This study aims to analyse how the United Nations system acts as a generator and disseminator of knowledge in the implementation of its development mandate.
The paper reflects on the one side, an historic overview of the evolution of the concept of development and, on the other side, an action-oriented approach on knowledge management in the United Nations system at present, supported by the author’s experience of 30 years of work with the United Nations.
The United Nations is not just an honest broker and facilitator among donors and recipients of development assistance. As a promoter of development co-operation, the United Nations has influenced international thinking. The vision on development that the world organisation proposed with the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development is built upon knowledge acquired over its entire existence.
By means of desk research at the macro level, the paper identifies the most significant events related to development, and shows how the accumulation of new ideas and dimensions led to the contemporary concept of sustainable development. In addition, the author presents a micro analysis of knowledge production and its use in the United Nations system—policy research uptake, learning policies, knowledge management frameworks—based on personal observations and data collected as co-ordinator of relevant reports of the Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations.
As the paper reflects a practitioner’s experience as a diplomat and a United Nations Inspector, the paper includes some recommendations for action, from a system-wide perspective, based on the practices of the most influential United Nations funds, programmes and specialised agencies.
Dumitriu, P. (2023) “Knowledge in Service of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Optimising the Contribution of the United Nations System”, in World Sustainable Development Outlook 2023, Vol. 19, pp. 45–69 (London, UK: WASD).
