The development of UNDAF has been guided by a Building Block approach. This is an alternative to a typical Common Country Assessment. It allows an analysis of the past actions, the current and future situation and priorities, allowing a more focused UN approach in considering those aspects of a country strategy that contribute to the realization of the MDGs in a host country.

The building block approach comprises six Building Blocks namely;

1. The Role of the UN in Malawi in a Changing Aid Environment, a Position Paper by the UN Country Team
2. Situation Analysis from Human Rights and Gender Perspective
3. Capacity Needs Assessment of MGDS from a MDG perspective
4. Gap Assessment of MGDS from Human Rights and Gender Perspective
5. Skills and Competencies Assessment
6. Joint Resource Mobilisation

The first four building blocks informed a four day UNDAF Strategic Planning Workshop to reach agreement and develop UNDAF priorities, outcomes and the articulation of the UNDAF results matrix, including an action plan and time line for UNDAF outcomes.

Analysing the UN’s competitive advantage against the country’s priorities as articulated in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), the workshop identified five thematic areas for UN programmes: 
a) Sustainable Economic Development and Food Security
b) Social Protection and Disaster Reduction
c) Social Development relating to health, nutrition, water and sanitation and education
d) HIV and AIDS
e) Good Governance

Gender Equality, Human Rights, Disaster Risk Reduction and Capacity Development are addressed as cross cutting issues.

The UNDAF results matrices will be used to prepare UN skills and competencies assessment, guided by the UN priorities and outcomes elaborated in the UNDAF. The skills and competence assessment allow the UN to ensure that sufficient and appropriate capacity is available to realize the UNDAF outcomes in accordance with UN and national priorities.

Building Block 1: Position paper on the Role of the UN in Malawi
This is a presentation of the UN Malawi’s position and objectives in the new aid environment in relation to the Paris Declaration and the shift to Direct Budget Support. This position paper combines the views of the UNCT with the perceptions of government, partners and civil society in the host country.

Building Block 2: Situation Analysis from a Human Rights and Gender perspective
The second block focuses on major challenges relating to national priorities and is an assessment of national capacity gaps and opportunities and the application of the lessons learned and results achieved from the previous cycle of UN cooperation.

Building Block 3: Capacity needs assessment of the MGDS from a MDG perspective
The third building block is a (capacity) assessment of the country strategy from an MDG perspective. The analysis focuses on the capacity required to realize the MDGs. Any gaps between the current capacity and the capacity required for the realization of the MDGs are identified and quantified.

Building Block 4: Gap analysis of the MGDS from a Human Rights and Gender perspective
The fourth building block is an assessment of national achievement(s) towards the internationally agreed human rights and gender commitments.

Building Block 5: Skills and competence assessment
Leveraging on the results matrices from the UNDAF Strategic Planning Workshop, the UN country team identifies its areas of core competency, and the degree to which these are appropriate to ensure the realization of the outcomes in accordance with national and UN priorities.

Building Block 6: Joint Resource Mobilisation
Based on the financial requirements to deliver the UNDAF outcomes, an assessment will be conducted to determine the extent of core funding per agency and the gap that will require further resource mobilisation by UNCT.