United Nations University
Strategic Plan 2020–2024

United Nations University Strategic Plan 2020–2024
Prepared by the United Nations University Office of the Rector, Tokyo

I. The UNU Strategic Plan 2020–2024
Rector David M. Malone was reappointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for asecond five-year term as Rector of the United Nations University from 1 March 2018.
In his first term, Rector Malone, with the support of the UNU Council, launched a programme of systematicchange at UNU aimed at re-aligning the University’s work programme to better respond to the policy
needs of the United Nations and Member States. At the time, there was widespread recognition thatUNU needed to become more responsive to the needs of its key stakeholders and better leverage its
position as a neutral knowledge broker within the United Nations.

The United Nations University is a researchorganization committed to providing support
for policy-development and decision-making
on pressing and emerging global policy
issues. Its approach to strategic planningis consequently different from other UN
entities.
The UNU Strategic Plan ensures that the
University is both positioned and has thecapacity to provide thought-leadershipand policy support in a variety of contexts.
Institute-specific strategic plans spell out aspecific programme of work in keeping withthe mandate of each UNU institute.

The results have been encouraging. By integrating
policy considerations in the design and delivery of
research and capacity development activities across
UNU, the University has reached new audiences andthrough them, achieved more direct policy impact
than ever before. This success has also led to greater
demand. UNU is frequently sought out to partner inpolicymaking, including at the highest levels of theUnited Nations’ planning and policymaking offices,
providing an objective evidence base that supports
innovative policy ideas.
This new demand for UNU research and policy
advice confirms the success of the previous
strategic programme, as well as the need to focus
on innovations that will ensure UNU can continue
to deliver against a new, more ambitious set of
expectations.

Over the next five years, UNU will remain focused on adding value to the key debates and policy
initiatives concerning peace, development, and sustainability. Its community of international, impactoriented academics and communications specialists will be central to the success of this mission.

The UNU System
UNU is a heterogeneous network of research centres focused on a broad range of research topics,drawing
on varying levels and sources of financial support.
The comparatively large and financially stable institutes have grown stronger over the past five years.
Some of the smaller UNU institutes, however, have had to divert considerable local resources to ensure
survival and have called on a significant proportion of UNU Council and UNU Headquarters’ time andresources in the process. Over the course of this Strategic Plan, institutes without secure core funding
must either strengthen or, in time, close.
There is a fairly clear correlation between the robustness of institutes and the availability of a sizeable
endowment. This validates the UNU Council’s decision in June 2018 to require a meaningful endowment
for any new institute. The financial contributions received from sub-national authorities to supplement
operational budgets, while generally beneficial, cannot be treated as a substitute for long-term
endowment funding.
The current political climate also affects the sustainability and operating environment of UNU institutes,
and the United Nations more generally. The high-quality advice and research produced at UNU institutes

does not guarantee unflinching support from governments that partner with it. Indeed, in the current
climate governments may be inclined to single out United Nations bodies for criticism or efforts at
defunding. The UNU needs to redouble efforts to earn governments’ trust, but also draw conclusions
where respect declines and not allow its mission to be undermined by shifting political climates.

II. Objectives
Rarely has the demand for independent policy research been greater than in today’s political climate.
UNU is uniquely placed to address this need. For over forty years, UNU has provided neutral,
objective, evidence-based research that inspires confidence and trust. Indeed, UNU has emerged as
an independent voice addressing the most important policy debates of our time; debates that cannot
afford to be overlooked.

As knowledge partners within the UN system, we connect diverse international stakeholders togenerate and share research with a broad spectrum of publics. We translate this research into
evidence-based policy recommendations and deliver it to those who can drive positive change,
seeking to ensure that policy works for people, locally and globally. We further promote knowledge
creation and exchange through education and capacity building programmes.

UNU also strives to bridge academic communities in the developing world and international policymaking
communities, as well as strengthening national capacities through training initiatives focused on themost pressing and complex challenges to peace, development, and sustainability. The University has
been especially successful in facilitating new collaborations between these constituencies; throughtargeted partnerships, UNU has provided academics and think tanks in the developing world with aunique opportunity to shape policymaking in the United Nations. These collaborations have focused on
addressing a broad range policy challenges including, the control of illegal drugs; the response to new
migration flows; the promise and consequences of new technologies for developing countries, including
their role in exacerbating or bridging inequalities between and within states; and, the impact of climatechange on ecosystems, livelihoods, and well-being.
The 2020-2024 Strategic Plan renews the 2015-2019 strategic programme of action that set UNU on apath to greater policy relevance. It aims to make these earlier investments sustainable and, in doing so,lays the foundation for the organization’s long-term success. Between 2020 and 2024, the University will
be guided by the following four overarching objectives:
1. Pursue policy-relevant programming: by continuing to make policy considerations central to
its research programmes and, in addition, actively shaping policy agendas through targeted
and strategic collaborations.
2. Invest in a dynamic, innovative, and diverse institutional culture: by encouraging innovationin all dimensions of the University’s work, which is undertaken by a diverse and genderbalanced community of scholars, communicators, and management professionals, and bypromoting collaboration across spatial and disciplinary boundaries.
3. Strengthen collaboration, communications, and visibility: by leveraging the expertise andnetworks spread across the UNU system, promoting collaboration, impactful communications
undertakings, and ensuring that UNU research meets actual demands.
4. Strive for financial sustainability across UNU’s architecture: by addressing the financial
constraints that would otherwise undermine ambitious, long-term, research planning, andensure through participatory management practices that fundraising objectives are realistic,achievable, and complement other strategic priorities.

III. A Policy-relevant Research Programme
Given the University’s unique vantage point within the United Nations, UNU has privileged access toand awareness of the evolving policy needs of the Organization. UNU will focus on connecting thesepolicy priorities with academic communities in the Global North and South that have comparatively
limited awareness of the Organization’s needs, and work with them in new coalitions to develop policy
solutions. It will also concentrate on designing research programmes that integrate cross-disciplinary
research approaches not commonly found in other knowledge institutions. This will not only enrich
UNU’s policy support activities, but also underscore its comparative advantage.
UNU will be a reliable, forward-thinking knowledge-broker and thought leader. Nowhere is thisthought leadership more sought out than in the context of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
A considerable body of research has built up within and outside of the United Nations to support
the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals; this has created many new opportunities forcollaboration, but has also increased the possibility of overlap amongst research and knowledge centers,
as well as contributing to an overwhelming amount of information for policymakers, who often struggle
to discern useful research findings from the less relevant or practical. One way that UNU research will add
value over the coming years is by exploring the interconnections amongst the Sustainable Development
Goals and by highlighting the potential for positive knock-on effects through different implementation
options. This type of systems-thinking is at the core of the Goals and where a great deal of demand liesin the policy community.
While the overall UNU work programme spans the full breadth of the Sustainable Development Goals,
UNU’s work is not constrained by this framework’s political priorities and time-bound objectives. Thereis considerable value and interest in supporting complementary development frameworks that extend
beyond the 2030 agenda—such as the African Union’s Vision 2063, a roadmap for African developmentthat captures the aspirations of African states—and to contribute to other visions of development post2030.
UNU’s global academic programme for the period 2020-2024 will operate under three headings,
carried over from the 2015-2019 Strategic Plan and reflecting the UNU’s overarching thematic priorities.
These three main areas of work at UNU will primarily be covered by the following research institutes andprogrammes:• Peace and security• Social change and economic development• Environment, climate, and energy.
These three broad research themes include a number of more specific research topics, several ofwhich will serve as a platform for inter-institute collaboration. Emphasis on new technologies will bring
together, inter alia, research on artificial intelligence, electronic governance, new labor- or cost-saving
innovations, digital and social inequalities, as well as mobile and blockchain technologies. Migration isa second area of research that will bring together a critical mass of researchers from around the UNU
system, ensuring the UNU is positioned to provide objective, multi-disciplinary evidence, analysis andadvice on a diverse range policy challenges related to human mobility. UNU also has significant capacity
to address water challenges in different parts of the world and, again, from a multitude of disciplinary
perspectives—from the study of waste-water management to water-induced migration. Cutting across
many of these thematic work programmes are considerations of good governance. Institutional clusters
are expected to emerge to support cross-institute collaboration on these themes over the coming five
years.
Under the three research headings, UNU also operates several small, dynamic postgraduate
programmes. These programmes offer young researchers an opportunity to gain hands-on experience
applying basic research to current complex policy challenges. In addition, UNU research institutes
operate a number of targeted capacity development initiatives, typically with the support of one or more
local partners. UNU’s teaching and capacity development activities draw on the strength of its research
programmes and robust partnerships with local universities.
These activities are resource intensive and remain a small part of UNU’s overall academic programmeof work. Teaching activities are regularly assessed and only those that demonstrate that that they offer

unique value for students, especially those in the developing world, and are not duplicative of training
activities offered by other international and national knowledge institutions, will continue through 20202024. Advanced degree programmes, particularly doctoral programmes, will aim primarily at developing
the capacity of researchers from developing countries, and strengthening partnerships with local research
institutions be they in the Global North or South. UNU will not enter into partnerships of conveniencethat seek to leverage the United Nations brand.

IV. Investing in Institutional Culture, Driving Innovation
UNU also aspires to achieve significant changes in institutional culture. UNU’s institutional culture is positive,
progressive, and fast-paced. It is geared toward supporting new ideas and the individuals that shape them.
Ensuring that UNU personnel work in an environment that is dynamic, innovative, and supportive willremain a priority for UNU’s senior management and the University’s governing Council over the coming
years.
A sizeable renewal of the University’s directing personnel was completed between 2017-2019,
which resulted in greater gender and geographic diversity, notably a greater preponderance of women in
leadership roles. UNU is close to achieving full gender parity across its academic and support personnel
and is committed to closing the gap over the course of this strategic plan.
This new leadership is committed to the priorities in this strategic plan and in fostering a cultureof innovation. UNU will move beyond a focus on gender parity to consider more meaningful ways ofmainstreaming gender across the University. A specific focus for the coming five years will be mainstreaming
gender in UNU research to induce new solutions to complex policy challenges.
Innovation is embedded in all of UNU’s activities, but more can be done to scale innovation acrossthe University. In the aggregate, the UNU boasts an impressive body of work, covering a wide range of
disciplines and thematic issues. However, UNU research institutes are, for the most part, modestly sizedand distant from each other. This has required that researchers and managers develop innovative working
methods to overcome resource limitations and leverage the University’s global reach.
A notable example is the UNU Migration Network initiative – an internal, researcher-led consortium thathas allowed UNU to consolidate research on migration in a user-friendly platform that communicates thefull suite of projects, expertise and insights on an issue of growing policy importance. UNU management
will encourage bottom-up initiatives such as this and reward bold ideas that can be scaled globally.
Meanwhile it will champion administrative flexibility to facilitate innovative thinking and support the rapid
scaling of new ideas.
As an inclusive employer, UNU is committed to accommodating individuals from all backgrounds andsupports the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities to ensure a workplace that is equal,
fair, and inclusive. Also, UNU personnel are committed to creating a fair, supportive, and diverse
workplace, and are working with management to ensure that UNU’s core values are better reflected in thecomposition of the work force and the University’s work practices. Over the next five years, best practices
will be sought from within the United Nations, amongst civil society organizations, and from the public andprivate sectors. A new and notable area of focus will be on the development of policies that promote theinclusion of persons with disabilities in the UNU workforce. UNU will progressively introduce best practices
to better accommodate personnel with varied personal and familial responsibilities and/or special needs.
An equally important dimension of the UNU’s institutional culture is tolerance for cultural, racial,sexual, and other differences. UNU senior management and directing personnel will encourage
constructive approaches to resolving differences in the workplace and ensure robust protections are inplace and accessible for individuals with serious grievances. UNU will continue to work with the Executive
Office of the Secretary-General and the United Nations Department of Management Strategy, Policy andCompliance to align internal policies, support mechanisms, and training resources to ensure that UNU’s
modest size does not limit the range of opportunities and resources made available to its personnel. These
actions aim to create a tolerant and supportive work environment, free from all forms of discrimination,harassment, and abuse. To that end, the UNU is exploring the possibility of banding together with othermid-sized United Nations agencies to jointly procure and share common services, where it makes sense.

V. Strengthening Collaboration and Communications
This strategic plan calls for greater collaboration and communication across UNU in order to increase thevisibility and recognition of the University and its work.
The UNU system comprises a diverse group of researchers with a broad range of expertise. This talentextends across the five continents where UNU has an institutional presence. However, the disciplinary
specializations across UNU have, at times, served as boundaries between its research groups. There is ashared understanding that this is an ineffective way for a global research organization focused on policy
influence to operate. United Nations Member States have embraced a development agenda that stresses
the interconnectedness of development priorities, and this has created a demand for inter-disciplinary
systems thinking. Similarly, UNU will promote inter-institute collaboration and deeper collaboration
with local knowledge institutions to ensure its policy advice is aligned with the expectations of its key
stakeholders and reflects diversity.
UNU’s unique structure means it has the potential to meet current and emerging policy needs.
By improving collaboration across UNU and with partners outside the University, the University can
substantially improve its reach, visibility, and impact. There are encouraging signs that the new generationof directing personnel are open to and excited about exploring new collaboration possibilities over theperiod of this strategic plan – whether through UNU-wide joint undertakings or by drawing ad-hoc onselected researchers or networks to strengthen UNU research portfolios
UNU will also support structural changes to increase collaboration with other stakeholders. The
University has been increasingly active in at least one major UN hub – New York – and over the course of
the next five years, will aim to expand its reach into additional policy hubs, primarily in Europe (Geneva,
Brussels, Vienna) and Africa (Nairobi).
Collaboration at UNU is significantly enhanced through communications efforts. The UNU’s first
Global Communications Strategy aligned the UNU’s global communications resources in support of key
institutional objectives. Over the coming five years, this new and more resilient network of communicators
across the UNU will play a vital role in pooling resources and expertise to connect institutes andresearchers, to address knowledge and capacity gaps across the University.
UNU communicators will be more prominently involved in shaping research outputs over the next
five years. Communications will be integrated in UNU research processes from the conceptual stage inorder to maximise impact for target audiences.
Another area of focus for the period 2020-2024 includes more consistent and coherent branding of
UNU. This will be supported by a new, integrated UNU web-platform that will allow quick searches of
UNU’s digital publications, leverage the communication assets and personnel of the UNU network todisseminate research findings, and ensure outreach is responding to actual, as opposed to perceived,needs and demands.
Engagement strategies will also increase UNU’s reputation and credibility as a serious, dynamic,
and effective partner for change by ensuring it is present in the most meaningful discussions at the righttime. Targeted stakeholder engagement will require exchange with policymakers that play a central or
supporting role in policy development; with scientific communities that can contribute meaningfully
to the resolution of policy challenges but who otherwise lack access to debates and related policy
processes at the United Nations; and, with Member States, international secretariats, United Nations
sister agencies, civil society, and other active contributors in and outside of the Organization that sharesimilar objectives.

VI. Promoting Financial Sustainability
UNU is funded through voluntary contributions and does not receive any assessed contributions fromthe regular United Nations budget. Voluntary contributions are normally provided on an annual basis byhost governments, though some institutes are able to draw on endowment funding. It is only those UNU
institutes that benefit from substantial endowments that can operate with the assurance of medium- tolong-term security; these investments generate yearly income that can be used to meet operational andresearch costs. In the current political and financial environment – much changed from even five years
ago – it would be imprudent to stake an institute’s financial health on the contributions of a single hostcountry donor.
Since its establishment in 1973, the UNU Centre (Headquarters) has benefited greatly from the generosityof the Government of Japan, which provided an initial contribution of US$100 million for the UNU
endowment as well as a permanent headquarters building in Shibuya-ku.
This strategic plan calls for further consolidation of UNU’s institutional architecture and a greater
diversification of resources. Towards this end, UNU will increase its focus on those UNU research
institutes that are financially supported by their host countries, while giving due consideration to
proposals for the establishment of new institutes where long-term funding is guaranteed and in line withthe guidelines set by the UNU Council. UNU personnel will also be encouraged to work with their UNU
peers to develop innovative funding proposals that leverage the unique range of thematic expertise andthe geographical diversity found across UNU.
UNU will continue to stress the importance of a participatory management culture. Each UNU
research institute benefits from the guidance and advice of an international advisory board that iscomposed of independent experts in the institute’s specific area of academic work. Working with new
management processes and tools, advisory board members have become more involved in shaping
management decisions and priorities for UNU research institutes. This has generated more focusedand constructive feedback on specific management challenges and opportunities for development
and growth. Institutional objectives are co-developed with members of advisory boards and directors,
fostering greater interest and ownership of an institute’s growth and implementation strategies.
UNU will continue to invest in creating spaces and tools that support structured and participatory
management practices, and leverage innovative practices from outside the University. It will also focus
on improving the tools and strengthening the capacity to forecast the financial health of UNU institutes
and anticipate financial risks. This will allow UNU to also more rapidly respond and adapt to different
donor priorities.