Overview of Asia-Pacific Regional Centre

The Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (APRC) is an out posted unit within the Regional Bureau of Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) and an integral part of UNDP’s global infrastructure and knowledge networks. UNDP has established the Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (located in Bangkok with a multidisciplinary office in Suva, Fiji) with the main priority to provide the 24 UNDP Country Offices in the region with reliable and easy access to quality advisory services and technical support based on global applied research and UNDP lessons learned.

The Asia Pacific Regional Centre works in partnership with a plethora of development stakeholders and promotes regional capacity development initiatives related to regional public goods. These joint efforts allow UNDP Country offices, governments, regional intergovernmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, UN agencies and International Financial Institutions, civil society, academic and other development partners to identify, create and share knowledge relevant to solving emerging regional development challenges.

The APRC is organizationally aligned around main pillars (focus areas), cross cutting areas and related fields, all corresponding to the main themes of UNDP global Strategic plan and to the UNDP’s practice architecture. Headed by Regional Practice Leaders, the APRC’s Practice teams of policy specialists provide advisory services and technical assistance in the main focus areas: Democratic Governance, Poverty Reduction and achievement of MDGs, Environment and Sustainable Development, Crisis Prevention and Recovery, HIV-AIDS and in the cross cutting areas of Gender, Capacity Development and Knowledge Sharing. The Regional Centre houses as well the Regional Human Development Report Unit, promotes South-South cooperation and provides management advisory and support services to strengthen Country office’s efforts towards increased accountability and efficiency.

The current infrastructure of UNDP regional centres evolved as a result of many years of consistent efforts to transform the UN’s biggest development network into a world-class knowledge based organization.

In 1997, as part of the UNDP's decentralization of substantive support to regional levels, the Sub-Regional Resource Facility (SURF) system was introduced. In January 2001, it was integrated into a revamped Bureau of Development Policy at the UNDP Headquarters. The Bangkok SURF, with primary responsibility for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, formally initiated its operations on 1 January 2001. Prior, it had served UNDP Country offices in the region of Asia and the Pacific for five years, first as a Sustainable Human Development Resource Facility for Southeast Asia (1996-1998), and then as the Southeast Asia SURF, Northeast Asia SURF, and Pacific SURF (during 1999 and 2000).

In 2003, the merger of SURFs with Regional programmes in some regions has led to the creation of UNDP regional centres. In Asia-Pacific this resulted in the establishment of Regional centers located in Bangkok, Colombo and Suva, which, by 2005 were providing, as per their thematic priorities, a unified set of policy advisory services and technical assistance to all 37 countries in the region.

In 2008, UNDP performed a Functional Alignment of Regional Service Centres with the aim to ensure a coherent, integrated and real time support to Country Offices (COs) and closer integration and cooperation with all development partners and stakeholders at regional level.

In 2009, the UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Bureau initiated an in-depth review of the work and services of the Regional Center aiming to improve its overall performance and efficiency. The assessment entailed a series of transformational steps. As a result the Asia Pacific Regional Center is now equipped with a stronger collective vision and possess an improved internal organizational structure to provide integrated advisory services and technical support to its primary clients, the UNDP Country offices in Asia and the Pacific. The APRC is asserting its role in providing guidance and quality support to UNDP and UN country teams in the region to formulate UN development assistance frameworks jointly with their national counterparts. The APRC is further committed to better implement the Regional programme and related projects, by mobilizing cross-practice collaboration to respond to current and emerging regional issues.

APRC Finance at a Glance

Click here to view APRC 2010 Finance Snapshot

Click here to view APRC Cost-Sharing Contribution 2008-2010

 

This web site was designed as a source of knowledge about development experiences, lessons learned and good practices in the region with particular focus on UNDP programmes and activities. In line with a corporate policy for improved content and collaboration architecture, the design and content of the web-site will be revamped by end of 2010/beginning of 2011. While working to this end we invite all interested parties to share comments, opinions and advice that could help to improve our on-line presence and to strengthen the way we communicate our work and our achievements. Please, write us at: aprc@undp.org