The Report of the UNDG/ECHA Working Group on Transition Issues (February 2004) acknowledged the special requirements of post-crisis settings and recognized the need for ‘adequate and timely funding of the UN’s response in transition situations.” The report highlighted examples from case studies where tailored funding mechanisms have been used to meet special needs, recognized the frequent gaps and shortfalls in existing instruments, including for the funding of coordination support capacity to the RC System in transition situations, and recommended that follow-up action include a review of the existing menu of resource mobilization options in order to ‘provide clear guidance for decision-making by UNCTs on which options to use in which circumstances’ (pg. 35).

To fill this financing gap, a number of instruments have been introduced, including the Transitional Appeal and the Multi-Donor Trust Funds. Both have been used with increasing frequency in the last few years, and experiences in diverse settings have yielded important lessons on how they can be further refined and better utilized to ensure a timely and adequate financial response to the needs of countries in transition.

For more information on financing instruments in transition, please contact Sofia Carrondo(sofia.carrondo@undg.org)