Pacific Sub Regional Centre

Regional Workshop on MDG-based Development and Pro-poor Policy and Budgeting Framework

Background

Key Issues and Outcomes

Way Forward

Background

The Workshop on MDG-based Planning and the Development of a Pro-poor and Budgeting Framwork was held at the Tanoa International Convention Centre, Nadi, Fiji, from 2-6, 2006.It aimed at stregthening the capacities of Government planners, finance officials, statisticians, sector specialists, women's agencies and UN practitioners to better understand the issues around MDG-based planning and budgeting in the Pacific Region. The workshop is a follow-up to the first UNDP-sponsored regional MDG workshop held in March 2003, as well as other initiatives, and aimed at taking stock and building on achievements in mainstreaming the MDGs into policy and planning in Pacific Island Countries since then.

The workshop was organised by UNDP's Pacific Centre (PC) jointly with UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat( PIFS),UNFPA,UNIFEM. PC took the lead role in preparing the Concept Note and agenda, with inputs from the co-organizers of the workshop. PC also secured the international/regional resource persons, and organised logistics.

As part of the workshop outputs, and to followup on the workshop, a number of countries will be selected for additional technical support in 2007 under the Integrated Package of Services (IPS) to achieve the MDGs and the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) Partnership Pacific Plan based on needs identified during the workshop. This is seen as one way of linking the workshop to roll-out of the IPS in the Pacific, joint programming and joint implementation commitment made by the NSDS Partners, including PIFS, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)and PC, the internal programming process of PIFS and the planning framework of the PSRC and SPC.

Key Issues and Outcomes

The workshop highlighted the following key issues and outcomes:

MDG progress in the Pacific Region

• Progress on the MDGs is uneven across the Pacific. With poverty and hardship on the increase, the region is struggling to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

Definition and Understanding of Poverty

• While the definition and acceptance of poverty in the Pacific is still debated, there is a general consensus of equating poverty and hardship.Until recently many PIC governments did not consider poverty as a serious policy issue.
• The MDGs have helped to lift issues of poverty and hardship into the policy arena.
• However, the quality and accuracy of a country’s MDG indicators are only as good as the sources from which they are derived. Better data on the MDGs and poverty is needed.

Development of Pro-poor policies

• Correct interpretation of accurate, disaggregated and timely data, and the translation of data into a form which politicians can understand, is needed to facilitate the development of targeted pro-poor policies.
• Pro-poor and gender-sensitive policies, which require political support, provide an enabling environment for economic opportunities to be created for the poor, including women.

Localising and Adapting the MDGs

• Countries have begun to prioritise and adapt MDG targets and indicators, and reflect this localisation in national planning frameworks (Vanuatu, Tuvalu, PNG, Samoa).
• Lessons from the Caribbean highlighted that MDG process monitoring begins with inputs and follows progress of an indicator over time to evaluate whether changes are due to deliberate policies instituted to reduce poverty.

Costing the MDGs

• To cost the MDGs, a needs assessment approach should be taken in developing a National Development Strategy, based on a “bottom up” approach which identifies the poor, their needs and key interventions required.
• The use of econometric models is not appropriate for the Pacific because of the paucity of data in some countries. 

MDG-Based National Development Strategies

• MDG-based National Development Strategies, including capacity needs assessments, need consistency between macro, growth and pro-MDG policies, with funds earmarked in national, provincial and municipal budgets.  The institutional set-up should consist of a nationally-owned and led MDG strategy, with sectoral task forces set-up to provide needs assessment, costing and formulation of action plans. These strategies ought to be holistic, cross-sectoral and framed within the human rights-based approach. They should also address youth employment, population growth, gender implications and the impact of international trade on small island economies.  Most PICs have a National Sustainable Development Strategy or Plan; however, MDG alignment needs to be reflected more strongly in most plans/strategies.

Governance Issues

• Governance is a cornerstone for MDG achievement.  However, measuring the “governance-quality” issue is difficult.  Current work is being done at the USP on governance indicators, looking at government effectiveness, rule of law and regulatory quality.  There are examples in the region of how the lack of good governance and corruption has negatively impacted the social and economic fabric of countries.

• The relevance of CSOs engagement in governance and MDG achievement has been reaffirmed.
• Engagement of parliamentarians in better understanding MDGs and pro-poor policy would also be important.

Way Forward

The workshop presentations, followed by group and plenary discussions, confirmed the relevance of the training and capacity building being targeted at the workshop. It also highlighted the need to follow-up on the regional initiative with country-level and sub-regional technical workshops and meetings on all the workshop themes in a more country specific and topic focused forum.  This would provide opportunities to strengthen the capacity of more national counterparts, including civil society organisations and parliamentarians.

While awareness has increased on poverty and MDG-related issues, there is a need for continued advocacy, broader understanding and more informed debate on these issues.  Assistance is sought to build the analytical capacity of National Statistical Offices to provide accurate, timely and disaggregated MDG data to assist policy-makers make the right policy choices.

Technical assistance is also required to support countries align their national planning frameworks with the MDGs (specifically Nauru, Kiribati, Tokelau, FSM), and to translate these into appropriate allocations (aid and domestic resources) reflected in the Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks and annual budgets.  Countries need to put in place monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for the successful implementation of their plans; MDGs are now being recognised as the basis for a core poverty-reduction focussed monitoring framework for national strategies.

Interest was also expressed for the development of practical toolkits to assist countries in:

• The analysis of poverty and hardship;
• The development of pro-poor policies;
• MDG and policy costing methodologies;
• Formulating national development strategies; and
• Developing medium term budget frameworks.

Support was also indicated for the establishment of an MDG e-network for the region through which issues can be raised and experiences shared on a regular basis.

As follow-up to the workshop, a collaborative approach between UN Agencies and regional organisations, in line with the Pacific Plan, will be adopted to support governments at country-level and sub-regional level in the Pacific.  A South-South cooperation modality will also be used to share experience and build capacity for MDG achievement in the Pacific, using local expertise.  Assistance will be tailored to country needs.