32 . MOPAN 2017-18 ASSESSMENTS . UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST the interdependence of UNRWA, host governments, UN members, other UN agencies, the private sector and civil society in addressing the needs of Palestine refugees. While UNRWA is specifically and solely mandated to address the needs of Palestine refugees, the Agency maintains a corporate commitment to work in close co-ordination and partnership with other UN agencies. Its partnership strategy positions UNRWA to act on themes and in areas where it has a proven advantage over other service providers and where it can make the most impact with available resources. This strategy also sees partnerships as strategic engagements which enhance UNRWA’s ability to deliver its mandate to Palestine refugees. UNRWA’s approach and rationale for partnerships are guided by analysis. UNRWA analyses partnerships in light of its recent budget shortfalls, increasingly scarce resources, ambitious development goals and its beneficiaries’ increasing demand for UNRWA services. The Agency is careful to not be seen as passing its mandate on to other agencies – one of the challenges to its partnership working – and enters into partnerships if they are appropriate and contextually relevant to the different field office contexts. UNRWA is able to engage effectively with host authorities on sensitive issues. For example, UNRWA addressed concerns over duplication of the cash transfer programme (e.g. so-called “double dipping”) between the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA in the West Bank. In addition, UNRWA is careful not to seek the spotlight for its achievements in some areas out of respect for the situation in which it is operating. UNRWA has mechanisms in place to allow for programmatic adjustments in changing conditions, as evidenced mainly in its emergency programming. However, few details are available about the extent to which these mechanisms enable the flexible use of programme funds or how institutional procedures permit changes to be made at different levels of the organisation. There is evidence that UNRWA has identified institutional bottlenecks in procedures. Political sensitivities contribute to the relative lack of transparency of UNRWA’s reporting. UNRWA has taken steps to increase the transparency of its reporting, particularly with donors, and to meet (in a proportionate way) specific reporting needs and interests. This has been facilitated by the work of the harmonised results working group composed of UNRWA and donors. There are some continued sensitivities of information sharing which are navigated by UNRWA. Ensuring accountability to Palestine refugees and involving refugees in decisions that affect them are two tenets of UNRWA’s strategy, although these are not always carried through to practice. UNRWA’s Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) framework sets out formal and informal mechanisms, standards and practices at the field and programme levels to engage Palestine refugees throughout the programming cycle. However, the Agency does not have an agreed, overarching definition or policy on “participation”; instead, each programme has guidance on how to strengthen refugee participation. UNRWA is committed to monitoring accountability to affected populations, although the practice of refugee participation is not fully embedded in monitoring and evaluation of the Agency’s programming. UNRWA still could be more engaged in knowledge management and sharing of its expertise in working with refugees in the region. While UNRWA participates in global forums and interagency committees, lack of support from the international community and internal constraints (in terms of time, expertise and political will) may cause it to miss opportunities to share and exchange the expertise of its staff and the lessons gathered through its programmes. As protracted crises become more prevalent, UNRWA’s mature approaches and the learning it has acquired from experience with crisis stand as increasingly important resources and added value for the wider discourse and changing practice on the humanitarian-development nexus.