2.

The ART initiative

ART (Articulating territorial and thematic networks for human development) is an international cooperation initiative which brings together different UN Programmes, Funds and Specialized Agencies (notably UNDP, UNESCO, UNIFEM, WHO, UNOPS). It promotes and supports a worldwide network of quality exchanges among local, national and international actors in which the UN System works with local Governments and communities (nota) so that they can operate together more effectively towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. (nota) This new type of multilateralism endorses the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development. (nota)

2.1 Fields of action

ART operates in the following five fields: governance; environmental protection and territorial planning; local economic development; local health and welfare systems; local basic education and training systems.

2.2 ART and the local ownership

ART promotes national framework programmes for governance and local development (formerly known as ART GOLD(nota)). Donor countries, UN Agencies, subnational governments, private sector organizations, universities and NGOs participate. They are called framework programmes because they create an institutional context so that various international and national actors can contribute to the cause in a more organized, coordinated and complementary way. The framework programmes can also serve to these actors as a tool to enhance the impact of their own initiatives without having to sacrifice their identity and visibility. 2.2.1 Coordination structures At the central level, framework programmes are managed by a National Coordinating Committee (NCC), instituted by the government and the UN Country Office with the participation of the donors involved. The committee: directs the various projects and contributions in a programme-logic, aimed at improving both the outcome and the impact of the cooperation. identifies the regions to involve in the FP, on the basis of both national priorities and interest expressed by donors.

guarantees that local initiatives are in line with national development policies; is responsible for spreading the most effective working methods in other areas of the Country and promoting the involvement of new donors. Local working groups are then formed within the local communities, participated by public , private and social actors. The task of those groups is to draw up action plans (funded by the international cooperation partners), which are brought together in periodic national operative plans of the programme. The groups coordinate the implementation of the initiatives and maintain relations with local donors.

The Committee and the groups together program the use of the resources made available by the international cooperation, ensuring that they complement the resources already provided by national budgets. UN Country Offices support the Committee and the working groups in their activities. 2.2.2 How ART ensures local ownership Working groups promote participation in programming and managing activities: at the regional level, they launch a process to know more about the territory, its resources, opportunities and threats; they organize thematic subgroups for the various fields of action; they conduct researches, studies and organize seminars and management courses to train public and private actors. A similar process for acquiring knowledge is launched at a more grassroots and municipal level, using a method that encourages participation of people from rural areas and from vulnerable groups; outputs of this phase are the municipal plans for the use of available and potential international cooperation resources. These plans get then synthesized at the regional level in a document, called the regional and local plan for international cooperation; in this way, international cooperation gets involved in the processes of strategic planning. (nota) Projects that comply with the regional and local plan are finally identified and implemented in a way which valorises and reinforces local ownership capacities.

--Note:
(nota) Local communities are populations living in the areas corresponding to a countrys political-administrative subdivisions, be they regions, provinces or municipalities. ART Brochure, January 2008 (nota) millennium development goals-(nota) From the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development: 31. To achieve our goals of sustainable development, we need more effective, democratic and accountable international and multilateral institutions. 32. We reaffirm our commitment to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nationsand international law, as well as to the strengthening of multilateralism. We support the leadership role of the United Nations as the most universal and representative organization in the world, which is best placed to promote sustainable development. 33. We further commit ourselves to monitor progress at regular intervals towards the achievement of our sustainable development goals and objectives.Multilateralism is the future, A/CONF.199/20, Chapter 1, Resolution 1, Johannesburg, September 2002 (nota) page 38, Evaluation on UNDP Contribution to strenghtening local governance, UNDP Evaluation Office, December 2010 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/37/47871446.pdf (nota) During the programming process, there is also a territorial marketing document produced for a widespread distribution describing the territory, its potential and its challenges. It is drawn up with the aim of attracting international partners - bilateral donors, decentralized cooperation partners, universities, businesses, NGOs and others.