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Having survived the UNDAF process, I provide these reflections in hope that my personal experience and personal convictions will help you and your United Nations Country Team (UNCT). These comments reflect personal experience – and where experience failed to meet expectations, personal convictions. Most will be self-evident, yet not applicable everywhere; and all may be totally misconceived.

Uganda’s track record is rather mixed on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Though more children are going to school, too many drop out without

Mobile and online surveys are inspiring a new focus on communications and advocacy for the United Nations in Tanzania, where listening to people’s voices is a priority in our efforts to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.

The process of reviewing a country’s human rights records can become an opportunity to bond human rights with development. In Argentina, the Universal Periodic Review process has promoted human rights as the daily work of everyone in the UN system. This spirit exemplifies the ‘Human Rights up Front’ initiative.

When crisis strikes, data – normally provided by national counterparts – suddenly can be in short supply, or outright unavailable. Each organization scrambles to find, or produce, the basic data they need to function in the crisis, with little time to consider common data needs, common collection systems or data sharing. The result is often translated into disconnected or overlapping responses, or simply the lack of appropriate responses.

During the Syria crisis years, the context in Jordan has changed significantly. The situation has evolved from an initial focus on life-saving humanitarian assistance to a time when assistance to refugees and host communities must be equally prioritized.

What is big data and how can it benefit human development? A recent Big Data Bootcamp opened the floodgates on a deluge of data and asked the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to think about how to use it in meaningful ways.

Technology is enabling a group at risk of stigma and discrimination in Thailand to voice their concerns and make an impact.  iMonitor+ is a new

The new sustainable development agenda is transformative, rights-based and universal. Without a doubt, supporting countries to implement the new agenda requires a United Nations system that is “fit for purpose” and I see six steps we can take before 1 January 2016. We have a tremendous opportunity to re-position the UN system to maximize its unique comparative advantages in support of sustainable development.

The MDGs were brief enough to fit on the back of a business card. The 17 goals currently agreed are something different. One difference is how they tackle national obstacles (in developed and developing countries). The UN family and the Brazilian government, one of the leading champions of sustainable development in the world, have opened up a new dialogue mechanism to assess what works best in Brazil.