ABSTRACT
Rapid changes in the world economy are transforming the role of multilateral aid. The UN development system (UNDS), the family of UN organizations, funds, programs, specialized agencies, and affiliated mechanisms charged to negotiate and implement international development objectives. The chapter attempts to look at some of the changes now having a significant impact on the governance of the UNDS at three levels. Global governance is now a much wider concept, in which intergovernmental cooperation will have to define its role and added value among a rising number of other actors. The UN Development Group (UNDG), a formal coordinating group encompassing some 30 different entities, forms the nucleus of the UNDS and is an integral part of this wider UN system. The UN system is uniquely positioned to address emerging challenges that are truly global. The global public goods (GPG) agenda, presently grossly under-provided and under-financed, is rapidly becoming more pressing, particularly as regards climate change and sustainable development.
