Policy Analysis

Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) Policy Analysis

The Secretary-General’s Report on Trends and Progress in International Development Cooperation is a key analytical input prepared in line with mandates from the UN General Assembly (resolutions 61/16, 68/1, 69/313, 70/192, 70/299, 75/290 A, and 76/258). It offers evidence-based analysis and policy recommendations to guide Member States and stakeholders and serves to inform discussions at the Development Cooperation Forum. The report is formally submitted by the Secretary-General for the Forum’s consideration.

The DCF supports evidence-based policy dialogue on the quality, effectiveness, and impact of international development cooperation. Through its analytical work—including surveys and studies—it gathers data on country experiences, practices, and perceptions to inform global discussions.

Click below to view the past documents:

2022

2022 Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) Survey Study: Navigating COVID-19 recovery and long-term risks (Full Study) (Policy Brief)

2021

•  2020-2021 Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) Think Piece Series
  • Adjusting Multilateralism to the 21st Century, Dr. Carlos Lopes
  • UN Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Group, Paloma Costa, Vladislav Kaim, Archana Soreng
• Conference Room Paper for the 2021 Development Cooperation Forum (E/C.18/2021/CRP.1)
• Risk-informed development cooperation and its implications for ODA use and allocation. Lessons for the Decade of Action to Deliver the SDGs (Full Study) (Policy Brief)
• Integrated approaches to climate action and disaster risk reduction: Strengthening the quality and impact of development cooperation

2020

• 2020 DCF Survey Study: Toward effective development cooperation in the COVID-19 period (Full Study) (Policy Brief)
• Trends and Progress in International Development Cooperation: Report of the Secretary-General (E/2020/10) (available in six UN official languages)

2018

• Study on the findings of the 5th DCF Survey on national mutual accountability and transparency in development cooperation
• Trends and Progress in International Development Cooperation: Report of the Secretary-General (E/2018/55)

2017

• The evolution of South-South development cooperation: Its role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change  (Policy Brief)
• Fostering the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: the role of multilateral development banks in South-South cooperation (Policy Brief)
• Promoting sustainable development through triangular cooperation (Policy Brief)
• How Governments of the South assess the results of South-South Cooperation: Case studies of South-led approaches (Policy Brief)

2016

• ODA allocation and other trends in development cooperation in LDCs and vulnerable contexts (Policy Brief)
• Making development cooperation on climate change sensitive to the needs of the most vulnerable countries (Policy Brief)
• New forms of cooperation and increased coherence to implement the SDGs (Policy Brief)
• Re-engineering development cooperation institutions to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Policy Brief)
• Trends and Progress in International Development Cooperation: Report of the Secretary-General (E/2016/65)
• 2016 DCF Survey Study

2015

• What Is Development Cooperation?
  Jose Antonio Alonso & Jonathan Glennie (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Private and blended development cooperation: Assessing their effectiveness and impact for achieving the SDGs, Matthew Martin (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Country results frameworks for effective monitoring and review, Elaine Venter (Policy Brief)
• Improving ODA allocation for a post-2015 world (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Assessing the suitability of different development cooperation modalities for greater effectiveness and impact post-2015 (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Revitalizing the Global Partnership and adjusting development cooperation for the SDGs (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Strengthening technology facilitation and capacity building in a post-2015 setting: Understanding the issues (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• International development cooperation to promote technology facilitation and capacity building for the 2030 Agenda  (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Addressing changes and challenges in monitoring and review of development cooperation at the national level (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Monitoring and review of development cooperation to support implementation of a post-2015 development agenda
  • Full Study
  • Policy Brief
• Citizen-based monitoring of development cooperation to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)
• Monitoring and review of development cooperation at the local level (Policy Brief, available in English, French & Spanish)