The Vital, Less Visible Work of International Development: Insights from Linda Maguire

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In July, Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Linda Maguire to the position of Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Management Services at the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Across Maguire's expansive career in international development, the New Hampshire native has served as UNDP Resident Representative in Panama and UN Resident Coordinator in Paraguay.

We had the chance to sit down with Linda Maguire to unpack the work of UNDP and how she's leveraging her experience to welcome more efficiency and transparency into one of the world's largest development agencies.

Q: While you acclimate to your new role, what priorities are keeping you busy?

Maguire: Although just 28 days into this position, I've been with UNDP for 26 years, spending much of my time thinking about resource allocation, finances, procurement and security. I've been a user of these services at country and regional levels, so I'm glad to now apply my experience globally. There are 170 UNDP offices and five regional bureaus who depend on the less visible, operational aspects of the UN's work - the essential part of the job. You can't have strong programs in environment or energy or governance or gender without the machinery that helps them deliver efficiently and transparently. So over the past few weeks, I'm understanding my surroundings - what we do exceptionally well and what we can do better - both for ourselves and on behalf of smaller agencies for whom we serve as the "operational backbone."

Q: What's a typical day for you at UNDP?

Maguire: In UNDP, I do a lot of work bringing together essential functions like procurement or human resources to ensure cohesive and effective support for our offices in places like Ukraine or Sudan. Within the UN system, I work with emergency humanitarian services, food and education providers, climate partners and many, many more so that development assistance is efficient and results oriented. Some players in the UN family are large and well known; other agencies are smaller, with less field presence, but a very specialized mandate. To use the analogy of an orchestra, all are critical to the success of the concert. What matters is that each player is heard, doesn't duplicate efforts and supports in the background.

"To use the analogy of an orchestra, all UN agencies are critical to the success of the concert."

A good example of one of those smaller and invaluable members of the band is UNESCO. UNESCO is actually not a big presence in a lot of countries, but its global mandate on education and cultural preservation gives nations a playbook to shape their domestic policies. Again, this may be less visible work, but its impact is outsized.

Q: This theme of little-known work - the "operational backbone" as you said - comes up a lot. Procurement is one of those significant but perhaps unappreciated components of UNDP's mandate. How does the U.S. stack up against other countries in securing contracts to further your mission?

Maguire: I take my role facilitating procurement very seriously to ensure that this part of UNDP's $5 billion in delivery each year to places like Ukraine and the Middle East is excellently managed. And while some of that work isn't immediately visible - like debris removal in war zones - it all happens with integrity and meticulous attention to detail. The procurement process is competitive, open and transparent. I think that's why U.S. companies have done so well. Because American businesses are able to competitively engage in the process, they've consistently secured hundreds of millions every year across the UN system. Just last year, U.S. companies received nearly 10% of all UN contracts.

Q: I have to say that Americans don't often hear about the role of U.S. businesses in the work of the UN. Why is that?

Maguire: I've heard UNDP described as the biggest, most important UN agency you've never heard of. We have an extremely broad mandate across development, but development means different things to different people. Vaccinating children against polio, for example, is visible, time-bound, concrete and easily measured. But when we talk about development, we're covering economic, environmental and social undertakings that are nuanced and often take decades to bear fruit.

I also think there's a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about U.S. engagement with the UN - and I say that as an American myself. I was recently reading that a majority of Americans believe that about a quarter of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid. The actual number is about 1%.

Q: I imagine you go into this massive mission with a theory of change in mind. How do you describe your - UNDP's - approach to change-making?

Maguire: This is a really important question. Our theory of change is that investments in development are about prevention. Prevention in conflicts, in migration flows. We focus on raising all boats, which takes going upstream. That means we take on projects to reduce inequality, boost access to economies and strengthen civil society so that people can thrive. In other words, invest in countries so countries can create their own futures.

"Our theory of change is that investments in development are about prevention. Prevention in conflicts, in migration flows. We focus on raising all boats, which takes going upstream."

Q: Since you've spent time in the New York City District Attorney's Office - perhaps as hard a posting as any - let's end today with the kind of closing argument I'm sure you heard often in the role. Make the case for our American readers why U.S. investment in the UN matters.

Maguire: I worked in the Appeals Bureau. That means we received written appeals from defendants explaining why they didn't agree with their sentence or felt it should be overturned. Lawyers would look at the arguments and return a brief based on facts and law. My brief would probably say the following.

Development is under-sung. Peace and security make the headlines and human rights are an enduring priority. But how do we reach sustained peace, security and human rights? Development. It's the majority of the UN's work. Today, over 40 agencies work in countries alongside local actors to protect elections, invest in economic programs and strengthen multilateral institutions. That's not something the American taxpayers necessarily know, but when they do, they almost always appreciate the impact.

"Development is under-sung. Peace and security make the headlines and human rights are an enduring priority. But how do we reach sustained peace, security and human rights? Development. It's the majority of the UN's work."

For taxpayers, investing in the UN is not just the right thing to do; it's the smart thing to do. It's in everyone's best interest to lift nations out of poverty, move least developed countries to high income so they can develop sustainably and peacefully and contribute to the global economy.

"For taxpayers, investing in the UN is not just the right thing to do; it's the smart thing to do."

The UN exemplifies the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Except it's more like 1% of investment in the U.S. budget is worth billions and billions saved and made in the long term.

Learn more about the UNDP here.

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