PROGRAMME OF WORK AND BUDGET 2006-07

Major Programme 3.5: Cooperation with External Partners

	Programme	2004-05 Programme of Work	ZRG 2006-07 Programme of Work	ZNG 2006-07 Programme of Work	RG 2006-07 Programme of Work	Trust Fund
(all amounts in US$ 000)
351	Multilateral and Bilateral Agencies	4,994	5,507	5,175	5,507	11,645
352	Civil Society Awareness and Partnerships	5,747	7,012	6,106	7,012	5,124
353	Cooperation Agreements with Member Nations and Support to ECDC and TCDC	1,059	1,034	910	1,034	2,892
Total		11,800	13,552	12,191	13,552	19,661
Programme Change from 2004-05 Programme of Work at MP level			1,752	392	1,752
Percent Change			14.9%	3.3%	14.9%

Substantive thrusts under ZRG conditions

449. Programme 3.5.1: Multilateral and Bilateral Agencies is aimed at further expanding and diversifying funding for the field programme, including sustained and dynamic dialogue with all development partners. Close cooperation is ensured with activities under Programme 3.1.1 and the decentralized policy assistance groups under Programme 3.1.2 to better match field programme development to FAO’s key areas of expertise. The programme will seek to adapt FAO’s action to new trends: decentralization of decision-making authority by several important donors; growing orientation of donor assistance towards achieving the MDGs¹⁵³ and PRSPs¹⁵⁴; increased desire of development partners to harmonise and align procedures; preference for programme approach over project-based funding; readiness to explore multidonor funding modalities (especially in Asia and in Africa); adoption of general budget support, SWAps¹⁵⁵ and ‘basket funding’. The APO¹⁵⁶ programme will continue to be promoted and supported.

450. Programme 3.5.2 addresses important components of the cross-cutting organizational strategy on Broadening partnerships and alliances. It promotes a corporate framework for effective partnership to guide various units in FAO involved in enhancing cooperation with different partners. The joint FAO-civil society action plan and its key target areas developed in follow-up to the WFS¹⁵⁷: five years later, as well as the parallel NGO/CSO¹⁵⁸ Forum, will continue to guide this programme. Emphasis will be placed on civil society participation in, and contribution to global policy fora, including the International Alliance Against Hunger (IAAH), and in conjunction with FAO Regional Conferences and the Special Forum of the CFS¹⁵⁹ in 2006.

451. Due emphasis will also be given to enhancing dialogue and sharing information with private sector partners, including opportunities for mobilising private sector support to specific FAO programmes. Programme 3.5.2 will continue to coordinate FAO's participation in the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) and its various working mechanisms, and to promote the involvement of local administrations from developed and developing countries as new partners in rural development and food security.

452. The IAAH Secretariat, which serves communication and coordination among the Alliance members (FAO, IFAD, IPGRI, WFP¹⁶⁰, International NGOs, IPC¹⁶¹ and National Alliances), will be strengthened by resources transferred from Programme 1.3.1 and extra-budgetary support. The IAAH will interface with the implementation process for the MDGs and other international efforts in calling attention to policy reforms and programme initiatives to reduce hunger. With funds from donors and with the collaboration of Rome-based agencies and international partners, IAAH will conduct aggressive advocacy public awareness campaigns with national alliances in countries and globally.

453. Programme 3.5.2 also includes coordination, planning and implementation of World Food Day (WFD) observance and the TeleFood campaign, the use of FAO Ambassadors and promotion of county-level involvement and civil society participation through the dissemination of information. Information campaigns for WFD and TeleFood, including the use of FAO Ambassadors, will be more fully integrated to raise awareness of the plight of the hungry and mobilise resources to fund small projects targeted at helping poor communities.

454. Under Programme 3.5.3, the implementation of the partnership programmes benefits Members in terms of capacity-building and greater leverage for the limited resources at FAO’s disposal. OCD¹⁶² will continue to provide central coordination and support to the implementation of the partnership programmes, taking into account the needs of all stakeholders. Innovative ways and means of promoting these programmes will be explored to enrich the pool of experts and scientists.

Zero Nominal Growth Impact

455. Programme 3.5.1 would undergo, inter alia, a decrease in the resources available to the Project Identification Facility which is instrumental in building up the field programme pipeline. ZNG would slow down progress in adapting to new funding modalities for FAO, including under increasingly popular direct budgetary support, and in the expansion of the unilateral trust fund (UTF) programme.

456. Under Programme 3.5.2, the full range of strategic partnerships could no longer be addressed through a dedicated unit. Activities related to cooperation with NGOs/CSOs, private sector, UNDG, the decentralized cooperation programme and the Secretariat function for the Field Programme Committee and Emergency Coordination Group would have to be absorbed by other organizational units in the Technical Cooperation Department. Under Programme 3.5.3, the implementation of Partnership Programmes would be constrained.

¹⁵³ Millennium Development Goals

¹⁵⁴ Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

¹⁵⁵ Sector-wide approaches

¹⁵⁶ Associate Professional Officer

¹⁵⁷ World Food Summit

¹⁵⁸ Non-governmental Organization (NGO); Civil Society Organization (CSO)

¹⁵⁹ Committee on World Food Security

¹⁶⁰ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI); World Food Programme (WFP)

¹⁶¹ International NGO/CSO Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty

¹⁶² Office for Coordination of Normative, Operational and Decentralized Activities