9.     As a highly diversified and complex group of organizations, the UN system faces the challenge of transforming its diversity and complexity into a source of strength. This requires a continuing, systematic effort to harness the different capacities and comparative advantages of each organization in a collective endeavour to advance common objectives. With such a deliberate effort, the diversity of mandates and expertise that the system contains can become a unique asset that enables its constituent organizations, acting alone or in concert, to respond flexibly and from different perspectives to the evolving international environment and to the changing requirements of Member States. Indeed, in a globalized world where so many issues are interlinked, the multifaceted character of the UN system presents unique opportunities for applying the multisectoral approaches that are required. The system is working to ensure that the most is made of these opportunities.

10.     As they seek to shape and drive change, organizations of the UN system recognize the need to continue to change themselves. As elaborated in this report’s concluding chapter, three crucially important areas of change stand out to enable the system to become a cohesive force for advancing and sustaining progress across the interrelated objectives of the Millennium Declaration: deepening understanding and better managing knowledge; achieving an inclusive, purposeful mobilization of all resources and capacities; and increasing transparency and accountability.

11.     While focusing their limited resources on their main strengths, UN system organizations increasingly are forging and participating in partnerships with non-State actors to exploit new opportunities for advancing international cooperation. Intergovernmental processes of consensus-building and policy-making are increasingly being complemented by a growing array of global policy networks that bring central governments together with constituencies—such as local governments, civil society and business—in joint initiatives for policy analysis, action and evaluation to advance the effective implementation of global agreements.

12.     In order to effectively implement the mandates entrusted to them, the organizationsof the UN system rely on the continued political and financial support of Member States. At the same time, the organizations have a keen awareness of the need to transform their management cultures, in order to sustain a multilateralism that genuinely delivers.