The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) launched its Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) framework in 2014. The PCP model aims to accelerate industrial progress in countries by aligning with national development agendas and strategies and focusing on high-growth potential sectors. Through multi-stakeholder partnerships led by host governments, PCPs aim to leverage additional investment in priority sectors to achieve a larger development impact.

An independent evaluation of the PCP framework was conducted in 2022-23. The objectives of the evaluation included assessing the PCP framework’s adequacy to help UNIDO achieve its mandates, through the PCP instrument as well as determining the framework’s suitability for country-level programming. This evaluation offers a comprehensive analysis of the PCP framework’s validity and success.

The evaluation found that the UNIDO PCP approach is effective in contributing to industrial development agendas in countries with strong national ownership and commitment. However, challenges remain, including confusion with traditional Country Programs, limited engagement with the private sector, and the need for better monitoring and reporting. While the PCP approach has demonstrated its potential for scaling up, it is resource-intensive and therefore not sustainable in its current form. UNIDO needs to incorporate positive PCP features into regular CPs and partner with other technical assistance providers to bridge gaps and ensure inclusivity and sustainability in industrial development goals. Monitoring and reporting also needs to be improved, and there is a need for continued support and budgetary commitments from host countries to maintain momentum. The PCP approach has relevance for Member States and UNIDO, however, some features may need to be revisited in light of availability of information from other sources and UNIDO’s planned investments in the countries. UNIDO needs to leverage the positive features of PCPs and incorporate them into regular CPs to ensure greater adoption of these features across all partnerships and programmatic approaches.

The evaluation made following recommendations for UNIDO to consider, which are elaborated in the report: 

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Recommendation 1: Mainstream key PCP features and harmonize programmatic approaches across all Member States under a unique rebranded UNIDO Country Programme approach.

Recommendation 2: Review and formulate an approach for better leveraging private sector and other partnerships under country programming. 

Recommendation 3: UNIDO should setup institutional mechanisms for enhancing monitoring & reporting, including better tracking overarching expenditures pertaining to the new programme coordination and activities.

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