media & analysis
Going for Broke: Time to Reform the UN Budget Process
John Norris & Joshua Wells • UN Reform • 8 April 2026
Much of the discussions around the UN budget has focused on understandably pressing concerns: across the board cuts at most UN agencies; the failure of the United States and a number of other nations to pay dues on time or in full: the sharp drop in voluntary contributions in development and humanitarian relief: and potential savings through the UN80 reform process. But all of this is to focus on the trees while failing to see the forest. John Norris and Joshua Wells make the case that the UN’s budgeting process – the ‘who pays what’ that funds the world’s most important multilateral body – is fundamentally broken and badly in need of a major overhaul to bring it into the modern era. They propose a dramatically different funding formula as a model to consider.
Taking Payout Strategy a Step Further
The 5 percent payout requirement was designed as a floor, not a ceiling — yet foundations have let it cap their ambition for decades. A more systematic approach to payout, grounded in the nature of each issue, could unlock far greater impact.
starling in the news & public
Michael Igoe, Devex, “Trump’s love-hate relationship with the UN”quoting Minh-Thu Pham, May 25, 2026
Edith Lederer, The Associated Press, “4 vying to be the next UN chief try to set themselves apart as race heats up” quoting Minh-Thu Pham, April 26, 2026.
Sébastien Thibault, Foreign Policy Analytics. “A Q&A with Minh-Thu Pham”. Part of the Global Governance Reimagined series. October 15, 2025.
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The Economist, “The UN’s Grim Future,” September 18, 2025. Quoting Minh-Thu Pham; PDF here.
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Devex, “US abandons Financing for Development conference” by Colum Lynch. Quoting Minh-Thu Pham. June 18 2025.
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Devex, “What is Financing for Development 4 and why is it a big deal?”by Jesse Chase-Lubitz, quoting Minh-Thu Pham, May 30, 2025.
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