An Agenda for Strengthening the UN’s Engagement through Global Solution Networks
The UN was established at the close of World War II. Since then the world has become increasingly complex, now requiring the UN to change critical aspects of its modus operandi in order to be more effective in responding to global challenges. In the past decades, powerful non-state actors—including an increasingly vast array of transnational networks consisting of NGOs, the private sector, foundations, academics and private citizens—have been participating in global problem solving.
This project explores the opportunities for deepening and widening the UN’s problem-solving role through participation in and collaboration with Global Solution Networks. We examine the ways the UN has spawned, engaged with and participated in different types of GSNs. We identify ten specific partnerships that the UN is engaged in that provide illustrative insights as to how the UN relates to GSNs. And we propose an agenda for strengthening UN participation in, and engagement with, GSNs that could be critical to strengthening its effectiveness and legitimacy in the post 2015 period.