Capacity development activities undertaken by the Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO) aim at better enabling Member States to implement their commitments and agreements on Financing for Development, in accordance with the mandate included in General Assembly resolution 60/188 and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 2009/30, in particular in the area of domestic resource mobilization.
In line with the current Capacity Development Strategy of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which identified “Fiscal policy and international tax cooperation” as one of the priority areas, FSDO is developing and implementing a programme of capacity development activities on international tax cooperation. This programme aims at strengthening the capacity of national tax authorities and ministries of finance in developing countries to develop more effective and efficient tax systems, which support the desired levels of investment, and to combat tax evasion, as mandated by ECOSOC resolution 2012/33.
The Office began its capacity development activities on infrastructure asset management (IAM) with a development account project titled “Municipal asset management for sustainable development in selected Least Developed Countries in Africa and Asia”, jointly implemented with UNCDF. IAM can improve the capacity of local and national governments to undertake sustainable, inclusive development. What it entails is a systematic approach to managing assets – over entire life cycles and within a broader asset portfolio. This will ensure that initial public investments in infrastructure are not wasted and that they adequately serve communities for generations to come. The growing number of risks and challenges stemming from climate change, public health crises and advances in digital technology make the case for effective asset management as compelling as ever.
FSDO makes every effort to ensure that all its capacity development activities are demand driven and respond to actual needs of Member States. It prioritizes work with partners in order to promote complementarities and avoid duplication. Within FSDO, the Capacity Development Unit is tasked with overseeing and coordinating all capacity development activities.
Additional links: UN DESA Capacity Development Office