business.un.org, Partnering for a better world

Innovative partnerships with business and civil society have become a common occurrence across the United Nations System. While the involvement of the private sector in the work of the United Nations represents a huge opportunity for jointly addressing global issues, it also raises a number of challenges. In order to address these issues, UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes have responded by putting into place “Private Sector Focal Points” whose responsibility is to coordinate activities with the private sector within their respective organization

However, the role of the Focal Points goes further in that they also liaise with each other across the United Nations in order to communicate information, share experiences, plan and devise joint activities, and avoid duplication in their efforts. As the number and complexity of these partnerships increase, it is becoming ever more crucial to coordinate activities and keep Focal Points from diverse agencies informed about what their colleagues are doing and what they have learned about partnerships through experience.

In light of this background, the UN Global Compact Office initiated the “UN Business Focal Point”, a quarterly newsletter published online with the goal of improving communication and coordination across the United Nations Private Sector Focal Points network. By engaging the Focal Points in its production, each issue of the “UN Business Focal Point” includes articles on new partnership activities between the UN and businesses, new tools and resources, as well as articles addressing key themes with regards to public-private partnerships, among other features.

Read the UN Business Focal Point Newsletter:

• Issue 16 (November 2011)
• Issue 15 (June 2011)
• Issue 14 (December 2010)
• Issue 13 (May 2010)
• Issue 12 (August 2009)
• Issue 11 (April 2009)
• Issue 10 (December 2008)
• Issue 9 (August 2008)
• Issue 8 (April 2008)
• Issue 7 (December 2007)
• Issue 6 (August 2007)
• Issue 5 (May 2007)
• Issue 4 (February 2007)
• Issue 3 (October 2006)
• Issue 2 (July 2006)
• Issue 1 (April 2006)

For any questions regarding the newsletter or how to contribute, please contact:

Wade Hoxtell
Editor, UN Business Focal Point
Global Public Policy Institute
Reinhardtstraße 15
D-10117 Berlin
Germany
Email: whoxtell@gppi.net
Tel: +49 30 275 959 750
Web: www.gppi.net