This is a report about hard choices ahead of us. Choices that governments, leaders, investors and citizens need to make about when and how to fund a multilateral approach to address today’s most stubborn and urgent global development challenges– climate change, health, migration, armed conflict and inequality. The case for a multilateral approach needs to be based on evidence that shows effectiveness and impact in addressing these challenges.

The overall ambition of this fifth annual report, Financing the United Nations Development System, is to advance the quality of this evidence-based debate and to expand the marketplace of ideas related to the United Nations and development financing. It showcases the complex funding dynamics of the UN development system and its role in spurring greater and more diverse financing flows for the 2030 Agenda.

With a firm platform of data and a strong portfolio of ideas presented in this report, we hope that when hard decisions are made – bilateral, multilateral or other – they will deliver on our shared goals.