The UN and its Country Teams must respond to complex global challenges in a context of high uncertainty. UN Global Pulse supported the Cambodian Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) in exploring new ways of integrating forward-looking and participatory approaches in their planning in order to respond to these challenges.
We helped develop a participatory foresight exercise (FutureCast) to generate insights into the evolution of the political environment. Participants included members of civil society and Cambodian youth. And we facilitated a Country Teams’ (UNCT) retreat to explore how to transform the UN in Cambodia and better deliver transformative programmes. Participants, including youth leaders, considered how to go beyond the current agenda, with a focus on vulnerable people.
Our impact
Many organizations and stakeholders are working towards making UN Country Teams more forward-looking. During this retreat, all UNCT members in Cambodia joined to drive the transformation agenda. They worked out a shared vision and jointly identified priorities and activities for the UNCT work plan. Insights from the foresight exercises may help make the Common Country Analysis and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework more anticipatory.
The foresight exercises conducted in this project also advanced intergenerational equity and the inclusion of diverse perspectives, with more than 25 youth participants and 15 civil society groups taking part.
Our lessons
- We started to understand how UN Global Pulse can best support UN Country Teams in their journey to integrate foresight approaches in planning. Good results come when we prime teams learning about foresight and contextualise foresight approaches to their specific needs.
- Voices not normally heard must be included in the conversation.
- Bringing in more young people adds a fresh perspective and opens up opportunities for collaboration and synergies among UN agencies.