Civil society engagement strengthens monitoring, #accountability, and #performance in int'l organizations.
@alupel.bsky.social spotlighted this at Tuesday’s youth meeting on Shaping #Multilateralism — drawing on our ReformWorks research.
Check it out:
👉️ www.reformworks.org/post/can-int...
🆕 In a new @reformworks.bsky.social article, #NYUCIC’s Program Officer @thibaultc.bsky.social explores the #UN Secretariat’s shift from a normative role towards being judged on its ability to deliver results.
Read the full piece ⤵️
International norms are being challenged daily. It’s unsettling — but the #UN has operated in similar environments for most of its history - and shown #resilience.
How? #Adaptability.
Our latest research spotlight looks at the tactics and skills for UN adaptation.
buff.ly/6Ojf4dR
UN80 has been criticized for lacking a vision. Yet the process has highlighted a deeper shift from the #UN as a normative body to one with delivery at its core.
Thibault Camelli explores the tensions this creates for member state engagement, as the IAWG drops its interim report..
At last week’s #UN budget presentation, cuts to the #development pillar sparked controversy. Confusion over #ACABQ calculations led to a promised corrigendum.
While 2026 may protect development, the longer funding trend tells another story…
📩 Sign up for more ReformWorks insights: buff.ly/HktOS3O
Last week’s #CDR had great insights on leadership skills - yet little on context. Funding flows, shifting priorities, & public perceptions all should have shaped how UN leaders applied those skills and mitigated this crisis, e.g.
UN 💵 buff.ly/Aqsg3HC
Aid🗣️ buff.ly/pplic2Y
🌐 Norms: buff.ly/uVy8KZi
Guy Ryder briefs #UN member states this Friday, 21 Nov on the #UN80 Action Plan—focused on how to reform, not just what, and a shift from past #UNreforms.
But key gaps remain:
🔹 Governance body approvals
🔹 UN staff engagement
📘 Read why these matter—and what else to raise:
The SG just quietly dropped the UN80 Action Plan. Will it lead to real reform?
This month’s ReformWorks spotlight breaks it down: what’s strong, what’s missing, and what research on past reforms tells us.
👉 See how the Plan measures up
Think the UN's #FifthCommittee is just admin? Think again. ISHR’s new study shows how budget politics shape real impact in the #UN system. buff.ly/vKEFo19
Follow ReformWorks to stay up to date on these challenges and how to manage them.
When is the consolidation of #UN administrative services an effective reform? At ReformWorks, we've checked out the evidence....
www.reformworks.org/post/will-sh...
🇩🇪 AfD calls for more #transparency in Germany’s contributions to int'l orgs.
But Germany already has an aid portal—and the 🇺🇳 UNCEB tracks donor funding by year.
So why the disconnect? Our spotlight explores how foreign ministries and int'l orgs must rethink comms.
buff.ly/J8B2Hu9
#UNReform
🧭 As the #UNGA’s #FifthCommittee kicks into high gear, I'm resharing the popular ReformWorks Quick Guide for UN managers on how to engage effectively.
📌 If you’re presenting or responding to written questions for the first time, this Guide is your go-to resource.
This morning on @cnn.com with @camanpour.bsky.social, I said: The world would in no way be better off without the UN. And I stand by that. Because we truly are #BetterTogether
#UN80
www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/T...
The #UN’s revised budget for 2026 leans hard on #sharedservices to fix its financial crisis. But will these #UN80 efficiencies really work?
ReformWorks looks at what worked before—and what’s missing now.
✨ On Monday, I discussed the risks & opportunities of #innovation in intergovernmental organizations at the #COE. Participants validated what research on #UN innovation has shown - process innovations offer a low risk, high benefit starting point, aligned with member states’ push for efficiency.
⌛ Just days left to share your views on power dynamics in the #UN #development system!
@Cepei and partners are studying how influence and power works to inform #UN80 reforms for more transparent & inclusive decision‑making. Please take the survey by this Friday 3 Oct!
👉
The UK PM wants to revisit how #InternationalLaw is interpreted. Meanwhile, the US—after warning drug smugglers it would “blow you out of existence”—wants an American to lead #UNODC.
Are these challenges to global norms something to resist—or a normal evolution to be engaged with?
🙏 To all who have followed our research spotlights - how can we better provide you the research you need in a more user-friendly way?
We appreciate your interest in ReformWorks, and want to keep you coming.
Please take a minute to fill out our very short (4 question) survey. lnkd.in/g5hh4cti
📈 ReformWorks is growing—5,370+ new visitors this year alone.
#UN staff and #diplomats are clearly seeking evidence-based tools for meaningful reform. Help us deliver them to you even better.
Take 1 minute to shape how we share insights that support your work:
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#Multilateralism
This week, the #UN80 working group kicked off its work on mandate reform.
If a mandate is agreed, but without new resources—is that a real consensus?
Here’s what else member states should unpack. 👇
Thx to @mirkoheinzel.bsky.social, @haleyswedlund.bsky.social , @heinerjanus.bsky.social , Tim Roethel and Bernhard Reinsberg.
Transparency reforms have shown they can increase support for international #aid - but clearly that's not working for the #UN.
Our round up of the research shows:
👉 Why audience targeting matters more than volume of data
🤔 How tailored #transparency can shift even skeptical views
Struggling to keep up with #UN80 reforms and what the real issues are versus the rhetoric?
Subscribe to the ReformWorks newsletter and stay informed!👇
buff.ly/eq96RwV
Aid #transparency portals were meant to build trust in international institutions and the work they do. And yet their funding has been cut like never before. What went wrong?
ReformWorks explores the research on making transparency effective in #UN80 reforms.
🔗
Mandate complexity = increased risk of inefficiency.
That was the key message of the #UN80 team at an informal discussion they hosted on the Mandate Implementation Review today. Now the new 🇯🇲 & 🇳🇿‑led working group needs to untangle the complexity by March. Here are 3 ideas how.
buff.ly/I4dRVPl
As #UNICEF’s Exec Board sits this week it will learn that 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇧🇪 still lead as top suppliers, as per the 2024 Annual Supply report .
Belgium calls this proof of strategic value in #foreignaid. As aid grows more transactional, we revisit whether this is also a symptom of exclusion.
buff.ly/NfmvbAO
UN Mandates are now 4x more likely to be adopted without new funding than in 2000. If states won’t pay for what they approve, is it still relevant? 🤔
We unpack this quiet shift—and offer 2 more concrete criteria for #UN mandate reform.
🔗 buff.ly/Hrz5ngu
📘 The SG's new #UN80 Mandate Implementation Review analyzes how mandates evolve—but still sidesteps one critical question: what makes a mandate effective or efficient?
In our latest spotlight, we propose 3 clear criteria using the reports' insights & data.
🧩 Recent efforts by #UN80 to engage member states contrast sharply with a staff union vote of no confidence last week. This highlights tensions between #leadership styles required for two very distinct but important stakeholder groups in international organizations, as we explain.
buff.ly/BSZPrQz
The UN’s financial crisis masks a deeper disruption—the contestation of core int'l norms. Our latest contributor argues this does not necessarily signal collapse, but evolution of norms. His #UN experience offers concrete ways to support constructive #change at all levels.
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