UAE government finances all programmes UNDP undertakes. The ADR examines how well UNDP responded to development priorities in the context of a net contributor and high-income country. This evaluation found that the UNDP role over the past eight years has been relatively uniform, with the main focus on providing institutional and human resource development services required by the government. The country's net contributor status means that the UNDP programme responds to government agencies' demand for services. While policy engagement varied over the years, the evaluation found that UNDP programme strategies can be better adapted to respond to UAE development priorities. The evaluation also raises important issues for UNDP programming in net contributing and high-income countries such as the UAE. Some of the issues discussed include: the framework that should guide substantive programme content; operational policies in net contributing countries; constraints in mobilizing resources; and the need for broader partnership strategies. The evaluation concludes that continued UNDP presence in the UAE necessitates securing focused development partnerships and developing a medium-term programme strategy that aims at a more substantive engagement in the country's development discourse. In addition, the country programme should focus on addressing the human development disparity between the northern and southern emirates. The evaluation recommends that UNDP leverage its organizational strength to strategically engage in key development issues and to further global development partnerships. UNDP needs to make a strong commitment to support northern emirates in addressing their development priorities, particularly by contributing to ongoing government efforts to bridge the developmental gap among the emirates. It is our hope that this evaluation will help UNDP further leverage its strategic partnership with the Government of United Arab Emirates -- Publisher's website.